Arizona Republic reports on comments by Attorney Billie Little for Faleh Hassan Almaleki accused of murdering his 20 year old daughter Noor Almaleki in an “honor killing” for not following “traditional Muslim values.”
— “The lawyer for an Iraqi immigrant accused of slaying his daughter in an ‘honor killing’ is asking a judge to take special precautions to ensure the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office doesn’t wrongly seek the death penalty against his client because he is a Muslim.”
— “In a motion filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court, attorney Billie Little requests that the court force the County Attorney’s Office to make public the process it will use to determine whether to seek the death penalty for his client.”
— “Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, of Glendale, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 20-year-old daughter, Noor Almaleki.”
— “The elder Almaleki is accused of using his Jeep to run over his daughter and another woman in a Peoria parking lot on Oct. 20. His daughter later died of her injuries.”
— “During a news conference last month, County Attorney Andrew Thomas said his office was still determining whether to seek the death penalty for Almaleki. He called the case ‘tragic,’ saying the county will prosecute Almaleki to the full extent.”
— “Prosecutors have labeled Noor Almaleki’s death an honor killing, saying the elder Almaleki killed his daughter because she disgraced the family by not following traditional Iraqi or Muslim values.”
— “Citing a tie between the case and religious or cultural beliefs, Little is asking Thomas’ office to record or keep transcripts of any meetings used to determine whether it will seek the death penalty for Almaleki.”
— “‘An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs,’ Little wrote, referring to Thomas as a Christian.”
— “Mike Scerbo, a spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office, declined to speak about the pending case or the review process that death penalty requests go through.”
Faleh Hassan Almaleki (Left) and Murdered Noor Faleh Almaleki (Right)20 Year Old Noor Almaleki - Died on November 2, 2009 - A Victim of An Ideological Violence Against Women
— “Egyptian State Security has intensified its intimidation of the Coptic Church and Christians in Nag Hammadi, and neighboring Bahgoura, by carrying out random arrests of Christian youth. The campaign against Christians started on Friday January 7, 2010 and is continuing; multiple members of families have been arrested without warrants. Most arrests are being carried at dawn. More than one hundred Christian youth have been arrested without charge.”
— “Arrests of Copts after every sedition is the usual scenario as a pressure card in the hands of State Security to force the church and Copts to accept ‘reconciliation’, in which Coptic victims give up all criminal and civil charges against the perpetrators. Because of the reaction in Egypt and worldwide to the shootings and the role of the State Security, Bishop Kyrollos was asked issue statements downplaying the negligence of State Security. It is believed the arrests of the Coptic youth is a pressure tactic to force him to recant his accusations.”
— “Anwar Samuel, a head teacher from Nag Hammadi, told Freecopts that State Security came to their home at four o’clock in the morning, looking for his nephew Mohareb, who happened to be in Kuwait. ‘Instead they arrested my three other nephews, Fadi, Tanios and Wael Milad Samuel, and took them away in their pajamas.’ He said they have been subjected to electric shocks.”
— “Coptic News Bulletin contacted several families who confirmed that males as young as 16 were taken away by the police. In an aired interviews, affected families told how the Police tricked their sons into going with them, by telling them that Bishop Kyrollos wanted them to do so for their safety.”
— “Habib Tanios was arrested on charges of firing on people who burnt his home in Bahgoura, although he has no rifle.”
— “Families of the arrested Copts congregated all day near police station waiting for news”
— “According to sources close to Freecopts, strict state security instructions were issued to the clergy in the parish of Nag Hamadi, to suppress any move by the Copts affected by the events and the families of those killed, to demonstrate or protest, accompanied by explicit threats that police will be using live ammunition.”
January 6, 2010: Still from YouTube Video after January 6 Attack Outside Coptic Christian Church in Nag Hamadi A Christian deacon who was killed during an attack on the Mar Yohana church in Naga Hammadi (Photo: al-Masry al-Yom - Photographer: Pakinam Amer)November 2009 AINA Report: "A video posted by Free Copts shows the Abou Shusha fires."
CBS News reports that Pat Robertson told a nationwide television audience today that “They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.’ True story. And so the devil said, ‘Ok it’s a deal.’ And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another.”
In 2005, the website “Black and Christian” provided reports by Ph.D. Jean Gelin on this subject. The website stated that “Jean R. Gelin is a licensed minister of the Church of God and serves as an assistant pastor for a young Haitian-American church in the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in plant sciences and works as a scientist in agricultural research.”
Dr. Jean Gelin described such comments as “nothing more than a fantasist opinion that ultimately dissipates upon close examination.”
Dr. Gelin wrote three articles for the website addressing the historical, cultural, and political issues associated with such claims in a series entitled “God, Satan, and the Birth of Haiti.”
"Jean R. Gelin is a licensed minister of the Church of God and serves as an assistant pastor for a young Haitian-American church in the United States." (Photo: BlackandChristian.com)
Pat Robertson has a history of making extreme remarks that disparage others and could be considered by some as inciting violence.
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In 2003, Pat Robertson also repeatedly suggested the need for a nuclear attack on Washington DC.
As CNN reported in October 2003, “Television evangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson’s suggestion that a nuclear device should be used to wipe out the State Department was ‘despicable,’ department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday.”
Robertson had introduced Joel Mowbray as a speaker on his television show, and made the inaccurate statement that Mowbray’s book called for an attack on the State Department.
CNN reported in 2003:
“Introducing Mowbray on his show, Robertson said that a reader of his book could conclude that the State Department needed a nuclear explosion. ‘I read your book,’ Robertson said. ‘When you get through, you say, ‘If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that’s the answer,’ and you say, ‘We’ve got to blow that thing up.’ I mean, is it as bad as you say?” Robertson said. ‘It is,’ Mowbray said, although his book never suggests that the State Department should be blown up with a nuclear device. Foggy Bottom is the nickname for the State Department’s Washington headquarters. In a June interview with Mowbray on the ‘700 Club’, Robertson made similar remarks. ‘Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up like Newt Gingrich wants to do,’ he said.”
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We urge all those who seek to justify violence and hate against others to support our universal human rights, and choose love, not hate.
Google is reporting on cyber attacks on Chinese human rights activists and attacks on U.S. and European supporters of human rights for the Chinese people. BBC is reporting that Google is considering ending its operations in Communist China. Google states “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn.”
The New York Times has also reported on this issue, mentioning how searches on phrases such as “Tiananmen Square massacre,” “Dalai Lama,” and other similar searches have come up blank, as well as blocks on YouTube online videos. In addition, the NYT quotes Wenqi Gao, a spokesman for the Communist Chinese Consulate in New York, who told the Times: “I want to reaffirm that China is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies in our country.”
However, computer industry analysts are writing columns suggesting that Google may not leave Communist China, anticipating that “Google would be willing to settle for a more liberalized version of the censorship it already imposes on Google.cn.”
Google Blog reports following statements by David Drummond, Google Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer” — “A New Approach to China”
— “Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.”
— “First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.”
— “Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.”
— “Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.”
— “We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve’s blog and this presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.”
— “We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.”
— “We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.””
— “These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”
— “The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.”
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The New York Times also reported that “many people in Silicon Valley were surprised by Google’s stance. ‘I don’t think anybody is going to run away from China,’ said Joe Schoendorf, a partner at Accel Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with a major presence in China. ‘Google has Microsoft on the ropes, and China is arguably the world’s most important market outside of the U.S. You don’t walk away from that on principle.’ ”
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges you to let Google know that you agree with their goals for “a new approach to China,” by signing our online petition, and by contacting Google and letting you know that you support their efforts. Their press office email is press@google.com and their telephone number is 1-650-930-3555.
Communist China - Flowers laid at the entrance to Google's China headquarters in Beijing (Wall Street Journal - Photo by Josh Chin)
The U.S. State Department has a statement on the Google China issue, which reads:
— “We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy. I will be giving an address next week on the centrality of internet freedom in the 21st century, and we will have further comment on this matter as the facts become clear.”
NY Times: Google’s Threat Echoed Everywhere, Except China
— NY Times reports: “Google’s declaration that it would stop cooperating with Chinese Internet censorship and consider shutting down its operations in the country ricocheted around the world Wednesday. But in China itself, the news was heavily censored.”
Washington Post: Google threatens to leave China after attacks on activists’ e-mail
— Washington Post reports: ” ‘It’s clear that this attack was so pervasive and so essential to the core of Google’s intellectual property that only in such a situation would they contemplate pulling the plug on their entire business model in China,’ said James Mulvenon, a China cyber expert with Defense Group Inc.”
— “Congressional sources said the other companies include Adobe and possibly Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical. Industry sources said the attacks were even broader, affecting 34 firms.”
We, the members of the world community who stand for our universal human rights of liberty and freedom, support Google corporate management in its calls to end Internet censorship in Communist China. We urge Google corporate management to stand by its call for “a new approach to China.” We support Google corporate management’s position that “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn.”
Our universal human rights of freedom, liberty, and equality apply to every part of the world, including Communist China. We support Google corporate management’s decision to defend such universal human rights, and we urge all Google corporate management to stand firm to this statement.
Like those in Beijing today who have supported Google’s statement by leaving flowers at Google’s Beijing office, we too extend our “flowers for Google” by supporting their position to be responsible for equality and liberty in China today. We urge other corporations to learn from Google’s statement and recognize that their customers do view our universal human rights as a human priority.
Universal human rights are all of our rights, and all of our responsibility.
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Show Google that corporate responsibility on universal human rights (everywhere – in any language) is the type of responsibility that we share and that we appreciate.
Communist China - Flowers laid at the entrance to Google's China headquarters in Beijing (Wall Street Journal - Photo by Josh Chin)
North Korea under human rights pressure
— UPI: “North Korea’s military warned on Wednesday that South Korea would face retaliation if it didn’t stop activists from sending propaganda leaflets critical of human rights conditions in the communist country.”
— “The North’s People’s Armed Forces ‘will never tolerate even the slightest act’ of undermining ‘our leadership’s absolute authority,’ the military said in a statement.”
— “It also demanded that South Korea immediately punish the activists engaged in sending leaflets across the border and disband their organizations. ‘The separatists at home and abroad will never be able to flee from a stern punishment by the nation for challenging history,’ said the statement carried by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.”
— “A group of South Korean activists floated balloons toward North Korea containing some 8,000 leaflets denouncing human rights abuses in the Stalinist country and calling for the release of a U.S. Christian missionary who crossed into the North as a protest against its human rights abuses.”
— ” ‘We urge an immediate release of all inmates in concentration camps in the North,” said the leaflets scattered by huge helium balloons. The North is believed to hold 150,000 to 200,000 people in political prison camps.”
— “Robert Park, a 28-year-old Korean-American from Arizona, slipped into the North in late December to call on the regime to release political prisoners, shut concentration camps and improve human rights conditions, according to his colleagues. The North has said it has detained an American for illegal entry, an apparent reference to Park.”
— “The United States is seeking information about Park through the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which represents Washington’s interests. But the North has rejected requests for access to him.”
South Korea: Human Rights Activists Launch Thousands of Balloons with Leaflets Promoting Freedom and Criticizing North Korea's Communist Regime (Photo: NDTV Video Report)
North Korea: S. Korean college lecturer faces imprisonment for espionage
— Yonhap News reports: “A South Korean court on Wednesday sentenced a college lecturer to 10 years in prison for spying for North Korea over the last 17 years.”
— “Prosecutors indicted the man, identified only by his last name Lee, last October on charges of providing information on South Korean military operations and key facilities to the communist North on five occasions after receiving $30,000 from a North Korean agent based in India.”
