Bush Visits His Odious Saudi Friend

Excerpts from an article in The Progressive:

How do you punish the principal global purveyor of fundamentalist Islam, someone who backed the Taliban and continues to harshly suppress political freedoms, women and religious minorities?

If you’re President Bush, you reward him with a state visit, of course!

During his current Middle East trip, Bush is looking in on a rogues’ gallery of U.S. allies, from Bahrain and Egypt to the United Arab Emirates and Israel. But King Abdullah’s Saudi Arabia occupies the pride of place.

“The government places strict limits on freedom of association, assembly, and expression,” writes Human Rights Watch in its roundup of conditions in the kingdom in 2006. “Arbitrary detention, mistreatment and torture of detainees, restrictions on freedom of movement, and lack of official accountability remain serious concerns. Saudi women continue to face serious obstacles to their participation in society.”

All this means that the United States is basically willing to overlook the Saudi regime’s noxious export of Wahhabi fundamentalism around the world and its appalling record at home. A few years ago, Bush accorded King Abdullah the rare honor of hosting him at his Crawford ranch, and is now furthering his friendship by dropping in on his buddy.

What’s a few human rights violations between friends?

Read the entire story here.

And then there's this headline: "Saudi detains activist ahead of Bush visit"

RIYADH • Saudi Arabia has detained another reform activist, a colleague said yesterday, in the latest of a series of measures against government critics ahead of a visit by US President George W Bush.

Mohammed Al Bijadi was detained by state security police in the northern town of Buraida on Wednesday, Matruk Al Faleh said.

Bijadi was previously held for three months over his role in two protests by women over the indefinite detention of their husbands, Faleh said.

Critics say the authorities have exploited their battle with militants to crackdown on democracy campaigners, who face a revolving door of arrest, release and re-arrest.

Oh yeah, there he is 'aspreadin' democracy wherever he goes ....

Musharraf enforces American-style democracy, has hand-picked Supreme Court legitimize his presidency

Here's a fun game: let's compare headlines from today with ones from 2000, shall we? (you do remember the elections of 2000, don't you? If not, take a glance at the image to the right from the protests back then.)

Today:
Pakistan Court Clears Musharraf for New Term

2000:
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Bush's Favor

Today:
Pakistan court tosses election challenge

2000:
Election 2000: U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Federal Questions of Lawsuit

Yes, we are truly spreading American democracy throughout the world.

Freedom of Speech: Unless you annoy us, then, not so much

By this time, I'm sure you have all seen or heard about the student at the University of Florida who was arrested and subjected to a Taser gun when he refused to leave the microphone at a forum with John Kerry.

So, the guy was annoying. And six police officers couldn't control him without using a Taser?! And then arresting him for “inciting a riot”? If you watch the video below, you will see that any reaction from the crowd is surely the result of the strong-arm tactics of the police, and not from anything the student said or did.

Is this the state of our country today? When someone won't shut up we zap them and take them away in handcuffs?

This is democracy?