Kenneth Atchity's Blog, page 168
June 10, 2015
When Blogging Can Cost You Your Life!
Saudi court upholds blogger's 10 years and 1,000 lashes
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment on blogger Raif Badawi, despite a foreign outcry.
Speaking from Canada, his wife Ensaf Haidar told the BBC she feared his punishment would start again on Friday.
Badawi was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels".
Saudi authorities sent his case for review amidst global protests, after the first round of lashes in January.
For four years Badawi ran the Liberal Saudi Network, which encouraged online debate on religious and political issues.
Ms Haidar said she had held high hopes that her husband was about to be released, but he remained less optimistic.
When they last spoke three days ago he told her not to expect him home in the near future.
She called on the countries and rights groups that had campaigned for her husband's release to mobilise once more.
Protests were held following Badawi's first flogging by the kingdom
Badawi received his first 50 lashes in January, but subsequent floggings have been postponed.
A shaky video taken on a mobile phone showed Badawi being lashed by a member of the security forces.
The footage prompted international protests which were repeated every Friday, the scheduled day for the beatings.
In March, the kingdom expressed "surprise and dismay" at international criticism over the punishment.
At the time, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying it rejected interference in its internal affairs.
It is not clear why Badawi has not yet endured a second round though a medical report found he was not fit for the punishment.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent. It has some of the highest social media usage rates in the region, and has cracked down on domestic online criticism.
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment on blogger Raif Badawi, despite a foreign outcry.
Speaking from Canada, his wife Ensaf Haidar told the BBC she feared his punishment would start again on Friday.
Badawi was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels".
Saudi authorities sent his case for review amidst global protests, after the first round of lashes in January.
For four years Badawi ran the Liberal Saudi Network, which encouraged online debate on religious and political issues.
Ms Haidar said she had held high hopes that her husband was about to be released, but he remained less optimistic.
When they last spoke three days ago he told her not to expect him home in the near future.
She called on the countries and rights groups that had campaigned for her husband's release to mobilise once more.
Protests were held following Badawi's first flogging by the kingdom
Badawi received his first 50 lashes in January, but subsequent floggings have been postponed.
A shaky video taken on a mobile phone showed Badawi being lashed by a member of the security forces.
The footage prompted international protests which were repeated every Friday, the scheduled day for the beatings.
In March, the kingdom expressed "surprise and dismay" at international criticism over the punishment.
At the time, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying it rejected interference in its internal affairs.
It is not clear why Badawi has not yet endured a second round though a medical report found he was not fit for the punishment.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent. It has some of the highest social media usage rates in the region, and has cracked down on domestic online criticism.
June 9, 2015
Guest Post: Jerry Amernic: If you award the World Cup to corrupt countries, you get corruption. What did FIFA expect?
Those who investigate corruption in the course of their work — police, lawyers, journalists — are probably not shocked with the news that nine senior officials of FIFA, the top governing body of the world’s most popular sport, face numerous charges involving bribery and kickbacks. We are hearing about secret bank accounts in Panama and the Cayman Islands, and $150 million paid out in bribes over the past 20 years. Last year the World Cup was held in Brazil. In 2010 it was in South Africa. The next one will be in Russia in 2018.
Transparency International is a non-profit organization with over 100 chapters around the globe, and it monitors corruption. It is dedicated to a world in which government, business “and the daily lives of people” are free of corruption. Every year it produces a Corruption Perceptions Index that measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption. In the 2014 Index of 175 countries, not one country gets a perfect score and more than two-thirds score below 50 on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). So the higher the number, the better or cleaner you are perceived to be.
For the record, South Africa ranked #67 on the list with a score of 44, Brazil ranked #69 with a score of 43, and Russia ranked #136 with a score of 27.
According to the latest index, the number-one or cleanest country in the world is Denmark with a score of 92, followed closely by New Zealand at 91, and then rounding out the top ten in order — Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and us. Canada. We are ranked number 10 with a score of 81, which means we slipped a notch. In the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index Canada was tied for 9th place with Australia, and in the 2012 Index we were also tied for 9th, but this time with the Netherlands.
Has the FIFA World Cup ever been hosted by a top-10 country, as perceived by Transparency International? Yes. Twice. The 1954 World Cup was held in Switzerland and the very next one, in 1958, was held in Sweden. But with the 2022 World Cup already awarded to Qatar, we will have gone 64 years without a single FIFA World Cup going to a country perceived to be relatively clean of corruption.
The 1986 World Cup — where Diego Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal and what is considered the best goal ever, both in a quarter-final match against England — was supposed to be held in Colombia. But that country cancelled and was replaced by Mexico. Let’s go back to the 2014 Corruption Perception Index. Colombia comes in at number 94 with a score of 37, while Mexico is even lower at number 103 with a score of 35.
The most recent rankings by Transparency International show the United Kingdom at number 14 with a score of 78, while the United States is tied at number 17 with Barbados, Hong Kong and Ireland. They all have a score of 74. China is number 100 with a score of 36, and at the very bottom of the list we have a two-way tie with North Korea and Somalia, both of which score an 8.
The average score overall is 43, which according to Transparency International is nothing to write home about. The organization also does a breakdown which sheds lights on the perceived level of corruption according to region.
The Americas — both North and South America — has an average of 45, and Canada is the highest-rated country for this part of the world with our 81, while at the bottom we have Haiti and Venezuela at 19. The other bottom feeders in the Americas are Paraguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guyana and Guatemala.
Here are the average scores for the rest of the world: EU and Western Europe — 66; Middle East and North Africa — 38; Sub-Saharan Africa — 33; Eastern Europe and Central Asia — 33; Asia Pacific — 43.
In the EU and Western Europe, the least corrupt country is the overall winner Denmark at 92, and the most corrupt is a three-way tie between Greece, Italy and Romania at 43. In the Middle East and North Africa the cleanest is the United Arab Emirates at 70, followed by Qatar at 69 and Israel at 60, and the most corrupt is Sudan at 11.
In Sub-Saharan Africa the best is Botswana at 63, and the most corrupt is Somalia at 8. For Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the top dog is Georgia with 52 and the most corrupt is Turkmenistan at 17. The other countries at the low end of the scale in this part of the world are the “stans” — Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan — along with Russia and Ukraine.
Finally, for Asia Pacific, the results are New Zealand at the top with 91 and North Korea at the bottom.
José Ugaz is the chair of Transparency International. In the 2014 Corruptions Perceptions Index he says this: “Poorly equipped schools, counterfeit medicine and elections decided by money are just some of the consequences of public sector corruption. Bribes and backroom deals don’t just steal resources from the most vulnerable — they undermine justice and economic development, and destroy public trust in government and leaders.”
Ugaz also adds a poignant footnote: “Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries.”
It stands to reason that when an organization like FIFA awards the World Cup to a country low on the Corruption Perceptions Index — make no mistake, this is an event involving a lot of money — it’s asking for trouble. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be interesting to do an analysis of FIFA itself, not to mention the Olympics and even Major League Baseball for that matter, measuring the criteria used by Transparency International to see where they wind up on the corruption scale?
And while we’re at it, maybe the Canadian Senate, too.
Reposted from National Post.com
June 6, 2015
June 5, 2015
June 4, 2015
June 3, 2015
New Age Mama Reviews Story Merchant Books first ever Arousal Optimization Self-Help Book!
Story Merchant Books releases the first ever Arousal Optimization Self-Help Book:
REVIEWWow! This book was much more than I was expecting. I thought I was just getting a book to help me with arousal. Let's face it, as a working mom and needing to take care of a household, I don't always feel sexy. Following Sarah White's program changed that. There is much more to this book then arousal. Sarah White helps in all aspects of life. The author goes into eight different pillars that the plan operates under: food, exercise, clothing, living space, sex and love, work and money, culture, and the power project.
This book looks at all aspects of your life. Some of the tasks in this book were hard and were a real eye opening experience for myself. This isn't a book you're going to just sit down and read. Nope, you're going to have work and take a lot of time reflecting about yourself.
If you're not feeling the spice in life you used to, I would recommend this book. It's eye opening, raw, and you will see changes.
REPOSTED FROM NEW AGE MAMA BOOK REVIEW
The Arousal Plan A Daily Ten-Week Program to Optimize Your Arousal & Achieve Your Goals by Sarah White - The Naked Therapist
Brooklyn, NY - Based on the research of Dr. Donald Pfaff, Head of the Laboratory of Neurology and Behavior at Rockefeller University, and the clinical experience of Sarah White (the Naked Therapist), The Arousal Plan is a daily ten-week self-help program designed to optimize your “Life Arousal” so you can feel great, get motivated, and achieve your goals.
The book takes 70 days to complete, and each day contains an Arousing Inspiration, an Arousing Activity, and an online Arousal Assessment Form. At the end of the Arousal Plan, you’ll have the skills and knowledge you need to optimize your Arousal. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., has said, "Once you find your optimum level of arousal, your performance will be both flawless and enjoyable."
Arousal is one of the most exciting fields of research in psychology today in terms of motivation, happiness, and health. The book presents the following core arousal concepts: The Arousal System - a complex nexus of brain chemicals that govern Arousal. This system is engaged through the Three A's - physically Active, mentally Alert, and emotionally Available. To optimize your Arousal, you need to optimize the Three A's in the 8 Pillars of Your Life: Food, Exercise, Clothing, Living Space, Sex & Love, Work & Money, Culture, and the Power Project. Sarah also teaches you how to link Life Arousal with Sexual Arousal for maximum motivation.
In the end, the Arousal Plan helps you realize how important Arousal is to everything you do so you can integrate optimized Arousal into your physical, mental and emotional worlds. As Sarah says, “Arousal is about having a balanced baseline of excitement and motivation that influences you positively in all areas of your life. Until you achieve more Arousal, you will be forever frustrated in your efforts. In the realm of human achievement, Arousal is All.”
Sarah White is conducting the Arousal Plan herself, and posting daily comments about her journey on her Twitter Account. Readers interested in going through the plan with Sarah can get the book and share in the adventure with her.
About the book:
The Arousal Plan by Sarah White
ISBN: 978-0990943600
Publisher: Story Merchant Books
Date of publish: January 2015
Pages: 192
S.R.P.: $14.99
About the author: Sarah White, the Naked Therapist, founded her Naked Therapy practice in October 2010 to investigate the therapeutic value of arousal in helping her clients achieve unique, powerful and relevant insights. She and/or her methods have been featured on hundreds of media outlets, including “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, Psychology Today, Vice Magazine, “The Jeff Probst Show,” CBS and ABC News, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, and many others.
June 1, 2015
May 31, 2015
May 25, 2015
Must go!
Rarely do I recommend theater, but Lucy Alibar's BURNPILE is the best I've seen in at least ten years bar none! Brilliant, heart-warming, funny-funny-funny.
