In my job, I interview private sector employees and analyze their jobs in order to set a training plan to improve their performance or ready them for a new position. The employees fill out an assessment form before I start and I just seen one of the worst, although a common sight, unfortunately. A young man, born on 1987, has a hard time writing properly. Simply writing! He left school at junior high, never finishing it. The number of Bahrainis that leave school is shocking me. I don't have numbers but I constantly see young, very young Bahraini's who are illiterate or are very weak in basic reading and writing. The fact that our kingdom has systems that allow illiterate people to exist frankly sickens me. As far as I know, primary education is mandatory. However, if I was, say, to not allow my son to study, are there any penalties to be imposed on me? Would anyone notice in the first place? I saw many illiterate working men my age or younger who dropped out of primary school. How on earth is it possible that we cannot track and stop such occurrences?
I suggest demand that education up to high school be mandatory. Parents who fail to allow their children to study up to high school should be punished by law. Repeat offenders may face numerous penalties aiming to benefit the child. Extreme cases need the child to be removed from the custody of his/her parents and allowed to study should his/her parents deny him/her education or lead destructive lives that prevents the kids from studying.
And to all the Maatams and Mosques, shame on you. You should step up your game! These places of worship are blessed with strong social relationships and has a social responsibility to society. They should address parents who allow their kids to not study or prevent them from doing so. These social measures would often be more useful than regular legal measures.
The ongoing problem is that the illiterate do not try to improve themselves at all. The government does provide alternatives for adults who wish to finish their studies up to high school, but I have yet to meet one who did despite spending 3 years on this project. I was really ecstatic to hear about A9eel which is a unique programme to promote good work ethics and in turn push for individuals to improve themselves. I hope that the data of my work helped Tamkeen see the extent of the problem and made them come up with this.
If you know someone who stopped studying, please, talk to them. If you know of a parent who allows their kids to not study, talk to them, to their kids or report them if so needed. You can make a change. Real change.
I am sure most of you know of the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Information to ban websites. I think we are all together that this is unacceptable, unimplementable, and simply put: ILLEGAL as it goes against the Bahraini Law which protects the freedom of speech.
A group of us tried to avoid this by introducing the Anti Hate Code of Ethics (http://www.bahraincodeofethics.com) and prefer that any offending website be prosecuted under the law with a chance of representation rather than resort to this old and ineffective method.
My friends,
Whether you signed the code or not, I implore you to write about the matter in your own blogs. We should also unify our forces to make our voice heard. We could hold up a rally or send one letter of objection bearing our signatures. I invite you to come up with more suggestions on what we can do about it.
Now, this has started with Shaikha Mai Alkhaleefa taking the helm as a minister. I am a fan of much of her work. She brought a breath of fresh air to Bahrain when she saved our souls with the “Spring of Culture”.
However, I would have to disagree with her on this virtual blind fold. Let me try to paint you a picture:
It is the 1980’s. No internet and no Satellite TV channels and nothing. The only communications we have with the outside world are videotapes, cassettes, books and magazines.
In these simpler times, banning something would actually work. If the government says for a reason or another that a film for example is unacceptable and not wanted, the majority of the population, if not all, will not get to see it. Tapes will be easily found and confiscated. And then what? Banning media at that age was quite effective.
But that was a long, long, LONG time ago. Just look at my brother, he was a mere idea in ’86 and was born in ’87. Today he is a 186 cm tall man, with a goatee, driving license and a college degree. Media has grown that much too.
What is the ministry hoping to achieve? Seriously? If they think they can stop people from accessing info and media in 2009, they must be delusional. Let me just count the ways that I, a non IT technician, could think of:
1.Use a proxy website. I know these get banned too, but hundreds pop out every day. The proxy websites are aware of that and email their customers a list of new addresses periodically.
2.Use a programme like Hotspot. Even if the download site is blocked, many have it and will circulate it through email forwards to all of Bahrain by this weekend.
3.Subscribe in RSS & Atom feeds: Simple. All blogs and many websites have them now. Simply click on “Subscribe to the Redbelt” to the right side bar and you will see the familiar orange box looking icon. Just click that icon wherever you go and you can get the posts immediately by email. Or you can use a service like Google Reader to read it there.
This is just off the top of my head.
Let us assume I had a blocked website (god forbid), I can easily clone my ENTIRE website and have it running from a free server with a new unblocked address. I can also email all my readers so they would know. Effectively making the ban absolutely worthless in 15 minutes.
I do understand that Shaikha Mai Alkhalifa, and the rest of the people at the ministry, mean well. So, here is my honest solution to the ministry: Go with the flow.
Example: In martial arts; to stop a punch you can either block it (which uses lots of energy and you risk injury) or... redirect it. Like Akido. Look at the following video.
Now, this is implementable in real life.In practice we can look at Apple:
One day, people found out that MP3s were popular. CD sales went down. Piracy went up. All the companies started FIGHTING mp3 sites trying to stop it, but they couldn’t. They still can’t.
Apple went and introduced itunes. If people want MP3s, give them MP3s! So simple. It worked.
The ministry is trying to block sites, which is pointless. I will still go to the same websites I went to and get all the media I got before the ban. I REPEAT: I will still go to the same websites I went to and get all the media I got before the ban. I am not affected. Bahrain is.
I am concerned about the public view of the ministry and, by extension, Bahrain as a whole. We don’t want the world to think that we are ruled by a dictatorship do we? Especially when reality is anything but that. In our post reform Bahrain, freedom of speech is guaranteed in the constitution itself:
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Chapter III, Article 23 (General Rights and Obligations): “Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.”
The National Action Charter also addressed the matter:
The National Action Charter, Chapter I (Fourth: Freedom of expression and publication): “Every citizen shall have the right to express himself orally, in writing or in any other way of expression of personal opinion or creativity. Under this law, freedom of scientific research, publishing, press and printing are ensured within the scope specified by law”, provided it is a responsible freedom within the scope of preserving the social fabric, and does not infringe on the freedoms of others or their religious, sectarian, or intellectual affiliation.
I strongly suggest that the Ministry uses our Judicial system. If a website is considered offensive, a court case can be filed and the law will take its proposed course (That is, after all, why we have courts in the first place).Even if there was a need to rush and take a site down in a short time, an urgent case can be filed and such an order can be had within a day.
I hope the ministry takes heed of my humble advice.
I thank the many bloggers who wrote on the matter:
This website is a proud signatory of the "Websites Against Hate" Code of Ethics. TheRedbelt.com is against any speech that preaches hate, discrimination or violence against anyone. I would like to invite all websites, forums and blogs to sign on the code as well. While this code was made with the original intention to be a code for sites that operate in Bahrain, nothing in it limits it to the bounderies of our kingdom. We would like to encourage anyone with a website to come in and sign up. From Bahrain, GCC, or anywhere in the world. Click the following link to go to the official website and sign the code online. Sign the Code.
On the last page of Alwasat newspaper today we see a bit of disturbing news. A father, gave away his 8 year old daughter for marriage to a man in his fifties! This happened in alquasaim in Saudi Arabia. This is slow torterous murder. In Islam, it is argued that once individuals are able to consumate a marriage, they should be married. Many will argue this point, but regardless, any marriage must be with the consent of both bride and groom. I seriously doubt that an 8 year old agreed to marry and sleep with someone in his fifties. The mother filed a court case against the father aiming to get the marriage annulled. I say good for her. She should fight, and so should we. This man has the right to marry, yes. I wouldn't mind him tying the knot with an adult woman, even if she was 20 or 18. But to marry a child? Muslims are forbidden to kill animals by torture, death should be swift, and here they are sentancing the death of a child, a human child, through long long years. My heart and full support goes to the mother. KSA should seriously do something to re-educate the population and shift it from acceptable practice to taboo.
Yesterday several Bahraini bloggers and web admins gathered in Alwaqt Newspaper's premises for the Anti-Hate Code of Ethics meeting. I was delighted that the turn up was better than the last meeting. After some discussions we were finally able to agree on a final release candidate copy. We need to run it by some lawyer type dudes first to make sure we didn't miss anything. Oh, and a glossary of terms is to be attached. I am honestly proud by this effort, it's about time we, as citizens of this country, do something to control the often overly emotional and unobjective hate speech in our virtual space.
Oh, and in case you caught it, yes the news paper mis-spelled my last name. It is Almuhandis, not Almuhannadi.
An updated blog post of the latest copy is on Mahmood's Den. Well, it isn't updated yet but I'm sure Mahmood will get to it in the next couple of days.
Heads up fellow bloggers and web admins, next Saturday, at five PM, a follow up anti-hate code meeting will be held at Alwaqt newspaper premises. I have expressed earlier my disappointment at the low turnout in the previous meeting, but I am quite optimistic about this one. more people know about it now and even Radio Bahrain will be present. I'm looking forward to a good turnout and a productive meeting.
Last Saturday, a meeting was held at the Alwaqt Newspaper premises to discuss the draft of an Anti-Sectarianism pact which was penned by blogger Mahmood. The meeting was quite productive, we changed the focus from "anti-sectarianism speech" to "Anti hate, violence and discrimination speech". It has a wider focus to include more than the sectarian feuds encompassing all kinds of discrimination. We also discussed how it would be implemented, how we will approach offenders and how to identify offenders as well. After the meeting, Mahmood started a mailing group and met with the Minister of Information in what seems to be quite a positive and receptive meeting. But does anyone care? The attendees represented 2 blogs and 2 forums only. despite several days of printing a quarter page coloured advert in Alwaqt, not many were there to help form something that touches all. To make matters more strange, it seems that Alwaqt themselves didn't pay much attention to the matter. With one reporter that left the meeting before it starts, they printed nothing about the matter until today, full three days after. Which is rather strange because I thought since they are sponsoring this movment, they would show more interest in it. I hope that my fears are unfounded and the rest of the community proves me wrong at the next meeting. This effort will only succeed if all concerned parties take ownership and adopt it.
I keep getting SMS adverts on my Vodafone number from No. 77013. These are messages aimed at tweens edging the consumer to listen to "Cool songs", as if that is an added value to anything.
Two days ago, I called 107 (the MTC Vodafone help desk) and asked for this to be turned off. The lady said Ok and was rather polite, I hung up.
Today I got another message from 77013. This says:
" وإسمع أغاني موطبيعية حدها فن B رد"
I was furious. usually, the MTC help desk is an example of politeness and efficiency. I called back. Another lady picked up, I told her that this is the second time I call about this. She offered to give me instructions and I had to send an SMS to a number to unsubscribe. I said NO. I DID NOT subscribe to anything and therefore will NOT unsubscribe. I told them they should cease this immediatly. Then came something that was shocking for me, the lady told me that MTC wasn't the one sending out SMS messages it was a third party. I demanded details of this "third party" and the lady said it was "Aywa Gulf". I never heard of an Aywa Gulf, so I asked for a contact name or number. The lady could provide neither and she suggested that I call Batelco's 181. And so I did. The Batelco operator (when they finally did pick up) said there is no such thing as Aywa Gulf. In all possible spellings. This does not seem right. I immediately headed to my good friend "Google", the searches "Aywah Gulf" and "Aywa Gulf" gave me nothing. but when I switched into Arabic and searched "أيوا جلف" I found this.
Aywa Gulf is a Kuwaiti Company. Owned by Business man Faisal Alisa and partially by Aldiera Telecommunications (Kuwait). Alisa owns a telecommunications company based in Kuwait. He owns the "Alafasy" famous Islamic satellite channel (Which MTC sponsors and Aywa Gulf offers joint promotions for the MTC customers) in addition to several others. In 2006, Faisal Alisa was rewarded by MTC as one of the most important customers and joint campaign providers. Isn't that interesting. From all of this I know the following:
MTC is not sending the 77013 SMS, so either MTC sold a third party my number for advertising purposes without my consent or a third party stole that number from somewhere.
The company that is behind the SMS messages is Kuwaiti, not Bahraini, greatly increasing the possibility that MTC betrayed my trust and sold my number especially that:
MTC and Aywa Gulf partnered in several campaigns and MTC awarded them for collaboration.
I do not appreciate my privacy being violated, nor do I appreciate my time being wasted. I filed a formal complaint with MTC's helpdesk and its number is 965004. I will also speak to Ms. Linda Aljamea (Manager Customer Services) and Mr. Mohammed Haji (PR Officer) first thing tomorrow morning to get an official response.
I love MTC. I am extremely disappointed in their unethical conduct. Anyway, I will post any updates to the matter here.
They took her for surgery to remove her uterus, appendix and still-forming breasts, then treat her with high doses of oestrogen to stunt her growth.
This will make sure she never ever grows up.
..
Does anybody see whats wrong with this?
Her parents are defending their decision to do so by saying that she is afflicted with a severe brain impairment known as static encephalopathy, she cannot walk, talk, keep her head up in bed or even swallow food. a condition that the ethical committee in the hospital makes them think that she can never voluntarily reproduce and the procedure shall make it easier to help and will "improve her quality of life".
This is 5 star, grade A, Prime Bull shit. They have jointly mutilated the kid! Despite her ailments they cannot do that. Why don't you just kill her? She will suffer allot less by being dead won't she?
The times online are holding a debate to see what people think. You may wanna vomit there if you so wish.
