Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Stars boycott Beverly Hills Hotel over its ownership by Sultan of Brunei who has enacted brutal Sharia law. But Obama gave $6 billion US taxpayer dollars to the Sultan of Brunei and Indonesia in Nov. 2012. Will stars tell Obama to get taxpayer dollars back?

.
In Nov. 2012 Obama gave $6 billion US taxpayer dollars to Sultan of Brunei and Pres. of Indonesia for "renewables and cleaner energy." Sultan of Brunei owns 7000 cars.

------------------------------------

5/7/14, "Amid boycott of Beverly Hills Hotel, city confronts Brunei over sharia law," Reuters, Dana Feldman

"The City of Beverly Hills voted unanimously on Tuesday to pressure the government of Brunei to divest the Beverly Hills Hotel, the pink-hued haunt of the Hollywood set, after the small country's enactment of sharia law prompted protests.

Comedians Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno and British entrepreneur Richard Branson have been the most prominent figures to advocate shunning the hotel and its bungalows, a favored locale for the Hollywood elite since it opened a century ago.

The resolution urges Brunei to divest its ownership of the hotel, and any other properties it owns within Beverly Hills, and condemns it and other countries that operate under Islamic criminal law.

Emotions were high in the packed council chambers as scores of rank-and-file employees, as well as residents and others, expressed opposition to human rights abuses, support for the fabled property, as well as a reliance on the hotel for jobs.

"This is misguided," Robert Anderson told Reuters after the vote. "We should be against human rights violations in all countries, not just the Brunei."...

Brunei, a former British protectorate of about 400,000 run by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, last week became the first East Asian country to adopt the Islamic criminal law. It will punish offenses like sodomy and adultery with the death penalty, including by stoning.

The laws will be introduced in phases in the energy-rich country nestled between two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, with the harshest penalties going into effect in two years.

The U.S. government has been largely silent on the issue until Tuesday, when the State Department told reporters the ambassador to Brunei had privately relayed concerns to the government there about the law.

Through the resolution the council members were "adding their voice" to international outrage, said a spokeswoman. The council stopped short of taking direct action, such as a city-sanctioned boycott.

In the last few days, organizations have canceled events at the hotel, including the Motion Picture and Television Fund's annual "Night Before the Oscars" charity event and the Feminist Majority Foundation's annual Global Women's Rights Awards.

Gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday called on the hotel's owner to stop promoting special services at the hotel for same-sex weddings, now legal in California.

"This is the height of hypocrisy, and we must ensure that profits from LGBT weddings in the U.S. stop going to a regime that could soon start executing its LGBT citizens," the group's president Chad Griffin said in a statement.

The Beverly Hills Hotel and nearby Hotel Bel-Air are part of the Dorchester Collection of luxury hotels that are owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the Brunei government.

Christopher Cowdray, the chief executive of the London-based Dorchester Collection, said those protesting have ignored local hotels owned by countries with poor human rights records and that a boycott would ultimately hurt the local economy most.

"There are other hotel companies in this city that are owned by Saudi Arabia ... you know, your shirt probably comes from a country which has human rights issues," said Cowdray from Beverly Hills."

=====================

Citation for Sultan of Brunei owning 7000 cars:

10/10/12, "Relax with Sultan of Swing in fairytale Brunei," Herald Sun (Australia)  


======================

11/19/12, "White House Announces $6 Billion to Promote Clean Energy – in Asia," CNS News, Lucas

"The White House announced the federal government will spend $6 billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment.

“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future, the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific countries."...

----------------------------------------------------------------------


3/29/14, "Concern as Brunei brings in system of Islamic law with punishments that include the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death," UK Independent, Andrew Buncombe

"The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s wealthiest rulers and a close ally of Britain, will this week oversee his country’s transition to a system of Islamic law with punishments that include flogging, the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death.

The 67-year-old absolute monarch declared last year that he wanted to introduce a full sharia system in his oil-rich nation and warned critics who took to social media sites to complain that they could be prosecuted using the new laws."... 



=========================================== 

The World Bank says 20% of any expenditure in Indonesia goes to corruption: 
 
Dec. 11, 2011, "Indonesia’s Climate of Graft Snarls Investment," Jakarta Globe, Shirley Wibisono  

 
"A World Bank analysis found corruption could add up to 20 percent to the existing costs of projects in Indonesia.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won two elections on promises to tackle graft in one of the most corrupt countries in Asia, but critics say he has failed to make any genuine difference to the culture of graft and impunity.

A Gallup poll released in October found that 91 percent of Indonesians believe corruption in government is widespread, compared to 84 percent in 2006. ...


Here in Indonesia, it is a common practice for businessmen to bribe officials to get a project, Adiningsih said....

It’s common for corruption to happen at all stages in Indonesian infrastructure projects, whether it’s during the tender process or extortion along the way.”...

Investors consistently cite corruption as a major deterrent."... 


=================================

9/17/10, "Corruption jeopardizes lucrative climate-change deals," Reuters, Jakarta Globe, by S. Creagh

====================================


.

No comments: