Aug 19 2009

The penalty for “honor killing” in Islamic nations: about like that for spitting on the sidewalk

Category: arab,Fatah,Hamas,Islam,Israel — harmonicminer @ 9:13 am

The sentences for so called “honor killings” in Islamic nations are so light, when they are imposed at all, as to be an insult to the value of human life. In this case, a Gazan father killed his 27 yr old daughter by beating her to death with a chain over 40 minutes,  for using a cell phone to talk to a man.

In such killings, a woman’s life is taken by male relatives who suspect her of inappropriate conduct. Such killings are still widespread in the Middle East, where a woman’s perceived misconduct can hurt the standing of a family and where tradition says the “stain” can only be removed by shedding her blood.

Traditionally, assailants have received light sentences, but the killing of Najjar shocked even activists used to detailing such crimes.

Mezan and the PCHR said that Najjar’s father used an iron chain to beat her, while also kicking and punching her for about 40 minutes until she died of a fatal blow to the head, said Mezan and the PCHR.

“It’s shocking,” said Samir Zakout of Mezan. “But it’s not surprising because killers know they won’t be punished harshly.”

In the West Bank and Gaza, “honor killing” assailants serve between six months and three years in prison, said Mona Shawa of PCHR.

In Jordan, officials said Wednesday they have set up special tribunals to deal with honor killings, hoping to speed up trials.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday that the Syrian government abolished a law that waived punishment for some honor killings and now allows judges to sentence perpetrators to at least two years jail.

This is simply beyond sad and horrifying. And it is a measure of how very far the world view of Islam is from that of the West.

However, do not expect “justice week” at your local university to have “honor killing” as a topic.  They’ll be too busy bashing Israel for defending itself.  Or maybe being concerned about global warming or something really important like that. 

Aug 19 2009

Iran raping jailed protesters?

Category: Iran,Islam — harmonicminer @ 9:08 am

Under Sharia, a rape victim must produce FOUR MALE MUSLIM WITNESSES who will testify to the rape.  Otherwise, the guilt is assumed to be on the part of the victim.

And now, it appears that Iran’s ruling Mullahs are telling detained protesters of the recent “elections” that if they want to complain of being raped while in jail, they must produce FOUR MALE MUSLIM WITNESSES to prove it, or risk further punishment for sexual misconduct themselves.

If you’re not familiar with the origin of the FOUR MALE MUSLIM WITNESS policy in Sharia, it arose because one of Mohammed’s wives was accused of adultery.  Mohammed happened to like that particular wife, and soon reported that Allah had revealed to him that such cases could only be prosecuted if there were FOUR MALE MUSLIM WITNESSES.  Thus, he saved his favorite wife from punishment, and made it essentially impossible for Muslim women to ever prove rape in an Islamic court.

In Islamic countries, most women who allege rape are themselves imprisoned for adultery or fornication….  or worse.

Very convenient for the Iranian mullahs who want those protesters to be taught a lesson, both male and female, it seems.

Obama wants to negotiate with these guys without pre-conditions.  Better keep the Secret Service really, really close.

Aug 19 2009

Legislative Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm

Category: Uncategorized — harmonicminer @ 8:34 am

54% Say Passing No Healthcare Reform Better Than Passing Congressional Plan

Thirty-five percent (35%) of American voters say passage of the bill currently working its way through Congress would be better than not passing any health care reform legislation this year. However, a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters (54%) say no health care reform passed by Congress this year would be the better option.

This does not mean that most voters are opposed to health care reform. But it does highlight the level of concern about the specific proposals that Congressional Democrats have approved in a series of Committees. To this point, there has been no Republican support for the legislative effort although the Senate Finance Committee is still attempting to seek a bi-partisan solution.

The Congressional plan in its current form, especially with a “public option,” is going to do the same thing for health care that leeches did for George Washington, if it passes.

Aug 19 2009

The public option always WAS “stealth single payer”

Category: healthcare — harmonicminer @ 8:07 am

How The Public Option Became The Core Of Obamacare  Read it all for details and quotes, but here’s the gist:

For those of you that have been following the health care debate through this blog, the fact that a well respected liberal like Schmitt is ready to admit that the public option was always “a kind of stealth single-payer” should be no surprise. We have already extensively detailed how Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein, and Noble Prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman have all been caught on video explaining to single-payer advocates that the public option is nothing more than a Trojan Horse for single payer health care. And just to add another to the list, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) also admitted as much on MSNBC yesterday.

The Left always did intend for this to end up as a purely nationalized, single payer system like Canada or Britain. Everything else, including all the talk of “choice,” was and is a smokescreen to dupe the public until it’s too late to back out.