Cyprus-Forum.com

[Robin Hood]

TD

How do you rate Amnesty International, as an organisation, as a matter of interest?

I didn’t know the answer so I Googled it and I asked ‘ Is Amnesty International impartial ’

This was just the first page: I have ignored all the direct Amnesty International Links but included all the others:

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/breaking_its_own_rules_amnesty_s_gov_t_funding_and_researcher_bias

http://www.mqm.org/englishnews/6630/amnesty-international-has-compromised-its-principle-of-impartiality-and-neutrality-mqm

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1279/amnesty_international_s_credibility_problem_over_israel

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/02/12/amnesty-and-impartiality/

Now ...... you tell me! My opinion ........ not extreme but not quite as squeaky clean and impartial as they would have you believe.

I think common sense is needed as well as ‘information’.

[Paphitis]

TD

How do you rate Amnesty International, as an organisation, as a matter of interest?

I didn’t know the answer so I Googled it and I asked ‘ Is Amnesty International impartial ’

This was just the first page: I have ignored all the direct Amnesty International Links but included all the others:

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/breaking_its_own_rules_amnesty_s_gov_t_funding_and_researcher_bias

http://www.mqm.org/englishnews/6630/amnesty-international-has-compromised-its-principle-of-impartiality-and-neutrality-mqm

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1279/amnesty_international_s_credibility_problem_over_israel

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/02/12/amnesty-and-impartiality/

Now ...... you tell me! My opinion ........ not extreme but not quite as squeaky clean and impartial as they would have you believe.

I think common sense is needed as well as ‘information’.

So you ditched Amnesty International and settled for the Pootin Propaganda machine, and other conspiracy based, socialist and communist agenda anti American sites. Interesting!

How is that siege going around Aleppo there Robin Hood? Did everything go according to plan?

[Tim Drayton]

TD

How do you rate Amnesty International, as an organisation, as a matter of interest?

I didn’t know the answer so I Googled it and I asked ‘ Is Amnesty International impartial ’

This was just the first page: I have ignored all the direct Amnesty International Links but included all the others:

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/breaking_its_own_rules_amnesty_s_gov_t_funding_and_researcher_bias

http://www.mqm.org/englishnews/6630/amnesty-international-has-compromised-its-principle-of-impartiality-and-neutrality-mqm

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1279/amnesty_international_s_credibility_problem_over_israel

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/02/12/amnesty-and-impartiality/

Now ...... you tell me! My opinion ........ not extreme but not quite as squeaky clean and impartial as they would have you believe.

I think common sense is needed as well as ‘information’.

So, I'd obviously be wasting my time requoting from Amnesty International reports on Syria that clearly show Assad's regime to be totalitarian and guilty of wholesale abuses of human rights. Never mind, I am sure Sputnik will tell you that Assad is a jolly good chap. No common sense called for in reading Sputnik, it seems, even though it is the propaganda outlet of Putin's totalitarian regime. You just accept it all as gospel.

[Robin Hood]

TD

How do you rate Amnesty International, as an organisation, as a matter of interest?

I didn’t know the answer so I Googled it and I asked ‘ Is Amnesty International impartial ’

This was just the first page: I have ignored all the direct Amnesty International Links but included all the others:

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/breaking_its_own_rules_amnesty_s_gov_t_funding_and_researcher_bias

http://www.mqm.org/englishnews/6630/amnesty-international-has-compromised-its-principle-of-impartiality-and-neutrality-mqm

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1279/amnesty_international_s_credibility_problem_over_israel

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/02/12/amnesty-and-impartiality/

Now ...... you tell me! My opinion ........ not extreme but not quite as squeaky clean and impartial as they would have you believe.

I think common sense is needed as well as ‘information’.

So, I'd obviously be wasting my time requoting from Amnesty International reports on Syria that clearly show Assad's regime to be totalitarian and guilty of wholesale abuses of human rights. Never mind, I am sure Sputnik will tell you that Assad is a jolly good chap. No common sense called for in reading Sputnik, it seems, even though it is the propaganda outlet of Putin's totalitarian regime. You just accept it all as gospel.

For that very reason I rarely quote 'Sputnik'! Where have I mentioned Sputnik in this post? Plenty of other sites and all off a single Googled page and apart from AI's own sites they all question AI's impartiality. I suppose like Paphitis you also unreservedly believe all the reports from the completely impartial, totally unbiased Syrian Observatory of Human Rights?

Compare Assads secular parliament, with their elected opposition, to all the other Gulf States .......such as Saudi, UEA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain etc! At least he HAS an elected opposition in parliament even now, and although you won't find it reported in Ai or SOHR the system is changing continually. Assad has just announced new elections in a couple(?) of months ...... when was the last time any of these other Arab/Muslim/totalitarian family run states that I mention above, , who are all part of the US/NATO coalition, had any elections. In each of them most of the cabinet are from single ruling families. They ban any opposition ....... you can be imprisoned, even executed for even criticising government but again you won't find any mention of that from your human rights outlets. Apparently, these guys are the Arab version of Mother Teresa?

You are very selective in who you regard as totalitarian ..... even Putin is elected. He also enjoys a 90+% approval rating from his 'oppressed' people ........ try comparing that with any of the leaders in the coalition club of 'yes' men!

As for events in Syria ...... So far Paphitis has been wrong on every prediction he has made. and he will continue to be so. Although going by all the bluster, bravo and boasting, it is obvious he only reads the information at headline level on extreme right biased sources and ignores any detail in most posts. He has clearly lost the plot ..... didn't some one compare him with 'Chemical Ali' in Bagdad during the Gulf War? I too can see a distinct similarity in the rhetoric !

[Tim Drayton]

You won't find any mention of that from your human rights outlets? You are saying that Amnesty International is not critical of Saudi Arabia? This is getting surreal. Here is the summary of Amnesty International's latest report on Saudi Arabia:

The government continued to severely restrict freedoms of expression, association and assembly. The authorities arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned human rights defenders and government critics, including under the 2014 anti-terror law, often after unfair trials. Some of those detained were prisoners of conscience. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees remained common. Unfair trials continued before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), a special court for hearing terrorism-related cases, with some trials resulting in death sentences. Discrimination against the Shi’a minority remained entrenched; some Shi’a activists were on death row awaiting execution. Women faced discrimination in law and in practice and were inadequately protected against sexual and other violence. Thousands of migrants were summarily expelled, many to countries where they were at risk of serious human rights violations. The authorities used the death penalty extensively and carried out more than 150 executions.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/mi ... di-arabia/

Of course Saudi Arabia is an abomination in human rights terms. So what? That doesn't make Assad's dictatorship acceptable. If a revolution starts in Saudi to overthrow the absolute monarchy, you can be sure that I will support it as much as I did the clear aspiration expressed by the Syrian people to rid themselves of Assad when the revolution erupted there in the spring of 2011. However, in some places, the masses can rally behind dictators, as they did in Hitler's Germany, or as you rightly say the Russian masses are currently doing, and the same I am afraid is true of the Gulf, where many people stand by their absolute rulers and the feudal systems they keep in place. History moves in dialectics and not in straight lines, and pockets of backwardness can survive for a long time. However, I believe that the dominant trend in history is progressive.

[Robin Hood]

TD:

You won't find any mention of that from your human rights outlets? You are saying that Amnesty International is not critical of Saudi Arabia? This is getting surreal. Here is the summary of Amnesty International's latest report on Saudi Arabia.

I apologise .... that is what happens when I open my mouth without checking first.

Obviously, it does not excuse abuse by Assad or any government but, these Gulf dictatorships are protected through the self interests of the USA! The US don’t really give a sh*t about democracy or the welfare of the people ...... they are intent on working simply in the commercial/military/political interests of the USA. This is clearly evident in Syria and also in Ukraine.

[Tim Drayton]

TD:

The US don’t really give a sh*t about democracy or the welfare of the people ...... they are intent on working simply in the commercial/military/political interests of the USA. x

Fully agreed, and the interference of Western neo-imperialist powers in the Syrian revolution for their own interests is a whole different matter. But, Putin is acting is own interests, too. He looks like securing a victory for reaction in Syria, too, at least in the short to mid term. Pity, because I believe that the domino theory would have worked and if more progressive - and hopefully secular - regimes had been installed and started to flourish in the more liberal parts of the Arab world, this would have provided a model for even the people in the Gulf to aspire towards. Don't forget that serious protests broke out in Bahrain, and Saudi sent in its tanks to help quell the rebellion. Well, reaction can prevail - for a time, at least.

[Paphitis]

TD:

You won't find any mention of that from your human rights outlets? You are saying that Amnesty International is not critical of Saudi Arabia? This is getting surreal. Here is the summary of Amnesty International's latest report on Saudi Arabia.

I apologise .... that is what happens when I open my mouth without checking first.

Obviously, it does not excuse abuse by Assad or any government but, these Gulf dictatorships are protected through the self interests of the USA! The US don’t really give a sh*t about democracy or the welfare of the people ...... they are intent on working simply in the commercial/military/political interests of the USA. This is clearly evident in Syria and also in Ukraine.

Ok let's put Saudi Arabia to the side for a second.

What is your Issue with the administrations in places like UAE and Qatar?

Personally, I would have them in Australia and be very happy with them. There are not many administrations around the world that can top them.

Oh and btw, their rule is not totalitarian at all. Have you ever been there recently?

[Tim Drayton]

I am sorry, but Qatar is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Al-Thani family. The crucial difference between it and Syria is that it has a small population and lots of hydrocarbons, and the rulers have enough goodies to share among the population and keep what is essentially a version of socialism going. Mind you, if the price of hydrocarbons stays low for some time, I can see trouble brewing for the Gulf monarchies.