U.S.’ Saudi Pals Behead A Witch

What? Is that a satirical headline? Are we still in medieval times?  It is in Saudi Arabia, beloved ally of the U.S., bulwark against Iran, Shiite “extremism,” and “terrorism.” [This needs some translation: Al-Qaeda and its offshoots, the Taliban, the various Paki “militants,” etc. are Sunnis, not Shiites. As are the Saudis, who are the funders of Sunni terrorism and have been since the 1970s. Confusing, I know. You can’t analyze U.S. foreign policy and propaganda too closely because logically it’s incoherent. “Terrorism” in this context refers to enemies of Israel, mainly Hezbollah and Hamas.]

Anyway, the Saudis just beheaded a woman for “witchcraft” and “sorcery.” The provincial chief of religious police (sic) proudly announced the butchery.

I only heard this reported on Al-Jazeera, not on the BBC, or NPR, for example. Be interesting to see what kind of coverage it gets. (Of course, if Iran had done it, you’d be hearing plenty.)

Actually there’s a good reason for “the” media to ignore this story- it’s the 73rd beheading in Saudi Arabia this year. So it’s kind of like a dog bites man story, not really news! Much more important is which GOP Presidential aspirant made what catty remark about a rival. Or fires. Or crime stories. Lots of fires and crime stories in the local media in the U.S.

But hey, the Saudis have the U.S.’ back in the oil market, making sure the price never rises too high. You have to have your priorities straight. All that prattle about human rights has always been just so much guff anyway. (Look at U.S. history if you don’t believe it. Or look at the current police savagery against the Occupy Movement.)

Another story apparently only on Al-Jazeera (at least among broadcast media in the U.S.) is the murder of three Mexican students by the police in a protest against unsupportable prices to get an education. To be fair, that’s progress. In 1968 the Mexican government slaughtered at least 250 students in a sit-in, using army snipers, so the Olympics wouldn’t be “spoiled.” (It worked! The massacre-which was blacked out by U.S. media, which basically still blacks it out- in contrast to endless dredging up of Pan Am 103 downed over Lockerbie, say- didn’t spoil the Olympics, as apparently a student sit-in would have.) So this time the Mexican rulers only killed less than one one-hundredth the number of students they did in one day in 1968. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

The students had the effrontery to block a highway to demand a meeting with the Governor of Guerrero province. The Governor’s reply was sending an assassin to stand among the police with a rifle and gun down the students. That’s dialogue, authoritarian-style. (But remember, in the “Free World,” the word for “authoritarian” is “democratic.”)

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