Category Archives: Bahrain

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Media, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia

Horatio Alger of Arabia: Self-Made Prince al-Waleed Fakes Relocating to Occupied Bahrain…..

 

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“Bahrain has become home to Al-Arab News Channel and its studios. Rotana Group has also decided to relocate its top executive management from Riyadh to Bahrain as per December 12, 2012, while maintaining its studios in Cairo and Beirut. Two agreements have today been signed at The Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Information Affairs Authority President Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa sealed the deals respectively with Al-Arab News Channel director-general and editor-in-chief Jamal Khashoggi and Rotana Media Group Chief Executive Officer Fahd Al-Sukat. Addressing the ceremony, Shaikh Fawaz thanked His Royal Highness Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud for trusting in Bahrain’s media openness, deregulated economy and technical and human competences. He wished pioneering Rotana Group and Al-Arab News Channel, along with their media and administrative staff……………”

Also sprach Bahrain News Agency, the least credible news agency in the Persian Gulf region. Which makes it the least credible in the Arab and Muslim worlds which makes it the least credible in the whole wide world. But it is telling the truth, sort of, here.
Read carefully and you see that this agreement is a meaningless political gesture to the ruling clan of Bahrain. The studios of the two networks will remain safely in Cairo and Beirut. Some executive offices will be in Manama (wtf that may mean). The princely partner of Rupert Murdoch, who has mouthed some nonsense about a “minority” in Bahrain who are against the regime, is helping out his family’s new acquisition, the islands of Bahrain. But how long will they keep it against the wishes of a majority of the people? The al-Saud princes will find out that in Bahrain they have bitten more than they can chew (a cliche but useful here).
The prince’s fortune is estimated by Forbes Magazine at about $18 billion. Forbes also claims that, like Steve Forbes, the prince’s wealth is self-made: he was a Saudi Horatio Alger (CanYouFuckingBelieveThat?). Apparently he was flipping burgers in Riyadh at the same time that Steve was flipping burgers in Manhattan. The prince has been showing some interest in Bahrain ever since his family invaded it last year.
Cheers
mhg


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Bahrain, Corruption, GCC, Qatar

Qumquat of Qatar is Homeless in Manhattan: Too Many Al-Thanis, Sources of Money, Reichsführer Himmler of Bahrain………

 

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“But for one New York co-op, a $31.5 million bid wasn’t even enticing enough to merit an interview with the potential tenant. The prospective buyer also happens to be the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. He made an offer to purchase and convert two apartments in the co-op belonging to the late heiress Huguette Clark……… His cousin, Qatar’s hereditary ruling leader Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, lives down the block. And the prime minister himself is also the owner of a 436-foot yacht, Al-Mirqab, which reportedly cost several hundred million dollars……….”
 
“But today, the New York Post puts the kibosh on those rumors. The Prime Minister’s bid for the apartments was rejected, largely because of his 15 children, two wives and large staff, the Post reported. But the kids weren’t the only thing that made the building’s co-op board squeamish….. In addition to the kid factor, the uptight co-op board put the kibosh on Hamad’s bid — which had been backed by Clark’s estate — because it was jittery about where his money was coming from, sources said. Board members were also concerned because, as a foreign head of state, the 52-year-old sheik couldn’t be held accountable for anything…………..”


Maybe it was nothing personal. After all, they probably would have rejected even Muammar Qaddafi as a close neighbor. Possibly even the Saudi mufti Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh. But then again, these co-op, condo, or condom boards are finicky about who resides among them. I especially like that part about “because it was jittery about where his money was coming from….”, which tells me these co-op denizens in NYC know more about the Arab world, especially the Persian Gulf region, than we think. They all know these potentates get their money through very sticky fingers, that maybe possibly could be the money really belongs to the people of Qatar and not necessarily to the ruling Qumquats of Qatar. And this potentate will be moving in with fifteen kids? Which also means maybe three to four wives! Not exactly your normal NYC co-op family type where polygamy hasn’t been practiced legally since the Dutch purchased Manhattan four hundred years ago.
Imagine if a Bahrain ruling al-Khalifa potentate applied to live in that co-op? It’d be like having a hybrid of Al Capone and Heinrich Himmler moving in next door (and I am especially serious about the Reichsführer Himmler comparison). At least the Goldman Sachs guys don’t shoot and arrest and torture people. Come to think of it: imagine if any of our thieving Gulf potentates were to move in………
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Human Right

One Picture Worth a Thousand Words in Bahrain…..

    

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A picture worth a thousand words:
One angry young Bahrain woman standing up to heavily-armed, ready for battle, regime thugs and hired foreign mercenaries and Salafi invaders. This picture reflects the situation in occupied Bahrain.


Cheers
mhg


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Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sports

Lawlessness in Bahrain: Formula One East of the Pecos………….

    

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“Bernie Ecclestone denied all knowledge of protests and violence in Bahrain, as a 15-year-old boy lay in intensive care after being shot by anti-riot police. The bullish Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder for Formula One, also denied all knowledge of anyone being shot by police. “Nobody has been shot,” he said. “What are you talking about?” He then swore and stormed of…………”

“Armed gangs and foreign militias are wreaking havoc in the country, attacking people, assaulting, stealing, destroying, breaking. Neither the law nor regime institutions seem to control them….”
 
No, this is not the Congo (either one) or Timbuktu or parts of Syria. It is not Dodge City or some wild town West of the Pecos, or New Orleans after Katrina. This last quote was a tweet by the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). This is Bahrain they are talking about, occupied Bahrain, its people terrorized by regime goons, foreign mercenaries, and Saudi (& Emirati) invasion forces. Bahrain on the eve of the Formula One Grand Prix event.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy

Gulf Prisoners of Conscience: AlKhawaja of Bahrain, al-Bejadi of Arabia, and Al Hypocritical West………….

    

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““Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a military court, is now in a critical stage of a hunger strike which has gone on for 64 days. Foreign doctors who have been to see him have said he is at serious risk of death if he continues. The Bahraini government has rejected increasing international pressure to release him, and has limited outside access. His plight has begun to draw attention to the failure of reform in Bahrain, including an unusual White House statement yesterday. If he dies, it could mark a significant breaking point for the regime’s efforts to rehabilitate its tarnished reputation — and could accelerate the disturbing trend toward militant radicalization in the opposition. Hunger striking has become a distinctive phenomenon in the current round of Arab protest movements. It has a long history, marking many of the major emancipatory struggles throughout the world from British suffragettes to Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. It has recently emerged as a particularly important form of protest against tyrannical states. From Palestine, to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, prisoners of conscience have used the last thing they control — their bodies — as a tool of dissent. Palestinian Hana Shalabi was released by the Israelis after a 43-day hunger strike, while Mohamed Albajadi in Saudi Arabia is on his 33rd day. Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike, by dovetailing on the back of a revolutionary tide, and supported by a digitally wired and outspoken family, has elevated his protest beyond his prison walls……………” Foreign Policy

If Al-Khawaja of Bahrain and al-Bejadi of the Arabian Peninsula, with their brave acts of self-sacrifice, are trying to shame the Western powers they will not succeed. Western governments have proven their total hypocrisy and shamelessness this past year, from Washington through London and Paris to Berlin. They opposed the Arab uprisings until the fall of the despots in Tunisia and Egypt, then they rode the bandwagon. They were friends of Qaddafi until his country was split by revolt. They supported the despot in Yemen and, along with the Saudis, contrived to keep his hapless regime in power without him. They continue to support the murderous regime in Bahrain, ignoring its despotic and gangster nature.
The only Arab people the Western powers seem to profess to really like are the Syrians. They have shown eagerness to help get rid of the dictator of Damascus, but only him among all Arab despots. Now if you think a reactionary opportunistic politician like Joe Lieberman is looking for the interests of the Syrian people, I still have that one-eyed lame camel for sale.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab League, Bahrain, Culture, GCC, Iraq, Saudi Arabia

Gulf Hypocrisy: on the Arab Identity of Iraq and the GCC……………

    

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On the eve of the Baghdad Arab summit, much of Gulf media have taken to questioning the identity of the new Iraq. Actually that is something they have been doing since 2006. They talk of Iraq being under a dual occupation (meaning American and Iranian). They talk of such an Iranian influence that the Arab identity of Iraq is in question. Even the lousy Salafists have joined this chorus. So, I sat and went over some statistics, not all 100% accurate but at least reasonable “ballpark” figures. Just to see in what country is the “Arab” identity threatened:

In Iraq, almost 100% of the population speak Arabic as a first (or strong fluent second) language. That includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, and others.
In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, at least one third of the population does not speak Arabic (these are imported laborers and housemaids imported from South and Southeast Asia and Africa).
In Bahrain, more than 40% of the population does not speak Arabic (these include laborers, housemaids and security mercenaries imported by the regime).
In Qatar, something like 80% are foreigners, mostly non-Arabs. That means that more than a majority of the population does not speak Arabic. In London, a Qatari academic has taken to writing articles lamenting the loss of the Arab identity of Iraq.
In the United Arab Emirates, something like 80% (probably more) of the population are imported foreign laborers and housemaids. These people speak no Arabic. About two weeks ago one UAE academic wrote in al-Quds al-Arabi about the “occupation” of Iraq by Americans and Iranians. Has he looked at his own country? The UAE has American, British, French and until recently Canadian military bases. Hell, they’d offer bases to Monaco and Bruni if these principalities would only accept.
Oman may have the least population ‘imbalance’, but I am not sure of the figure, yet. (This is a quickie posting)
End of the story, for now.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia

“Saudi Arabia helped ruin Bahrain…….”

 

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“Exactly one year ago, I was in Doha to speak at the Al Jazeera Forum, where a remarkable group of Arab politicians, intellectuals and activists had assembled to talk about the seemingly unstoppable momentum of the changes sweeping the region. Moncef Marzouki, then a human rights dissident and now President of Tunisia, told me about his hopes for crafting a genuinely democratic constitution — hopes which al-Nahda leader Rached Ghannouchi assured me he shared. Tareq el-Bishri gave a long speech about how Egypt’s 1952 revolution gave way to despotism and military rule; the youth activists in the audience could hardly mask their boredom with the old man, but perhaps should have listened more carefully. The Libyan revolutionaries at the conference were treated like rock stars, as were the youth activists from Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries. The mood was celebratory and electric, though tinged by anxiety over the atrocities in Libya and reports of Qaddafi’s forces moving towards Benghazi.
But in retrospect, the week of March 12 marked the precise turning point away from the “New Hope” of those dizzying Tahrir days towards the grimmer, darker political struggles to come. I never made my scheduled trip from Doha to Manama. That week, the Empire struck back: Saudi Arabia helped ruin Bahrain……….”
Cheers
mhg


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Bahrain, Corruption, GCC, Gulf states, Saudi Arabia

Watermelon Country: Kings and Princes and Stolen Lands on the Gulf………

 

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“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has agreed to name Northern Waad Mining City after him, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi said yesterday. In his acceptance letter following a proposal made by Al-Naimi, the king expressed hope that the Waad City project would bring about remarkable economic progress to the Northern Border Province…………”

A heart of gold, accepting to bear the heavy burden and awesome responsibilities of yet another city to be named after him. What a nice guy!


In most Gulf states whole new cities are named after the ruling potentates and their many relatives. Most Saudi universities are named after kings and princes as well as many roads and now some towns and cities. But it is mild in Saudi Arabia; the prize goes to the ruling al-Khalifa clan of Bahrain. Every other frigging city, almost every road and highway is named either Hamad or Salman or Issa or Khalifa. 
What is truly offensive on my Gulf, what adds insult to injury is this: Some potentate takes over (steals) public land by claiming ownership, and as usual gets away with it. Eventually he sells the land to the government at a high price. The government parcels the land into a new town and often names it after the potentate who stole the land and sold it. There are whole towns on the Gulf now named after thieves who stole the land on which they are built! Talk about solid foundations.
Bahrain, Culture and Sports

Gulf and FIFA: A Strange Soccer Game, an Odd Football Game……

 

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“A former England caretaker manager was at the centre of extraordinary events on the final day of preliminary qualifying in Asia for the 2014 World Cup. Peter Taylor’s Bahrain, needing a nine-goal turnaround to progress to the next stage, beat Indonesia 10-0 in a fixture that may yet attract closer investigation from Fifa, but were denied a place in the next round by Qatar’s 86th-minute equaliser against Iran. Indonesia had their goalkeeper sent off after two minutes. The replacement let in a potentially pivotal ninth goal eight minutes from the end. Included in the final tally were two penalties. The referee for the game, Andre El Haddad of Lebanon, has been involved in controversy before. Last year, he took charge of a qualifier between China and Singapore that saw him make several hotly contested decisions. China won 2-1. Taylor, who took charge of England for one game in 2000, was criticised for taking the job in Bahrain, where the pro-democracy movement has been brutally suppressed……….”

Odd: 10-0, especially when the best players of Bahrain are banned by the ruling al-Khalifa clan from playing for joining the protests. I know countries like Indonesia and India are lousy in football/soccer (they are even worse in the real NFL Football). But that is unusual. I am not saying they paid off the Lebanese referee, or that they paid off the Indonesian players and coaches, or that paid off everybody; not even with Saudi money flowing to the potentates in Manama. This is worse than when Saudi Arabia lost 0-6 a few years ago to, I forgot, was it Germany or Argentina or Fujaira or Vanuatum, or was it Fiji?

(FYI: the Turks are in the middle of an investigation of ‘game fixing’ scandal).
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Corruption, GCC, Human Right, Saudi Arabia

A Bahrain Think Tank and the Joys of Tribal Wahhabi Liberalism…………

    

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“Manama: Countries keen on boosting cultural and intellectual relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries should appreciate that they are dealing with a new elite of thinkers, the head of Bahrain’s main think- tank has said. “They have received their education in the world’s outstanding universities and have become remarkable contributors in strategic studies and international studies,” Dr Mohammad Abdul Gaffar, head of the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies and Special Adviser to King Hamad Eisa Al Khalifa, said. “This new elite of intellectuals from the GCC states are different from the previous generation at the cultural and educational levels Britain dealt with during the early stages of the formation of modern Gulf states…………..”

Oh, yes: a special adviser to King Hamad al-Khalifa, the acting Saudi governor of Bahrain. I suspect
 that by “new elite of thinkers” he means the Wahhabi tribal faux-liberals who are filling Gulf media and academic institutions with writings and opinions of glorification of the Saudi princes and their sidekicks in Bahrain and around the region.
By
 “new elite of intellectuals” he is probably also referring to the fundamentalist tribal alliances that dominate whatever passes for politics on the Gulf these days. The only real politics in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are done in prison and in exile. The only true politics in Bahrain are done at the people’s protests and barricades and in prison and in exile (with armed regime thugs and imported mercenaries playing the incumbents). As for the Wahhabi “so-called” intellectuals, in some places they correctly call them tribal and sectarian sycophants.
Cheers
mhg


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