A Bahraini View Point

Bahrain is filled with Negative Energy. Its giving off bad vibes or something and it's very contagous. I often adopt a "we-can-do-it" attitude sprinkled with some chllenge in a despeate attempt to infuse those around me with what is now so lacking in my heart.
Lands being stolen, riots for frivoulus reasons, traffic jams,  profiteering traffic cops, endless pllution and no hope for individuals of rising in economical class. Everyone has a serious complaint. That amount of negative energy has generated its own mass and gravity that one would need a massive amount of energy to escape from its grasp.
Hence, it is refreshing and inspiring to see tidbits of hope. Shining examples roaming our decayed earth. Mahmood Alyousef (The famous reborn blogger) is channeling his energy to serve the forces of good. His quick video interviews, named Bahraini Views, shows other people who still have that zest, that glimmer in their eyes and that rock hard determination.
Thank you. This is just what I need. Just what, many of us need.

Please point your browser to their You Tube page and subscribe to get their latest entries.
http://www.youtube.com/bahrainiviews

Where is this blog going?

I started this blog to comment on another.
Then I used it like Facebook for a while.
Then I thought I'd write to foreigners about Bahrain.
Then I thought I'd write about videogames to Bahrain.
About Sports.
About politics sometimes.
And even about nothing.

But I can't help to feel that ... This blog is pointless.
nope. It's not doing it for me.
I have two other blogs, one is Arablish.net (Arabic) about misuses and errors of Arabic usage. I kinda like this one.
The other is Ithnain.com (Arabic also) which is a videogame show which started out monthly and should be weekly starting June.
But the Redbelt is rather vague, isn't it? I thought I'd keep it as a free space to write whatever I please, but that does not bring in regular readers, and if no one is reading, it'd be pointless, won't it?
I have been think about making this an Arabic speaking blog. If this blog is to make a real impact, it should speak to the masses. Theme? I think I'd still stick with logic. I like logic. That could be a decent them, can't it?
Now I need a motive. Why should I change the Redbelt (or keep it at all really)?
...
...
I like to improve "things".
people, systems, everthing.
If I can sense that I am of use to someone out there, that would give me good reason to blog.
I need to sleep on this thought a bit. Please share with me your thoughts as well.

Liberating Speech

Five days ago, I wrote a note on Facebook:

Imprisonment of Speech

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.

Regards,

Manaf Almuhandis
Redbelt

TheRedbelt.com
Arablish.net
Ithnain.com
Bahraincodeofethics.com

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:

Eyad's Coffee Break

Yagoob's Dome

Marhoons.com

Ammaro.com

The view from Fez

Silly Bahraini Girl

S as in Saudi

Hayat

Mughtarib (Ar)

Another Day in my life

Khalidbahrain (Ar)

And many, many more...

Mahmood's Den Farewell Speech [Redcast]

Mahmood was the man behind Mahmood's Den, one of the most influential blogs in Bahrain. He is retiring from blogging and that was taken in his blog's farewell party Saturday 22nd of November '08.

A new blog: Arablish.net

I just made a new blog; as if I am not busy enough and neglecting this one.
Arablish.net is a blog about Arabic language violations. Mis-spelled signs, badly translated text, and whatever incorrect use of the Arabic language.
The Arabic is a proud and beautiful language, sadly, it is being decimated by ignorance. The blog aims to raise awareness of this through funny images.
The blog is to be user generated (of sorts), readers are encouraged to send in thier original photos to be put up (with full credit due, of course). If you read Arabic, what are you waiting for? Go check it out now!

GOSI: profit or loss?

Today on the front page of Alwaqt newspaper we read that GOSI's losses (General Organization for Social Insurance) reached BD 146 million.
But on the sixth page of Alwatan newspaper we read that GOSI made a profit of over BD 157 million!
"What gives?", That's what I thought. Alwaqt claims that the loss is for year 2008 until Sepember. Alwatan reports that the numbers reflect 2007.
To be fair, Alwaqt did report the same numbers as Alwatan in page 9 as the official GOSI statment, while Alwatan did not mention any losses.
Despite all that is said, it is the opinion of this blogger that media in Bahrain is anything but free. They all have either restrictions imposed or a hidden agenda, be it Newspapers, TV or even individual blogs. Obviously, this made me a very skeptical man.
What do you think?

Sign the "Websites Against Hate" Code of Ethics

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.

Anti-Hate Code of Ethic Draft Approved

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.

Finaly some good news! Forgot how this felt!

Anti-hate code meeting next Saturday

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.

New Look Redbelt?

As you can probably see, I'm trying to change how theRedbelt.com looks like. This is still work in progress so I apologize in advance if things do not look right or work as they're supposed to.
Any comments about the face lift is highly appreciated.

Poll Result: What would you like to read more of?

This poll closed yesterday with 19 voters. The result is so:

What would you like to read more of? (tick as many as you like)

Bahraini Events
8 (42%)

Videogame Insights
8 (42%)

Sports
8 (42%)

Politics
3 (15%)

Computers and Tech
8 (42%)

Telecom
8 (42%)

Other (please state in the comments)
1 (5%)

Votes so far: 19 Poll closed

Amazingly, you seem to like Bahraini posts, as much as Videogame, Sports, Computer or Telecom posts. I thought I'd stick to the topics you like most, but it seems some of you like me ranting about anything. At least I know you had your fill of Politics.

Thank you to all the voters. I'll keep cranking these posts!

A year of TheRedbelt: The 1st Blogiversary.

Today marks the first Anniversary for TheRedbelt.com

A year of blogging. Letters in formation, forming logical (debatable) rants.
We saw flooding rain. How Qatar was prepared for the Asian Games and what was their amazing Opening Ceremony like.
We felt proud thanks to Alghasra's achievements, and on the other hand saw several examples of the mis-management of the Bahraini Football Association. How we entered in to the 18th Gulf Tournament, Lost several times and got embarrassed by questions we can't answer.
We saw the PS3 perform really badly at launch.
Enjoyed the Spring of culture 2007.
Got hit with a "MUD Storm", I Visited Allah Almighty, saw the Bahraini first Taekwondo championship here, raced with Marlboro's Red Racing Team and got accused with a very dubious traffic (AKA: MUROOR) charge.
I tried to make people question dubious news, I don't know how successful that was.
Tim Allen ripped off my nick name for a movie! Such audacity!
Things we took for granted changed too. The world wonders were "updated!", imagine that!
The US showed the world its ugly side again, the Americans themselves are disgusted, and their agricultural produce renounce its citizenship.
I saw that huge fire, and how it was poorly attended (I don't care what the newspapers say).
In the Telecoms front, MTC-Vodafone became Zain, while Batelco was given the honor of being named Best Mid-East Internet Provider. pfff..... ppffttt.... WWAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAH!
Sorry, still can't keep a straight face while saying it! :)
Microsoft's Excel proved to be completely unreliable. Which is one of the reasons behind my Shift to Ubuntu Linux.

Busy year eh? I also switched jobs, got married and moved, but this is not a diary. And my diaries are not that interesting, yet.

Thank you readers. Your interaction makes the rants richer and the discussions deeper.
I would like to ask you to keep on coming and continue reading. I appreciate it.
Please take a moment to tick on the poll to the right. I'd like to know what you find interesting.

TheRedbelt.com

I reserved a new domain name for my blog. www.theRedbelt.com
After some thought, I decided that getting a .com domain is significantly better than getting an unknown country extension (like .cc or .tv). Thanks to Ammar for his suggestion.
Please update your bookmarks and keep visiting. I appreciate all the readers and commenters. What would you like to see more of here? Videogame news? Bahraini opinions? Sport comments? Do tell!

Help Redbelt get a new URL

I've been URL shopping for this blog. Of course "Redbelt.com" is out of the question. So is the .net & .org extension.
unfortunatly there is no possibility of getting a .bh extention without bending over for Batelco.That is totally unfair. I am stuck with other countries that does not represent me at all but will, unlike my home telecoms provider, welcome me. Y'know, like the island nation of Tuvalu that generously give their extensions to websites like Mahmood's den (mahmood.tv). It's thier biggest export!
Anyway, I find my self staring at these extensions:

• .cc
  
• .tv
• .info
• .name

I need to know which of these do you think is good. Please vote on the right. If you know how I can get a .bh domain, by all means do post a comment.
Thank you!

Saturday's Bloggers Gathering

Last Saturday I attended my first bloggers meeting at "Dulce" cafe. Being my first I woke up early and drove whistling there to reach before 10 AM. Most of the bloggers didn't have the same idea though.
But as they came in, conversation became richer. You can feel when you're in the midst of company that have their own active interests & backgrounds.
We spoke about the weather, laughed at the stupid cheap-stereo-like coloured lights of Bahrain's Financial Harbour and of course, took the mickey out of our Nuwab.
It was a gathering, I don't know why I had an idea in my head that it was a "meeting". I would have loved it if it had an agenda of sorts. Anyway, I tried to discuss my proposed bloggers blood donation rally and it seems like this needs its own meeting.
Anyway, it was a beautiful opportunity to see some bright minds, looking forward to the next one.