Comments on: Frustration, a good catalyst for change

By: Anonny

Anonny — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:07:00 +0000

s’ok, mahmood. i’ve worn similar shoes in my time

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By: Anonny

Anonny — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:04:23 +0000

Sadek,

Mr Cohen was not a source of advice, just a source of bad slang.

Thanks for your advice though. I’m sure it’s well meant and I shall have a google of this chappie over the weekend.

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By: I

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:49:06 +0000

Jocko,
In reply to your posting #62
“Can somebody tell me what criteria they use at BMMI to determine if you are muslim in regards to buying alchohol which is forbiden.”

I have been informed that all the booze companies will not sell to anyone wearing a thobe. If the person is in ‘western’ dress then there are no problems. If in a thobe, then they are ‘obviously’ Muslim and will not be served.

That is why you may see other entrepreneurial folks (often Indian) standing outside the booze company shops taking orders for ‘believers’ who don’t want to, or can’t be seen to venture into the liquor stores. . . for a small fee, of course.

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By: Sadek

Sadek — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:12:02 +0000

Annony
I did like Ali G (alias Baron Cohen), and found him hugely entertaining. Burat wasn’t too bad either, although offensive in many ways, nevertheless I cannot (neither should you as a piece of free advise) bank on him for economic directions or advise.
Economics has been called the “dismal science”, and thus “cold”. But our problems have to seen in an objective fashion and around these realities something should be crafted.
If you wish to learn more I suggest you do a google on the subject “new growth theory”, one of the main propounders is a Stanford professor called Paul Romer.

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By: Astro

Astro — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:16:29 +0000

I’ll leave the blue-sky thinking to the advertising “creatives”…

Question now – in order to make that omelette – is what are the benchmarks for change, and who will be held accountable – and by whom?

Right now, I see a lot of pots (and pans) looking for one black kettle.

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By: mahmood

mahmood — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:18:58 +0000

get the same drubbing from Mahmood

Och, don’t take to too hard laddie. try putting yourself in my shoes for a bit and see how you feel!

I’m not knocking you down, not at all, I have come down harder on Bahraini workers and their ethics. What I was trying to demonstrate by my response is that it is no good generalising although I recognise that sometimes that is the only way of getting a point across.

c’est la vie

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By: Anonny

Anonny — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:49:05 +0000

Actually, I’m warming to the term as I begin to imagine it’s uses. It’s a very useful way of inserting human resources into the economist’s mind-set without using labour, which people in this region see as derogatory, and entrepreneurship, which is seen as narrow.
But Bahrain’s problems are those of many countries. I still think we should be the ones to come up with a new approach, a completely different way of addressing these problems that would make the people of the world sit up and notice us. All this economist talk is pulling us into a system that we should be looking at critically and daring to challenge. Surely there are people out there who can imagine better ways! I wish I could.

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By: Anonny

Anonny — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:21:45 +0000

Sorry, Sadek, I most certainly was not trying to hide, but I guess I was playing with language in a silly way. Strictly speaking, I was using satire not jargon. Have you watched Ali G? I thought my words would be seen immediately as mildly self-deprecating humour.
I was referring to the fact that you could say those things about Bahraini workers and not get the same drubbing from Mahmood and Ammaro as I did when I wrote about my experiences of working in Bahrain.

I’m finding your economics jargon a little cold. Intellectual capital is not a new term to me at all – I used to work in advertising.
By the way, the proper definition of “intellectual capital” refers to an asset that yields intellectual property rights.
However, as it is commonly (erroneously) used by all those venture capitalists, dotcom gurus and pop-economists of the late 90′s, it’s an unpleasant, category-blurring term in that it bundles intangible human qualities, the divine fire of creative inspiration (as others have expressed it) and human awareness into the same sphere as other merely physical resources. Every discipline has its weakness. Economics seems to condition its practitioners to treat people as mere things. I’m getting scared that somebody is going to quote that fluff-head Thomas Friedman at me and I’m going to have to log off and daydream about light artillery in order to recover.

Still, if “intellectual capital” is what it takes to get through to the fat cats, then I guess “intellectual capital” it is.

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By: Astro

Astro — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:04:38 +0000

Annony,

Who’s the outsider? And who is not?

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By: Sadek

Sadek — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:02:31 +0000

Annony
“Start with the people, for goodness’s sake, and put capital second.”
Let me throw a new idea at you and “Nine” (and which does not conflict totally with what both of you are pressing for) – intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is what is important, and that’s what we should be striving for. Infact if you tried to stretch yourself a little bit and read some modern developmental economics, you will appreciate the importance of this element. In addition to the traditional ingredients of Labour (people), land and capital, its innovation and technology that are now the main contributors to any modern economy (and employment).
We are missing out (because of a second rate educational system,etc) and if we continue down this path it will soon become immaterial if we have foreigners in our labour force or not. As a small oil-less economy and resource poor economy we will become immaterial, with fewer jobs and infact our people become migrants (already we are experiencing it).
I agree with Astro lets break some eggs and the reforms (in their entirety, and carried out) are probably the best hope we have to move out of this rut.

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