Rattlesnake Ridge 
BFF
“A pro-democracy activist in Bahrain appeared to have been beaten and possibly tortured before he appeared in court this week, according to the New York-based nonprofit Human Rights Watch. Abdulhadi Khawaja was one of 14 defendants, mostly opposition leaders in the Persian Gulf state, who were charged with seeking to “topple the regime forcibly in collaboration with a terrorist organization working for a foreign country,“ Human Rights Watch said in a statement Tuesday. Seven others were charged in absentia. When Khawaja’s wife and daughter spoke with him briefly after he appeared in court Sunday, the first time they had seen him since his arrest April 9, he told them he had suffered four fractures to his face, including one to his jaw that required four hours of surgery. Khawaja’s daughter Maryam told Human Rights Watch that her mother and sister met with him for 10 minutes after the initial hearing………The state-run Bahrian News Agency called the reports “fabricated, politically motivated news.”……..”
“Amnesty believes that many of the defendants in #Bahrain are likely to be prisoners of conscience detained simply 4 exercising their right”
“#AmnestyInternational on #Bahrain -At least two have said they were tortured, raising fears about their chances for a fair trial.”
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“#AmnestyInternational on #Bahrain – Bahraini authorities have already denied the defendants their basic legal rights”
“Bahrain oil company fires 300 workers over protests goo.gl/ENkSn #feb14 #bhn #feb14”
“University of #Bahrain turns to look like Guantánamo bit.ly/jlbG7P #feb14 #bnn…..”
I know Jordan and Morocco are not exactly Jeffersonian democracies, not even Turkish democracies. But they are more democratic than the GCC countries. They certainly are more “democratic” than the tribal quasi-feudal fiefdoms that are Saudi Arabia and the UAE, or the tribal sectarian fiefdom that is Bahrain under al-Khalifa. I assume they don’t torture people like this in Morocco anymore. But rejoice, people of Morocco, you’ll get this as soon as you join the Gulf Tribal Monarchy Council. I know your regime is not nearly as vile as some in our region, but that is okay: no regime in the world is probably as vile as the al-Khalifa of Bahrain. As an added bonus, you ‘ll also get the benefits of Salafi sectarianism and maybe even Apartheid.
I am waiting for Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton to express their utter joy in this proposed expansion of the joys of tribal absolute monarchy freedom to Morocco and Jordan. While holding their noses, of course. Imagine, to the shores of the Atlantic, a stone’s throw away from Lexington (Mass.) and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. This march of royal liberty, will it cross the ocean westward?
Cheers
mhg
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