News of the World!

[rain_gryphon]

Whoa. Here's a woman in the Congo who got partially eaten by cannibals!

*****

There's a drive to make necrophilia legal in Egypt, as well as child molestation (but only if the child is a girl). This is apparently something to do with the Religion of Peace and Tolerance. I will give Moslems full credit on this, in that they seem more tolerant than most people about these issues.

*****

It's good to be King, especially when your birthday rolls around. King Mswati gets criticized a lot in the western press, but he runs an orderly country, where life and property are safe (in sharp contrast to most African democracies), and no-one starves. He's doing a better job than most.

*****

My Congolese Liquor Store Guy is making payments on his loan, so apparently survived the explosion intact.

Comments

[rev-marcus.livejournal.com]

Africa never ceases to amaze me!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

That ANY of some of the above is EVEN being considered, shows that as a people we have not risen above savagery enough to be considered fully civilized. ;/
When we were in Australia, we learned from the locals that violating very young girls is a also part of the aboriginal tribal 'rituals' .... eeeesh. *facepalms*

[xolo.livejournal.com]

Sorry about that. I should have banned her long since. She showed, occasionally, signs of wanting to discuss an issue, but for the most part her comments were rude and displayed a crude bigotry.

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of this gem from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obedient_Wives_Club

"The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) is an international Islamic faith based organization which claims to promote harmonious families by teaching wives how to be submissive to their husbands.[1] Composed of up to 3000 members[2] this group currently operates in Malaysia,[3] Indonesia,[4] Singapore,[5] Australia,[6] Kazakhstan,[7] and the Jordan Hodal, Kate . " Outrage as Obedient Wives Club spreads across south-east Asia | World news | The Guardian ." Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . the Guardian, 6 July 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. [30] though it has plans to open chapters in England and France in 2013.[8] In October 2011, the Obedient Wives Club published a highly controversial book, called Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World, which encouraged wives to act like “first class whores” in order to keep husbands from straying.[9] This book is currently banned in Indonesia and Malaysia.[10] Despite the book only being available to its club, some of its content has been made known, sparking fierce debates online.

History

On June 3, 2011, a business firm called Global Ikhwan established the first chapter of the Obedient Wives Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[11] Originally intended to help the female staff become good wives and productive employees, the group's main goal was to revolutionize the way Muslim wives viewed sex within marriage.[12]

Global Ikhwan, which also founded a controversial polygamy club,[13] has been closely tied to the religious Islamic sect, Al-Arqam, which was banned in Malaysia in 1994. The Obedient Wives Club denies allegations that they are trying to revive Al-Arqam.[14]

Though based in their Islamic faith, this group is open to any women regardless of their denomination.[15] The Obedient Wives Club claims to fight divorce, domestic violence and other social ills by teaching wives how to please their husbands.[16] As one member put it, “A man married to a woman who is as good or better than a prostitute in bed has no reason to stray. Rather than allowing him to sin, a woman must do all she can to ensure his desires are met.”[17]

Controversy

In October 2011, the Obedient Wives Club published a 115 page book, guiding wives through the physical and spiritual aspects of sex. This book, titled Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World, quickly stirred controversy.[18] Many groups, such as Sisters in Islam,[19] Aware (the Association of Women for Action and Research) and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, criticized the book, calling it backwards and disrespectful of women and men.[20] In particular, they disputed the club’s assertion that if wives serve their husbands like “first class prostitutes” they will be able to maintain happy marriages.[21] Critics argue that the values being promoted by the club involve objectification of women, and places unfair responsibility on wives.[22] They further argue it reduces Islamic marriage to a sexual exchange. As a representative of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said, "Happiness in a marriage goes beyond receiving sexual fulfillment from one's wife." [23] Minister Shahrizat Jalil of the Women, Family and Community Development agreed, noting “To hinge fidelity, domestic violence and the fulfillment of a husband’s responsibilities purely on a wife’s capacity to be obedient, stimulate sexual arousal … is not only demeaning to wives, but to husbands as well.” [24]

The submission business sounds like it could be lifted from many fundamentalist Christian marriage books and websites. The group sex and references to prostitution, not so much.