VOR London’s James Reinl hosts a debate on the jailed Bahraini hunger-striker, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, and asks whether the Gulf monarchy is serious about political reforms. He was joined by the Bahraini government spokesman, Fahad al-Binali, Rodney Shakespeare, chairman of the Committee against Torture in Bahrain, Mike Diboll, the democracy campaigner, Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the … Continue reading »
As a percentage of population the Bahrain pro-democracy demonstrations have been the best attended of all demonstrations in the Arab World 2011-2012: the key to the success of failure of the “Arab Spring” is in Bahrain and beyond Bahrain, Saudi…. Perhaps a gloomy report on the “Arab Spring” from a recent report from the London … Continue reading »
Sunday, 29th April 2012 What follows is an unashamedly ad hominem argument. An ad hominem argument is one that is addressed “to the man” (or woman), rather than to the argument. Generally, an ad hominem attack is frowned on in respectable discourse, because it lacks objectivity. Yet as the late, great(-ish) Antony Flew points out in his Dictionary … Continue reading »
Friday, 27th April 2012 Abdulhadi Al Khawaja with his daughter Maryam, who was my student in Postcolonial Literature at the University of Bahrain in 2008. Today’s GDN says that Abdulhadi “tried to” give up taking water. So who stopped him? Where is Abdulhadi Al Khawaja? Evidence from today’s Gulf Daily News, the regime’s English language propaganda … Continue reading »
Here’s my wife’s letter to Abdulhadi: http://www.scribd.com/doc/90503395/Mr-Abdulhadi-Al-Khawaja-Letter
21st April 2012 Sir, I write to you as British former expatriate in Bahrain, requesting that you urgently reconsider British policy on Bahrain, which I am convinced is deeply misguided and counter to Britain’s long-term interest in the Arabic-speaking region. Yesterday you said “Bahrain is not Syria, there is a process of reform under way … Continue reading »
Wednesday 18th April The 2012 Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix continues to generate controversy. There are three basic positions on the race, to which I’ll add a fourth: The race is good for Bahrain, bringing in money and uniting the country The race legitimises a repressive regime that has lost legitimacy in the eyes of … Continue reading »
يهان الشرطي السابق جون ييتس يقول ان البحرين هي “اكثر امانا من لندن”، وبأن الانتفاضة البحرين هو “مثل أعمال الشغب في لندن”. في الواقع، انتفاضة البحرين هو حدث كبير. وقد شهدت البحرين أكبر مظاهرات كنسبة مئوية من عدد السكان من أي بلد آخر المتضررين من “الربيع العربي”. سوف أناقش هذه المطالبات في لحظة، ولكن أولا … Continue reading »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTq0NcQwNME Continue reading »
This literally brought tears to my eyes; nothing else to say, because it’s true:
