Sim-O

Via D-Notice2012 (the blogger formerly known as D-Notice) I hear that the Bahrain government is going to sue the Independent for publishing stories about anti government protesters being shot by police, torture, being in the pocket of Saudi Arabia, etc. Y’know, the usual Middle East dictator/ruling royal family past-times and hobbies.

My first reaction was “good luck with that”, but then I remembered our courts aren’t the most sensible at times, especially when a foreign government (and one that is now in the Saudis’ pocket) is concerned.

D-Notice notes that UK local governments can’t sue in English courts, so foreign one shouldn’t be able to either. It looks like they’re gonna try, though.

If Bahrain does get to court it’ll be for libel, I presume and so the onus will be on the Indie to prove what it says is true rather than Bahrain to prove otherwise. This, I’m guessing shouldn’t be too hard for the Indie to do seeing as a) it isn’t just the Indie saying this stuff and b) the Bahrain government has singled out Rober Fisk as the main reporter responsible and Fisk has a reputation for being bob on with this type of thing.

But does Baharain really want to go to court, or is it, more likely just trying to scare the Indie/press?

Bahrain has much more resources than the Indie and so could drag this out and cost the Indie so much that it hashas no choice but to capitulate, after all, if this did get to court and the judgement went against Bahrain, it could open it up to charges of war crimes or crim against humanity (or whatever) and end up with arrest warrant being issued against it’s leaders for the International Criminal Court (or whatever the place is called).

Would that threat if the ICC scare the Bahraini officials? I doubt it.

My second reaction was ” WTF? hasn’t this guy read the British press?”

The “Publications director-general and acting press and external
media director-general” Nawaf Mohammed Al-Maawda has…

called upon all media to observe accuracy and objectivity and project the true image…

Hahahaha! In the British press?! Like I said, good luck with that one.

I don’t know about if the no-fly zone in Libya is gonna help or completely turn to ratshit. At least there is a UN mandate for it, for what that’s worth.

It does strike me a little odd (if that’s the right word) that our glorious leaders have jumped and scrabbled for this no-fly zone over Libya when it is an internal conflict between the Libyan people and Gaddafi and his supporters about who gets to run the place. It’s Libyans fighting about Libya. No one else is involved. Yes, people are gonna get hurt, in various horrible ways, but the rebels or opposition or whatever you want to call them have at least some weapons and are fighting back and holding positions.

Why, though, haven’t the leaders of the free world jumped at the chance to militarily help the people of Bahrain who have been protesting about their dictator? After all, they are not just fighting against their own despot, but their despot has invited his despot mate to join in fucking over Bahrains civil population in the form of the Saudi army.

Libya is a purely internal conflict. Bahrain isn’t. Aren’t their rules about this sort of thing?