Rumour has it ........

This from the Oman Observer on 6th June, 2012:

Rumours deplored

Wed, 06 June 2012

His Majesty is the pride of the nation — By Zainab Al Nasria — MUSCAT — The Majlis Ash’shura has condemned recent rumours circulated by electronic media and mobile phones that targeted His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. The Majlis, at a press conference here yesterday, expressed its strong rejection of the abusive allegations made against His Majesty the Sultan, who, the members said, is the founder of modern Oman and the pride of the nation. This came in response to the statement issued on Monday by the Public Prosecution Department.
The Majlis Ash’shura had already deplored the rumours during its session on Sunday and called for action to penalise the perpetrators. During the press conference, a team of the Majlis Ash’shura agreed that there is serious defect in the laws that organise how rumours should be dealt with. The team voiced support for the Public Prosecution Department in its legal stance, particularly as the perpetrators had the audacity to target the pride of Omani citizens.
The members said they would propose revision of the laws so that rumours targeting individuals can be tackled more firmly. The members said that they are not against freedom of opinion and the use of solid fact to support views, but they wish to see action taken against those who spread rumours. They added that the Majlis Ash’shura is there to represent the citizens and it always welcomes the opinions of citizens. However, the members said, no one should be allowed to fiddle with the country’s political, security and economic stability.
Citing an example, they noted that rumours were behind real estate market instability in 2007. The Public Prosecution Department earlier said that it observed a rising trend in offensive writings and inciting calls by some individuals who target personal life under the pretext of free expression of opinion. It advised all citizens and residents that it will take necessary legal action against the perpetrators of such statements or acts, as well as those who promote or provoke or assist them.
It considers such behaviour as a blatant violation of the sanctity of personal life and warned that with such rumours on the rise, the national interests can be put at a stake. The Public Prosecution Department also pointed out that these verbal or written insults are contrary to our religious teachings, rich traditions and noble morals that are deeply integrated in the Omani society.

So what were these rumours about? Anyone know?


If it is that he's rumoured to be gay, well  ....... yawn! Old news!!

News of the World .....

I didn't buy the last ever copy of the News of the World. It was a souvenir copy, advert free (except for charitible ads) and all money was going to charity. Despite all of this, I'd rather give my money to charity directly than support an organisation which condones its newspapers to hack into vulnerable people's lives.

Just what did the NotW think they would achieve by listening to the voice mail of a murdered girl; or reading emails of a soldier who died in battle?

Just what did they think they could report?

It is quite sickening.

Oman has quite strict press censorship. I raged against it when I lived there, aching for the time when the press opened up and reported what was really happening, rather than what the government wanted to tell the people.

Well, if the greedy need for information from a liberated press pushes news reporters to infiltrate into people's lives without consent, compounding the grief of recently bereaved relatives or reveal personal details of those in the public eye, then I'd rather stay with the state controlled media.

I want to read news, not scandal.

Focus.....focus!

How quickly the vast behemoth we call the modern media changes focus. The revolution in Libya and the unrest in the Middle East was subject to saturation coverage over the last few weeks, almost to the exclusion of all else.

Now, the tragedy in Japan caused by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami has knocked the Middle East dilemma off the map completely....not just as the top story....but completely. Even the BBC, that paragon of good broadcasting, has lurched from wall-to-wall coverage of Libyan unrest to wall-to-wall coverage of the aftermath of the natural disaster in Japan, like the Eye of Sauron searching for the Hobbits. There seems to be no middle ground. Lybia barely gets a "and now for the rest of the news" mention.

The disaster in Japan is tragic. Death and destruction on that scale is awesome and terrifying in equal measure. Mother Nature has stirred and reminded us just how much She is in charge, and not us. We are no more than an irritant on her skin, to be swatted or scratched from time to time.

But the disaster in Japan is a point in time and no matter how awful it is right now, it has very little long term impact on humanity, on society and on the future of the human world we all live in. It deserves our attention. It deserves our symathy and help. It deserves extensive, but not exclusive media coverage.

The happenings in the Middle East, on the other hand, are fundamental to the way a large portion of the world will work in the forseeable future. They deserve more than a mention at the end of the news.

Why does the media get this so wrong?

I'm afraid to say that even such respected institutions like the BBC and CNN are out for sensationalist headlines. The Lybian conflict has reached a stalemate. Gaddafi has survived (for now) and is fighting back. For news organisations looking for the next big headline, this is a disaster. It's just a shame that another disaster has to be the vehicle for them to get out of the doldrums they find themselves back in the fast current of sensationalist journalism.