500 Lashes, Death by Stoning: Women in Islam

by Khaled Abu Toameh
September 10, 2012 at 5:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3326/islam-lashes-stoning-women

Send

Comment

RSS

Be the first of your friends to like this.

Saudi authorities have sentenced Najla Yehya Wafa, a 35-year-old Egyptian woman, to 500 lashes. Her family says she was arrested after a business dispute with a Saudi Princess. Leila Jamul, a 23-year-old Sudanese woman, was sentenced last July to death by stoning for adultery. She is being held in prison, meanwhile, with her six-month-old baby.

A Pakistani girl and an Egyptian woman have become the latest victims of Muslim extremists who hide behind Islam's Sharia laws.
In countries where Sharia laws are enforced, women have often found themselves subjected to various forms of persecution and intimidation.
In the first case, Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old , mentally damaged, Christian girl from a poor suburb outside Islamabad, Pakistan, was arrested two weeks ago after her neighbors complained that she had burned documents containing verses from the Quran.
This is a "crime" punishable by life sentence in Pakistan. Rimsha was arrested after a local Muslim community leader and his followers exerted pressure on the Pakistani authorities to take action against her.
In a second recent case, Saudi authorities have sentenced Najla Yehya Wafa, a 35-year-old Egyptian woman, to 500 lashes. Her family says she was arrested after a business dispute with a Saudi princess.
The plight of the two women is added to that of Leila Jamul, a 23-year-old Sudanese woman who was sentenced last July to death by stoning for adultery. She is being held in prison, meanwhile, with her six-month-old baby.
Women in Tunisia and Egypt, where Islamists have come to power thanks to the "Arab Spring," are also beginning to feel the heat. In recent weeks, an increasing number of women in the two countries have been publicly protesting discrimination and persecution.
In the Tunisian capital, thousands of women marched in the streets recently to protest a provision in the new Islamist government's constitution describing women as "complementary to men."
The demonstration came as a Tunisian Islamist leader, Adel Elmi, called for his country to legalize polygamy. "Sanctioning polygamy is a popular demand now in Tunisia," Elmi was quoted as arguing.
In Egypt, an Egyptian TV presenter appeared this week for the first time wearing a hijab.
Her appearance served as a reminder to all Muslim women that the the name of the game has changed under Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.
The "Arab Spring" may have been successful in removing or undermining secular dictatorships. But in no way has it brought good news for women like Rimsha in Pakistan and Wafa in Saudi Arabia. Unless women — and men — continue to raise their voices and launch campaigns against Muslim extremists, women will continue to suffer from oppressive Sharia laws.

Related Topics: Khaled Abu Toameh

Steps to Disempower Iran

by Christine Williams
September 10, 2012 at 4:30 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3336/disempower-iran

Send

Comment

RSS

Be the first of your friends to like this.

The spokesman foreign policy for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party in the Bundestag, Philipp Missfelder, also advised that the Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah should be placed on the European Union's list of terrorist groups. The EU continues to categorize the Hezbollah as a charitable organization and a charitable group, thereby enabling them to raise millions of dollars to inspire, recruit and train terrorists.

Canada has expelled Iranian diplomats and shut down its embassy in Iran, citing the regime as "the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today." Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird condemned Iran on many fronts: its military assistance to Syria, its nuclear program, threats to Israel's existence, and incitement to Jewish genocide; and he also announced that Canada has now formally listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism under the country's Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act. While the many infractions of the regime were pointed out, the decision also stems an internal security threat: that the Iranian embassy in Canada was being used to promote a fifth column in Canada.
The West would do well to take note as to how far the tentacles of the Iranian regime have spread into global and regional affairs as delegates from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office impose strict expectations on their embassies to find the weaknesses in each country as well as to increase and empower their own supporters there politically, economically and culturally.
Despite the news of Canada's decision and Baird's justification for breaking diplomatic ties with Iran, much more action needs to be taken by Western nations. Baird, for example, referred to Iran's blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention, which defines diplomatic relations between countries, forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity and enables diplomats to perform functions without fear of being coerced or harassed by the host country.
Baird said he was worried about the safety of diplomats in Tehran following recent attacks on the British embassy in the country. A mob of Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran last November. They tore down the Union Flags and threw documents from windows in a show of civil disobedience that followed London's support of upgraded Western sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. The attack on the British embassy was not only illegal and brutal but it revealed something disturbing about Iran: that the regime is now willing -- through violence and destruction -- to take extreme risks on the international stage.
Baird has advised Canadian citizens in need of services in Iran to contact the Canadian Embassies in Ankara , Turkey and anywhere else that might provide it. He also issued a safety warning for Canadian travellers to Iran.
In the the Syrian crisis to which Baird referred, Iran has shipped hundreds of tons of military equipment to Syria to ensure that the Assad regime survives the threat to its survival, and to aid Assad's strategic offensive against rebel strongholds in Damascus and Aleppo. As Syria is Iran's most important regional ally, Western intelligence officials have credited the Iranian regime's elite Quds force and other high ranking members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard with creating the devastation there.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a month ago also ordered renewed terror attacks on Western targets for supporting an overthrow of the Syrian regime, issuing a directive to Qassem Suleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force unit. An emergency meeting was called of Iran's National Security Council in Tehran to discuss the implications for Iran in the event of the overthrow of Assad's regime.
The survival of Syria's Assad regime is regarded as critical to sustain the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which controls southern Lebanon. A report commissioned by Khamenei concluded that Iran's national interests were being threatened by U.N. sanctions over Iran's nuclear program and the West's support for the Syrian opposition.
Qassem Suleimani is apparently the mastermind behind the killing of more Americans than anyone, according to a Telegraph article in the U.K. that alleges this man to be the world's most dangerous terrorist since Osama bin Laden. As head of the Quds Force, Suleimani not only works with Hezbollah in Lebanon, he has also plotted and executed mass murder in dozens of countries; and what Hezbollah has in mind for Israel is no secret, according to its leader who once said he hoped that the Jews would gather in Israel so he would not have to hunt them down globally. According to the Telegraph, however, the EU continues to categorize the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a charitable organization, thereby enabling supporters to raise millions of dollars to inspire, recruit and train terrorists.
In July, Hezbollah was implicated in the bombing of a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria . Yet despite the massive evidence of global terrorism by Hezbollah, one EU foreign minister has said a change in policy would be considered if and when "tangible evidence existed" that Hezbollah is engaging in acts of terrorism. Yet Iran and Hezbollah have slaughtered men, women and children in bombings "from Argentina to Saudi Arabia to Bulgaria;" and have targeted US servicemen in direct attacks, and through proxies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So long as Europe remains in denial, it remains vulnerable to attacks and serves as a partner in Iran's terrorism buildup. Even the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, recently admitted that being on the European terrorist list would "destroy Hizbollah," drying up sources of financial, political and moral support. Nasrallah also disclosed that Iranian officials will drag America into war if it fails to stop Israel from taking military action. He threatened that, "American bases in the whole region could be Iranian targets. "
As tensions mount in the Middle East, the world remains divided: the UN Security Council is at a loss for what to do about Syria, yet Canada has taken a stand. The United States is focussed on an election campaign but still keeping its eye on Iran, as it prepares to escalate pressure on the regime by mounting the largest ever multi-national minesweeping exercise in the Persian Gulf later this month. The exercise will focus on a hypothetical threat from Iran to place mines in the strategic international waterways in the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman.
There is an organized plot in Iran against the West and against Israel. The plot is growing in magnitude and force, and is heavily backed by the Iranian propaganda and military machine; and it is multifaceted, working from home base as well as on the soil of Western nations. Although many "deniers" minimize the threat of Islamists to the West, sadly, this is no conspiracy theory. Even though Canada's decision captured world attention, and serves as a model for all Western nations, there is another occasion to applaud: before the heads of state and delegates of the 120 members of the Non-aligned Movement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon recently denounced Iran for its "outrageous" comments denying the Holocaust and Israel's right to exist. Ban Ki-Moon was heavily criticised for attending, but his unexpected vehemence succeeded in undermining Iran.
While it is expedient to castigate Iran for its many violations, a coordinated approach is lacking between Western nations. A Foreign Policy article, "This Week At War: The Pentagon Doesn't Have the Right Stuff ," by Robert Haddick, highlights the evolving approach in dealing with Iran and other security issues relevant to America. It points out that General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed a new American approach to security, stretching from Egypt to Afghanistan. It is one of defense, a breakaway from the Bush era offensive strategy, and apparent in Obama's escalation in the war in Afghanistan. The article also refers to Dempsey's remarks, which suggest that distance is being created between between the U.S. and Israel, as well as between the American view of indefinite waiting and the Israeli view of a potential Israeli strike against Iran. Unsurprising, but how will that distance serve the free world as the Iran continues its menacing nuclear program?
A coordinated effort is required by all Western allies, and these nations need to pull their weight; with the goal of isolating Iran. There is an urgent need for an approach of zero tolerance to Iran's terrorist strategies practiced both within its boundaries against dissidents and Westerners, and those exported by means of a fifth column in Western democracies. Taken straight from the Hezbollah's Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah: Being on the European terrorist list would "destroy Hizbollah," drying up its financial, political resources and moral support.
The foreign policy spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party in the Bundestag, Philipp Missfelder, also advised that the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah should be placed on the European Union's list of terrorist groups. Western citizens are accustomed to civilized negotiations and dialogues, but terrorist states use these to buy time as they coordinate and execute their plans. Canada has done well to shut down its embassy in Iran in the interests of safety and as a moral, political and policy statement. Hopefully other states will quickly follow.

Related Topics: Iran | Christine Williams

Civil Space Policy for the Next Administration

by Taylor Dinerman
September 10, 2012 at 3:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3337/civil-space-policy

Send

Comment

RSS

Be the first of your friends to like this.

It needs to be clearly understood that America's civil space program is just as much an instrument of power as the U.S. Navy or the State Department. It is to be hoped that the President and Congress will recognize this fact.

Other nations are not waiting for the US to decide what kind of space policy it wants.
China is moving ahead with its independent manned space program. On June 18, 2012, a Chinese Shenzhou capsule, with China's first female Taikonaut aboard, docked with China's new space station. This Chinese mission is most likely meant to show that China is winning a new space race with the United States.
In January 2013, whatever the new administration, it will almost certainly not consider civil space policy to be one of its top priorities – civil space being the government's non-military space program. The most important part of that is NASA; other parts include NOAA for civilian weather satellites and the FAA office of commercial space transportation for licensing commercial space launches.
If, in the first few weeks, space questions arise at all, restoring the 22% (or more) cuts made by the current administration to America's military space programs will take precedence over decisions on the future of NASA. The European Space Agency has, at least for the moment, given up on major new cooperative space exploration programs with NASA. Further, the confused management of the US Space Agency has discouraged most of the world's space organizations from joining with Americans on any serious new projects.
This situation is the opposite of the goal which the Obama administration set for itself in the June 2010 National Space Policy. The White House policy makers said then that they wanted to "expand international cooperation on mutually beneficial space activities to broaden and extend the benefits of space ..."
International partnerships for space exploration are certainly being developed -- only without the United States.
It is hard nevertheless to imagine that the question, "What do we do about NASA?" can be long postponed: the US government's military space and civilian space (which mostly means NASA) are two sides of the same coin. The same firms that support the military's essential space functions also support NASA's science and exploration programs. The stress on major civil space programs -- caused by a combination of complex requirements, underfunding and poor management -- means that in early 2013, several of the most important programs, including the Mars exploration project and the James Webb Space Telescope, will be in even deeper trouble than they already are.
Any new administration will at some point have to face the incredibly incompetent way in which the future of scientific research on the International Space Station (ISS) has been handled. To put it bluntly, the same woman who was in charge of writing the specifications for the body which is to supervise science on the ISS, is now a senior officer in the institution that won the contract. This involves, at the very least, what used to be called "the appearance of impropriety." Until the new administration and NASA take dramatic action to separate themselves from this mess, investigations and litigation will probably ensure that very little science will be done on the station.
Moreover, to save money on the very costly and behind-schedule Webb Space Telescope -- managed by the Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland, and the pet project of the powerful and sometimes feared Democratic Senator, Barbara Milkulski -- the rest of NASA's science programs have been gutted. This plunder has been especially true of the planetary science missions: future Mars exploration programs have been canceled, and the planned "Flagship" mission to the outer planets has been postponed to the point where it is doubtful it will fly anytime within the next decade.
The manned space exploration program is a shambles. The commercial space projects are taking baby steps at a time where giant ones are needed. One hopes that the so-called "New Space" companies will find a way to thrive in this environment, but they are, with the exception of SpaceX, nowhere near ready to fly paying passengers into orbit, and will not be ready for some years to come.
In the early morning of May 22, 2012, SpaceX, based in Hawthorn California, finally launched its Dragon ISS resupply capsule on the company's own Falcon 9 rocket. This was only the third Falcon 9 launch and the first since December of 2010. Three days later, on May 25th, the Dragon capsule was successfully berthed onto the space station. There is nothing unusual about a complex space launch vehicle taking more time than expected to perfect. For a private firm such as SpaceX, however, it has been an expensive process that has, no doubt, hurt its bottom line, at least for the short term.
The SpaceX Dragon's launch was carried out under the terms of the Bush-era Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. In 2007 and 2008, NASA was planning to extend the COTS contract to cover transporting people, as well as cargo, to the ISS under the so-called COTS-D program. Now, instead of the commercial program being a useful auxiliary to NASA's main human exploration plans, COTS-D was renamed the Commercial Crew and Cargo Development program (CCDev) and, after that re-renaming, is now named the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). NASA created this program to build vehicles that would take over the entire job of carrying people and cargo from Earth to orbit and back, a task was formerly performed by the Space Shuttle.
Congress rejected that approach; at present a stalemate exists between those who support giving the entire job to the so-called "commercial" industry and those who are pushing for a compromise. The compromise which the Obama administration reluctantly accepted in 2010 was that NASA would continue to develop the Orion capsule for possible missions to the asteroids, the Moon or Mars, and that NASA would begin work on a new rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS), which closely resembled the heavy-lift Ares V, a part of the Bush era Constellation Return-to-the-Moon Program. The SLS, like the Ares V, will, in theory, be able to lift more than 120 tons of payload into the Earth's orbit -- more than any other rocket in history. The current leadership at NASA, however, has been less than enthusiastic about the SLS program and has tried to undermine it every chance they got.
So how, in January 2013, could a new President restore NASA's place as a world leader in science, technology and exploration? Perhaps by following three relatively-simple-to-understand principles:
Number One: Respect the US Constitution
Congress is a co-equal branch of the government. As such, it may be incredibly frustrating to deal with at times; however, its role as the keeper of the national purse must be acknowledged. The Obama administration's cancellation of the Constellation program, which aimed to return Americans to the Moon and eventually land US astronauts on Mars, was nothing short of an act of political vandalism. Constellation had been carefully crafted, with considerable input from senior Senators and Representatives from both political parties. Killing Constellation poisoned NASA's relations with the men and women on Capitol Hill. Until there is new leadership at the space agency and also at the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, the bitterness and anger will endure.
Number Two: Set Clear Goals
People are tired of hearing about President Kennedy's 1961 instructions to NASA to "within this decade, land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth." The Apollo program was a product of a unique time and place. The US will never again devote more than 2% of GDP to NASA as it did in the mid 1960s. If the country were to spend even 1% of its annual wealth on NASA, it would look like a miracle.
Yet, reduced funding is no excuse for allowing the space agency to disaggregate into a unconnected set of programs which not only cannibalize each other, but which are often canceled after spending billions with nothing to show for them. A Back-to-the-Moon-and-on-to-Mars program is still the most sensible, and doable, long term goal. Humanity needs to explore and settle new worlds, and America needs to be at the forefront of those efforts.
Number Three: Reform the Way NASA Does Business
As with many other Federal agencies and departments, the waste that results from starting and then canceling programs dwarfs any other form of governmental waste. The cancellation of the Constellation program, after more than 9 billion dollars had been spent on it, was merely one example of this practice. Few foreign governments habitually start, and then kill, expensive national programs with the same reckless disregard for the national purse or the national interest as do our leaders in Washington DC.
To carry out these reforms not only does NASA desperately need to fix its management problems, such as the ones which have lead to the wild cost overruns in the Webb Space Telescope program, but above all NASA needs new leaders in Washington. Any President should look soon into a top-to-bottom, radical reform and simplification of the gigantic and complex Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). America's FAR are rivaled only in their Kafkaesque complexity and lack of rationality by America's Tax Code.
Done correctly, such reforms would save the government hundreds of billions of dollars over the next ten years, not only at the Defense Department, but also at NASA. FAR reform would free up cash inside the NASA budget for research, science and exploration.
It should be noted that both of NASA's commercial programs, COTS and the CCP, have been carried out under the "Space Act Agreement" law. This legislation has enabled the COTS and CCP contractors to build their vehicles to fill NASA crew and cargo transportation needs without having to fulfill the costly and time consuming requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. This raises the question: Why doesn't NASA ask all its contractors to work under the Space Act Agreement rules?
It needs to be clearly understood America's civil space program is just as much an instrument of national power as the US Navy or the State Department. It is to be hoped that the President and Congress will in the future recognize this fact.

Related Topics: Taylor Dinerman

To subscribe to the this mailing list, go to http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/list_subscribe.php

Gatestone Institute