| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Mekkala" |
| Date: |
16 Jan 2004 11:19:25 AM |
| Object: |
Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
Need I say more? Read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21321-2004Jan15.html
Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 -- For the past four decades, Iraqi women have enjoyed
some of the most modern legal protections in the Muslim world, under a
civil code that prohibits marriage below the age of 18, arbitrary
divorce and male favoritism in child custody and property inheritance
disputes.
Saddam Hussein's dictatorship did not touch those rights. But the U.S.-
backed Iraqi Governing Council has voted to wipe them out, ordering in
late December that family laws shall be "canceled" and such issues
placed under the jurisdiction of strict Islamic legal doctrine known as
sharia.
This week, outraged Iraqi women -- from judges to cabinet ministers --
denounced the decision in street protests and at conferences, saying it
would set back their legal status by centuries and could unleash
emotional clashes among various Islamic strains that have differing
rules for marriage, divorce and other family issues.
"This will send us home and shut the door, just like what happened to
women in Afghanistan," said Amira Hassan Abdullah, a Kurdish lawyer who
spoke at a protest meeting Thursday. Some Islamic laws, she noted, allow
men to divorce their wives on the spot.
"The old law wasn't perfect, but this one would make Iraq a jungle," she
said. "Iraqi women will accept it over their dead bodies."
The order, narrowly approved by the 25-member council in a closed-door
session Dec. 29, was reportedly sponsored by conservative Shiite
members. The order is now being opposed by several liberal members as
well as by senior women in the Iraqi government.
The council's decisions must be approved by L. Paul Bremer, the chief
U.S. administrator in Iraq, and aides said unofficially that his
imprimatur for this change was unlikely. But experts here said that once
U.S. officials turn over political power to Iraqis at the end of June,
conservative forces could press ahead with their agenda to make sharia
the supreme law. Spokesmen for Bremer did not respond to requests for
comment Thursday.
"It was the secret way this was done that is such a shock," said Nasreen
Barawi, a woman who is Iraq's minister for social welfare and public
service. "Iraq is a multiethnic society with many different religious
schools. Such a sweeping decision should be made over time, with an
opportunity for public dialogue." There is no immediate threat of the
decision becoming law, Barawi said, "but after June 30, who knows what
can happen?"
In interviews at several meetings and protests, women noted that even
during the politically repressive Hussein era, women had been allowed to
assume a far more modern role than in many other Muslim countries and
had been shielded from some of the more egregiously unfair
interpretations of Islam advocated by conservative, male-run Muslim
groups.
Once Hussein was toppled, several women noted wryly, they hoped the new
authorities would further liberalize family law. Instead, in the process
of wiping old laws off the books, they said, Islamic conservatives on
the Governing Council are trying to impose retrograde views of women on
a chaotic postwar society.
Although it remained unclear which members of the council had promoted
the shift of family issues from civil to religious jurisprudence, the
decision was made and formalized while Abdul Aziz Hakim, a Shiite Muslim
who heads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was
chairing the council under a rotating leadership system.
This week, several moderate council members spoke strongly against the
decision in public forums, calling it a threat to both civilized
progress and national unity. Nasir Chaderchi, a lawyer and council
member who heads the National Democratic Party, criticized the council's
action at a professional women's meeting Thursday. "We don't want to be
isolated from modern developments," Chaderchi told the gathering of the
Iraqi Independent Women's Group. "What hurts most is that the law of the
tyrant Saddam was more modern than this new law." He said he hoped women
would continue to protest until the order was reversed.
The council's new policy decree was brief and vague, mentioning neither
particular family issues nor individual branches of Islamic law that
would replace current civil law. But lawyers and other experts from
Iraqi women's groups said the ambiguity of the decision was especially
worrisome, since rival Islamic sects in Iraq espouse different policies
for women's legal and marital rights.
Some critics said the proposed law might exacerbate tensions between
Sunni and Shiite Muslims, already divided over other power-sharing
issues in postwar Iraq, and could even destroy families that have
intermarried between the two strains of Islam. Under Hussein, they said,
the universal application of civil family law prevented such issues from
sparking sectarian strife.
Zakia Ismael Hakki, a female retired judge and outspoken opponent of the
new order, said Thursday that since 1959, civil family law had been
developed and amended under a series of secular governments to give
women a "half-share in society" and an opportunity to advance as
individuals, no matter what their religion.
"This new law will send Iraqi families back to the Middle Ages," Hakki
said. "It will allow men to have four or five or six wives. It will take
away children from their mothers. It will allow anyone who calls himself
a cleric to open an Islamic court in his house and decide about who can
marry and divorce and have rights. We have to stop it."
--
Mekkala, Atheist #2148
"Atheism is ... the bed-rock of sanity in a world of madness."
--Emmett F. Fields
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| User: "Alun Harford" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
16 Jan 2004 04:43:27 PM |
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"Mekkala" <joremovedathiskimtoreply@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9472738907523Mekkala@199.45.49.11...
Need I say more? Read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21321-2004Jan15.html
Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
Saddam Hussein's dictatorship did not touch those rights.
.... Actually they set up those rights. It's called "Ba'athism".
Ah the irony.
Alun Harford
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| User: "Lord Calvert" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
16 Jan 2004 05:03:12 PM |
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Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
Saddam Hussein's dictatorship did not touch those rights.
... Actually they set up those rights. It's called "Ba'athism".
Ah the irony.
Not ironic at all. Bush has always made it painfully clear that he was openly
hostile to secular government. He fought for religious government as governor
of Texas, he has strongly fought for it as President and he is now fighting for
it as de jure protector of Iraq.
What is surprising is that people are genuinely surprised that this is
happening.
Rich Goranson, Amherst, NY, USA (aa#MCMXCIX, a-vet#1)
EAC Department of Applied Rattan Use
"Without faith we might relapse into scientific or rational thinking, which
leads by a slippery slope toward constitutional democracy." - Robert Anton
Wilson
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| User: "JTEM" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
16 Jan 2004 05:37:52 PM |
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"Lord Calvert" <forlornh@aol.complex> wrote
What is surprising is that people are genuinely surprised
that this is happening.
That's not it at all. When the subject came up (in another
group), nobody against the war doubted Bush would do
the wrong thing.
The "Surprise" stems from those who supported the war,
and claimed that this sort of thing would never happen.
Back before the war such talk was a horrible "Smear"
against Bush, and now they refuse to acknowledge how
accurate the predictions were and what the implications
are.
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| User: "Meteorite Debris" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
16 Jan 2004 07:53:16 PM |
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On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 18:37:52 -0500 the ET form known as
JTEM<gymraven@hotmail.com> sent a radio signal across the vast expanse
of deep space -._.--._.--._.--._.--._.--._.
"Lord Calvert" <forlornh@aol.complex> wrote
What is surprising is that people are genuinely surprised
that this is happening.
That's not it at all. When the subject came up (in another
group), nobody against the war doubted Bush would do
the wrong thing.
The "Surprise" stems from those who supported the war,
and claimed that this sort of thing would never happen.
Back before the war such talk was a horrible "Smear"
against Bush, and now they refuse to acknowledge how
accurate the predictions were and what the implications
are.
And for another example of American "freedom" in action there is this.
Remember what "freedom" means for the Bush Reich. It is a synonym for
power. Thus GW speeches about defending "our freedom" make more sense
in this context. And why Saudi Arabia is such a useful ally in
defending "freedom" even as SA is an absolute monarchy.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=4686
***
U.S. Arrests Iraq's Union Leaders
US Labor Against the War
December 15, 2003
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (12/10/03) -- US occupation forces in Iraq escalated
their efforts to paralyze Iraq's new labor unions with a series of
arrests this weekend. On Saturday, a convoy of ten humvees and
personnel carriers descended on the old headquarters building of the
Transport and Communications Workers union, in Baghdad's central bus
station, which has been used since June as the office of the Iraqi
Workers Federation of Trade Unions. Twenty soldiers jumped out,
stormed into the building, put handcuffs on eight members of the
Federation's executive board, and took them into detention.
"They gave no reason at all, despite being asked over and over," says
federation spokesperson Abdullah Muhsin. Soldiers painted out the name
of the federation on the front of the building with black paint.
Because the new Iraqi unions lack basic resources like office
furniture and machines, there was little to confiscate in the
building. "But we did have a few files, and they took those," Muhsin
adds. Ironically, the office had posters on the walls condemning
terrorism, which soldiers tore down in the raid.
Although the eight were released the following day, there was no
explanation from the Coalition Provisional Authority for the
detentions.
The bus station raid followed the detention of two other trade union
leaders on November 23 -- Qasim Hadi, general secretary of the Union
of the Unemployed, and Adil Salih, another leader of the organization.
Hadi has been arrested twice before by occupation troops, for leading
demonstrations of unemployed workers demanding unemployment benefits
and jobs. In the latest raid, CPA troops said they'd found two guns in
the union's office, which was only permitted to have one. Hadi
explained that the organization has been the subject of threats and
fatwahs by Iraqi religious parties, and needs weapons for self-
defense, since US troops are unable or unwilling to provide security.
The two were released after being detained for a day.
Both union groups have been organizing Iraqi workers for months. The
Iraqi Workers Federation of Trade Unions held a convention in Baghdad
last June, at which it established unions in twelve industries. The
Unemployed Union belongs to the Workers Unions and Councils group,
which has also been organizing since last summer.
The wave of union organizing going on in Iraq is a product of the
desperate conditions of the country's workers. As many as seven
million people, according to the Union of the Unemployed, or seventy
percent of the workforce, have no jobs, go hungry, and are even
homeless. Although Congress appropriated $87 billion for
reconstruction, Dr. Nuri Jafer, the deputy minister of Labor and
Social Affairs admits he can find "no country willing to fund our
plans" for a minimal system of unemployment benefits. Reconstruction
is invisible in Baghdad. Work may be proceeding on pipelines and ports
for oil exports, but huge piles of war rubble lie untouched in city
streets.
US funding in Iraq pays for an overwhelming military presence, and the
transformation of the Iraqi economy. Both are intended to make the
country attractive to foreign investors. In an October 8 phone press
conference, Thomas Foley, director for private sector development for
the Coalition Provisional Authority, announced a list of the first
Iraqi state enterprises to be sold off, including cement and
fertilizer plants, phosphate and sulfur mines, pharmaceutical
factories and the country's airline. On September 19, the CPA
published Order No. 39, which permits 100% foreign ownership of
businesses, except for the oil industry, and allows the transfer of
profits outside the country.
Iraqi workers view the prospect of the privatization of their
workplaces with dread, fearing the sell off will bring massive
layoffs. The manager of the Al Daura oil refinery, Dathar Al-Kashab,
predicted that with privatization "I'll have to fire 1500 [of the
refinery’s 3000] workers. In America when a company lays people off,
there's unemployment insurance, and they won't die from hunger. If I
dismiss employees now, I'm killing them and their families."
At the refinery, as in most factories, those with jobs work 11 and 13
hour shifts for a salary of $60 a month. They have no safety shoes,
goggles, masks or other protective gear. The Iraqi Workers Federation
of Trade Unions helped the refinery’s workers organize a union and
elect its leaders, and have done the same in other industries. In
Basra workers have formed a central labor council, and have mounted
protest demonstrations. The Workers Unions and Councils group has
helped workers elect committees in the State Leather Industry plant,
the largest shoe factory in the Middle East, and the Mamoun Vegetable
Oil enterprise, among others.
Whenever these new unions try to talk with the plant managers,
however, they're told that a law decreed by Saddam Hussein in 1987
forbids workers in state-owned enterprises (where the majority of
Iraqis work) from forming unions. The CPA is still enforcing this law.
Another order issued by the CPA on June 6 threatens that anyone who
"incites civil disorder" will be detained as a prisoner of war under
the Geneva Convention. The recent arrests are the latest incidents in
this effort by the occupation authorities to suppress unions.
The anti-union campaign lays bare the economic purpose of the
occupation -- the privatization of the enterprises that employ most
workers. While suppressing unions, international conferences take
place in Washington and London every week, at which these assets are
put on sale. At one recent conference, ExxonMobil, Delta Airlines and
the American Hospital Group all expressed interest. Since new foreign
owners can be expected to cut labor costs by laying off workers,
resistance at the worksite has been made illegal by laws banning
unions and the arrest of their leaders.
In an additional step to make investment attractive, the CPA is
holding down the wages of Iraqi workers. The $60 a month received by
most employees was the same salary paid under Saddam Hussein, but the
bonuses, profit-sharing payments, and subsidies for food and housing
were ended when the occupation began, resulting in a drastic cut in
income. "The coalition forces control the finances, and our wages,"
says Detrala Beshab, president of Al Daura's new union.
Iraq's new labor movement is determined to stop the sell off of
worksites, the loss of jobs, and the prohibition of unions and
strikes. Jassim Mashkoul, the IFTU's director for internal
communications, laments that "at the beginning, we thought our
situation might get better, since we got rid of Saddam Hussein. But it
hasn't improved." According to another federation leader, Muhsen Mull
Ali, who spent two long stints in prison for organizing unions, "our
responsibility is to oppose privatization as much as possible, and
fight for the welfare of our workers."
But to the Bush administration and the occupation authority, this
activity is a crime.
***
--
To reply remove *THE_ANTI-SPAM_SHIELD*
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet -
Evil Atheist Conspiracy
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
Shhh. Be very quiet, I'm hunting automorons. Heh heh.
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever
conceived." - Isaac Asimov
Fingerprint for PGP Keys at key server or go to
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
RSA - 71 BA 7C 45 B5 4A 5F EA 72 DB EC 7F 7F A8 70 99
DSS - 9217 21A9 9C3F EB0B E302 AD0E 69C5 0F06 402E 0943
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| User: "Gregory Gadow" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
20 Jan 2004 09:08:47 AM |
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Lord Calvert wrote:
Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
Saddam Hussein's dictatorship did not touch those rights.
... Actually they set up those rights. It's called "Ba'athism".
Ah the irony.
Not ironic at all. Bush has always made it painfully clear that he was openly
hostile to secular government. He fought for religious government as governor
of Texas, he has strongly fought for it as President and he is now fighting for
it as de jure protector of Iraq.
What is surprising is that people are genuinely surprised that this is
happening.
The fact that fundamentalist Islamic attitudes towards women are almost identical
to fundamentalist Christian attitudes towards women is merely a happy coincidence.
--
Gregory Gadow
techbear@serv.net
http://www.serv.net/~techbear
"If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you."
-- Benjamin Franklin
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| User: "Meteorite Debris" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
16 Jan 2004 06:05:46 PM |
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On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:19:25 GMT the ET form known as
Mekkala<joremovedathiskimtoreply@attbi.com> sent a radio signal across
the vast expanse of deep space -._.--._.--._.--._.--._.--._.
Need I say more? Read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21321-2004Jan15.html
Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 -- For the past four decades, Iraqi women have enjoyed
some of the most modern legal protections in the Muslim world, under a
civil code that prohibits marriage below the age of 18, arbitrary
divorce and male favoritism in child custody and property inheritance
disputes.
<snipped>
Making Iraq into a model pupil of Saudi Arabian "freedom" and we all
know the Saudi princes are "good" guys because the west sells them
bucket loads of weapons.
White House mission statement "Defending our freedom by denying others
theirs."
--
To reply remove *THE_ANTI-SPAM_SHIELD*
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet -
Evil Atheist Conspiracy
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
Shhh. Be very quiet, I'm hunting automorons. Heh heh.
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever
conceived." - Isaac Asimov
Fingerprint for PGP Keys at key server or go to
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
RSA - 71 BA 7C 45 B5 4A 5F EA 72 DB EC 7F 7F A8 70 99
DSS - 9217 21A9 9C3F EB0B E302 AD0E 69C5 0F06 402E 0943
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
20 Jan 2004 04:24:39 PM |
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On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 10:35:46 +1030, Meteorite Debris
<epicurus1@*THE_ANTI-SPAM_SHIELD*optusnet.com.au>, Message ID:
<MPG.1a7320613bebbe8e989cde@news.optusnet.com.au> wrote in alt.atheism;
On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:19:25 GMT the ET form known as
Mekkala<joremovedathiskimtoreply@attbi.com> sent a radio signal across
the vast expanse of deep space -._.--._.--._.--._.--._.--._.
Need I say more? Read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21321-2004Jan15.html
Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights
Council Backs Islamic Law on Families
BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 -- For the past four decades, Iraqi women have enjoyed
some of the most modern legal protections in the Muslim world, under a
civil code that prohibits marriage below the age of 18, arbitrary
divorce and male favoritism in child custody and property inheritance
disputes.
<snipped>
Making Iraq into a model pupil of Saudi Arabian "freedom" and we all
know the Saudi princes are "good" guys because the west sells them
bucket loads of weapons.
White House mission statement "Defending our freedom by denying others
theirs."
including our own citizens native born or otherwise.
Stoney
"Designated Rascal and Rapscallion
and
SCAMPERMEISTER!"
When in doubt, SCAMPER about!
When things are fair, SCAMPER everywhere!
When things are rough, can't SCAMPER enough!
/end humour alert
alt.atheism military veteran #11
{so much for the 'no atheists in foxholes' rubbish}
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: Bush's last excuse goes in the trash bin... |
17 Jan 2004 05:25:08 PM |
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On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:19:25 GMT, Mekkala
<joremovedathiskimtoreply@attbi.com> posted in alt.atheism:
"This will send us home and shut the door, just like what happened to
women in Afghanistan,"
Which is probably something that Bush, a "devout" fundy, thinks is "a
good thing".
--
"I can't activate two neurons simultaneously, and I vote"
- The theistic majority
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
rukbat at optonline dot net
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