Boys Club | Blogger Raif Badawi Case Referred Back To Saudi Supreme Court
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The second lashing of Saudi blogger and father of three young daughters Raif Badawi has been sent back to Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court. Badawi was not flogged yesterday, based on a doctor’s assertion that it might kill him, after last week’s 50 lashes.
Given the lack of a penal code in the Saudi court system, we’re not exactly sure what this means. All are hopeful, however, for the release of Raif Badawi.
The current punishment calls for Raif Badawi to receive 1000 lashes over a period of 20 consecutive weeks, along with 10 years in prison and a fine of about $260,000. Badawi, 31, was found guilty of offences related to his blog, the Saudi Free Liberals Forum, as well as accusations that he insulted Islam.
Protests erupted worldwide and on AOC, as news of the punishment came via UK’s Amnesty International. To add insult to injury, Saudi leaders marched in Paris last Sunday in support of free speech. Thankfully, the whole world was watching the ultimate in national hypocrisy by the Saudi government!
Protests to free Raif Badawi erupted around the world in front of Saudi embassies. Ensaf Haidar, the blogger’s wife, believes that if leaders such as UK Prime Minister David Cameron and — presumably — US Secretary of State John Kerry put pressure on the Saudi government, her husband would be deported to join her in Quebec, Canada.
Haidar and their three children fled to Canada after a Saudi cleric issued a fatwa against her husband in 2011, leading to an attempt on his life. The Guardian writes:
Haidar revealed that because of the attention the case was getting she had to tell her young children – Najwa, 11, Terad, 10, and Miriam, seven – what was happening. “Raif is all over the internet, so I wanted them to hear from their mother and not from someone they don’t know. It was very hard for them to understand. It’s a very brutal thing for children to hear and they were very sad. They had a lot of questions and they were very worried for him.”
Haidar’s own family have been forced to disown her and Badawi’s father had to appear on Saudi television to condemn his son – the Saudi authorities will punish entire families of those they see as dissidents.
Eye | John Galliano Returns At Teatime London | Hollywood Stands For Charlie | Adidas Originals Ad Campaign
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Helen Mirren shows support for free speech, holding Je Suis Charlie sign at January 11 Golden Globe awards in Hollywood.Adidas Originals | #OriginalSuperstar
Some of the best, memorable ad campaigns are launched by athletic brands, and the new Adidas Originals campaign hits a real high note inspite of a strong bass line. In the age of selfiedom — now promoted in more not memorable Spring 2015 campaigns than we can count — Adidas has a values-driven message: stop being obsessed with your own fame.
You can live through the lives of celebrities, says Adidas, even if you are Rebecca Harrington writing about her adventures in celebrity dieting in I’ll Have What She’s Having, out this week from Vintage. New York Magazine features Harrington’s ‘I Tried Taylor Swift’s Diet and It Was A Joy’.
John Galliano Returns to Runway Today
John Galliano with model Cara Delevingne at a London party December 2014.Former Dior Creative Director and Designer John Galliano will return to the fashion world today, as he debut’s French Label Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal collection at London’s menswear show. WWD reports that Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, Burberry’s Christopher Bailey and milliner Stephen Jones are expected to attend the event.
Jones says that the event will occur at 4:30 pn London time at a “warehouse space in Westminster”.” It’s ‘Teatime’,” explained Margiela spokeswoman Jade Guishard, “which is very English.”
Perfect Timing?
If Guishard is right and timing is everything in life, Galliano might wish for a different day to showcase his work. The impetuous, alcoholic design talent, who has received major support from Vogue’s Anna Wintour and supermodel Kate Moss in his recovery, faced a deadly public relations backlash over his antisemetic, drunken February 2011 rant at the La Perle cafe in the Marais.
Unfortunately, the Marais is also the location of Paris’ terrorist attack at a kosher supermarket, with four dead bodies now headed for Israel, rather than burial in France. Anti-Semetic attacks and incidents in France more than doubled during 2014, says the French Ministry of Interior. About 7,000 French Jews moved to Israel from France in 2014 up from 3,300 in 2013. It’s believed that 15,000 French Jews will migrate to Israel this year, writes Middle East Eye.
Note that anti-Muslim attacks have also increased in France and throughout Europe over the same period.
Whether current events will impact the viability of Galliano’s return to fashion design will be decided after the first collections are shown. Galliano may no longer be relevant as a designer, writes The Guardian. Certainly his theatrical, over-the-top designs have no place at Martin Margiela. After phase one’s focus on the clothes, European retailers will decide whether or not to embrace again fashion’s bad boy now enjoying a revitalized, sober life based on values that resonate — or so he says.
October 11 Is International Day of the Girl | Honoring Malala Yousafzai's Nobel Peace Prize & Angelina Jolie As A British Dame
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On Friday Malala Yousafzai became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the honor with India’s Kailash Satyarthi, who has dedicated himself to fighting child slavery in India for decades.
Malala has amazed millions of Westerners as an articulate survivor of the attempts of Pakistan’s Taliban to kill her. A vocal advocate for girls education who already had a blog on the BBC website, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban, who commandeered her school bus. Not only did Malala Yousafzai defy all odds of surviving with her brain intact, she has achieved global rock star status as a change advocate for children.
