Those of you who hang around airports and hotels in the Sultanate may have noticed the common appearance of well built Americans with very short hair and large necks, sometimes accompanied by short wiry Arabic-looking men with big moustaches wearing new civilian clothes.
I can explain. It seems that the American military are flying into Oman lots of Iraqi troops and police for training here rather than in Iraq. Obviously it’s much, much safer to do that here, where security can be assured and they can also be assisted by the Omani forces for translation and support (plus the Omanis would be an excellent example to the Iraqis of competent Arabic soldiers too). Since 1980 Oman and the U.S. have been parties to a military cooperation agreement, which was revised and renewed in 2000.
The Americans are also using Jordan for these ex-Iraq training sorties too, although they operate somewhat more openly than here. My sources couldn’t supply me with numbers being trained and I will not say where in the Sultanate the training is taking place for obvious reasons.
I think it’s a great example of the sort of undercover support that His Majesty gives to other Arab countries and is a significant - and real - contribution to the wider region’s stability. It also provides lots of brownie points from the US Government, which is great for Oman too.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
The Teddy Bear Saga and Islamic Response
An Oman based blog I like to read by Suburban Other Oman recently mentioned surprise at the lack of responses by Muslims criticising (or even questioning) the obviously wacky verdict in Sudan on the infamous Teddy Bear case. Especially absent were such comments on the great 130+ blog comments that were sponsored by Amjad on the topic Amjads Teddy Blog
I think this is exactly symptomatic of the growing problem Islam has with regard to Free Speech. Many, many Muslims thought the verdict in Sudan was totally crazy and bad for Islam [or even not Islamic at all], and were more than willing to explain that in private. But they are in fear of saying anything in public, or even on-line, that could possibly be construed by anyone as being even slightly anti-Islamic. Very afraid.
The reason, of course, is that if any crazy long beard accuses you of being blasphemous, even if the accusation is totally unfair and untrue, you are at serious risk of having crowds of baying 'faithful' demanding your death. So, obviously much better and smarter to just keep your head down, shut up and keep such toughts to yourself or people you can trust.
This is perhaps one reason why the comparison is being made between the actions of such extremists through the new phrase 'IslamoFascism'. One similarity being pointed to is with the early days of the 3rd Reich in Germany, when no-one spoke out about what was going on for fear of being arrested, beaten or killed themselves. The famous quote attributed to the Irish born British Politian Edmund Burke seems most appropriate in this situation: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".
IMHO its about time reasonable and mainstream Muslims retake their right to speak their opinions and have respectful discussions and debate without fear of such accusations. Before its too late. The alternative is to leave the space to the extremists and give everyone the opinion that all Islam is as crazed as they are. Which is certainly not true.
There are just not enough well spoken, intelligent, sensible, moderate (and preferably who look good on TV) Muslims making their case in the public forums of the West in a form that is politically smart. And that hurts the case of reason everywhere.
Aside: An excellent essay here casts doubt on whether this was an actual quote from Burke or is a self purpetuating myth. The quote's popularity does say something about the power and resonance of this particular meme.
I think this is exactly symptomatic of the growing problem Islam has with regard to Free Speech. Many, many Muslims thought the verdict in Sudan was totally crazy and bad for Islam [or even not Islamic at all], and were more than willing to explain that in private. But they are in fear of saying anything in public, or even on-line, that could possibly be construed by anyone as being even slightly anti-Islamic. Very afraid.
The reason, of course, is that if any crazy long beard accuses you of being blasphemous, even if the accusation is totally unfair and untrue, you are at serious risk of having crowds of baying 'faithful' demanding your death. So, obviously much better and smarter to just keep your head down, shut up and keep such toughts to yourself or people you can trust.
This is perhaps one reason why the comparison is being made between the actions of such extremists through the new phrase 'IslamoFascism'. One similarity being pointed to is with the early days of the 3rd Reich in Germany, when no-one spoke out about what was going on for fear of being arrested, beaten or killed themselves. The famous quote attributed to the Irish born British Politian Edmund Burke seems most appropriate in this situation: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".
IMHO its about time reasonable and mainstream Muslims retake their right to speak their opinions and have respectful discussions and debate without fear of such accusations. Before its too late. The alternative is to leave the space to the extremists and give everyone the opinion that all Islam is as crazed as they are. Which is certainly not true.
There are just not enough well spoken, intelligent, sensible, moderate (and preferably who look good on TV) Muslims making their case in the public forums of the West in a form that is politically smart. And that hurts the case of reason everywhere.
Aside: An excellent essay here casts doubt on whether this was an actual quote from Burke or is a self purpetuating myth. The quote's popularity does say something about the power and resonance of this particular meme.
Sex and Free Speech - Savage Love
Just a little mini-post. I’d like to share one of my favourite web columns, not only because it’s funny, kinky and thought provoking, but also because the column is not only online but is published in several newspapers every week in the States. Yet another example to help explain how free speech works in the real world. It’s a sex advice column called Savage Love and is extremely explicit, so don’t look if you don’t want to read about straights, gays, fetishes and real sexual activities and desires and the problems that they create. But if you’re OK with that, I highly recommend checking it out.
Savage Love
Just for fucks sake don’t tell Omantel or they’ll block it and I really wouldn’t like to have to use a proxy server to read it every time. OK? It’ll be our little secret.
What I find an interesting thought experiment is to imagine a similar column in the Week... Now THAT would be a sign of changing values!
Savage Love
Just for fucks sake don’t tell Omantel or they’ll block it and I really wouldn’t like to have to use a proxy server to read it every time. OK? It’ll be our little secret.
What I find an interesting thought experiment is to imagine a similar column in the Week... Now THAT would be a sign of changing values!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
When in doubt, hold a Conference!
Sometimes it seems as if 50% of Oman’s Government employees are at some conference or workshop, somewhere, all the time. Yes, this time it’s a conference on Human Trafficking (see the awesome Times of Oman, December 17th). Of course, reading the incisive reportage from the Omani 4th Estate it seems a great idea and original initiative, held under the auspices of the Oman Prosecutor General Hussein bin Ali Al Hilali with the theme ‘Public Awareness in combating human trafficking and the collective responsibility’. Wow. And apparently we are assured a draft decree is in the works.
Aside: Dragon notes that Prosecutor General Al Hilali is a very fantastic person who is doing a wonderful job.
What the newspapers are not pointing out, naturally, is the real reason for such sudden interest in the problem. Recently the US State Dept listed Oman as a Tier 3 country with regard its lack of efforts to combat the problem of human trafficking – the lowest rating, placing Oman along side such tourist wonder-zones as North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. More ominously, the US Senate mused about sanctions for such countries, and certainly weren’t too impressed to have just entered into a Free Trade agreement with such a state. OK, US politics play a part of course. But a huge embarrassment for the Government.
Hint: This is why such a legal and public awareness themed gathering is actually sponsored by the Oman Foreign Ministry.
I’d recommend reading the complete Oman country report highly, its really good (and free) US State Dept. report on Oman Human Rights
And, actually, there is a lot of good stuff in the report too, because while I like to criticize because I think things can always be made better, in many ways Oman is pretty civilized and has done a huge amount of good things. Especially obvious when compared to their many and totally fucked up neighbours [Saudi, Yemen, UAE, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan].
Omani official sensibilities were somewhat disturbed by the report when it was issued, to the extent that several Government Officials were even reported in the Omani press defending their [rather poor] record on the issue (which shows how big a deal it had become, making one suspect the report had reached the attention of the highest levels of government). They failed to realize that the State Dept. bureaucrats actually focused on demonstrable action, like laws against human trafficking, actual arrests and prosecutions, victims not being arrested and deported, institutions in place and funded to protect the victims, police resources to enforce, evidence that foreign workers basic human rights are actually protected, and a clear commitment to improve things. None of which applied to Oman.
Hence, this conference, and maybe a law soon. Expect the pliant press to play their role with some preachy stories too. Unfortunately, just talking about it and being seen trying to be seen trying to be doing something about it (the typical government response to any issue, see recent action on inflation, Gonu, …) may well be enough to lift the country into Tier 2 [where the UAE is]. As opposed to actually doing anything.
Like prosecuting the pimps and importers of the prostitutes, or their clients. Or actively protecting the rights of Indian and Philippino workers. Or prosecuting the employers who illegally confiscate passports of expats. Or making it easier for those abused Philippino and Indonesian housemaids to complain about the violence and rapes, the 7-day week 18 hr days work, the not being paid, etc. Or protecting the Indian building workers here on less than 100 rials a month and made to work in flip-flops, up on rickety scaffolding with no safety kit what-so-ever. The list goes on.
But, the Ministry boys have probably called it right. A conference, some press reports, and a specific law will probably be enough for the diplomats to convince the US State Dept. that they have enough to elevate Oman to Tier 2 in the next report. Problem solved.
So, wonderful news for exploited expats and trafficked sex workers in Oman. A conference! Well done lads!
Aside: Dragon notes that Prosecutor General Al Hilali is a very fantastic person who is doing a wonderful job.
What the newspapers are not pointing out, naturally, is the real reason for such sudden interest in the problem. Recently the US State Dept listed Oman as a Tier 3 country with regard its lack of efforts to combat the problem of human trafficking – the lowest rating, placing Oman along side such tourist wonder-zones as North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. More ominously, the US Senate mused about sanctions for such countries, and certainly weren’t too impressed to have just entered into a Free Trade agreement with such a state. OK, US politics play a part of course. But a huge embarrassment for the Government.
Hint: This is why such a legal and public awareness themed gathering is actually sponsored by the Oman Foreign Ministry.
I’d recommend reading the complete Oman country report highly, its really good (and free) US State Dept. report on Oman Human Rights
And, actually, there is a lot of good stuff in the report too, because while I like to criticize because I think things can always be made better, in many ways Oman is pretty civilized and has done a huge amount of good things. Especially obvious when compared to their many and totally fucked up neighbours [Saudi, Yemen, UAE, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan].
Omani official sensibilities were somewhat disturbed by the report when it was issued, to the extent that several Government Officials were even reported in the Omani press defending their [rather poor] record on the issue (which shows how big a deal it had become, making one suspect the report had reached the attention of the highest levels of government). They failed to realize that the State Dept. bureaucrats actually focused on demonstrable action, like laws against human trafficking, actual arrests and prosecutions, victims not being arrested and deported, institutions in place and funded to protect the victims, police resources to enforce, evidence that foreign workers basic human rights are actually protected, and a clear commitment to improve things. None of which applied to Oman.
Hence, this conference, and maybe a law soon. Expect the pliant press to play their role with some preachy stories too. Unfortunately, just talking about it and being seen trying to be seen trying to be doing something about it (the typical government response to any issue, see recent action on inflation, Gonu, …) may well be enough to lift the country into Tier 2 [where the UAE is]. As opposed to actually doing anything.
Like prosecuting the pimps and importers of the prostitutes, or their clients. Or actively protecting the rights of Indian and Philippino workers. Or prosecuting the employers who illegally confiscate passports of expats. Or making it easier for those abused Philippino and Indonesian housemaids to complain about the violence and rapes, the 7-day week 18 hr days work, the not being paid, etc. Or protecting the Indian building workers here on less than 100 rials a month and made to work in flip-flops, up on rickety scaffolding with no safety kit what-so-ever. The list goes on.
But, the Ministry boys have probably called it right. A conference, some press reports, and a specific law will probably be enough for the diplomats to convince the US State Dept. that they have enough to elevate Oman to Tier 2 in the next report. Problem solved.
So, wonderful news for exploited expats and trafficked sex workers in Oman. A conference! Well done lads!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Free Speech and Blasphemy
On my earlier post on Free Speech and Islam, and the importance of being able to offend people to protect the right of free speech, Blue Chi made a good point, 'What about blasphemy then?'
It is true that in some European countries Blasphemy (though you should note, usually only against the Christian faith) is, in theory, illegal, but it is usually because of very old laws that would not be used today and have just never been formally repealed. As you'll detect, I'm more in favour of the USA system, which is more liberal and you can be as blasphemous as you like.
To the question of making blasphemy illegal, my response would be:
1/ Why? I'd have thought that God was big and powerful enough to defend him/her self. What's wrong with good old lightening bolts for christ's sake?
2/ Exactly what is blasphemy? Who decides? You? Some judge? The head Mullah of Iran? Or Sudan? My crazy neighbour? How offensive do you have to be to be officially blasphemous?
3/ Which religions deserve such protection? Just the big 3 of Christianity/Islaam/Judaism? What about Mormons? Hindus? Or Scientologists? Or Moonies? Rastafarianism? Or just the one that is true?
4/ What about the intra-religious schisms? Is a Shiite follower allowed to call a Sunni an apostate and state his religion is total crap and point out the prescribed penalty for being an apostate? What about Protestants who don't agree with the Catholics that the Holy Mass transmogrifies bread into the physical flesh of Christ? Is being atheist a religion?
5/ Is legalising homosexuality blasphemous? Abortion? Sex education? Evolution? What about a really good joke about 'a Priest, A Rabi and an Immam'?
6/ What's the punishment for blasphemy? Death? Fine? Lashing?
It's a total mess of a law and of an idea.
Much better, IMHO, is that people who choose to believe in supernatural beings [or who choose to believe in an absence of supernatural beings] get a thicker skin and have faith that their god (or gods) can look after themselves. The Christians seem to have taken this approach over the past few 100 years, and thus today content themselves with peaceful protest. For example, as the Catholics did over the movie 'The last temptation of Christ' or 'The Life of Brian'. Can you imagine the reponse to a muslim version of the Life of Brian? I’d predict a serious lack of humour.
In fact, maybe it's just the atheists and the Buddhists who need legal protection, as after all, they are the only ones without an activist superpowerful god to protect them. ;-)
Similarly, some European countries make it illegal to 'Deny the Holocaust', mainly as a way of more easily controlling those pesky neo-nazis (who do admittedly have a history of acting in rather problematic ways, like shooting people and taking over the country and invading their neighbours). Again, rather than extending such restrictive laws to such dubious realms as religious protection, I would rather repeal them.
I'll repeat – I do not think that protecting everybody from being offended is a basis for controlling people's speech. And that includes religion. Any religion. Including yours Blue Chi.
It is true that in some European countries Blasphemy (though you should note, usually only against the Christian faith) is, in theory, illegal, but it is usually because of very old laws that would not be used today and have just never been formally repealed. As you'll detect, I'm more in favour of the USA system, which is more liberal and you can be as blasphemous as you like.
To the question of making blasphemy illegal, my response would be:
1/ Why? I'd have thought that God was big and powerful enough to defend him/her self. What's wrong with good old lightening bolts for christ's sake?
2/ Exactly what is blasphemy? Who decides? You? Some judge? The head Mullah of Iran? Or Sudan? My crazy neighbour? How offensive do you have to be to be officially blasphemous?
3/ Which religions deserve such protection? Just the big 3 of Christianity/Islaam/Judaism? What about Mormons? Hindus? Or Scientologists? Or Moonies? Rastafarianism? Or just the one that is true?
4/ What about the intra-religious schisms? Is a Shiite follower allowed to call a Sunni an apostate and state his religion is total crap and point out the prescribed penalty for being an apostate? What about Protestants who don't agree with the Catholics that the Holy Mass transmogrifies bread into the physical flesh of Christ? Is being atheist a religion?
5/ Is legalising homosexuality blasphemous? Abortion? Sex education? Evolution? What about a really good joke about 'a Priest, A Rabi and an Immam'?
6/ What's the punishment for blasphemy? Death? Fine? Lashing?
It's a total mess of a law and of an idea.
Much better, IMHO, is that people who choose to believe in supernatural beings [or who choose to believe in an absence of supernatural beings] get a thicker skin and have faith that their god (or gods) can look after themselves. The Christians seem to have taken this approach over the past few 100 years, and thus today content themselves with peaceful protest. For example, as the Catholics did over the movie 'The last temptation of Christ' or 'The Life of Brian'. Can you imagine the reponse to a muslim version of the Life of Brian? I’d predict a serious lack of humour.
In fact, maybe it's just the atheists and the Buddhists who need legal protection, as after all, they are the only ones without an activist superpowerful god to protect them. ;-)
Similarly, some European countries make it illegal to 'Deny the Holocaust', mainly as a way of more easily controlling those pesky neo-nazis (who do admittedly have a history of acting in rather problematic ways, like shooting people and taking over the country and invading their neighbours). Again, rather than extending such restrictive laws to such dubious realms as religious protection, I would rather repeal them.
I'll repeat – I do not think that protecting everybody from being offended is a basis for controlling people's speech. And that includes religion. Any religion. Including yours Blue Chi.
Currency Revaluation Stalls
Sorry for the wait - was overseas on business and could not get a moment free to blog. Apologies!
As you will know, the GCC last week decided not to announce an immediate revaluation last week. Anonymous pointed out that I'd given "too much credit to the GCC fiscal policy makers."
Indeed. I had expected a quick 5-10% revaluation, especially of the UED, to postpone discussion on switching to a basket of currencies, and to stop the huge inflows of speculative money. I was wrong.
I think at the Doha talks it was mainly the Saudi's who refused to play along, knowing what damage it would do to the dollar (and their friends in Washington) and their vast investments that are dollar denominated. The official comments that came out from Bahrain and Qatar, after the talks, shows that the issue of revaluation was indeed discussed. What I found most interesting - as pointed out by a Standard Chartered Bank report yesterday - was that the official Doha communique did NOT state that a revaluation was NOT going to happen!
There was clearly an inability of the GCC States to agree, but at least it seems they agreed not to act unilaterally.
Perhaps the GCC see it as a link to the common currency and will thus wait until 2009? But at these oil prices the problem will not go away. If the dollar stops falling, at least imported inflation will get a lot better, inflation being a sustained rise in the price of goods and services. But the real problem is the inability of the GCC under a dollar peg to raise interest rates to reduce liquidity in the economies. It doesn't help either that world food prices are skyrocketing in any currency. The bottom line will be a need for pay increases for both State and Private employees in the GCC and more inflation to come.
I'd still hold AEDs until at least after December...
As you will know, the GCC last week decided not to announce an immediate revaluation last week. Anonymous pointed out that I'd given "too much credit to the GCC fiscal policy makers."
Indeed. I had expected a quick 5-10% revaluation, especially of the UED, to postpone discussion on switching to a basket of currencies, and to stop the huge inflows of speculative money. I was wrong.
I think at the Doha talks it was mainly the Saudi's who refused to play along, knowing what damage it would do to the dollar (and their friends in Washington) and their vast investments that are dollar denominated. The official comments that came out from Bahrain and Qatar, after the talks, shows that the issue of revaluation was indeed discussed. What I found most interesting - as pointed out by a Standard Chartered Bank report yesterday - was that the official Doha communique did NOT state that a revaluation was NOT going to happen!
There was clearly an inability of the GCC States to agree, but at least it seems they agreed not to act unilaterally.
Perhaps the GCC see it as a link to the common currency and will thus wait until 2009? But at these oil prices the problem will not go away. If the dollar stops falling, at least imported inflation will get a lot better, inflation being a sustained rise in the price of goods and services. But the real problem is the inability of the GCC under a dollar peg to raise interest rates to reduce liquidity in the economies. It doesn't help either that world food prices are skyrocketing in any currency. The bottom line will be a need for pay increases for both State and Private employees in the GCC and more inflation to come.
I'd still hold AEDs until at least after December...
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Free Speach and Islam (1)
One of the biggest cultural differences I’ve come across in the Middle East is the huge problem of getting across to locals what freedom of speech means in [most of] the West. In many ways the tradition is strongest in the USA and to a certain extent the UK, and their cultural derivatives NZ, Australia, Canada, etc. When combined with the principal of separation of Church and State, it leaves many Muslims baffled (as the Danes discovered recently).
Caution: If you’re reading this, please ensure you’ve first read the bit here on the right hand side of this blog about not being easily offended. You’ve been warned.
Free Speech means, of course, many things and has wonderful complications and subtleties, but to me it means that one is generally free to criticize public officials or Government policies, free to voice opinions about, say, human behaviour, science, religion or politics, and basically being free to offend people.
Now, that doesn’t mean I think you can or should get away with saying [or printing] whatever you want. Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded cinema, urging a crowd to commit violent acts (who then go and commit such acts), or knowingly and purposely defaming someone (lying) to the extent that they suffer damage and can demonstrate that what was said or printed are untrue and damaged them, are some classic examples of common limitations. Pornography has always been a tough call, as have politically extreme views [we must kill all the XXXX for example].
But simply offending people, even knowingly, is not commonly illegal in the West. After all, it’s so butt-fuckingly god-damn easy to do. [see?] Comedians would be out of business for a start. And artists. And opposition politicians. And anyone whose religion is at odds with the majority, or the ruling class, or even the self appointed leaders of that religion. And usually the people concerned have to actually try to get offended anyway, by going to the comedy club, or watching the programme, or going to that website, etc. Essentially by choosing to seek to be offended.
And it seems someone is always being offended by something, somewhere.
Want to discuss the morals and legalities of homosexual men and gay marriage in a grown-up and dispassionate way? That gets you offending the Muslims, Christian fundamentalists, homophobes and various others right away by even suggesting that one should have such a debate in the first place.
Want to give good advice, especially to young people, on how to avoid getting HIV/AIDS that goes beyond ‘don’t exchange bodily fluids at all ever’ and might mention condoms, or oral sex – there you go, lots of people offended.
Want to name your cat after your best-friend who lives down the street? Probably OK, as long as he isn’t called Mohammed, (although he might be offended personally if it’s an ugly and or female cat).
Anyway, it seems many people just don’t get it – the protections we have as a society (in the West at least) against tyranny, oppression [both political and religious] and invasions of privacy are founded on the fundamental right to offend people. And that includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, Evolutionists, Liberals, right wing nutters – everybody.
All these arseholes who I’ve seen recently trying to justify the lashing/deportation/guilt of this teacher in Sudan (who named a teddy bear Mohammed) are good examples. They offend the hell out of me with their stupid, parochial, bigoted, arrogant, dark-ages, nonsensical, finger-pointing, and supernatural attempted justifications. Saying things that will unfortunately have a real impact, not just for these children and their poor teacher, but for people in Sudan who need aid and help and possibly even for totally blameless moderate muslims elsewhere.
But I don’t see that my being offended is a good reason, or even a kinda-valid reason, to stop them saying it. Lots of things offend me. And in some ways I’d rather we all get to know what totally whacked-out fuck-up idiots are out there thaks to their transparent display of the crazy ideas they believe to be logical or justifiable.
Worst thing? They probably have driving licenses too. Evil Bastards. Just to be clear - those of you who think the teacher deserves any punishment for calling a teddy bear Mohammed are in my opinion totally insane.
To Quote Wikipedia:
The most important justification for free speech is a general liberal or libertarian presumption against coercing individuals from living how they please and doing what they want. However, a number of more specific justifications are commonly proposed. For example, Justice McLachlin of the Canadian Supreme Court identified the following in R. v. Keegstra, a 1990 case on hate speech:
Free speech promotes: "The free flow of ideas essential to political democracy and democratic institutions and limits the ability of the state to subvert other rights and freedoms.
It promotes a marketplace of ideas, which includes, but is not limited to, the search for truth.
It is intrinsically valuable as part of the self-actualisation of speakers and listeners.
It is justified by the dangers for good government of allowing its suppression.”
End quote
More research and debate on Free Speech and what it means can be found at the excellent website of the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU_Free Speech
Caution: If you’re reading this, please ensure you’ve first read the bit here on the right hand side of this blog about not being easily offended. You’ve been warned.
Free Speech means, of course, many things and has wonderful complications and subtleties, but to me it means that one is generally free to criticize public officials or Government policies, free to voice opinions about, say, human behaviour, science, religion or politics, and basically being free to offend people.
Now, that doesn’t mean I think you can or should get away with saying [or printing] whatever you want. Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded cinema, urging a crowd to commit violent acts (who then go and commit such acts), or knowingly and purposely defaming someone (lying) to the extent that they suffer damage and can demonstrate that what was said or printed are untrue and damaged them, are some classic examples of common limitations. Pornography has always been a tough call, as have politically extreme views [we must kill all the XXXX for example].
But simply offending people, even knowingly, is not commonly illegal in the West. After all, it’s so butt-fuckingly god-damn easy to do. [see?] Comedians would be out of business for a start. And artists. And opposition politicians. And anyone whose religion is at odds with the majority, or the ruling class, or even the self appointed leaders of that religion. And usually the people concerned have to actually try to get offended anyway, by going to the comedy club, or watching the programme, or going to that website, etc. Essentially by choosing to seek to be offended.
And it seems someone is always being offended by something, somewhere.
Want to discuss the morals and legalities of homosexual men and gay marriage in a grown-up and dispassionate way? That gets you offending the Muslims, Christian fundamentalists, homophobes and various others right away by even suggesting that one should have such a debate in the first place.
Want to give good advice, especially to young people, on how to avoid getting HIV/AIDS that goes beyond ‘don’t exchange bodily fluids at all ever’ and might mention condoms, or oral sex – there you go, lots of people offended.
Want to name your cat after your best-friend who lives down the street? Probably OK, as long as he isn’t called Mohammed, (although he might be offended personally if it’s an ugly and or female cat).
Anyway, it seems many people just don’t get it – the protections we have as a society (in the West at least) against tyranny, oppression [both political and religious] and invasions of privacy are founded on the fundamental right to offend people. And that includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, Evolutionists, Liberals, right wing nutters – everybody.
All these arseholes who I’ve seen recently trying to justify the lashing/deportation/guilt of this teacher in Sudan (who named a teddy bear Mohammed) are good examples. They offend the hell out of me with their stupid, parochial, bigoted, arrogant, dark-ages, nonsensical, finger-pointing, and supernatural attempted justifications. Saying things that will unfortunately have a real impact, not just for these children and their poor teacher, but for people in Sudan who need aid and help and possibly even for totally blameless moderate muslims elsewhere.
But I don’t see that my being offended is a good reason, or even a kinda-valid reason, to stop them saying it. Lots of things offend me. And in some ways I’d rather we all get to know what totally whacked-out fuck-up idiots are out there thaks to their transparent display of the crazy ideas they believe to be logical or justifiable.
Worst thing? They probably have driving licenses too. Evil Bastards. Just to be clear - those of you who think the teacher deserves any punishment for calling a teddy bear Mohammed are in my opinion totally insane.
To Quote Wikipedia:
The most important justification for free speech is a general liberal or libertarian presumption against coercing individuals from living how they please and doing what they want. However, a number of more specific justifications are commonly proposed. For example, Justice McLachlin of the Canadian Supreme Court identified the following in R. v. Keegstra, a 1990 case on hate speech:
Free speech promotes: "The free flow of ideas essential to political democracy and democratic institutions and limits the ability of the state to subvert other rights and freedoms.
It promotes a marketplace of ideas, which includes, but is not limited to, the search for truth.
It is intrinsically valuable as part of the self-actualisation of speakers and listeners.
It is justified by the dangers for good government of allowing its suppression.”
End quote
More research and debate on Free Speech and what it means can be found at the excellent website of the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU_Free Speech
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Omani Ex-Minister Ahmed Suwaidan al Balushi Again
Just a quick one - I was thrilled over the holiday to buy a copy in my local supermarket of The International Herald Tribune [22nd November Edition] and find a story on the recent Ericsson alleged bribe that actually named the Ex-Minister of Telecommunication as Ahmed Suwaidan al Balushi.
I wonder if it got through:
A)Because it was buried in the middle of the paper
B)Because it wasn't printed across a picture of a bare-chested or bikini-clad woman
C)Because the Omani Gov. doesn't care about such reports being available
Obviously I've yet to read anything about it in an Omani paper. But, no surprise there.
Perhaps the plan is to simply ignore it, knowing most Omanis don't know about it, or don't care about it, and let it fade away. (I'm pretty sure they don't sell a lot of International Herald Tribunes in Nizwa.)
Unfortunately its a plan that will probably work.
I wonder if it got through:
A)Because it was buried in the middle of the paper
B)Because it wasn't printed across a picture of a bare-chested or bikini-clad woman
C)Because the Omani Gov. doesn't care about such reports being available
Obviously I've yet to read anything about it in an Omani paper. But, no surprise there.
Perhaps the plan is to simply ignore it, knowing most Omanis don't know about it, or don't care about it, and let it fade away. (I'm pretty sure they don't sell a lot of International Herald Tribunes in Nizwa.)
Unfortunately its a plan that will probably work.
Act Now - Momentum builds to Rial and GCC revaluation
Recent media and press reports are building rapidly to prepare the ground for a revaluation of the GCC currencies, including the Omani Rial. A great example is Wednesday's story in Arabian Business and here.
The latest issue of international magazine The Economist also called for a GCC revaluation at minimum, and expressed a preference for a basket that included the oil price explicitly. The brother of Oman's powerful Minister of National Economy was also quoted last week musing in the press that a 5% revaluation would be appropriate, importantly making the link to Oman's previous devaluation when oil prices were low and advocating a simple revaluation while remaining on a dollar peg. The well-connected and perceptive Muscati also reported last week that those in the know in the Omani Government are moving money into AED.
I suspect the 'compromise' agreement will be a general GCC revaluation of 5-10% announced very very soon - maybe before Wednesday as the GCC meets Monday - while retaining a dollar peg. I think a basket a-la Kuwait will prove too difficult in the short term to agree on. Once the decision has been made, and all indications are that it has already been made except perhaps the exact % amount, the change will need to come very quickly to avoid massive speculation.
So, dragon's advice - get as many Dhirams as you can today or tomorrow, or at least don't sell rials for USD or other currency for a week or so. The rial may not revalue as far as the UED. Once the market decides a revaluation [or devaluation] is on the cards it quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as the flow of funds can overwhelm even the largest Central Bank resources. So, fill your boots kids, and make a cool short-term return. You can be sure the GCC won't be devaluing, so there's not a lot of downside here...
The latest issue of international magazine The Economist also called for a GCC revaluation at minimum, and expressed a preference for a basket that included the oil price explicitly. The brother of Oman's powerful Minister of National Economy was also quoted last week musing in the press that a 5% revaluation would be appropriate, importantly making the link to Oman's previous devaluation when oil prices were low and advocating a simple revaluation while remaining on a dollar peg. The well-connected and perceptive Muscati also reported last week that those in the know in the Omani Government are moving money into AED.
I suspect the 'compromise' agreement will be a general GCC revaluation of 5-10% announced very very soon - maybe before Wednesday as the GCC meets Monday - while retaining a dollar peg. I think a basket a-la Kuwait will prove too difficult in the short term to agree on. Once the decision has been made, and all indications are that it has already been made except perhaps the exact % amount, the change will need to come very quickly to avoid massive speculation.
So, dragon's advice - get as many Dhirams as you can today or tomorrow, or at least don't sell rials for USD or other currency for a week or so. The rial may not revalue as far as the UED. Once the market decides a revaluation [or devaluation] is on the cards it quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as the flow of funds can overwhelm even the largest Central Bank resources. So, fill your boots kids, and make a cool short-term return. You can be sure the GCC won't be devaluing, so there's not a lot of downside here...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Oman Waste Water Company capitulates to the Chinese
I meant to blog about this a couple of weeks ago, but got distracted.
Anyway.
Oman Waste Water Services Company had a press conference where they announced that they had re-engaged the Chinese company SinoHydro to continue the massive waste water project. The details are here Times of Oman Article
Work on Muscat Wastewater project to resume next month
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:14:23 AM Oman TimeMUSCAT — Work on the Muscat Wastewater Project, which was stopped temporarily after the June cyclone, will resume next month, the Oman Wastewater Services Company announced yesterday. According to Omar, like all large-scale projects, technical problems are almost inevitable. Work had come to a halt in some parts of the Bausher area. The current difficulties are relatively minor and temporary, particularly in the total context of the project.
“Sino Hydro Corporation which had been contracted to lay the pipeline network remains committed to the long term interests of the project and I am happy to announce that we have reached a solution and agreement with them. I can confidently tell you that work will be restarting by the end of the year,” Omar disclosed to the press.
Great. I was a bit disappointed however than none of the crack reporters present seemed to think of asking some real questions. Like, ‘Can you tell us what happened to all the Indian and Nepalese workers SinoHydro abandoned when their management fled the country in June?’
As reported here News Post India Article
and here in the excellent (and Dragon recommended)News Brief Oman
Or questions like: ‘How much extra did Oman Waste Water Co have to pay to get the Chinese back, seeing as no-one else would touch the contract with a 10 foot pole? Or, Why are you now paying extra money to a contractor that has a recent history of both completing work at poor standards, abusing their workers, bringing in illegal Nepalese workers, and of fleeing the country and their responsibilities when things got difficult? Or, What is OWSC doing to make sure the previous mistakes are not repeated?
No, instead all we got was the usual moronic re-printing of the press release that flatters OWSC with no mention of any of the real story. Well done Times of Oman.
SinoHydro did its runner after cyclone Gonu trashed a lot of their original work and OWSC decided not to entertain any compensation. Perhaps OWSC should have made sure that SinoHydro had insurance against such events. Or awarded the contract to a decent company in the first place. But when it was clear to SinoHydro that the contract was flawed, they literally left. All SinoHydro Senior management got on a plane and flew back to China. Leaving everyone in limbo. Anyone who has experience in contracting knows that you never want to take on someone elses work once they’ve started. The liabilities are too great.
So it seems SinoHydro had OWSC by the balls. Now, as a result of the flawed contract, and OWSC incompetence, SinoHydro are back, on improved terms, and with no apparent penalities for their previous behaviour. OWSC management are still in their jobs, and probably planning holidays to Switzerland to see the gnomes.
Actually, I made that last bit up – I have no evidence whatsoever that the fantastic team at OWSC have done anything improper at all. Because that just wouldn’t make any sense at all, would it?
We all know who will have to pay for this – the Oman Government, and the people who will again have to deal with dug up roads all over the Capital not finished properly. Good work OWSC!
Anyway.
Oman Waste Water Services Company had a press conference where they announced that they had re-engaged the Chinese company SinoHydro to continue the massive waste water project. The details are here Times of Oman Article
Work on Muscat Wastewater project to resume next month
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:14:23 AM Oman TimeMUSCAT — Work on the Muscat Wastewater Project, which was stopped temporarily after the June cyclone, will resume next month, the Oman Wastewater Services Company announced yesterday. According to Omar, like all large-scale projects, technical problems are almost inevitable. Work had come to a halt in some parts of the Bausher area. The current difficulties are relatively minor and temporary, particularly in the total context of the project.
“Sino Hydro Corporation which had been contracted to lay the pipeline network remains committed to the long term interests of the project and I am happy to announce that we have reached a solution and agreement with them. I can confidently tell you that work will be restarting by the end of the year,” Omar disclosed to the press.
Great. I was a bit disappointed however than none of the crack reporters present seemed to think of asking some real questions. Like, ‘Can you tell us what happened to all the Indian and Nepalese workers SinoHydro abandoned when their management fled the country in June?’
As reported here News Post India Article
and here in the excellent (and Dragon recommended)News Brief Oman
Or questions like: ‘How much extra did Oman Waste Water Co have to pay to get the Chinese back, seeing as no-one else would touch the contract with a 10 foot pole? Or, Why are you now paying extra money to a contractor that has a recent history of both completing work at poor standards, abusing their workers, bringing in illegal Nepalese workers, and of fleeing the country and their responsibilities when things got difficult? Or, What is OWSC doing to make sure the previous mistakes are not repeated?
No, instead all we got was the usual moronic re-printing of the press release that flatters OWSC with no mention of any of the real story. Well done Times of Oman.
SinoHydro did its runner after cyclone Gonu trashed a lot of their original work and OWSC decided not to entertain any compensation. Perhaps OWSC should have made sure that SinoHydro had insurance against such events. Or awarded the contract to a decent company in the first place. But when it was clear to SinoHydro that the contract was flawed, they literally left. All SinoHydro Senior management got on a plane and flew back to China. Leaving everyone in limbo. Anyone who has experience in contracting knows that you never want to take on someone elses work once they’ve started. The liabilities are too great.
So it seems SinoHydro had OWSC by the balls. Now, as a result of the flawed contract, and OWSC incompetence, SinoHydro are back, on improved terms, and with no apparent penalities for their previous behaviour. OWSC management are still in their jobs, and probably planning holidays to Switzerland to see the gnomes.
Actually, I made that last bit up – I have no evidence whatsoever that the fantastic team at OWSC have done anything improper at all. Because that just wouldn’t make any sense at all, would it?
We all know who will have to pay for this – the Oman Government, and the people who will again have to deal with dug up roads all over the Capital not finished properly. Good work OWSC!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Omani Employment
In a press release a couple of days ago I saw this gem:
MUSCAT — The number of national manpower employed in the private sector establishments until November 18 stood at 55,694.
[Times of Oman Article]
I still find that incredible. Incredibly low that is.
If the population of Omani's is around 2.5 million, and around half are of working age, that means only 54,000 out of more than a million people are working in paid employment in private companies? 5%??? Maybe someone left a zero off the end?
I have to presume this does not include owners of their own businesses, taxi drivers, etc etc. But when you remember that approx 80,000 Omani youngsters graduate high school every year, you can see the present and looming problem.
Massive under- and un-employment.
It is and will continue to be an issue for the entire Gulf region. People are still having way too many children, and it is still much much more attractive for employers to employ expat workers to actually get work done cheaply and effectively. Omani staff are - and I realise this is a generalisation - often just uncompetitive.
If this does not change, and soon, it will all end in tears.
MUSCAT — The number of national manpower employed in the private sector establishments until November 18 stood at 55,694.
[Times of Oman Article]
I still find that incredible. Incredibly low that is.
If the population of Omani's is around 2.5 million, and around half are of working age, that means only 54,000 out of more than a million people are working in paid employment in private companies? 5%??? Maybe someone left a zero off the end?
I have to presume this does not include owners of their own businesses, taxi drivers, etc etc. But when you remember that approx 80,000 Omani youngsters graduate high school every year, you can see the present and looming problem.
Massive under- and un-employment.
It is and will continue to be an issue for the entire Gulf region. People are still having way too many children, and it is still much much more attractive for employers to employ expat workers to actually get work done cheaply and effectively. Omani staff are - and I realise this is a generalisation - often just uncompetitive.
If this does not change, and soon, it will all end in tears.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Ericsson accused of bribing ex-Omani Minister
Omantel really in the news this week!
That Ericsson was accused by a Swedish Journalist of paying about 2mln into the Swiss bank account of an agent for the ex-minister of Telecommunications in the late 90s hit the wire last week, but the ex-Minister was never named. That changed today.
It seems Swedish Radio has published documents listing the account's beneficiary as Ahmed Suwaidan Al Balushi, ex Minister rsponsible for telecom at the time and until 2000. Presumeably the same person who was also chairman of Oman's Alliance Housing Bank, until he was replaced at EGM July 2007.
While the investigator on whose work the story is based has said he has no evidence that the claim is true, readers should note that because he wouldn't have such evidence as he was looking at the system, not specific payments, and he hasn't said its not true.
A google search will get all the messy details.
STOCKHOLM, Nov 21, 2007 (AFP) - Ericsson AB, the world's leading mobile networks maker, allegedly paid more than a million dollars (euros) to a former Oman government minister in what appears to have been a bribe for a large contract, Swedish public radio reported Wednesday.
Ericsson paid 12 million kronor (1.3 million euros, 1.9 million dollars) into the Swiss bank account of Oman's former telecommunications minister, Ahmed Suwaidan Al Balushi, in the late 1990s, apparently as compensation for winning a 300-million-kronor contract in the country, Swedish Radio said.
"This seems very strange ... That the company paid some government minister through an agent probably means in this case that it was a bribe," Oerjan Berner at anti-corruption group Transparency International told the radio station.
Swedish Radio posted bank documents and memos detailing the transaction, made public during a tax probe of the company, on its website.
Ericsson in one memo listed go-between agent Peter Sullivan and his company Middle East Services as the beneficiaries of the commission payment for the contract it had received from Oman's telecommunications authorities to expand the mobile network in the capital Muscat, according to the radio.
The bank documents however reveal that Al Balushi, who was Oman's telecommunications minister until 2000, was the owner of the account into which the money was paid, the radio alleged.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA256325105406
www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=200701&Sn=WORL&IssueID=30247 - 27k -
That Ericsson was accused by a Swedish Journalist of paying about 2mln into the Swiss bank account of an agent for the ex-minister of Telecommunications in the late 90s hit the wire last week, but the ex-Minister was never named. That changed today.
It seems Swedish Radio has published documents listing the account's beneficiary as Ahmed Suwaidan Al Balushi, ex Minister rsponsible for telecom at the time and until 2000. Presumeably the same person who was also chairman of Oman's Alliance Housing Bank, until he was replaced at EGM July 2007.
While the investigator on whose work the story is based has said he has no evidence that the claim is true, readers should note that because he wouldn't have such evidence as he was looking at the system, not specific payments, and he hasn't said its not true.
A google search will get all the messy details.
STOCKHOLM, Nov 21, 2007 (AFP) - Ericsson AB, the world's leading mobile networks maker, allegedly paid more than a million dollars (euros) to a former Oman government minister in what appears to have been a bribe for a large contract, Swedish public radio reported Wednesday.
Ericsson paid 12 million kronor (1.3 million euros, 1.9 million dollars) into the Swiss bank account of Oman's former telecommunications minister, Ahmed Suwaidan Al Balushi, in the late 1990s, apparently as compensation for winning a 300-million-kronor contract in the country, Swedish Radio said.
"This seems very strange ... That the company paid some government minister through an agent probably means in this case that it was a bribe," Oerjan Berner at anti-corruption group Transparency International told the radio station.
Swedish Radio posted bank documents and memos detailing the transaction, made public during a tax probe of the company, on its website.
Ericsson in one memo listed go-between agent Peter Sullivan and his company Middle East Services as the beneficiaries of the commission payment for the contract it had received from Oman's telecommunications authorities to expand the mobile network in the capital Muscat, according to the radio.
The bank documents however reveal that Al Balushi, who was Oman's telecommunications minister until 2000, was the owner of the account into which the money was paid, the radio alleged.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA256325105406
www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=200701&Sn=WORL&IssueID=30247 - 27k -
Omantel spends large on strange Pakistani Company
What's going on with Omantel? Their 'great deal' seems to be a huge payment to a local businessman for a not very impressive minor Pakistani Telecom compnay.
Many of you will have read that Worldcall Telecom says it has accepted the offer of Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) to buy 60% of its shares, in a deal worth 11.3 billion Pakistani rupees ($185.6 million). Omantel will acquire 60% of Worldcall at 25 rupees per share, the company said in a notice to the Karachi Stock Exchange seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/503692-worldcall-gives-nod-to-omantel-deal
As part of the deal, Omantel also has to acquire an additional 5% from those shares publicly traded.
What’s the real story? It seems more than a bit fishy.
Is this a good deal for Omantel Shareholders? The shares traded recently at about 18 rupee/s, so Omantel is paying a 40% premium to acquire the company vs traded prices. They are paying a 17% premium vs it’s peak price over the past 12 months of 21.30, which only occurred as the share price spiked following the rumours of Omantel’s interest that emerged in May this year. Until early this year when the Omantel deal leaked the share price was just 10Rupee. So Omantel in its wisdom is paying 250% more than the company was valued at early this year! And since then the company has actually performed much worse than in 2006.
The company has never paid a dividend, so its hard to get a P/E ratio. However, the latest 2007 results aren’t pretty – Earnings before tax from on-going business fell from 898mlnRupees to 358mlnRupees and revenue was flat. By my calculations, this means Omantel has paid an effective P/E of more than 50 times core earnings for a company in a highly competitive market with much bigger and better funded competitors. The company also has significant debt, with interest payments this year of 306mlnR [$5mln]. Total ‘real’ assets (ignoring goodwill and intangibles) are worth about US$200 mln, so again, Omantel seems to be paying 50% more than effective book value, for a company that of late has demonstrated no growth in revenue and actually lost money in 2005. For all the details, see
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/financials.asp?symbol=WCTL.KA
Its hard to reconcile these numbers with the statement from Omantel quoted in that bastion of high quality investigative reporting the Oman Daily Observer - “Unlike other regional firms, we are very conservative and prudent in investing our funds,” said a senior official of the company.
The not-so secret majority Omani shareholder in the Pakistani WorldCall company that Omantel decided to buy so expensively is Sheikh Sulieman Ahmad Said Al-Hoqani. Sheikh Hoqani is also Chairman of the publicly traded Oman Hotels and Tourism Company, who run the Al Falaj Hotel, Ruwi Hotel, Al Wadi Hotel and Sur Plaza Hotel, essentially a set of second tier hotels.
Even more interestingly, a Mr. Salmaan Taseer serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Worldcall Telecom Ltd and the company reports that his total Annual Compensation is $1.6M. Hmmm. Nice work if you can get it. That’s about 25% of the company’s real profits this year. Maybe Omantel will be looking into the compensation packages…
WorldCall is strongly linked to First Capital Securities Corp. Ltd. (1CSC:Karachi Stock Exchange), currently trading at around 90Rupee up from a yearly low of just 22Rupee. Sheikh Hoqani is on the board of directors of 1CSC, and its board shares most of the board with World Call. Mr. Taseer also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of First Capital Securities Corp. Ltd. His compensation package from 1CSC is not stated.
Sheikh Hoqani is listed as a major shareholder in Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari & Co. Ltd.[KASB] a Pakistani Financial Services Company, Brokerage, Bank and IT conglomerate. Interestingly, KASB also owns World Tel Oasis, an IT company also specialising in Internet provision in Central Asia in partnership with World Tel Canada. It also is in the internet supply business in Pakistan, and would seem to be a competitor to WorldCall.
It might be very interesting to know the details of any financial commitments WorldCall has made to 1CSC. It seems strange that 1CSC’s share price has shyrocketed at the same time as the Omantel deal with WorldCall was made clear.
Many of you will have read that Worldcall Telecom says it has accepted the offer of Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) to buy 60% of its shares, in a deal worth 11.3 billion Pakistani rupees ($185.6 million). Omantel will acquire 60% of Worldcall at 25 rupees per share, the company said in a notice to the Karachi Stock Exchange seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/503692-worldcall-gives-nod-to-omantel-deal
As part of the deal, Omantel also has to acquire an additional 5% from those shares publicly traded.
What’s the real story? It seems more than a bit fishy.
Is this a good deal for Omantel Shareholders? The shares traded recently at about 18 rupee/s, so Omantel is paying a 40% premium to acquire the company vs traded prices. They are paying a 17% premium vs it’s peak price over the past 12 months of 21.30, which only occurred as the share price spiked following the rumours of Omantel’s interest that emerged in May this year. Until early this year when the Omantel deal leaked the share price was just 10Rupee. So Omantel in its wisdom is paying 250% more than the company was valued at early this year! And since then the company has actually performed much worse than in 2006.
The company has never paid a dividend, so its hard to get a P/E ratio. However, the latest 2007 results aren’t pretty – Earnings before tax from on-going business fell from 898mlnRupees to 358mlnRupees and revenue was flat. By my calculations, this means Omantel has paid an effective P/E of more than 50 times core earnings for a company in a highly competitive market with much bigger and better funded competitors. The company also has significant debt, with interest payments this year of 306mlnR [$5mln]. Total ‘real’ assets (ignoring goodwill and intangibles) are worth about US$200 mln, so again, Omantel seems to be paying 50% more than effective book value, for a company that of late has demonstrated no growth in revenue and actually lost money in 2005. For all the details, see
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/financials.asp?symbol=WCTL.KA
Its hard to reconcile these numbers with the statement from Omantel quoted in that bastion of high quality investigative reporting the Oman Daily Observer - “Unlike other regional firms, we are very conservative and prudent in investing our funds,” said a senior official of the company.
The not-so secret majority Omani shareholder in the Pakistani WorldCall company that Omantel decided to buy so expensively is Sheikh Sulieman Ahmad Said Al-Hoqani. Sheikh Hoqani is also Chairman of the publicly traded Oman Hotels and Tourism Company, who run the Al Falaj Hotel, Ruwi Hotel, Al Wadi Hotel and Sur Plaza Hotel, essentially a set of second tier hotels.
Even more interestingly, a Mr. Salmaan Taseer serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Worldcall Telecom Ltd and the company reports that his total Annual Compensation is $1.6M. Hmmm. Nice work if you can get it. That’s about 25% of the company’s real profits this year. Maybe Omantel will be looking into the compensation packages…
WorldCall is strongly linked to First Capital Securities Corp. Ltd. (1CSC:Karachi Stock Exchange), currently trading at around 90Rupee up from a yearly low of just 22Rupee. Sheikh Hoqani is on the board of directors of 1CSC, and its board shares most of the board with World Call. Mr. Taseer also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of First Capital Securities Corp. Ltd. His compensation package from 1CSC is not stated.
Sheikh Hoqani is listed as a major shareholder in Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari & Co. Ltd.[KASB] a Pakistani Financial Services Company, Brokerage, Bank and IT conglomerate. Interestingly, KASB also owns World Tel Oasis, an IT company also specialising in Internet provision in Central Asia in partnership with World Tel Canada. It also is in the internet supply business in Pakistan, and would seem to be a competitor to WorldCall.
It might be very interesting to know the details of any financial commitments WorldCall has made to 1CSC. It seems strange that 1CSC’s share price has shyrocketed at the same time as the Omantel deal with WorldCall was made clear.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Proxy Servers and Oman
Sorry team, I was off on business for a while, and then had to be a bit careful postwise. The Ministry IT team were snooping... Hmmmm. As they say, sometimes the paranoid are right.
Anyhow, for those who want to avoid the Omantel filters, there is a programme that - well, at least as of today - will work in Oman to automatically find proxy servers. And the site is available [unlike most of them], so if you are interested in surfing without Omantel looking over your shoulder, act fast kids, before it joins the list of blocked sites.
Its called Invisible Browsing v6.5:
http://www.download3000.com/download_46788.html
or try:
http://www.newfreedownloads.com/find/invisible-browsing.html
Good luck surfers!
Please note: this will get you around Omantel filters, and hide your TCP IP address, but if Omani Internal Security really, really want to find you, they probably still can, as anyone who's seen the series 24 can explain...
Anyhow, for those who want to avoid the Omantel filters, there is a programme that - well, at least as of today - will work in Oman to automatically find proxy servers. And the site is available [unlike most of them], so if you are interested in surfing without Omantel looking over your shoulder, act fast kids, before it joins the list of blocked sites.
Its called Invisible Browsing v6.5:
http://www.download3000.com/download_46788.html
or try:
http://www.newfreedownloads.com/find/invisible-browsing.html
Good luck surfers!
Please note: this will get you around Omantel filters, and hide your TCP IP address, but if Omani Internal Security really, really want to find you, they probably still can, as anyone who's seen the series 24 can explain...
More Omantel wierdness
It was bad enough that the Government had to cut the 'Royalty' [ie special tax] Omantel pays to help boost its sagging shareprice and ease its cashflow problems. The company also is the monopoly supplier of Internet connections to the outside world in Oman - Nawras could get 10x the bandwidth at 10% of the price they pay OmanHel via the UAE, but that would be against their licence with the TRA.
But the recent announcement of Omantel buying a stake of $204mln in a pretty obscure Pakistani Telecom company for a pretty hefty stake is very interesting, as highlighted by the (always well connected) Muscati here at the Oman Community blog:
Oman Community Blog: Omantel - Smoke and Mirrors
The questions: who owns the shares? How does the price compare to projected cashflow? Anyone out there who knows?
But the recent announcement of Omantel buying a stake of $204mln in a pretty obscure Pakistani Telecom company for a pretty hefty stake is very interesting, as highlighted by the (always well connected) Muscati here at the Oman Community blog:
Oman Community Blog: Omantel - Smoke and Mirrors
The questions: who owns the shares? How does the price compare to projected cashflow? Anyone out there who knows?
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