New car with least problems

If you are thinking to buy a car then you should at least look at the chart above. i know its not very clear however, i posted the link below. Now Porsche passed Lexus as the best in initial quality with the fewest problem of any brand, mainly thanks to the Cayenne.
Breaking down the chart:

• Large premium cars: 1- Lexus 430, 2-Audi A8 and 3-BMW 7 series
• Premium sporty cars: 1-Lexus Sc430 2-Porsche 911 and 3-Corvette & SL (tie)
• Midsize sport cars: 1-Toyota Solara 2-Ford Mustang and 3-Chevy Monte Carlo
• Midsize cars: 1-Toyota Camery 2-Honda accord and 3-Hyundai Sonata
• Large cars: 1-Potiac Grand Prix 2-Hyundai Azera and 3-Nissan Maxima
• Compact premuim car: 1-Porsche Cayman 2-Honda s2000 and 3-Porsche boxter

What is surprising is that Hyundai is doing pretty well. Please bare in mind this is just initial quality, does not take into account the life span of the car. so chose smart and dont forget to check how good the agent is.

http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/pressrelease.aspx?id=2006082

Islamist cutting deals with the government??

I read an article in today's Alwaqt news about letters sent by the ministry of social development affairs to "foreign clubs" (like the British club and so on), the letter bans the selling alcohol in these clubs.

http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=51906

Now, no laws was issued by the Parliament on this topic, i guess my question is on what authority the ministry of social development affairs issues such a letter.

This incident is not the first, it started with the information minister restricting entertainment in 3 star hotels and below (that was public and we know who issued the law).

A few days ago, the police asked all shops in Manama to close before 12, when asked who issued the law, nobody took the responsibility.

Add all that to today's alwaqt story, i see a clear trend toward tight Islamic state. Non of these laws were issued by the Parliament and we dont know who issued them (except for the hotel law).

i am not a person who like conspiracy theories but the trend is there and i am starting to believe it more and more. The theory was that at the beginning of the election "islamist" cut a deal with the government by which they dont question the government in return for more islamic laws and the government supporting them to win the elections. This in my opinion is high treason, we the people of Bahrain voted for a Parliament that looks after our interest, not a Parliament that cuts deals with the government which does not benefit us, even worst, its hurting us.

i dont usually write such a log article, but this is getting out of hand. We are more and more turning into Saudi, personal freedom is attacked everyday publicly and privately (of course only poor people's freedom).

So what will happen next? Girls cant drive? while the the corruption increases in the government?? This is a serious issue, those so called "islamist" sold us, for pathetic laws. We should not keep quite about it. Does anyone see what i am seeing??

Text Messaging Championship !!

Apparently they have been having text messaging championship for a few years now and the winner get $25,000, not bad huh?? tell you what, i think our girls can beat their girls easily in this. i have seen girls messaging while driving without looking at the phone!! to be fair, our guys are not bad either but sorry guys, this is the our girls game.

Just to prove my point, our friend Nadoooi won a mobile a few years ago while participating in a similar championship!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070422/lf_afp/lifestyleustelecomoffbeat_070422193357

These are some part of the article i found interesting:

The text tests ranged from "faster than a speeding bullet..." and "what we do in life echoes in eternity" to the less poetic "OMG, nd 2 talk asap," which for those over 30 means "Oh my God, need to talk as soon as possible."

So dedicated is she to the art of the text message that Tirosh apparently unwittingly uses abbreviations such as BTW (by the way), TTYL (talk to you later) and LOL (laughing out loud) in her normal speech.

i am sure our girls and guys have their own abbreviation, can anyone give me some input on this? text abbreviation for Bahrainies??

VA Tech shooting

A movie for the weekend "Monsieur Ibrahim"

Its Thursday, so i guess i should leave you with something for the weekend. This movie was recommended by a friends, i haven't watched it yet. The movie is called "Monsieur Ibrahim", the movie is about an old Muslim man who makes a unique friendship with a Jewish boy.
Here is an intro to the movie:
During the early 1960's, Paris, like the much of Europe, was an explosion of life. As the old gave way to the new, everything was in flux and the city was filled with a energy that promised cultural shifts and social change. Against this background, in a working class neighborhood, two unlikely characters—a young Jew and an elderly Muslim—begin a friendship. When we meet Momo (Pierre Boulanger), he is in effect an orphan even though he lives with his father, a man slowly retreating into a crippling depression. His only friends are the street whores who treat him with genuine affection. Momo buys his groceries at the neighborhood shop, a crowded dark space owned and run by Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), a silent exotic looking man who sees and knows more than he lets on. After Momo is abandoned by his father, Ibrahim becomes the one grownup in Momo's life. Together they begin a journey that will change their lives forever.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/ibrahim
I heard it is available on DVD, so if you watch it on the weekend, please let us know how was it.

Bahrain's ambassador to the US at a Jewish dinner!

Well according to the Washington Post, Bahrain ambassador to the US attended a Seder (jewish dinner)

"It doesn't typically seek to explain why the ambassador of Bahrain would be belting out in Hebrew a Passover "drinking song" about a goat."

"And Bahraini Ambassador Naser M.Y. Al Belooshi, quietly dipping a piece of parsley (representing spring and the return of hope) into a bowl of salt water (representing tears of the Jewish slaves) and then eating it. "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040100995.html

so is this building bridges? or going against our core beliefs ?

anyone cares to comment

WitchCraft in Bahrain!!

According to today’s GDN (16th April), MPs think we have witchcrafts in the country and its spreading like a disease

"A PROPOSAL to make practising magic and witchcraft a criminal offence will soon be put before parliament. The issue was discussed by the legislative and legal affairs committee yesterday after it was submitted by five MPs. If passed, the law could mean that a 'sorcerer' or 'witch' may be punished if the so-called magic they used harmed another person."

Maybe, just maybe, one of the MPs has seen a witch on a broomstick flying around, better yet, maybe they have seen them selves in the mirror.
Now read this:
"MP Mohammed Khalid, who is one of the members proposing the article, said that it would target both con artists and "real magicians"."

So i guess that means NO David Copperfield for Bahrain!!!
I am just wondering what the punishment would be? Maybe burn them? Stone them?

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=179277&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30027

At last, The Dirt is out

Check out the links

http://assad.arabhood.com/viewtopic.php?t=5977
http://www.bahrainforums.com/showthread.php?t=174493http://www.bahrainforums.com/showthread.php?t=174760

I have to say this is fabricated, the Deposit slip is fabricated, the account numbers are wrong and are also missing banks stamp. for further explanation refer to www.mahmood.tv

Gulf Air Grand Prix packages

According to GDN "With just days to go before the race, we can delightfully say that our day packages are a hit with hundreds of F1 fans across the region, who have no doubt become a part of the international community celebrating the event," said Gulf Air marketing and sales vice president Lee Shave"

The day packages, available from across the region, include an entrance ticket to watch the race, return economy class airfares from the destinations to Bahrain, meet and greet service at the Bahrain International Airport, coach transfers from airport to the BIC and back as well as a goodie bag containing cap, ear plugs and a water bottle cooler.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=177176&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30020

Will someone tell me how is this benefiting Bahrain?? People come from all over the region, the are directly taken to BIC for the race, then back to the airport!! no over night stay, no shopping, no spending, ohh wait they are provided with a water bottle cooler, which might make them buy a bottle of water!!!

These packages should not be allowed, there should be a minimum stay( at least one night), oohhh man who is running BIC??

IRAN, US and our local BAATHY

I came across two interesting articles; one written in one of our local newspapers (akhbar alkhaleej) and the other written in the Guardian (British news paper).The interesting thing is that the writer in the Guardian (Mr.Terry Jones), sound more Muslim (or make that Human) then our beloved (non-baathy) Hafedh AlShaikh.

Hafedh Alshaik said:" if a War happens between Iran and the US,
we should stand neutral. He says its a war between two Evils, Iran being the
worst evil and the most danger to Islam " and went on and on about it (with no facts at all). *read the above

As for the Guardian article read this ( i know its a bit long but its worth reading):

I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this - allowing them to smoke cigarettes, for example, even though it has been proven that smoking kills. And as for compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world - have the Iranians no concept of civilised behaviour? For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture: we put bags over their heads, so it's hard to breathe. Then it's perfectly acceptable to take photographs of them and circulate them to the press because the captives can't be recognised and humiliated in the way these unfortunate British service people are.
It is also unacceptable that these British captives should be made to talk on television and say things that they may regret later. If the Iranians put duct tape over their mouths, like we do to our captives, they wouldn't be able to talk at all. Of course they'd probably find it even harder to breathe - especially with a bag over their head - but at least they wouldn't be humiliated.
And what's all this about allowing the captives to write letters home saying they are all right? It's time the Iranians fell into line with the rest of the civilised world: they should allow their captives the privacy of solitary confinement. That's one of the many privileges the US grants to its captives in Guantánamo Bay.
The true mark of a civilised country is that it doesn't rush into charging people whom it has arbitrarily arrested in places it's just invaded. The inmates of Guantánamo, for example, have been enjoying all the privacy they want for almost five years, and the first inmate has only just been charged. What a contrast to the disgraceful Iranian rush to parade their captives before the cameras!
What's more, it is clear that the Iranians are not giving their British prisoners any decent physical exercise. The US military make sure that their Iraqi captives enjoy PT. This takes the form of exciting "stress positions", which the captives are expected to hold for hours on end so as to improve their stomach and calf muscles. A common exercise is where they are made to stand on the balls of their feet and then squat so that their thighs are parallel to the ground. This creates intense pain and, finally, muscle failure. It's all good healthy fun and has the bonus that the captives will confess to anything to get out of it.
And this brings me to my final point. It is clear from her TV appearance that servicewoman Turney has been put under pressure. The newspapers have persuaded behavioural psychologists to examine the footage and they all conclude that she is "unhappy and stressed".
What is so appalling is the underhand way in which the Iranians have got her "unhappy and stressed". She shows no signs of electrocution or burn marks and there are no signs of beating on her face. This is unacceptable. If captives are to be put under duress, such as by forcing them into compromising sexual positions, or having electric shocks to their genitals, they should be photographed, as they were in Abu Ghraib. The photographs should then be circulated around the civilised world so that everyone can see exactly what has been going on.
As Stephen Glover pointed out in the Daily Mail, perhaps it would not be right to bomb Iran in retaliation for the humiliation of our servicemen, but clearly the Iranian people must be made to suffer - whether by beefing up sanctions, as the Mail suggests, or simply by getting President Bush to hurry up and invade, as he intends to anyway, and bring democracy and western values to the country, as he has in Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2047128,00.html

Johannes Linstead is coming to Bahrain

Canadian Johannes Linstead will be accompanied by his five-member ensemble and a flamenco dancer for a Latin Passion-inspired show on April 12 at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This guy is suppose to be one of the best around. All of his albums have featured on the Billboard Charts. CafŽ Tropical reached the number four position on Billboard Magazine and the number one position on eMusic.com's World Music Chart. It was also named Best World Album in the NAR Lifestyle Music Awards
Tickets are as follows: Grade A (VVIP) BD60 with dinner; Grade B (VIP) BD46 with dinner; Grade C, BD20, not inclusive of dinner; Grade D (Balcony) BD35, not inclusive of dinner
People prepare to spend a lot of money this month. We have the Brazilian dance, we have the F1 race (which free tickets are difficult to come by this year), the F1 parties.
At least nobody can say there is nothing to do !!

Strong words coming from a Strong MAN

http://www.alayam.com/ArticleDetail.asp?CategoryId=1&ArticleId=244473

According to today's Alayam arabic news paper, in an interview with the Crown Prince:

"Irresponsible stand by the ministers on "Spring of culture", no one said anything good about it. i am disappointed with their stand"

on the issue of banking he had this to say"the irresponsible policies in some sector , like Banking, the policy of excluding a sector of Bahranies. This kind of behaviour is threatening our children's future". On the issue of EDB "People and parties that opposed us "the EDB" in implementing and establishing new projects, should know that history will not forgive them. Those people know now the power of EDB"

Strong words coming from the CP, the recent moves and recent statements made by him shows a strong well to carry on with the changes and his vision of Bahrain. I call on all Bahrainies to stand by him. The CP has delivered on many of his promises and the EDB is the only government institute that is really moving forward.

This all sounds like good news but we hope he can overcome the people who he referred to as "people who opposed us".