Gulf to issue rights reports

COUNTRIES in the GCC may start to issue their own annual reports on terrorism, human rights and human resources to offset those compiled by international organisations.

GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman Al Attiyah proposed the move at the seventh GCC consultative meeting on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He claimed there is a need to counter reports on the GCC by international organisations because they “may be inaccurate”.

“My proposal was well received by the leadership of GCC states at the meeting,” he said following yesterday’s Press conference at the Foreign Ministry, in Manama.

A new department is now expected to be formed at the GCC General Secretariat specifically to issue reports, which would be compiled in co-operation with relevant government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in member states.

Another of his proposals, which he said received the backing of Gulf leaders, was to reassess and upgrade GCC strategies for economic co-operation.

“The move aims to take into consideration changes in legislation in member states, as well as global developments,” he said.
GDN

READY? SET, GO!

HAAAAAAAAHHAHAHEHEHAHHAH AHAHEHAHEAHH EEEEHHHEEEAHHHA HEHEHAHEHA GAHHAHAHAH KA3 KA3 KA3 KAAAAA333 HEHEEEE KEKEE

Ok, wipe the tears, now we can get on with our lives.

Three or four weeks ago I almost freaked out. I woke up at 4am with pain in my chest, and the back of the neck. No, I was not sweating although I can’t particularly remember. As I detest illness and hospitals, I put it down to gas.

Later on that same morning, my dad was once again taken to the emergency room at the BDF Hospital with suspected fluid in the lungs, once again. True enough, they were filling up nicely. He was admitted.. ultimately he left hospital after being drained, only to return a couple of days later. He LOVES that place! But that’s another story.

On that day as his ticker was being looked into, I thought I’d ask the attending cardiac doctor what she thought of this pain I suffered from earlier that morning. She asked the questions and told me then to immediately go to the Cardiac clinic and tell them to admit me with “chest pains.”

Ohno! Notmetoo!

They wired me up, laid me down and started humming and hawing on graphs, taking about a litre and a half of blood for tests (yes I exaggerate) and eventually an hour later said there is nothing wrong with me.

Leg it!

But before doing so, the nurse insisted that I undergo more tests. Her rationale is that my dad has a heart condition, and I am obese. I told her, no, there was no need for any more tests as their test and measurements were quite normal, no?

No. She didn’t care. She said I’ve got to do the Tread Mill Test. The doc was happy enough to just let me go without insisting too much, the nurse wouldn’t have it. She went, convinced the doc to have a “good talking to” me, and while the doc was getting on my case (you’re too fat, your dad has a heart condition – she was treating dad as well remember? – and you’re FAT (yes I know, you told me that already!) So do as you’re told.) the nurse went and got me an appointment for the TMT. Which was this morning.

Arrived at the appointed time this morning, a little delay as there were other patients waiting patiently, ultimately my turn came: stripped, put my gym shorts on, trainers and out to be shaved, probes stuck to various places around my chest, BP taken and up I went on the tread mill.

This is going to be easy. I’m gonna ACE this test!

It started with walking, a minute later it upped the juice, and then every few minutes the speed would just carry on increasing! Hey, hold on a minute, I’m going to the gym this afternoon, so I’d better leave some energy for that, right?

Anyway it got too fast, I got too out of breath and the technician said that I already reached the heart level they were looking for. Why the hell they didn’t pull the plug earlier then, I have no idea. Gluttons for punishment is my guess.

The good news is that all is ok. The ticker is working as it should. BUT. Again the nurse (a different one) insisted that I do an Echo test although I wasn’t scheduled for one, “just to be sure.”

Ok then, dress, walk across the hall, undress, more probes (no more shaving, and no, you’re not gonna see a picture!) and then 20 minutes later I was told to once again leg it.

“Nothing wrong with you.”

Phew!

The Mahmood Al-Yousif Machine, ZERO Defects^TM

So. I now officially have NO excuse not to continue to go to the gym and working my ass off at 85% heart rate to lose the blubber.

And what did all this lot cost? Being seen by the best doctors, technicians, nurses, in the best heart centre in the Gulf?

200 Fils! 53c!

And that was for the parking lot. And even that is subsidised.

I love this country!

Max, 28 mos REDUX, originally uploaded by murn.

Innocence? Petulance? Very handsome is what this little guy is!

It’s photographs like this that gets people snapping and appreciating life…

Vineyard stroll, originally uploaded by coba.

Come away with me… I’ll lead you to the end of the rainbow.

They originally said that they will not use the infamous Law 47 of 2002 (arabic)and it’s “just administrative”, however we continue to see journalists being gagged using this archaic and unfair law.

In this particular instance, the journalist submitted reports to a “foreign” newspaper without being registered as a foreign correspondent with the Ministry of Information. Therefore, the Ministry took umbrage with his activities and presented him to the public prosecutor under Law 47.

Other than this process and its associated law is against the essence of human rights and the freedoms of expression, does that now mean that a Bahraini needs the Ministry’s permission and registration just just to comments let alone write an article on any “foreign” or local website, or comment or write an article as an individual Bahraini citizen in a foreign publication?

What if that Bahraini citizen was to publish important scientific research? Would she still require that permission?

What about a child submitting a drawing in an international competition? Does he require permission? What if he doesn’t get it in time and goes ahead and submits, does the mother goes to prison?

What about a businessman who is trying to bring much needed investment into the Kingdom by writing articles, and presenting in seminars and exhibitions? Does he need to have permission?

Does the Ministry of Information have any more rules and regulations in its drawers that would further stifle investment and thought? Because to me, this seem to be their mission statement.

I just want to know really. Just out of interest, you see.

And the parliament, where are they from all this? I sent 40 of these “esteemed” MPs an email last night, only to receive 31 rejection notices because they exceeded their quota. They’ve exceeded their quota since they were elected, they might as well have an expiry date for a nameplate in their chamber!

update names of MPs whose email bounced are listed below:

For the record, here are the names of the MPs whose email was not rejected (no guarantee that they have received it or read it, no one contacted me yet, but at least there was no error and giving them the benefit of the doubt, they might actually check their email boxes from time to time as they are NOT over quota):

Abdulhadi Ahmed Isa Marhoon
Adel Abdulrahman Jassim Al-Moawdah
Ahmed Hussain Ibrahim Abbas
Dr. Ali Ahmed Abdulla Ali
Hamad Khalil Al-Muhanadi
Mohammed Hussain Ahmed Al-Khayyat

Following are the Members of Parliament whose email box is overflowing and probably don’t bother checking it. Being “representatives of the people” doesn’t mean that they actually have to listen to us:

Abbas Hassan Ibrahim Salman
Abdulaziz Abdulla Mohammed Al-Mousa
Abdulaziz Jalal Al-Meer
Abdulla Ja’afar Ahmed Al-A’ali
Abdulla Khalaf Rashed Al-Dossery
Abdulnabi Salman Ahmed Nasser
Ahmed Abdulla Ahmed Hajji
Ahmed Ibrahim Mahmood Behzad
Ali Mohammed Abdulla Mattar
Ali Mohammed Ali Al-Samahiji
Dr. Abdullatif Ahmed Al-Shaikh Mohammed Saleh
Dr. Ibrahim Yousif Abdulla
Dr. Isa Jassim Mohammed Al-Motawa
Dr. Sa’adi Mohammed Abdulla Ali
Dr. Salah Ali Mohammed Abdulrahman
Farid Ghazi Jassim Rafi’
Ghanim Fadhl Ghanim Al-Buainain
Hassan Eid Rashed Bukhammas
Isa Ahmed Abu Al-Fateh
Isa Hassan Abdulrasool Bin-Rajab
Jassim Ahmed Abdulkarim Al-Saidi
Jassim Hassan Yousif Abdula’al
Jassim Mohammed Jassim Al-Mowali
Jihad Hassan Ibrahim Bukamal
Khalifa Ahmed Khalifa Al-Dhahrani
Mohammed Abdulla Abdulla Al-Shaikh Ja’afar Al-Abbas
Mohammed Faihan Saleh Al-Dossery
Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Ka’abi
Mohammed Khalid Ibrahim Mohammed
Othman Mohammed Sharif Al-Rayyis
Sameer Abdulla Ahmed Al-Shuwaikh
Sami Muhsin Mohammed Al-Buhairi
Yousif Hussain Ahmed Al-Harmi
Yousif Zain-Alabedeen Mohammed Zainal

You can count them, 34 don’t bother to check their email, while only 6 appear to.

Dispicable… I actually forgot to email the chairman of the council last night and just emailed him 5 minutes ago, only to be rejected, just like the others. A sample of the rejection email is:

———————————————————————————
The message you sent to nuwab.gov.bh/kaldahrani was rejected because the quota for the mailbox has been exceeded.

The subject of the message follows:
Subject: On the BBC Arabic Service

———————————————————————————

And these people are actually standing for the next election? They should declare their intention now that they would not DARE stand again, not even to manage a petrol station!

A 52-year-old Bahraini journalist is being prosecuted for allegedly writing for a newspaper abroad without government permission.

He should have had official permission from the Information Ministry, the Lower Criminal Court heard.

The defendant, a journalist for nearly 30 years, is charged with illegally working as a correspondent for a Kuwaiti newspaper.

He admitted at an earlier hearing writing for the Kuwaiti paper, but told the court he had no idea that he needed ministry permission.

The ministry sent a complaint to the public prosecution that the journalist was acting as a correspondent for the newspaper without obtaining official permission.

It said it had repeatedly warned him to stop sending articles abroad without permission.

He has violated the Press and Publication Law of 2002, said the ministry.

The defendant worked illegally as a correspondent for the paper from March 8, 2002 to February 28, 2003, says the prosecution.

He told the court he stopped sending articles abroad for some time when he learned he could be prosecuted if he did not have official permission.

“I asked officials at the Information Ministry about the requirements one needs to practice this profession of becoming a journalist and a correspondent here in Bahrain,” he said.

“They told me that they wanted a letter from the editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti newspaper requesting the Information Ministry to register me as its correspondent in Bahrain.”

He said the paper sent the letter as requested and he continued as a correspondent.

The court adjourned the case until September 12, to find out whether the ministry had given permission or not.
GDN :: Mohammed Aslam :: 30 May 2005

The proposed establishment of a team of inspectors and judges to tackle the issue of illegal or runaway workers in Bahrain could mark a step toward major changes in the country’s labour market. The issue highlights growing questions over employment policy, as well as human rights concerns.

Speaking in parliament this week, Labour Minister Majeed bin Mohsen al-Alawi told deputies that a 20-strong committee of workplace inspectors and judges represented the first phase in progress toward the setting up of a fully fledged labour court.

A young entrepreneur is enjoying success in Germany after developing a website that allows people to bid for work by undercutting others.

He is now in talks to set up so-called “job-dumping” sites in other countries.

Jobdumping.de, set up by student Fabian Loew, has been flourishing in a country where five million – nearly one in eight workers – are unemployed.

The site works much like a traditional online auction site, except in reverse – jobs are advertised, and then the lowest bidder – ie the person willing to do the job for the least amount of money – wins.
BBC News via One dog said to another
Image courtesy of Bahrania

Quite innovative really, you want a job, fine, bid for the bloody thing, who needs to pay millions to a consulting firm to come up with a plan to eradicate unemployment in Bahrain, just hire the designer of Jobdumping.de for a few hundred (ok thousands is just fine with me) Euros and he’ll get rid of at least some of the unemployment we have here.

Won’t make the unions very happy about this “solution” though, but it’ll get a few bums off the street and into work.

I’ve just been told that my Arabic interview with the BBC Arabic World Service is going to be broadcast tomorrow morning and will repeat every hour though out the day.

As happy as I am bringing exposure to this issue, I am not very happy of my oratorical skills in Arabic so I hope I don’t suck big time tomorrow!

The reporter assures me that it’s “okay.”

We’ll see tomorrow morning… In Bahrain you can listen to the BBC Arabic World Service on 103.8MHz FM.

–

UPDATE: I just heard part of the interview on the radio (around 08:30 on 31 May 2005.) The interview as broadcast also included Hussain Yousif (bahrainonline.org) Abdulla Mohammed (montadayat.org)

UPDATE 2: Our friends Haitham, MMM and Iman have also been interviewed by the Beeb on another topic: the blogging phenomenon in the Arab world. Good on ya, guys. The more expsore we get the better. Please let us know when you know when it’s going to be broadcast.

ضحايا التعذيب يطاردون الجلادين في جنيف, originally uploaded by wardat_elbahrain.

Over 5,000 people attended a seminar organised by both the dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the Committee Supporting Victims of Torture in Bilad Al-Qadeem near Manama to discuss the results of the recent United Nations report on torture in Bahrain.

You can see the attendees lifting banners calling for the enactment of CAT, Committee Against Torture recomendations, one of which is the repeal or at least an amendment to Decree 56 of 2002 which would bring the torturers to justice.

Wouldn’t you think that this is a perfect opportunity for the creation of a Truth and Reconcilliation Committee a la South Africa and more recently Morocco?

Sure a few (high) heads would roll because of it, but the Royal Family would be assured of ruling for another few centuries…

This is a true story of love and coercion. Ward and Wardah are two Bahraini citizens who grew up together in a small village. Ward and Wardah used to play together when they were kids. They were close friends. Innocent kids who liked hang out with each other. Wardah was Warda’s best friend. She used to tell him everything. When she comes from school, she would go to his house and do her homework with him. Warda was Wardah’s hero. He used to protect her from the other kids. He wouldn’t let anyone to make fun of her.

At 1 p.m. on February the 5th 1973, Ward came back from the elementary school as usual. After having lunch, he went to Wardah’s house. He knocked the door. No one answered. He knocked the door again after an hour and no one answered. He kept knocking the door. “Where is Wardah?â€? he thought. He sat by the house’s door waiting for someone to answer him. At 6 p.m. he saw Wardah’s uncle from a distance. He rushed at him. He wanted to ask him about Wardah. “Uncle, where is Wardah?” He asked him. He looked at him with teary eyes “You don’t know where Wardah is? Wardah is gone. She left the country. She will never come back.”

Another Bahraini blog is launched, this is a collaborative effort trying to document the forced estrangement of a girl, and the political timeframe in Bahrain since that estrangement by her protector, Ward (pronounced as in wa-rd which is flowers, rather than word.)

I look forward to reading their stories, trials and tribulations in the hope that we can learn something from the past, so it doesn’t repeat in the future.

Ward and Wardah, please extend them your support.

Green Parrot in Majestic Flight, originally uploaded by malyousif.

They were back to roost at dusk! I’m begining to fall in love with these birds once again, and re-inforce my love for this home.

The Guardian has picked up on the webmasters’ arrests, our parliament’s obsession with Bluetooth and the Ministry of Information’s administrative order requiring websites to register with them.

Anyone in government care about these subjects making international headlines?

Nesting Green Parrot, originally uploaded by malyousif.

Coming out of the house to go to work this morning, the squawking stopped me. Looking up and sure enough found one of the regular green parrot visitors hanging upside down looking at me from the roofing tiles. They seem to have taken residence, but am not sure if they’re actually nesting there yet and I’m not going to disturb them.

Of course we have sparrows nesting in various locations under those tiles all around the house as well. The numbers have increased tremendously since the garden now is taking shape, and they have trees and bugs to eat aplenty.

Not to mention the newly discovered other slithering reptiles! Yep, we seem to now have two resident snakes as well which look like desert snakes. The bug people have come ’round but couldn’t find any evidence, however the pool guy swears that he’s been seeing one particular fellow for the last 2 years in the pump room.

He of course didn’t think it’s that important to tell anyone. I only discovered this fact when I saw how hesitant he was at entering the pump room at night to switch on the pool lights!

They asked us to pray for Mr. Blue-ish (Zarqawi), so here’s my offering:

May the fleas of a thousand desert dogs infest your arse, and may your arms grow short so you won’t be able to scratch it.*
May the syphilis of 72 infected whores wilt your shriveled genitalia.
May the bugs of a hundred leprous camels flay your skin.
May the curse of eternal damnation land on your and your supporters’ doorsteps.
May the cancerous cells of a million lab-rats invade your body.
May the annals of history forget your existence.
May the terror you have inflicted on Islam be your eternal companion in Purgatory.

Please feel free to add your prayers in the comments. Remember that these prayers automagically go to bin Laden, Zawaheri and their ilk, so I invite you to be sincerely creative. But remember that these pricks do NOT represent the Arabs or Muslims. So limit your ire on the individuals named and their organisation!

* thanks Rami!