Its the time: To Shoot An Elephant

Bahrain will join hundreds of Cities world wide to screen “To Shoot An Elephant“. A documentary filmed in Gazza strip las year directed by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rujailah. I am cooperating with Creative Commons to support open source cinema and screen the documentary in Bahrain in the 18th Jan, 2010.

Three Bahraini NGO’s are organizing the event: The Bahraini Society against Normalization with Zionist Enemy, Bahrain Medical Society(BMS) and Bahrain Engineers Society.
I will give introductory speech for the event, and wanted to share the following sources\facts with  you:

• The screening is taking place in (BMS) in Juffair at 8 pm.
• You can find the event wiki on: http://community.toshootanelephant.com/ar/node/268?quicktabs_2=1
• Starting 18th Jan 8 pm, We are making it possible for the people who wants to watch the documentary to watch it on Demand on : http://tinyurl.com/live-gazza-bh
• If you want to download the documentary you can use: http://208.43.237.59:8080/

Am open for suggestions.

Trailer: to shoot an elephant

ما تعتلو هم، حيث لا أحد مسؤول.. أسقط أنا

هي الجمعة إذا. يوم الإعلانات بلا نهاية… وبمختلف البدايات.
أنا مهتم جداً بمتابعة تظاهرة الإحتجاج على رفع أسعار المحروقات، الفعالية الشعبية الأولى الخالية -نوعا ما- من السياسة التي أكره.

تحركات العاطلين عن العمل وملفات الإسكان والبحار كلها ملفات معيشية كملف اليوم، ولكن الإصطفاف فيه اصطفاف سياسي لا تكون مخارجه بالضرورة فوق الطاولة، وإذا كان، فليست هي بالضرورة الطاولة التي نعرف أو نتوقع..أو نتوق.

لهذا الملف وروحة الجديدة، أتابع وأشارك في تظاهر اليوم كمواطن يقرصه الأمر ويعنيه.
لم أجد بعد من يقول أنه مسؤول عن القرار الذي أعلن وظهرت آثاره ولم يتخذ!! عوض ذلك، تحدث الكل تقريباً عن تأييده مطالب الناس في الرحمة، فضلا عن القسط في إرخاء الحبال حول رقبة المظلومين في العيش على ما لا يملكون بما لا يقدرون.
وحيث أن الأمر هكذا، لا أجد مفراً أن أراني في ذاتي المسؤول عن هذه الخيبة، أنا، ولا طوفان بعدي… أسقط أنا.

Unexpected raises!

Hussain Yousif: For all of this, I am going to attend the demonstration the coming Friday. I will carry my picture -with big red X- and will burn it at the end of the demonstration.. I am responsible for all this RAISES.

Happy new year everybody.

I got a raise in my salary. This is interesting this days! But this one specially was expected. Simply I deserved it due to the pump of income and effort I pushed + I live in a good company. I am the head of Network Infrastructure & Services for two years and Yes, I live there!

It happened that this wasn’t the only rise I met. A maintenance job was carried near my flat to “rise” the level of what they define as street, it’s not. It seems that raised the number of scratches on my car body or the “dinner table” of the workers!! It’s OK..

I managed to buy a land in Sanad City few years ago, since then the prices for building a suitable home raised! So, I cannot afford that now and should continue paying the raising fees for my accommodation. I found an investor who wana build a simple tower and share the revenue with me + I will get a flat it that building. The authorities haven’t yet approved the request and I have to RAISE a complain with a copy of my RAISED request.

Patrol prices in Bahrain where static for the past 20 years. It seems the authorities liked  the series of raises in my calm life and wanted to add some actions, the prices are subjected to RAISE.

For all of this, I am going to attend the demonstration the coming Friday. I will carry my picture -with big red X- and will burn it at the end of the demonstration.. I am responsible for all this RAISES.

Yes, I will respect Dubai authorities decision.

Yes, I will respect Dubai authorities decision.
With this live experiment I have a message to the authorities in my country, Bahrain.

We don’t need to be the whore of the gulf so that people will feel welcomed. Instead, we need to be a respected and loving state and can share happiness with everybody.

We need a loving state.

Original image by: Art Slam

I like seeing people smiling, I will respect their freedom to dance in the streets. But this should be with respect to Bahrain and it’s people. Not because of the false understanding that Bahrain rules and regulations are for Bahrainies only.

This is the experience of the national day in the (relative) state, Dubai.

Please watch and learn.

Because UAE is a state and Bahrain is not.

Our Prime minister visiting UAE brothers after a fight accident in Bahrain earlier this year.

Earlier this month, UAE celebrated it’s national day. I remember this because many Emaraties crossed the borders to Bahrain to celebrate both Eid and the national day in what I call it “shameful way”. They were driving their cars slowly in the streets as groups with loud music. They where standing on the roofs of the cars and dancing in the public streets in Juffair and Exhibition Road. Horns and flash lights were on all the time and people cannot complain. (check)

I am not posting this to the people of Dubai and UAE, they are living in a state that had set the rules and asked it’s citizens not to run rallies in the streets (check). I am questioning  my country to respect it self and become a state. I noticed that Bahrain roads are open for celebrations for a wining Pakistani cricket team or Egyptian football match, rather than other national and religious international events! OK,  but shouldn’t this be organized?

I like to see people happy and celebrating, and I want other to enjoy this with them instead of harassment and bad signals sent by the random events in Bahrain roads.

Today is the 16th of  December, and I am in Dubai. I will be calling Dubai Authorities to allow me to celebrate Bahrain Official National Day…  I will be updating this post with updates on their replaies and pictures of the police reaction, if any.  Follow my tweets @hussain_info

How are Bahraini people living the 16th of December?

Bahrain got it’s Independence on 15th August, 1971 when the British troops were removed. However, Bahrain governments celebrates the 16h of December as the official National Day and 17th of December as the day of putting the old princes and today’s kings in control.

For the past years I noticed that lot Bahrainies make use of the vacation of two days to travel mostly to Makka which puts lot of questions on the meaning of the two days to the people of Bahrain.

Lot of Bahraini argues about the date of the national day and consider the “Independence Day” on the 15th of August as the national day. The point for them is the value of the state events that should be independent from the country leaders events.

Moreover, some political directions in Bahrain have their own events and understanding for the 17th of  December where two Bahraini youth where killed in public defenestrations in the 90s. The leader of that demonstrations him self died in the 18th of the same month, making December the month of bad memories for many of Bahraini.

Bahrain: Happy and sad half faces.

Original image by Jim Dandy: Happy and sad half faces

It’s never a shame to agree on the national values and the national meaningful events. It’s also never late to discuss what unite Bahrain. I know that the national day or the day of independence is not the target and is not the propriety for the political moment correction. But it is -on the other hand-  not a point of agreement that helps rising the national awareness and support uniting people of Bahrain.

Tell that day, 16th +17th December will be the national day of the royal family and the loyal parties. And will be considered as the day of sadness and meaningless government expenditures by the oppositional parties.

To be fare, I totally understand the opinion of the people and parties in between that are working on developing  peaceful  atmosphere with the hope to start a national dialog that should include the national day as a title to unite the nation.

When Swine Flu = eLearning push.

Continuing your child education and making use of technology

What is worst than a backward Ministry of Education? It’s plans and decisions.

Bahrain is small country with almost 1 million population.  Most of Bahrainis are good computer users. Nevertheless , the only noticed discussions to control H1N1  focuses on delaying the school start dates.

Yes, child’s health worth it, but it’s not the only solution. I think it’s a good chance to apply smart schools and eLearning techniques.
Thanks to British School of Bahrain (BSBH) for consulting me. I will rise this issue in my meeting with BSBH  next Saturday. I will be suggesting eSolutions for the students to attend virtual classes under the supervision of the parents and school. Teachers will be chairing this online classes, materials a exercises can be exchanged in a private work space.

I think eLearning is a trustful solution and the feer of Swine Flue (H1N1) can give it a push. Let’s hope will listen to my advice so I can take it to the Ministry of education as a live example.

New Palestinian Order!

I apologize to the sacrifice and views that kept the hope of Palestine in the memories.

The title is a new “term”. I found it the most suitable adjective to the situation after Yaser Arafat.
Five years were enough to make it clear -for me- that the title of Palestine could have been lost without the duplication of resistance and peas forces he was covering.

I wanted to title this post as an apology. Apology to Arafat. I spent days thinking if my apology should go to Arafat or to the case he represented.

Five years of thinking of the expressions of mistrust to Arafat that I was accepting as facts and turned to be part of the politics I hate. I have to admit it with the conscious that Arafat like all politicians has his victims and mitakes. I dont have to agree with him on all his actions as a leader.

I apologize to the sacrifice and views that kept the hope of Palestine in the memories. To Arafat, or accurately, to what he represented. I write this ashamed of my self , Fateh and Hamas.

I feel insecure, I want to cross the red-lines.

Isn't it the right time to use the capitals power to cross the red-lines? Isn't it the right time to move from being consumers/users to producers?

Was 10 years of economic boom wasted in realstate?!

This is bad. The worst is the way the national capitals in the Arab word is directed. I am not proud of %17 shares in Porsche announced by Qatar, or Ruf customization owned by GBcorp of Bahrain. Can this be called strategic investment? let me call it lust business!

The region is suffering for decades from the investments red-lines energy and industrial  research. Isn’t it the right time to use the capitals power to cross the red-lines? Isn’t it the right time to move from being consumers/users to producers?

Believe it or not, all the technology we are proud of  it’s utilization is based on foundations that we don’t own it’s keys and can be always used against us. Starting from oil refining to engines and computers.

It’s the time to go beyond gaining education, It’s the time to use the capitals power to share technology ownership. I really feel insecure and wanted to share my fears with you.

IT was also affected.. positively

There is hope.. what we need is mind.

image from Aziz

Back to my (sweet-simple) blog. Life is hot.. and I meant temperature. If someone is looking for open sauna, Bahrain offers 120 square Km of open sauna with nearly 50C and %95 humidity!

However, am not running away. I will continue to prove that continues open sauna has nothing to do with loosing weight. Thanks for the financial crises!

I also have some happy news. Apart from the daily  news papers headlines lies about strong economy, I had bought several IT items for companies that had left or closed. 5KVA MG UPS with additional 15 min battery for $1800 with shipment is nothing.

I feel sorry for those who lost their jobs or  those who had a major salary cut. I will not comment about the ability of some Bahraini economical icons e.g. Essam janahi and his ability to lead KFH. I want to comment about the economical and business model being introduces to expose the small unproductive services economy to the  worldwide competition.

From what I read and noticed, we have ignored our limitations and focused on abilities but this is NLP than it economy. CEO’s where not paying attention to the calls of investing in green technology and save long term expenses. It’s good that some of them are now considering cost effective IT solutions such as vitalization and hosted services. I will take this thoughts to Tamkeen and EDB.. let’s see where things go!