Homosexuality has a long way to go in the United States, but an even tougher, bleaker road to pass through in other parts of the world. Particularly in Africa and the Middle East where the Islamic law is held in extreme rigor, homosexuality is dealt with as an outright crime and is sometimes even punishable by death. Here are the worst forms of government-mandated punishment for simply being homosexual in different parts of the world.
Believe it or not, there are still countries today (yes, today) that enforce the death penalty for homosexuality.
The following are countries that find homosexuality punishable by death: Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Somalia, parts of Nigeria and parts of Malaysia (I know).
According to The Boroumand Foundation, there were at least 107 recorded executions in Iran related to homosexuality between 1979 and 1990. However, the execution of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni in 2005 drew the most international attention because disturbing photos of their hanging were found distributed across the web (see image). The controversy revolved around the fact that the two individuals were gay teenagers.
Uganda may also soon even add itself to the list of countries that find homosexuality punishable by death. A Ugandan lawmaker explains that “this is a piece of legislation that is needed in this country to protect the traditional family” (sound familiar?)
This statement was actually given in 2010 after a story ran on October 9 in a newspaper called “Rolling Stone” of Uganda’s “100 top homos.” The tabloid (cough, government) published pictures, names and address of the alleged “criminals” asking that they be hanged or killed on command.
The headline of the front-page story flat out reads “Hang Them.”
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Hacker Group Anonymous Planning Facebook Attack
Some members of the hacker group Anonymous are vowing to bring down Facebook as punishment for the social networking service’s alleged misuse of personal information. The attack is set to be carried out on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day, the anniversary of the 1605 discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, in which Fawkes and others attempted to blow up the British House of Lords. Not all members of the hacker group support the move, and it remains to be seen whether Anonymous has the capacity to actually take down or even disrupt a site possessing the amount of server space that Facebook does.
Read more HERE.
HOW DO YOU GO TO WAR AND YET NOT ANNOUNCE THAT YOUR ARMY IS GOING TO WAR? Interesting what our government does and we do not find out from them!
Latest developments in Arab world’s unrest
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clarke
These days, every major news story comes with a single iconic photograph. For the riots in Britain, that photo was not that of looting hooligans, burning centuries-old buildings or clean-up afterwards; instead, it captured a human tragedy of one Polish émigré, who has been in the UK for only five months.
On Monday night, 32-year old Monika Konczyk, had chosen to stay inside her one-bedroom flat above a row of shops because of rioting and looting outside. She did not have any possessions with her when she jumped, and her flat has been completely destroyed.
Amy Weston, a photographer with London’s WENN photo agency, captured this iconic moment on the Church Street, Croydon. She remembers the chaotic times:
By the time I drove toward it, I could already see the fires from my windscreen. There were six or seven people screaming and crying outside, and they looked like they lived at the flats that were burning. A man in a white shirt was screaming that a girl was at the window and that she was ready to jump. He ran toward her, but riot police had appeared and pulled him back, and they went to her instead.
As soon as she dropped, the crowds pushed back and there was no way to see what happened to her. I remember hearing people screaming that there were more people in the building. The crowds started getting angry with each other, with one group blaming another group for starting the fire. I couldn’t get to my car, so I had to walk, wrapping my camera in my clothes to avoid being mugged.”
The photograph quickly went viral on Twitter and was featured on the front pages of many British newspapers, including the Times, the Sun and the Daily Telegraph.
Read HERE.
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Revolutionary material dramatically increases explosive force of weapons.
Sniffing Out Bombs — Physicists Create Highly Sensitive Explosives Detector
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Arab Spring Going Strong in Israel
Hundreds of the thousands of protesters across the political spectrum have taken to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to protest the growing wealth inequity and rising cost of living. “Despite Israel’s relatively healthy economic growth and low unemployment, wage disparities are big, wealth and corporate power are highly concentrated, food prices have increased almost 13 percent since 2005 and many people spend 50% of their incomes on rent or mortgages.” The government has yet to meet with representatives of the protests.
What’s the Big Idea?
The Arab Spring has come to Israel, showing there is not much uniquely Arab about wanting just governance. Just as protests across Egypt and Tunisia gained strength, “opinion polls have put public support for the protests at around 90 percent.” Some worry that an unfortunate political consequence of Palestine’s expected petition for statehood before the U.N. in September could drown out the domestic protests, providing Binyamin Netanyahu’s government the political cover it needs to ignore popular demands for more accountability.
Herman Miller Unveils The Ultimate Desk For Workaholics
Beach volleyball trumps London riots
LONDON, Aug. 10 (UPI) — This week’s riots in London didn’t stop 1,500 people from turning out Wednesday to watch bikini-clad beach volleyball players compete in a pre-Olympics event.
The matches, involving 24 teams, are being played through Saturday at Horse Guards Parade, just yards from Downing Street where British leaders were meeting in emergency session to decide how to deal with the ongoing riots in London and other English cities. Brazil and Mexico played the first match.
“This is a very beautiful location and the fans were very supportive. We love it here,” Mexican Bibiana Candelas, 27, told The Mirror.
Read more HERE.
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How Riots Behave Like Forest Fires
A series of contentious events between England’s police and people has sparked a cascade of destructive riots unseen in the country since the 1990s.
Despite their unpredictability, riots show certain patterns and phases, researchers say.
Understanding the psychology and motivation of riot participants can help cities prevent peaceful protesting from escalating to violent or destructive rioting.
READ MORE.
Originally posted 2011-08-11 14:26:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter