Category: Archive (2015–2017)
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No Other Choice But to Run at Abu Dhabi Triathlon for Bahrain National
By @EllingYelling Eighteen years old, wearing a pressed military uniform and trying hard not to be noticed, it was nonetheless obvious to the older students that Saqer Al Khalifa was not a typical member of the freshman class. For the native of Bahrain, going to school at The Citadel, a military college in…
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Bahrain’s Engagement With Western Journalists
Image courtesy of http://www.npr.org A few weeks back, I was contacted by Jason Stern, someone I knew from contributing to a previous project of his, asking about press freedom in Bahrain. Jason mentioned that he now works with ‘Committee to Protect Journalists: Defending Journalism Worldwide.’ We spoke for a while and I answered his questions…
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Fighting With Numbers
Is democracy all about numbers? Is it only about what the majority says? I’m not going bluntly say yes or no, I’ll take the easy way out and say it depends. Please, allow me to explain. Everyone interested in Middle Eastern affairs for the past couple of years have been deeply fooled, or fooling himself,…
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Chewed by the Lion’s Teeth
Once, a famous poet lived, more than 1100 years ago, by the name of Abo Tayeb Al Motanabi. He once said in one of his famous poems: “If you see the readiness of the Lion’s teeth, then do not assume that the Lion is smiling”. This verse is so simple and logical in its nature,…
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What I Want From The Dialogue
You may heard that the second dialogue in Bahrain will soon begin. There are many topics in my guess that social/political/government organizations will discuss, which most definitely include the issues where no consensus was reached in the first dialogue about a year and a half ago. They will include elections and how currently the electoral…
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How to Defeat Evil
Defeating evil is a nice dish to have. First of all, what you need is patience, a nice ear, a lot of oxygen, a creative mind, a reading eye, and a serious looking face. Keep the dish away from grins, puffs, irritation, and a short sighted mind. The personal ability to get out of arguments…
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It’s a Small Island After All!
Yes I always emphasize the significance of education, of knowledge, and of understanding to the various aspects of what makes a society seem the way it is. Bahrain, The Kingdom of Bahrain, is a small Island, but yet many around the world and internally fail big time to understand the domestic politics. The way I…
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Gulf Cup Success in Bahrain
Today is sadly the last day of 21st Gulf Cup tournament held here in Bahrain. Every couple of years this tournament is organized in a different GCC state plus Yemen and Iraq. A total of eight countries part of the Arabian peninsula compete in a much anticipated event, football, which is the most widespread sport…
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What is Democracy?
I bet many of you have no idea what democratic institutions are. Whenever and wherever I go, the majority of people I face and engage in a discussion about democracy tend to define it the way they hear about it in the news. Today, TV, Internet, and Print media do offer a lot of insights…
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Another Fiscal Flop by @nytdavidbrooks
Original Article Here Over the course of the 20th century, America built its welfare state. It was, by and large, a great achievement, expanding opportunity and security for millions. Unfortunately, as the population aged and health care costs surged, it became unaffordable. Public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product was around 38…
Dr. Saqer AlKhalifa 