Archive | February, 2008

Scam alert?

I received a really weird call last night from someone claiming to be Dr. Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri from Riyadh; however, the number displayed on the screen didn’t have anything to do with Riyadh. The sound quality also suggested that it is routed through a very noisy Internet connection. I could be wrong of course, but I don’t think so. Bear with me.

The so called Dr. Al-Tuwaijri tried as much as possible to lay the blame on the “bad lines” and tried to get from me other telephone numbers where he might reach me. I didn’t volunteer any but asked for his number is Riyadh to call him back. He didn’t offer a number. The line disconnected several times but the guy was persistent. I answered the call (this was after 9pm when I do not answer unknown numbers) which again originated from +1202147408158304 (anyone know anything about this number construct?) and after some felicitations which I completely ignored and told him to get to the point, he told me that as Bahrain was selected as the cultural country in the GCC this year, they want to produce a one-hour cultural program about Bahrain which my company – Gulf Broadcast – has been selected to produce! I said brilliant! Give me more information. He dictated a US number to me (+1-408-623 5273) and told me to urgently call Dr. Ebrahim Shalabi who is on the way from California to Bahrain to discuss this matter immediately. I tried to call the number but all I got is voice mail. I left the message then went to bed and forgot all about it.

This morning while we were on location, I received another rather persistent call from another unknown number, this time from +120220719947087 from a person claiming to be a Dr. Ebrahim Shalabi. Again after the now trade-mark felicitations (with heavy Islamic blessings etc) and putting the blame on me for not answering my phone last night as he tried to call me several times, he goes on about how the US customs and security officers are so strict that they took his bags off him when he boarded a plane to Florida from California last night and that they had promised to hand him the bags on arrival at Florida airport. That they didn’t do, apparently, and he is so much in a bind as he now does not have his passport, papers, credit cards, money to board the plane etc. This was when more alarm bells started ringing.

I cut him short and told him that I am busy and that he’s got to get on with what he wants off me. He went silent for a second and explained to me that my company “Gulf Broadcast – GBPS – has been selected to produce the movie”, and that is contingent on his arrival in Bahrain. As he didn’t have his money with him, he has already contacted Noono Exchange in Bahrain and they agreed that whenever someone goes to them and gives them his full name, they will immediately release funds to him in Florida Airport!

Again, I cut him short and told him that I am busy and I do not want to be involved in this at all. If there was anything else I can help him with, I will certainly think about it. The line immediately went dead then and no further calls came through!

I’ve never had anything quite like this double-act. I am almost convinced that it is a scam and am wondering if anyone else (in or out of Bahrain) has come across this before?

Winograd, from another perspective

The following cartoon appeared in Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper (thanks to Jaddwilliam for the heads-up) reflecting an alternate perspective on the findings of the Winograd Commission. However, it failed to stop me in my tracks.

Winograd cartoon in Al-Quds newspaper

The bubble says: “They admit their defeat and they hold their negligent accountable!! God curse the Zionist fads which intrude on our genuine Arab traditions!”

I am unfortunately very familiar with this situation, as is the case with almost every other Arab, I suspect. Our situation is that if we do identify grave negligence or even culpability in nefarious initiatives which could destroy whole societies and puts whole countries in turmoil, is elevate those implicated and pretend that the situation never actually happened. We just continue to spout useless platitudes about our “true Arab heritage” and that “those fads are not of our make-up”. What’s more is that the very people who were elected to ensure the application of proper oversight actually become tenacious defenders of the offenders! They methodically destroy any chance at our progress as a responsible human race.

Sweeping things under the carpet is an age-old tradition.

Maybe it’s high time that we did away with old and completely bankrupt ways and learnt to face our problems head-on in order to learn from experiences and get on to a better future. If that lesson comes from whom we call enemies, then so be it. But for God’s sake let us be courageous enough to at least attempt to solve our problems.

Without accepting and recognising failures, success will continue to be elusive.

New era at the Ministry of Information?

Bahraini minister of information Jehad buKamal I was thrilled to read in Al-Waqt in the weekend that the new minister of information, Jehad buKamal, affirmed that the new new Press & Publications Law will not stipulate any prison sentences against journalists [translate], except for denigrating God or the king.

The exception is accepted – for now – as otherwise the law will never get through this parliament. I will be really surprised if a brightspark or two of our esteemed members of parliament don’t stand against such a law and counter it by demanding that every single journalist or writer should be assumed guilty first and not only should they be imprisoned for their troubles, but also levy some public lashings against them too. Oh hang on, this actually had been suggested in the past, so let’s see how far they go this time!

The new minister has been a breath of fresh air at that ministry in particular and the government in general. So far, he has released some books which his ministry’s censorship office has withheld from publication or summarily banned for reasons they know best, has come out publicly against the imprisonment of journalists (and hopefully all opinion writers as guaranteed by our constitution anyway) and has lately commission none other than Al-Jazeera – which has so far been banned from reporting from Bahrain – to mount an investigative journalism course for several journalists and media personnel.

buKamal should certainly be encouraged and his steps fully supported.

This country has been quite haphazard in its information policies since the late Al-Moayed was relieved of his duties. Although much disliked for his strictness, he certainly was the one who dragged the ministry by the scruff of the neck and forced to work in a modern way. The staff at the ministry still remember him with fondness to this day! Whenever I speak to any of them about “the old days” you can see the dreamy look come across their faces as they speak of Tariq Al-Moayed. Like a strict headmaster, he was feared to be sure, but much loved too!

All those who have come after him were probably politically driven with a specific agenda which they believed was their duty to execute. However, the world instantly saw through their “valiant” PR efforts and labeled the ministry of information as nothing more than a government mouth-piece given exclusively to propaganda.

I know that buKamal has only been at the helm for a few months, but his actions so far bodes well. I just hope that what we see from him now is not another new manager honeymoon, soon to be replaced with the tried and tested “nodding dog” and “Yes” men syndromes which will invariably lead to the old ways.

I personally don’t think this will happen in buKamal’s case. He was an elected MP in the first parliament, then assigned by the king into the unelected Shura Council for the 2nd parliamentary term before being given this ministerial position. He also comes from a known merchant family and is a businessman of repute. All of these factors should undoubtedly help him turn this ministry around. Hopefully he will also be instrumental in closing it down altogether and delegate its traditional roles to the private sector by opening up the horizons for private media ownership.

Dalal

Dalal, originally uploaded by malyousif.

This is my most “favourited” picture on my Flickr stream. As I’m about to head out of the door to the same place I took this one, I thought I’d make this the Mtv traditional Friday Photograph!

Have a wonderful – if very windy – Friday my friends…

Keep safe and warm.

The West’s Acquiescence to Autocracy

Download the HRW Report 2008
pdf – 5.5MB

The US, EU and other democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections out of political expediency, Human Rights Watch says in its annual report.

Allowing autocrats to pose as democrats without demanding they uphold civil and political rights risked undermining human rights worldwide, it warned.

HRW said Pakistan, Thailand, Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Kenya and Russia had been falsely claiming to be democratic.
BBC News

Will this report wake them up?

Doubtful.

Have a wonderful, if very windy, Friday!