Saudi women in an extremely surprising development get elected to the board of directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce.

Congratulations Lama Al Suleiman and Nashwa Taher, I wonder when people in so called liberated Bahrain will start voting for women to hold office here? Unfortunately they didn’t fair very well in the recent Chamber of Commerce elections here.

Two Saudi businesswomen swept to an unprecedented victory in elections to the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday in the first polls in which women stood as candidates in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

“I’m happy, but I’m still under shock,” Lama Al Suleiman, one of the two winners, said, summing up the feelings of many election activists and watchers who had expected one woman at best to be voted into office.

“It’s a big leap for Saudi women, an answer to what people want,” said Suleiman, a 39-year-old mother-of-four.
Middle East Times
Hat tip: Emirates Economist

The government is being so amateurish lately that it boggles the mind how they actually continue to believe that the only way to rule is by sweeping problems under carpets, rather than courageously coming out and facing them head on. Isn’t this attitude the very thing that started the “troubles” of the ’90s?

We have a “situation” here that threatens to turn the country once again upside down internally, and losing it whatever is left of its tattered reputation internationally.

Why didn’t the Interior Ministry IMMEDIATELY hold a press conference after hearing of these dangerous allegations and propose a full and independent investigation into the matter is beyond belief. This only suggests that the ministry just doesn’t give a damn about it’s reputation in the first place, and that it feels no justification for doing so as it is above suspicion and above the law.

A person was allegedly sexually violated and attacked supposedly by five plain-clothed members of the police in a brazen attempt to dissuade him and his colleagues from demonstrating in front of the Royal Court and not a word of apology or promise of investigation yet, all we get in the popular press is the same platitudes. Should we be surprised that main-street is in uproar?

Up your game guys, please. This is getting very frustrating and tiring.

update 3 Dec ’05: You have to take your hat off to Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa, he organised a press conference last night and laid the full details out in the open and beseached community leaders and parents to help in quelling the rioting while confirming the full rights to democratic ltools like demonstrations and freedoms of speech.

The riots we have witnessed have ceased since last night, when the clerics finally came out and told people to not cause any more troubles.

Bahrain doesn’t allow gun ownership and possession unless specifically authorised by the Interior Minister himself. So the only ones who do carry guns about their person are mostly members of the police and members of the military police (who I suspect are allowed to take their guns with them at the end of their duty?) Therefore, gun crime in Bahrain is extremely rare.

But for an incident last night which was reported in the GDN this morning stating that some yahoo with a friend decided to shoot someone who “wronged” his sister in a row about a bloody mobile phone! Fortunately the bozo missed.

Are there any laws for owning guns in Bahrain then? How is that implemented? Are the police not required to hand in their firearms at the end of their shift? More importantly, what are the police doing about this trend? So far all attacks (as far as I know) were non-fatal, but it’s only a matter of time before they turn really bad.

The Unstoppabulls Karting tem is all set for the Red Bull 25 hours Endurance Karting Race that is scheduled to be hosted at the Seef Track from Thursday 1st December to Friday 2nd December. Under the patronage of HH Shaikh Khalifa bin Hamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, organized by Dubai based Sports Star and sanctioned by the Bahrain Motor Federation, this will be the first major Karting event since December 2004 and should be a crowd puller.

The all Bahraini Unstoppabulls Karting Team will be captained by Mohammed Al Baharna with racers Fahad Al Musalam, Talal Al Ghaith, Yasser Al Saffar, Abbas Al Sarhan and Ali Ateya.

The Unstoppabulls Racing Team was formed in 2000 by HH Shaikh Khalifa and Fahad Al Musalam. Today the team members are champions not only in Karting but having diversified have proved over and over again the ability of Bahraini racers in a variety of motor racing principles; once given the support and opportunity for their talent to be nurtured.

Currently the Unstoppabulls are supported by Karting 4 ME, Behbehani Motors, Kanoo Motor Sport (BIC) and technology partners Compuex.

For more information or to participate please contact Ahmed Shehi, Sports Stars Telephone +971-4-283 1066, Mobile; +971-50-475 5535 Fax +971-4-283 1181