Dr. Alan Black, an American professor, was arrested last month for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. That act could send him to jail for five years. Various sites have been created to rally support for Roberts who is facing an absurdly harsh legal system and a rule against photography that can only be described as pathological.
Black was detained without a charge after he stopped and took the picture in the capital of the UAE. The case has highlighted the brutal conditions and lack of due process in the UAE. Black has been allowed no representation and was held in secret. He was allowed only two brief calls and, despite international obligations, it took two days before the UAE (or erstwhile ally) notified the American embassy of his arrest.
Black is reportedly an avid photographer and nothing more than that. One of his last pictures below was captioned “walking the streets of Abu Dhabi.” He was arrested the next day.
Despite our continued support for the UAE, our State Department in 2013 denounced the country for “arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and lengthy pretrial detentions” as well as “police and prison guard brutality.” The Black case shows vividly that such criticism is, if anything, understated.
Black was lecturing at a conference in the city and should have shown greater judgment. However, the response from the UAE is draconian and absurd.
Under article 168 of the UAE Penal Code, anyone caught taking pictures of palaces, embassies and security facilities can be sentenced to up to five years in jail and subject to a large fine. Three years ago, a tourist was given a month in jail for simply taking photos of the presidential palace.
Putting aside the law itself, the abuse of basic due process rights in the UAE belies its assertion that it is a modern and developing nation. Black is an elderly professor with a penchant for photography and a lack of inhibitions. If the UAE cannot see that, it is engaging in willful blindness.
Source: Daily Mail
mespo, I’m not going to gloat. Your side lost a few seats, and it’s likely to swing the other way next time.
But the last 6 years have been terrible for this country. I know I cannot convince you otherwise, so I won’t try.
I’ll get a sense of the left’s willingness to compromise by Obama’s coming actions regarding the illegals and amnesty.
I’m willing to bet that ‘compromise’ here means ‘you agree to do what Obama wants’ and ‘obstruction’ means trying to negotiate a deal.
Paul, LOL! No thrill up his leg last night.
The Republican governors winning is the most foreboding for Dems. That is the real story and Christie orchestrated that. The fat boy scares the bejesus out of Hillary. Christie was a force in victories. Hill/Billy were non factors. This is the story for 2016.
If you don’t have facts, argue with the other side.
http://s1.legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Chris-Matthews-Election-Night-2014-e1415167496525-620×442.png
“The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial legislatures and many state and local races. The election resulted in a sweeping victory for the Democratic Party which captured control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and won a majority of governorships and state legislatures from the Republican Party.”
History is so repetitive.
Pogo, I was taught by my mentor, a great homicide detective, a lot about attorneys. He said, “You know they are in full blowhard mode when they start throwing out quotes. But, when they go to Latin quotes, they are sinking fast.”
Pogo, Fascinating to watch. People w/ multiple degrees talking nonsense. I’ll take a “sewer cleaner” any day who can see reality and has common sense.
The fox who longed for grapes, beholds with pain
The tempting clusters were too high to gain;
Grieved in his heart he forced a careless smile,
And cried ,‘They’re sharp and hardly worth my while.
~Aphra Behn
Obama sure gots some badass coattails from that approval rating, don’t he?
Approval Rates:
Average approval rating for all US Presidents: 53% (1938-2014)
Average for Presidents in their 24th Quarter: 47%
Obama Approval Term Average: 48%
George W. Bush Approval in November of his second term: 36%
Obama Approval in November of his second term: 42%
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116479/barack-obama-presidential-job-approval.aspx
mespo – if Obama is so popular, why the slaughter at the ballot box?
Why do Americans travel to other lands and then behave with the incredible arrogance of acting as if we are governed by OUR laws and not by the laws of the land we are visiting? The “aging professor” should be treated in precisely the manner that the UAE would treat one of its own citizens for the act in question: no better and no worse. If our embassy is involved, we should respect the laws of the host country and tell the “aging professor that “if you cannot do the time, don’t do the crime.”
There has been a tidal wave and we’re discussing Steve Kroft???? Wow. Get some help. Or, some sleep.
Elitist awards bestowed upon elitists. And, it’s “Kroft.” Kraft is bad cheese or a good NFL owner.
There is nobody in Obama’s life, except Michelle and his Rasputin, and those two folks are dig in your heels, never give an inch, ideologues. Obama needs someone to slap him upside the head and say, “You got your ass kicked, now act like a man, not a spoiled child!” You see there is no one here, yet anyway, who could provide Obama what he needs. Just Michelle and Rasputin types here so far.
Steve Kroft:
11-time Emmy Award winner including a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2003
5-time Peabody Award winner
2-time Columbia University DuPont Award winner
1992: George Arents Medal, the highest honor given to a Syracuse University alumnus; Honorary Doctoral degrees from Indiana University; Binghamton University; and Long Island University.
2007: Medallion of the University, the highest honor given by the University at Albany.
2009: List of George Polk Award Winners
2009: Gerald Loeb Award
2010: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association[11]
mespo – Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize as did Obama. What Steve Kroft won from his liberal friends does not surprise me.
Paul, Cultists never give an inch. Your assessment is spot on. It is fascinating to watch.
Steve Kroft is an ass kissing sycophant. That all you got. DEMS say Obama won’t compromise W/ THEM!! He is too good to even hang w/ them. Amazing the denial. DEMs in Congress hate the guy for chrissake!! They hate him even more now.
“Since the midterm elections, you made an effort at bipartisanship. It hasn’t worked out that way….You gave up a lot. You said you wanted a balanced approach. You didn’t get it. You cut a trillion dollars and set up the framework to cut another trillion plus, and the Republicans gave up nothing. I mean, there are people in your own party who think that you were outmaneuvered, that you were stared down by John Boehner and Grover Norquist and capitulated….It seems to be all the compromising is being done by you….”
— CBS’s Steve Kroft to President Obama in an interview shown on the December 11,2012 60 Minutes.
There are some smaller things that can be agreed upon in January. The Keystone pipeline, some trade agreements. Small agreements can lead to bigger ones. But a Christmas Amnesty will say “F@CK YOU” and I’m going kamikaze. A petulant child in charge.