GCC Gulf: On Halal Pork, Personal Hygiene, and Video Conferencing Potentates. The Most Boring Capital Ever
Is it really kosher?“Sources in the Food Safety Committee have warned of the arrival of pig meat (pork) to Kuwait and other Gulf states. These meats were packed in special containers and marked in Arabic 'Halal' (Arabic for kosher, although in this case not necessarily blessed of kissed by a rabbi). In English, the label clearly says 'Fresh Pork, Air Flown'.…etc, etc "
Video-conferencing and Hygiene on the Gulf:
“Shaikh Ahmad Bin Attiyah al-Khalifa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs in Bahrain, announced his country is proposing that all Gulf GCC committees use teleconferencing or video conferencing technology for their meetings. This will save the secretariat general and member GCC countries the time, effort, and expenses of holding meetings in person…..”
Is the shaikh telling his fellow Gulfies something? Like they should bathe more often? And maybe brush their teeth more often? Actually I think that once in a while the Bahrainis come up with good ideas, and this maybe one of them. Most likely the good shaikh, and others, want an excuse to stay out of Riyadh- I can understand that: I found it the most boring city anywhere in the Persian Gulf, which automatically makes it the most boring city in the hole wide world. I suspect that even Madinah in the 7th century (AD) was not as boring.
In fairness, I must add here that I have attended many GCC (Gulf) meetings, including committees, technical meetings, and conferences- as well as regional meetings- and always my colleagues and counterparts smelled quite exceptional. In fact they smelled much better than I did- they probably had better hygiene than I did (not hard to do).
But still, does this mean the ministers, governors, and heads of state will in the future meet via video-conferencing. No more kisses on the cheeks and noses among the potentates? That may take the fun out of it for some. Dommage.
Cheers
mhg
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