CNN’s Revenge!
Posted on 13 April 2011 by Suhail
Errol Barnett and Amber Lyon discuss the Bahrain crisis.
Ouch! In the last couple of days CNN has aired some scathing reports about Bahrain. I have to say I’m disappointed, but not really that surprised. It doesn’t bother me when someone’s says something negative about Bahrain, what bothers me is that there is no attempt to balance the negative with the positive.
Here’s my two cents on the topic…
A couple of weeks ago I got a call from the Information Affairs Authority asking whether I would like to speak to a CNN crew that were here in Bahrain doing a documentary on the role of social media in the recent Arab revolutions.
Naturally I agreed (this is CNN after all.) I and three others were interviewed for about an hour or so, in outside a cafe in “restaurant city” in Adliya. The crew consisted of four lovely, friendly people. Two men and two women. We spoke to the presenter Amber Lyon.
[An interesting factoid they shared with us: they have over 20 hours of recorded footage! And the documentary they'll air will be less than an hour long! I'll be lucky if I get 10 seconds of air time.]
Anyway, after the interview was over I was keen to invite the crew for dinner. There were several reasons for this. One, a sense of obligation; I wanted to be a good host and make sure the crew was shown good Arab hospitality. Second, I love meeting interesting people and it doesn’t get more interesting than meeting a CNN crew, that just came from Tunisia and Egypt. Finally, I wanted to give them a more balanced view of Bahrain.
We chatted for almost two hours over dinner. I explained things from a moderate’s, Royalist’s perspective. I also tried to give them an idea of Bahrain’s recent history. They told me how they came with little research, so that they would not have any preconceived notions. I told them how biased the international media has been so far (I’m looking at you BBC), and how I hoped that they wouldn’t jump on the band wagon.
But one thing that really upset them was the fact that they were arrested. It really frightened them. They were detained and questioned for six hours, without ever given a proper explanation why. As I recall, they were not conflict-veteran journalists. They’ve never had “machines guns aimed at” their heads before. I think this really left a bad taste in their mouth. Why oh why our overzealous security forces arrested them I’ll never know. My only guess is because they were spending time with the opposition’s well-known, controversial, and in my opinion one-sided human rights activist Nabil Rajab.
All I could think to do was to apologise on behalf of Bahrain. I tried to explain the circumstances that led to the recent crackdown. As I spoke I could see a lot of “aha” moments on their faces. They asked lots of questions and I answered as best I could. I emphasised several times that Bahrain was not the same as Egypt and Tunisia. They replied something to the effect of “yes, we realised that. Bahrain is a much more complicated case.”
I drove home that night feeling good. I felt good because I met such a nice, friendly group, and because I felt I managed to show a more balance view of our crisis. I was looking forward to the May release of the documentary.
But I didn’t have to wait long. The pre-documentary reports came out this week, and as can be expected, the thing they talked about most was their arrest. Payback time baby!
There was no mention of the violence and double standards that appeared from the rioters. No talk of offers of dialogue that were snubbed. No mention of the “death to Al-Khalifa” chants. Zip!
It’s not that surprising I suppose. As I’ve said many times, the government was caught completely by surprise – as was the whole nation for that matter. They lost the media war virtually from day one. There was no media strategy at all. So the opposition had a field day.
I’ve learnt a lot during this crisis (and will dedicate a whole blog post to this topic one day) but what probably stands out the most is how the media are biased in their coverage. I suppose they go in already having decided who is wrong and who is right. Who wants to bother with all the relevant complexities?
I for one will never believe stories about “pro democracy” protests in other parts of the world at face value again. There’s always more to these stories.
Talk to you soon.
A friend of mine told me a few months ago that she had lost faith in “respectable” intl media when she heard them reporting about problems in her country. At the time I could not relate to what she was saying. Now I fully understand! Thank you for trying to make reporters see the full picture!
I have no doubt in your integrity or good will intentions dear writer. However, you have got to understand that there is an opressed and oppressor in this equation. I wholehartedly believe that both ends have done mistakes, and realize how fearful people are in really saying anything that criticises the government under a police state. But history is full of examples, and although Bahrain has its own narrative, it is not fundamentally different, whereby powerful people abuse their power. As moderate and balanced as one can be, there are realities that basic human rights are being violated. Although I would be the first to condemn chants of death, words are one thing, and actual killing is another. The world is watching us fail miserably, becuase there is no accountability, and we cant blame them for reporting it.
- Credibility of governmnet’s info & Forigin Affairs ministries in Arab & 3rd world countries = equal = credibility of the notorious X-info minister of Iraq AlSahaf
- because they we were asked to make an interview with the ppl the ministry elected, I don’t think an independent & credible agency would air it.
“It doesn’t bother me when someone’s says something negative about Bahrain, what bothers me is that there is no attempt to balance the negative with the positive”
Positive like what? Like.. It’s calm and back to normal? Do you realize that 4 where brutely murdered in the prisions? 800+ detained without trial? Houses are raided 3am, money is stolen, women are beaten, people just disappear and found dead!
CNN has presented Shaikh Khalid Alkhalifa’s view, and that’s more than fair aint?
What makes me so surprised, is how everyone seem to be very worried that the int media is presenting Bahrain negatively, and not what it’s presenting.
There is nothing in life justifies murder, torture and firing at unarmed civilians. We your brothers and sisters on the other side seek your “neutral” stance; and that firstly, demanding justice be brought to all sides. What’s happening now is an unjest war against half the people in Bahrain.
Why should we worry so much about Int.media whenever there is athreat to our national security!! They don’t !!
Chants don’t kill.. Torture & bullets do.. You zip it.. Calling it a balanced view and all? What do you know about balance? Where do you see it in your beloved Bahrain? Armed forced vs unarmed civilians? Sectarianism is tearing the country apart, nationalized foreign security forces who are loyal to the $ stop Bahrainis in checkpoints questioning their loyalty, patrionism and all ending up either humiliating or arresting them.. Bahrain is no democracy and we all know it, its not an Islamic country and we all know it.. You’re as biased as you claim international media is and although I realize its a waste of my time to type all of this if I were intending for you to read it, i’m doing so for whoever ends up reading your article and my comments.. You’re calling Nabeel Rajab one-sided? I agree, he is always on the side of the opressed, and thats where we all should be.. He was on the side of Bahraini SUNNI prisoners in Guantanamo, and now he’s on the side of the oppressed Bahraini population who happen to be majority Shi’a, and why wouldn’t they be if the country’s muslim population is majority Shi’a + the fact that they are the marginalized sect when it comes to many benefits that the Bahraini gov’t could give out to the Bahraini people..?
For your info, i’m no Shiat nor am I a Sunni.. My principles, morals and values are those of a humanist.. Grab some of those if you wanna call urself a descent human too..
- Human rights violations committed by the regime undenyably and unquestionably outweights & outnambers all actions made by some of the opposition individuals.
Bahrain became an apartheid State. A state of fear. Like East Germany.
By the way, some aspects of the situation in Bahrain (especially secret police thing) reminds of the great German movie “The Lives of the Others” & the other great movie (Hotel Rawanda).
- Well said ABC.
I think I waste a couple of minutes reading such a stupid article like this sh… .
so your complain is no mention to the chant “death to Alkhalifa”, ok I am not with the people who says it, at the same time, I am not with the government in killing and arresting people who says it or who are not.
do you think it is equivalent to kill people who said a word?
anyway I think you are a good open minded writer and I just hope that you don’t believe BTV propaganda.
مثل ما يقولون “ما يمدح السوق الا يربح فيه” .. في عربستان هناك فئة مستفيدة من ا الحكومة وفئات من الآلاف او الملايين المسحوقة
في كل عربستان من المحيط الى الخليج بما فيها ما يسمى ب “الحالة الخاصة” في البحرين
قالوها من قبل:
مصر غير تونس
ليبيا غير مصر و تونس
اليمن غير مصر و تونس و ليبيا
البحرين غير تونس و مصر و ليبيا و اليمن
وغيرها من أكليشيهات الحكومة و المتعصبين للحكام والتي تشمل ( قلة مندسة، أجندة خارجية، تخريب للممتلكات)
Dude I think you failed miserably with this funny blog post. You’re getting shit from everyone. Take my advice and perform some form of plastic surgery to your face. Maybe people will take you more seriously when you don’t look like an anorexic rat anymore
مثل ما يقولون “ما يمدح السوق الا يربح فيه” .. في عربستان هناك فئة مستفيدة من الحكومة و بالمقابل هناك فئات من الآلاف او الملايين المسحوقة و المظلومة إجتماعيا و سياسيا
If I may share my opinion, the CNN report seemed to be focused on the period post-crackdown, and therefore the no “mention of the violence and double standards that appeared from the rioters. No talk of offers of dialogue that were snubbed. No mention of the “death to Al-Khalifa” chants.” I do not place the blame (solely) on the government for the events that led to the imposition of a National State of Security. However, I believe anything past that should be solely the governments responsibility, including the deaths in prisons, arrests, attacks on any person, layoffs, harrasment etc. Some of those were required (such as the arrests) and some of the Alleged others were just blatant violations of human rights (torture after arrests).
That being said, I do think CNN were swayed by their arrest. An apology does little when even an explanation isn’t given. Anyway, here’s to hoping people realise that when this has chapter has passed, we are all going to have to live together afterwards. Hate does no-one any good. Yi36eek il3afya
I’m quite puzzled how an open minded blogger like you elects to ignore the violations of human rights in Bahrain, which r documented by HRs advocacy societies like Amensity International & UN HRs.
The violations include but nOt limited to:
Killing, torture, arrests with no trial nor a lawyer, firing employees, harrasmnets & humiliations, raiding houses, kidnapping, spying, harrassing journalists & social activists, halting deserved scholarships of the nationals & damaging proprities & cars…… Etc)
Thanks for the ALL the great blog posts. While I’m leaning towards the pro-democracy movement in principle, I, however, mostly agree with you on all your perspectives, particularly on how most Bahrainis lost faith in the major opposition; a thought which I, as well, subscribe to.
However, the issue with foreign media is tricky. They are after headlines and dramatic stories, and the government is not really helping itself in that matter and demonstrating what protestors ‘claim’ by live action and evidence. The detaining and expelling foreign media had occurred before the 14 Feb uprising (for example AlJazeera Poverty documentary) and the government never wanted to broadcast images or interviews at this crucial point or before, which it didn’t approve. As for the protesters chants of death, they are, being totally unacceptable, are not as fierce as guns being held towards their head. I understand how the word ‘peaceful’ has completely lost its meaning, but that’s another story. That along with other disgraceful acts by the protestors should’ve been mentioned at least.
With regards to the opposition utilising the foreign media, I think it is mostly human right activists that lead them to some of their main stories, and yes I know the link between the opposition and the activists. Nevertheless, international media covered stories from all over the globe with civil and ethics uprisings for decades now. Do you think they have not been exposed to any manipulations from any ‘opposition’ before? Even if the crew is young and unaware of the whole story, are their editors and directors in the studio naive too? Uprisings are barely planned thoroughly, and even if, can never be executed as planned. We all saw the path the opposition selected to voice their concerns, i.e. other ‘hostile’ states and terrorist parties’ channels, and you wrote a nice post about it. But can they really deceive all these organizations?
Let them investigative the University incident, let them go freely to Salamnayia now that it has been ‘cleared’. I would speculate if that went without hurdles and minders though that then they would naturally speak with the Adhan caller or the security forces that were beaten up, and get the other side, if these atrocities happened with claimed level of extent and causation. What message is the government trying to send with the great restrictions on foreign media? Our government is not some sub-Saharan militia that just took over an instable country, they know what they did, and their ‘mixed messages’ cannot be taken as facts by respected, but not flawless, veteran international media. There is a serious question of credibility in our own media and official statements when a large proportion of its country’s citizens don’t believe it; whey would the foreign media take it?
Moreover, if any international news media outlet might give a ‘fair’ picture of Bahrain, as the government might wish, it will be CNN. Remember the frequent ads of ‘Business Friendly’ on CNN? Remember Richard Quest’s frequent visits during F1 and his talks with the CP? BBC, on the other hand has been always criticized for their objectivity and reporting, and they continue to address that and aim towards neutrality, and they did do relatively balanced job IMO. But when their teams were not allowed to enter easily (Frank Gardner), it rings the bell of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe!
But hey, has Washington Post, Financial Times, Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, The Telegraph, NY Times, Time magazine, The Economist, SBS Australia, France 24, just to name a few, all got it wrong too? Have they all gone visually impairment in one eye like Bahrain TV, only with a different eye? Have they really gone through the road of Al-Alam or Al-Manar? Or is it much closer to the real balanced picture, as you called it, which we, moderate Bahrainis, cannot see?
Sorry for not using my real name or email. Yes, we’ve reached that level of fear. It is up to you to publish it or not, just wanted to put my two cents with yours.
Keep on blogging please
and ignore the hate posts above.
Interesting article and response. Some hardliners that don’t want to admit that where we are now is because of those hard liners. The more i think about it the more i believe this was a planned revolution that failed because of its leaders’ incompetence and because it was hatched before its time. Arresting the CNN was probably not the smartest moves but we are not in a normal situation. Look at what the US did during 9/11. National security is not taken lightly by any country that i know of.
if you call this as a revenge then you should call the report of European parlement a revenge , European Union Cathrine Ashtons statement against Bahrains Gov is revenge , all the human right organizations are revenger !!
the only revenger are the government who is trying to humalite ,kill and silence 2/3 of its people !!!
Sad to say it but “Mohammed” absolutely nailed it as does “MHD.” You’ve lost all credibility as a balanced viewpoint Suhail….you’re blind to what’s going on here just because it suits you better to keep your head firmly in the sand. So the BBC is biased…now CNN, Amnesty, The Times, Bloomberg, Reuters…..they’re all working to an agenda? Do you really believe that???? Wake up dude, it’s time to smell some coffee…..
Now you know the truth about media. The media consists of people. They are humans and they are flawed. They will never be able to remove emotion from their reporting. I was freaking out when all of this happened in Bahrain b/c I seriously thought so many of my friends were going to be killed. Truth is most people were not out on the streets rioting (thank God). Many were, yes. And I think they had good reason to be angry. But the media show the negative, the bad, the problems. Those stories are more interesting. Did anyone know where Bahrain was BEFORE all of this?? Hardly? Do they now? More than before and not in a good way. When BBC and CNN called the Pearl Roundabout a square, is when I took everything they said with a grain of salt. Please keep being positive, Suhail. The world needs it now more than ever!
BTW Yousif, how dare you. Lowering yourself to saying derogatory comments about someone b/c you disagree with his or her opinion is childish. Grow up.
CNN BBC and all the international 24 hour news channels work on sensationalism. Meaning the more they suprised the viewer the more he or she will watch, it’s a cycle. I agree with what you wrote I too was not suprised but disappointed at same time. Another thing about 24 hour news is you need to start leaving things out to keep it interesting, look at us talking about this is, more publicity than any add on any website.
Keep up the good work.
Suliman
And just to add, in order to counter some of the more ignorant and insulting comments I’d just like to add that I applaud your efforts into trying to have a reasoned opinion that is based on ur own opinion. Hata’s keep hatin.
المسألة بسيطة وقالوها من زمان
لاتبوق
لاتخاف
حكومتكم خلت موظفي الأمن يهجموا على الناس بدون محاسبة فأكيد راح يعتدوا على الجميع بمن فيهم الصحفيين بدون استثناء
وزي ماقال
Bobby Gould “Wakeup you need to smell some coffee
I really trust your good intentions about unity of Bahrainies
CNN reporters are not fools to report government favor-ated folks
Q: What’s the common denominator between media powered by Qaddafi in Libya, Ba’athi Iraq, Ali Saleh in Yemen, Soviet Union & pre-revolution Egypt, Tchawchisco in Romania?
A: They are all propaganda machines run by tyrant, bribery, oppressive and totalitarian. They are all corrupts and work for the $$$ like mercenaries and not independent.
ما الفرق بين النظام الليبي, الأيراني, البعثي السوري و العراقي, نظام مبارك المصري و بن علي التونسي, و مشيخات الخليج ( العوائل الحاكمة) من جهة ….. و الا نظمة السياسية في تركيا, ماليزيا, الدول الأسكندنافية, و حتى في في أفقر الدول الأوروبية؟
هو ذات الفرق بين الثرى و الثريا.. تلك دول قمعية فاسدة بوليسية أو رشوية
تقمع بالرشاوي أو بأسم الأيدولوجيا أو بأسم الله جل جلاله من أجل شرعنة حكم طغمة من المنتفعين و الفاسدين …
و تلك دول فيها عدالة اجتماعية و حريات و مساواة و ديموقراطية
Just the fact that I cant even use my real name is enough proof that the government of bahrain has violated at least one basic human right law (obviously theres a lot more). Suhail use to write many good and balanced posts but he has now shifted more towards the pro-gov camp… actually he has shifted complete towards that camp! Its his decision and I respect him. Theres also a possibility that, like us, he’s just too afraid to write anything negative about the government. Regarding the one-eyed/biased post above, the whole World is condemning the human rights violations committed by the bahraini government. Not just CNN. I would like to add the LA Times to the list of agencies that are now covering and condemning the brutal bahraini crackdown on its own people listed above in previous posts. Suhail, yes there was some violence by a minority of the protesters along with some other mistakes committed by them BUT they do not represent the whole opposition. The government however is an official entity therefore when they commit such crimes, the media is obviously going to broadcast these stories. Suhail, in case I am wrong by saying that you are afraid of posting anything negative about the gov (just like I am afraid to post my real name), I am more than happy to drown you with images and videos of various human rights violations committed by the Peninsula Shield. If you haven’t seen them yet then I can totally understand why this post is biased, but if you have….. no comment!
Reuters
Wall Street Journal
NYTimes
The Guardian
Daily Telegraph
SBS Australia
ALJazeera English
CNN
BBC
LA Times
Washington Post
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Al-Alam TV (Arab)
AL-Manar TV (Arab)
UN (website)
…and the list goes on
Are they all liars? common Suhail you should be smarter than that!
“There was no mention of the violence and double standards that appeared from the rioters. No talk of offers of dialogue that were snubbed. No mention of the “death to Al-Khalifa” chants. Zip!”
According to Suhail: If theres a small number out of the 300,000 protesters (maybe even more) that were violent and chanted death to al-khalifa, most villages in bahrain deserve being attacked and people deserve dying in jail as a result of torture? Thats not mentioning the other human rights violations (eg. LIMITING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM).. chanting “death to the K-word” and a minority of violent people DOES NOT JUSTIFY the killing and torture of others. It certainly does not justify the random attacks on villagers! Suhail has lost credibility. The End
the big brother, Saudi Arabia, doesn’t want a free democratic Bahrain. it doesn’t want any democratic states on its boarders or any of its Arab allies.. see the big picture,, it’s a proxy war land
Thanks all for your – very varied – input. Many have misjudged me, but that’s okay. Debate is healthy. Thanks again and God bless.
With all due respect Suhail it doesnt seem like you’ve even seen the documentary. Your rosy version of Bahrain is very different to the one that is faced by those living in Sanabis, Deih and other villages and the documentary seeks to show a side that you have not experienced and which many Bahrainis from the upper classes are in total denial about.
If you would realy like to present a “balanced” view I suggest you speak to some of the people who have been tortured in the past. They will tell you about the WEEKS they spent blindfolded, the daily and routine beatings they faced, and the sexual abuse with glass bottles. They will show you the scars on their bodies and the limps in their walk. They will say it with tears in their eyes whispering that their lives will never be the same.
I suggest you take a walk in one of these villages and see the poverty and stench that they live in. See what BD200 a month can buy for a family of five or six or seven. See how these people have not been given equal educational opportunities all the while seeing their country boom like anything and welcome expats with arms wide open. All the while, the windfall from land reclamation projects alone in the past decade has been BD 15 BILLION – all in private hands. Thats enough for each Bahriani to be given BD25,000 and yet they live in poverty. If this was you I have no doubt you would not only camp out at Lulu but likely chant “Death to Al Khalifa.” History did not begin yesterday, you have to dig a little deeper than that.
4 have died so far in prison so far- thats 4 people who were fathers, brothers, cousins, sisters to somebody. Imagine what it takes to die of torture. Imagine how much pain. Speaking one’s mind and saying a subversive comment is one thing, even chanting it as a group, but do not forget that this is an uneven playing field and saying one thing and killing is actually another.
Do your best to meet people like this and I’m willing to bet your idea of what it means to be “balanced” will shift considerably.
Yours,
A true sunni moderate.
Very varied??? Are you freakin outta ur mind? Its like you vs everyone that posted.. dude you eff-ed up BIGTIME with that article you wrote… all you did was prove your TOTAL lack of intellect.. What next? CNN & UN following an Iranian Agenda??
Man I try to respect everyone as much as I can and I feel guilty using the tone i’m using with you.. But look at the bright side, i’m not torturing you to death for expressing your beliefs and opinions, just using a harsh tone! But from your perspective that wouldn’t be wrong or did you grow a brain-cell to think otherwise?!?
Theres something i just have to send out to you… May give you some inside insight!
Dear Suhail,
Thank you for your post. I would like to point out some background to the situation which I think may help you in understanding why the protests began in the first place:
1. Political Naturalization: In 2006 a former advisor to the Cabinet Affairs Ministry leaked government documents detailing a plot to naturalize sunnis from saudi, jordan, yemen, syria intended to change bahrain’s demographic balance. these people were also given homes and benifits, while local bahraini shiites were kept on waiting lits for fifteen to twenty years. this was the bandargate scandal.
2. Land reclamation: Ever wondered why bahrain does not have a public beach? All coastal properties are in private hands and land reclamation has cost bahrain it’s environment without one fils going into the national treasury. today, fishermen are forced to stray into qatari waters just to earn a livelihood.
3. no representation: bahrain’s original 1973 constitution set out an elected parliament that was 1/3 appointed and 2/3 elected. in 2001, this was changed to a two chamber parliament, one which was elected and the other which was appointed. the voting districts were also done unproportionately to give a higher voice to pro-government areas.
4. corruption: the land on which the BFH was build being sold for one dinar is just an example of that.
do bahrainis not have a right to ask for these demands to be treated fairly and equally? and to not be arrested and fired when they do?
I think you have a good intention in your writings and you are kind and fair to all people. i hope you will continue to write but we just hope you look at all the information.
god bless u.
Suhail…
The government TOOOL!!! Don’t get me wrong… i don’t believe your being payed for it. I think your a sucker who does it for free.
How about being fair and unbiased and writing a blog about the last four Bahranis who died. We would like to see some photos too please
This would surely prove that your fair and unbiased.
Mahdi: dont blame him for NOT writing an unbiased report.. DONT blame him for not mentioning the deaths that resulted from torture! Suhail is afraid he’ll end up like Mahmood Al-Yousif or emoodz, just like everyone that has commented on this blog post is too scared to reveal their real identities.
I do however agree that he is somewhat of a voluntary government tool (unpaid). Want proof? Go through his blog and you will see how badly he kisses the CP’s ass. Sad!
Oh! I forgot to ask one question.. I know you don’t usually reply to specific comments on your blog but hopefully you’ll make an exception for me… So what are you exactly suggesting Suhail? You reckon if the CNN crew was not arrested and guns were not pointed at their heads, they would’ve produced a BTV-style report in support of the Bahraini government?
I agree with Steven. The way he kisses the CP’s ass in his blog is disgusting but not surprising. You see Steven, if you have lived in Manama you would understand that it is very common for many people to praise members of the royal family or as in your terms “kiss ass”. It is seen as a sign of loyalty not just to the ruling dictatorship but also to the country. The reality is loyalty to the ruler and loyalty the soil of your country are not interrelated. They do not go together like a horse and carriage. The same kind of medieval mentality exists in all the GCC countries and Emirates without fail. This is why state-owned propaganda machines in Bahrain label the protesters “un-royal”
As for voluntarily “kissing ass”, that is also a normal thing. Although some people that kiss ass are actually on a government payroll, the majority of ass kissers are not on a payroll. They simply do it because they have been brainwashed from an early age to do so. If you grew up in Bahrain, you will constantly see big and small posters of the ruling family’s 3 musketeer (stooges) pretty much everywhere. On the streets, in buildings, schools, offices etc. The same sort of image embedding techniques that were used by the ruling families in Europe during the middle ages. So basically people subconsciencly
I agree with Steven. The way he kisses the CP’s ass in his blog is disgusting but not surprising. You see Steven, if you have lived in Manama you would understand that it is very common for many people to praise members of the royal family or as in your terms “kiss ass”. It is seen as a sign of loyalty not just to the ruling dictatorship but also to the country. The reality is loyalty to the ruler and loyalty the soil of your country are not interrelated. They do not go together like a horse and carriage. The same kind of medieval mentality exists in all the GCC countries and Emirates without fail. This is why state-owned propaganda machines in Bahrain label the protesters “un-royal”
As for voluntarily “kissing ass”, that is also a normal thing. Although some people that kiss ass are actually on a government payroll, the majority of ass kissers are not on a payroll. They simply do it because they have been brainwashed from an early age to do so. If you grew up in Bahrain, you will constantly see big and small posters of the ruling family’s 3 musketeer (stooges) pretty much everywhere. On the streets, in buildings, schools, offices etc. The same sort of image embedding techniques that were used by the ruling families in Europe during the middle ages. So basically people subconsciencly are tricked or brainwashed if you may to associate the love for the soil of their nation to the love of the ruling family. In reality, the free thinking citizens of the world do understand that the two concepts are not interrelated.
Also, keep in mind that when you have people that are relatively well known in Bahrain such as Suhail, the act of public ass kissing will take that person to very far places in the future. By that I mean government grants and being employed in high positions in the government. It has happened before in the past and many ass kissers know that the more they kiss ass the more likely it is for them to benefit from the government in the future. Thats why they volunteer to become ass kissers/slaves. All in all, do not be surprised if you one day see Suhail as the minster of Media thanks to his blogging activities today.
CNN Revenge ?
What about BBC , does it have revenge as well ?
the Guardian , the telegraph , washington post , new york times , you name it all have revenge
the EU / the EP , the UN all have revenge ?
CNN Covered both sides from the story with Bahrain FM and opposition
the clear truth to everyone that the only side which is having revenge is Bahraini government against its people !!!
I just read this article: http://www.zawya.com//story.cfm/sid20110415_23003_126/Bahrain_Wavers_In_Face_Of_Western_Criticism
I would like to comment on one thing suhail said in the article. “Crackdowns are by definition harsh and brutal, but you must remember this was an attempted revolution,” said Suhail Algosaibi, a moderate pro-government blogger, who backs moves to dialogue with a broad cross-section of society. “It was not a revolution that was popular or endorsed by the majority of the Bahraini people.”
What is the base of your argument by saying NOT the majority of the population? Was there a UN poll or vote that I missed out on.? Or did the government do a referendum that I missed out on? Back your claims with evidence when you talk to international media please? Also don’t forgot that one massive rally on a Friday where people marched from two different directions. One from Bahrain mall to the pearl and another one from salmaniya hospital to the pearl. Remember hoe scary the videos and pictures were for the government lovers! I’m sure you’ve seen them
Suhail please ignore all the ignorants comments. They pretend no one ran over the policeman or took hostages and closed down the capital.
They are fools that were surprised that they are not the only ones living in Bahrain. They were taken abak by the 300,000 at alfateh rally and the GCC will never allow them to take our bahrian. Long Live King Hamad !!