Your taxes at work - promoting Bahrain's despotism

[Cain]

So, this is an amusing little article by the British Embassy in Bahrain:

So-called human rights organisations, which unfortunately are largely administered by ex-ideologists and even terrorists, today propagate their own version of the word 'freedom', solely to take it away from others. They dismiss any notion that the minute someone's freedom intrudes on that of another person, it becomes an act of violation. For absolute freedom is absolute chaos. Like any other state of being, it must be accountable. But in today's world there is a frequent tendency for the press to brand those in power as 'baddies', and the real wrongdoers as victims.

During the last two years Bahrain has suffered hugely damaging media-inspired attacks on its image and integrity – without checks being made as to their veracity – whether news or comment.

Another thought...as much as beasts cannot be left to roam freely, so in human society the feral element's freedom should be under control.

Respect for freedom should really start from an early age. Otherwise our society will only breed ranks of the undisciplined – staining the values of freedom.

Freedom of thought, thinking and writing, should all derive their essence from graceful wisdom, not from the dogma of hooligans.

Indeed, such hooliganism cannot be tolerated.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

FREEDOM SHOULD BE UNDER CONTROL

[Cain]

There's another essay, too:

During the past two years Bahrain has gone through a phase during which misleading information has ripped our society apart through sectarian tension.

Writers took the opportunity of the unrest to promote their political views. Some fabricated stories which supported the opposition; others decided to turn the table and depict a whole segment of the society as traitors – such was the shameful role played by state television and other loyalist media outlets.

By using the term freedom of expression in the wrong context, both sides played a dangerous role in promoting sectarianism and dividing society.

See, everyone's at fault.  The state-run media for calling protestors traitors, and the protestors, for misusing freedom.

The best irony is this being published on World Press Freedom Day.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

  This made me nauseous. More so than the artwork from last night. This shit is fucked up.

[Cain]

I wouldn't mind this so much, if the British Embassy were promoting a variety of views in Bahrain on the violence, political repression and protests there.  That would actually be something interesting, the government providing a legitimate forum for debate which otherwise does not exist in Bahrain.

Some people like living in what is essentially a fiefdom of the Al-Khalifa family, and if that's their thing, fair enough.  It's stupid, but it's their right to be stupid.

On the other hand, a whole bunch of people got the shit beaten out of them, shot at, and were tortured because they're not so keen on this whole "I am a serf" part of the arrangement.  Their voices are, however, noticeably absent from the British Embassy's website.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the vast sums of money that flow between Bahrain's financial sector and the City of London, or the strong financial links between British arms dealers and the regime, or that the Saudis threatened to cut off UK oil if British MPs didn't shut up and praise their noble leadership.