Is it True?

Someone shared with me this bit of news recently. The question is, it it true? As it is said, "Laughter is the best medicine" so have a good laugh anyway!

This is from an actual trial in the UK:
A young woman who was several months pregnant boarded a bus.

Then she noticed a young man smiling at her and she began feeling humiliated on account of her condition. She changed her seat and he seemed even more amused.

She moved again; and then on her fourth move he burst out laughing.

She had him arrested.

When the case came before the court, the young man was asked why he acted in such a manner. His reply was: "When the lady boarded the bus, I couldn't help noticing she was pregnant. She sat under the advertisement which read: "Coming Soon: The Cold Dust Twins". Then she moved under one that read: "Slogan's Ligaments Remove Swelling", and I was even more amused when she sat under a shaving advertisement which read: "William's Stick Did the Trick". Then I couldn't control myself any longer when on her fourth move she sat under an advertisement which read: "Dunlop Rubber would have Prevented this Accident".

The case was dismissed.

Pretend We're Married

A man and a woman, who had never met before, but were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train. Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper bunk and she in the lower. At 1:00 AM, the man leaned over and gently woke the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."

"I have a better idea," she replied. "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married."

"Wow! That's a great idea!" he exclaimed. "Good," she replied. "Get your own damn blanket!"

After a moment of silence, he farted.

200 Lashes after been Gang-raped

Here is a shocking exclusive ABC News report about a Saudi woman been sentenced with a harsh punishment by a Sharia Court in Saudi Arabia after she had been gang-raped. Her crime-for been found in the company of strangers and speaking out in public; her handed down punishment-200 lashes!

GANG-RAPED VICTIM TO BE GIVEN 200 LASHES

By LARA SETRAKIAN
Nov. 21, 2007

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice is defending a sentence of 200 lashes for the victim of a gang rape, punished because she was in the car of a male who wasn't a relative when the two were attacked.

In exclusive testimony obtained by ABC News, the young woman told her story of what happened and how she was treated in the months that followed.

"Everyone looks at me as if I'm wrong. I couldn't even continue my studies. I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide twice," she said of her experience just after the attack.

The woman, known anonymously in the Saudi press as "Qatif Girl" for the eastern province town where the crime took place, was originally sentenced to 90 lashes for being in a state of "khalwa" -- retreat with a male who's not a relative.

But the General Court of Qatif increased the punishment to 200 lashes and six months in jail after she took her case to the press. Authorities deemed it an "attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media," according to Saudi Arabia's English-language newspaper Arab News.

The seven attackers were convicted of rape with sentences that ranged from two to nine years in prison, according to Arab News.

In a December 2006 interview in Khobar, Saudi Arabia the woman gave a full account of her testimony to Human Rights Watch, describing the incident as she did before the court. She was meeting a male acquaintance, a former boyfriend, when the attack took place.

Ordeal Began With a Photo
"I [was] 19 years old. I had a relationship with someone on the phone. We were both 16. I had never seen him before. I just knew his voice. He started to threaten me, and I got afraid. He threatened to tell my family about the relationship. Because of the threats and fear, I agreed to give him a photo of myself," she recounted.

"A few months [later], I asked him for the photo back but he refused. I had gotten married to another man. He said, 'I'll give you the photo on the condition that you come out with me in my car.' I told him we could meet at a souk [market[ near my neighborhood city plaza in Qatif.

"He started to drive me home. …We were 15 minutes from my house. I told him that I was afraid and that he should speed up. We were about to turn the corner to my house when they [another car] stopped right in front of our car. Two people got out of their car and stood on either side of our car. They man on my side had a knife. They tried to open our door. I told the individual with me not to open the door, but he did. He let them come in. I screamed.

"One of the men brought a knife to my throat. They told me not to speak. They pushed us to the back of the car and started driving. We drove a lot, but I didn't see anything since my head was forced down."

"They took us to an area … with lots of palm trees. No one was there. If you kill someone there, no one would know about it. They took out the man with me, and I stayed in the car. I was so afraid. They forced me out of the car. They pushed me really hard ... took me to a dark place. Then two men came in. They said, 'What are you going to do? Take off your abaya.' They forced my clothes off. The first man with the knife raped me. I was destroyed. If I tried to escape, I don't even know where I would go. I tried to force them off but I couldn't. [Another] man … came in and did the same thing to me. I didn't even feel anything after that.

"I spent two hours begging them to take me home. I told them that it was late and that my family would be asking about me. Then I saw a third man come into the room. There was a lot of violence. After the third man came in, a fourth came. He slapped me and tried to choke me.

"The fifth and sixth ones were the most abusive. After the seventh one, I couldn't feel my body anymore. I didn't know what to do. Then a very fat man came on top of me and I could no longer breathe.

"Then all seven came back and raped me again. Then they took me home. … When I got out of the car, I couldn't even walk. I rang the doorbell and my mother opened the door. She said you look tired.' I didn't eat for one week after that, just water. I didn't tell anyone. I went to the hospital the next day.

"The criminals started talking about it [the rape] in my neighborhood. They thought my husband would divorce me. They wanted to ruin my reputation. Slowly my husband started to know what had happened. Four months later, we started a case. My family heard about the case. My brother hit me and tried to kill me."

Lawyer Punished Too
Along with the young woman's sentence, the General Court of Qatif confiscated the license of her attorney, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, a lawyer known for taking on controversial cases that push back against Saudi Arabia's strictly interpreted system of sharia, or Islamic law.

"Asking me to appear in front of a disciplinary committee at the Ministry of Justice … is a punishment for taking human rights cases against some institutions," Al-Lahem told Arab News.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice said in this week's statement that Al-Lahem's "faulty behaviors … contradict the ethics of his profession and violate the provisions of practicing law and its executive code."

New York-based Human Rights Watch researcher Christoph Wilcke, who studies the Saudi legal system, said the woman would need a pardon from King Abdullah himself or from the provincial governor to be spared the lashings and jail time. The punishment will also be reviewed by the Supreme Judiciary Council, which will scrutinize the ruling, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Concerned Reaction to Lina Joy Decision

The following is a Malaysiakini report:

‘Denying all her rights’

Ooi Kelly May 30, 07 7:13pm

Below are some immediate comments from various concerned groups over the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss an appeal by Lina Joy today. Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) president Meera Samanther said that the court’s decision “denied Lina Joy of her right to choose her religion, her right to choose her partner and her reproductive rights (in terms of bearing a legitimate child)”. Meera also felt that the decision also denied Lina’s right of living in this country as Lina’s only option now in pursuing her rights to profess the religion of her choice was to leave the country. “Malaysia is not honouring the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women treaty which was ratified in 5th July 1995,” she said. Although disappointed with the court’s rule, WAO Executive director Ivy Josiah said that she was nevertheless encouraged by the dissenting judgement and hoped to educate the public further with it. This what the rest had to say: Zainah Anwar, Sisters In Islam executive director suppy For us, the dissenting judgement was significant. The Federal Court, the apex court of the country, is divided over this issue, as the country is divided on this issue. Malik Imtiaz Sawar, Malaysian Bar Council suppy The fact that there was a minority judgement, a strong dissenting judgement, only indicated the need to re-address the issue. I think that it’s sad to note at this junction, looking at the minority and majority judgement of this court and I say this in respective of the majority view, there is no clear answer in what she’s suppose to do. Leonard Teoh, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism suppy People like Lina Joy should not be trapped in a legal cage, not being able to come out to practise their true conscience and religion. Teresa Kok, DAP member of Parliament The verdict is a setback against religious freedom in Malaysia. Paul Tan Chee Ing, Christian Federation of Malaysia We note with much concern that this decision reflects a growing trend of decisions in the courts where civil courts are abdicating their responsibility of providing legal redress to individuals who only seek to profess and live their religion according to their conscience. As a result of this decision, it is now more pressing for the government and lawmakers to revisit the relevant legislation and to reinstate the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts so that equal protection of the right to choose and express one's religion is accorded to all Malaysians, as enshrined in Article 11. Rights movement Aliran This decision, looked at from another point of view, undermines the judiciary itself. The judiciary cannot be technical in delivering its verdict. Fairness and justice should be part of any judgment and should not be sacrificed on technical grounds. Where is the compassion for someone who has turned to the judiciary for a solution to free her from her predicament? Can justice redeem itself? Is there hope for the ordinary person in our judiciary? It is really troubling when an issue such as this is politicised and blown out of all proportion and pressure is mounted to deny justice.

Orang Minyak Exists!

Now, it's time to laugh at ourselves. This news report in The New Straits Times is really old and I've not dated it.

For the interest of our international visitors, the sarong mentioned in the story is a cloth used like a skirt by some Malaysian women to cover below their waists. Orang minyak, a Malay term, means oily people.

Finally, the government has realised the importance of starting sex education classes for the kids soon!