Archive | August, 2005

Frivolity or Electioneering?

Our MPs are getting MUCH better it seems. Better in the sense as “cloaking” issues into others to make their objections at least more palatable, to them and their constituents at least, rather than be outright brain-farts.

As the next session of parliament approaches, we have had a flurry of activity from those who claim to represent ‘the people’ but in actual fact just want their dogmatic view of the world to subjugate every other thought.

Have a look at The Right Honourable Mohammed Khalid for instance. He is espousing a very important subject that is dear to my heart:

MANAMA – Bahrain’s Minister of Information, Dr Mohammed Abulghaffar, may be questioned over alleged irregularities in the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC) when the Chamber of Deputies reconvenes in October.

There are many many irregularities in the BRTC as far as I am concerned, chief amongst them is the absense of creativity, but that of course is not on the Right Honourable MP’s horizon, he’s concerned with much more basic and mundane things of course, things that will have a direct impact on elevating the creativity of that limp organ:

He criticised the BRTC for recruiting a Lebanese make-up man on a high salary while failing to regularise the status of 90 Bahrainis working under a part-time scheme.

The deputy also claimed the man lacked skills. He said the corporation should hire female make-up artistes since hiring a male to apply make-up on woman artistes was against the Bahraini culture and Islamic values. “I have received many complaints from woman workers who say they feel uncomfortable dealing with him,” he said.

The Right Honourable MP will of course exercise his constitutionally guaranteed right come October to correct the situation:

The deputy said he would form a parliamentary committee to investigate the irregularities if the minister’s answers are not convincing.

The deputy, in a letter to the minister, asked him to regularise the situation at the BRTC. “I have talked about irregularities at the tourism affairs directorate and look forward to doing so for the BRTC,” he said.

Frivolous? But of course! Do we expect any better in the last session before they are (hopefully) kicked out?

There are 409 days left. That’s a very very very long time to wait for common sense to make an appearance in that chamber.

excerpts from Khaleej Times

Hundreds die in Iraq in stampede and Bahrain is in the same danger

Close to 800 people died in Iraq today in a stampede which resulted from rumours that a suicide bomber was in their midst. The crowd, estimated in the hundreds of thousands were crossing the Two Imams bridge in Baghdad in a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of Imam Al-Kadhem to commemorate his death.

Shiite processions, which can draw huge crowds, are often targeted by Sunni extremists seeking to trigger sectarian war. Mortar shells had exploded near the shrine compound about two hours before the bridge disaster, killing at least seven people. U.S. Apache helicopters fired at the attackers.
Yahoo News

My sincere condolences to the bereaved and their families. A’tham Allah Ajerkum.

The promise of sectarian strife is also looming quite largely in Bahrain. This so far peaceful land which has encompassed varied civilisations throughout its history, is in danger of succumbing to an undeclared civil war if people don’t do something about the mounting hatred between the two main sects of Islam. The trust between both has all but disappeared, especially since an insidious rumour surfaced over the past couple of days that the Shi’a are organising an entity to be called the “House of Shi’a” which will supposedly bring all the Shi’as of Bahrain together to fight and reclaim their rights from the Sunni minority. This rumour was calculated to increase the already deeply intrenched mistrust and rally the Sunna against the Shi’a and vice-versa. Much like what is happening in Iraq.

Another thing came to light yesterday is the appearance of bogus religious proclamations (arabic) in key Shi’a areas playing on the emotions of the naive, unsuspecting Shi’a public, or at least that was the hope of those who are trying their best to start sectarian strife if not for glaring mistakes in the banners’ text, the nonsensical proclamations, and the quick condemnation of these acts by leading Shi’a clerics and thinkers.

It doesn’t take a genius to ascertain who the perpetrators are, and to even possibly pin-point the cowardly source who is financing these acts. These are the very same animals who flew planes into buildings, the very same animals who slaughter hundreds in Iraq while cloaking themselves in Islam, their version of it at least, and the very same cowards who especially in the past couple of months have had a diarrhea of frivolous press releases calling into question the loyalty of the whole Shi’a population of this ancient land.

And to think they are in our parliament and some people actually voted them in, shames me for calling myself Bahraini.

Katrina calling


Katrina is leaving a lot of devastation in her path. A wiki has been started to disseminate information about the destruction and more importantly coordinating rescue and help efforts. I would appreciate it if you would lend a hand if you could. A regular reader for instance just informed me that the Red Cross is in dire need of blood. If you can, give.

Our thoughts are with you.

Ketchup is good for your hair!

I just had a good ketchup fight with my eldest daughter: Amna. I thoroughly enjoyed it because as of this moment I am taller, but probably not for very long!

The kitchen is a MESS… nevertheless, take your chances while you can says I! :lol:

The Arab ‘A List’ has been published

ITP Business, following in Forbes footsteps, has just published a list of top 10 billionaires of the Arab world. Knowing how secretive these families and individuals are, as well as the fact that their finances are closely guarded secrets, the absence of tax (and hence tax records and returns), I would call into question how they got their figures and would not regard them as accurate with any certainty.

With that in mind, let’s have a look at the top 10 compiled by ITP Business:

1. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud
Saudi Arabia
US$26 billion (Last year: US$20.15 billion)

2. Nasser Al Kharafi
Kuwait
US$9.4billion (US$9.2 billion)

3. The Bin Laden family
Saudi Arabia
US$6.9 billion (US$6.5 billion)

4. The Olayan Family
Saudi Arabia
US$6.82 billion (US$6.8 billion)

5. The Hariri Family
Lebanon
US$5.4 billion ($5.2 billion)

6. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair
United Arab Emirates
US$5.2 billion (US$4 billion)

7. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Al Rajhi
Saudi Arabia
US$4.85 billion (US$3.35 billion)

8. The Kanoo Family
Bahrain
US$4.7 billion (US$4.5 billion)

9. Mahdi Al-Tajir
United Arab Emirates
US$4.3 billion (US$3.8 billion)

10. Abdullah Al Futtaim
United Arab Emirates
US$3.8 billion (US$2.2 billion)

Total wealth between the top 50 familias? US$139.4 billion!

A few more questions to ponder: (a) I would like to know what contribution to science and scientific discovery did these families contribute to? Almost all these families main revenue generating activity is property, and in the case of the Kanoo family which seems to be the exception, services.

(b) with all the wealth, do they contribute to charities and say sponsor their countrymen for scholarships etc? I know (again my experience is mostly Bahrain so I would appreciate input from the other countries mentioned above) the “big” families in Bahrain contribute quite a bit to the local charities, and in the case of the Kanoo, Al-Moay(y)ed and Al-A’ali families don’t limit their contribution to just giving cash, but manage their contribution so that the best good can come out of them. For instance both Kanoo and Al-Moay(y)ed have built hospitals and/or specialist hospital wings and schools while Al-A’ali has built whole villages giving away housing to needy families and offering full scholarships (I hear that scholarships have stopped now since the old man passed away?).

(c) Why is there only ONE royal in the list? I am sure that if a king or amir were considered he would eclipse the WHOLE list without lifting a finger!

Regardless, more power to them all. I wish them all the best of happiness with their wealth, and hope that they all would contribute some of that wealth to the good of their communities.