tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post6894483635693254173..comments2024-03-27T11:21:40.742+04:00Comments on Muscat Confidential: Bomb Hoax diverts Oman Air flight. Bahrain boosts Omani tourismUndercover Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-89740741622026674452009-05-30T19:16:40.424+04:002009-05-30T19:16:40.424+04:00"Saudis and Formula 1 enthusiasts."
PMSL"Saudis and Formula 1 enthusiasts."<br /><br />PMSLJet Driverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08244136139124941733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-53853915242172005782009-05-30T15:00:39.768+04:002009-05-30T15:00:39.768+04:00Sidi,
Thanks. Posted (finally – was busy). Get a ...Sidi,<br /><br />Thanks. Posted (finally – was busy). Get a blog!<br /><br />Abd.,<br />Why? Because it’s counter productive, and I’m a pragmatist.<br /><br />A significant part of the Bahrain economy is based on touristism, and two large groups of those actually depend on alcohol: Saudis and Formula 1 enthusiasts. A partial ban on booze will thus negatively impact the economy, something Bahrain could do to avoid. The F1 would collapse. There’s also the issue of financial compensation for all those hotel bar owners who have invested in their places under the auspices of being granted by the authorities a valid licence to serve booze. <br /><br />Also, prohibition (even partial) will just drive the problem underground, and create an instant and lucrative market for organised crime, assisting in the corruption of the police force in the process. Tax revenues would also be lost, and handed over to criminals. It would also make it much more difficult for those who need help due to addiction to alcohol to get treatment.<br /><br />IMHO, it is far better to focus on dealing with the unwanted side effects (drink driving, addiction, underage drinkers, violence & domestic abuse), tax it, and educate people better. If they can’t stop people drinking in Saudi you won’t be able to do it this way. <br /><br />I remember when alcohol was more strictly controlled here. Did people without easy access to booze, and who couldn’t afford the illegal product, not drink? No, of course not. They drank aftershave and Mountain Dew (Amul was a popular brand), to the extent that the Government had to eventually mandate that the stuff be manufactured using medical grade alcohol to reduce all the cases of methanol-related blindness they were getting in the health system from people drinking industrial grade alcohol via 'aftershave'.<br /><br />As a result, I think it’s a wacky idea, based more on a misguided desire to impose (albeit widely held) personal beliefs onto the general populace and visitors. It’s the sort of law that ‘feels good’ for the politicians concerned, and they can make high-minded speaches about 'getting tough' etc, while actually making the problem worse. (We have many, many similar examples in the west, BTW). <br /><br />If you don’t want to drink, that’s fine. And I don't mind some controls either. But simply making something semi-illegal and heavily restricting availability is not a solution!<br /><br />Its wacky.Undercover Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-77307961442074603342009-05-28T21:37:40.856+04:002009-05-28T21:37:40.856+04:00UD- You label the Bahraini officals who want to ba...UD- You label the Bahraini officals who want to ban alcohol sales except in five star hotels and for private consumption as *wacky*. Well I guess that makes me wacky too. Why do you think alcohol should be sold everywhere? I will not debate alcohol consumption here or what it availablility should be- but I do think your labeling of concerned officals as wacky is unfair and irresponsible. AbdAbdullahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596118994410731450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-651583561238129302009-05-28T04:56:20.340+04:002009-05-28T04:56:20.340+04:00This guy is an Omani national.
http://www.hindu.c...This guy is an Omani national.<br /><br />http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/28/stories/2009052857760100.htm<br /><br />Mumbai terror trail leads to Muscat<br /><br />Praveen Swami<br /><br />Lashkar financier Ali al-Hooti was in India days before the November attackUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515390919268618923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-8910115422860766252009-05-28T04:49:42.807+04:002009-05-28T04:49:42.807+04:00Folks, this is big news. Kudo's to all involved in...Folks, this is big news. Kudo's to all involved in the investigation, another terrorist behind bars for good. Just posting the Oman related bits.<br /><br />How Lashkar funded transnational terror campaign<br /><br />http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/28/stories/2009052855481000.htm<br /><br />Praveen Swami<br /><br />Oman millionaire, Kerala computer engineer, Pakistani jihadists facilitated attacks from Muscat to Mumbai and Bangalore<br /><br />Landmarks in Oman were on the terror radar<br /><br />Born to an Indian mother, al-Hooti’s radicalisation had been driven by stories of atrocities against Muslims he heard on visits home to Maharashtra. Before he turned 30, al-Hooti had had twice trained at Lashkar camps in Pakistan and emerged as the organisation’s key point-man in Oman.<br /><br />Multiple targets <br /><br />By 2007, Oman authorities say, the pro-western Emirate itself had begun to figure on al-Hooti’s list of targets.<br /><br />In June that year, al-Hooti held discussions with Lashkar sympathisers in Oman on the prospect of targeting prominent landmarks in Muscat, among them a British Broadcasting Corporation office, the Golden Tulip Hotel, and a spa in the upmarket Nizwa area. No final operational plans were made, but Oman authorities found enough evidence to sentence al-Hooti to life last month.<br />----------<br />Back in 2004, British troops in Iraq detained top Lashkar commander Danish Ahmad who, using the name Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil, had for many years trained cadre for covert operations against India. Since Danish’s arrest, which was first reported in The Hindu, Lashkar operatives have been involved in operations in Australia, the United States of America and even the Maldives.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515390919268618923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-79637282978265684852009-05-26T23:16:43.706+04:002009-05-26T23:16:43.706+04:00JD
Thanks for the intel... More?
Muscato
Thank y...JD<br /><br />Thanks for the intel... More?<br /><br />Muscato<br />Thank you too. If only I was able to read or speak Arabic...Undercover Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-32115474588737738442009-05-26T17:32:28.616+04:002009-05-26T17:32:28.616+04:00To be fair, there was apparently mention of this i...To be fair, there was apparently mention of this in today's <I>Al Shabiba</I>, a paper that, despite its dread association with the dire <I>Times of Oman</I> is at times capable - mostly because of a couple of talented individual reporters - of doing actual journalism.Muscatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657061324487851341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-9392655633300005442009-05-26T16:22:54.721+04:002009-05-26T16:22:54.721+04:00UD
Just to give a bit more info.
Cabin crew found...UD<br /><br />Just to give a bit more info.<br />Cabin crew found a suspect package and a note in a toilet. <br />Pilots decided on a divert to Mumbai. <br />Package removed by Indian EOD team - who did a fine job by all accounts. <br />Described as "elaborate" hoax. <br />More news as I hear about it.<br /><br />JDJet Driverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08244136139124941733noreply@blogger.com