There are economic incentives behind this, 7 billion dollars being pumped out of the country in the second quarter of 2011 alone by foreign workers, anyone can see… it is not good for the economy… it is only good for the one vary famous bank which deals with them every month and gets a transaction fee for every transfer, I think I read that the owner of the back is one of the richest in Saudi, and one of the worst banks to deal with on a personal banking level, it doesn’t make sense… but it does make cents and dollars.

I assume, that once things settle, the big companies that own everything in the malls will begin to employ non-Saudi women, just like they do in other gulf countries, for all the obvious outsourcing (but inwards) reasons, and let’s see if netaqat is also applied to Saudi women, since the labor office says that employing a Saudi woman is equal to employing four Saudi men to fulfill their Saudization quotas, something all governments do in the form of affirmative action (don’t quote me on this, this is what I hear and I am have not seen the labor regulations). So if I had a multimillion dollar business to run, I would have a lot of leeway to play the system.

Some say the head of Hay’a was replaced due to this issue being a problem, I never knew his name until I heard he was being replaced, so good luck to the new guy… remember, change takes time.

From the Amazing Boston Big Picture post about Hajj and Eid Al-Adha

Previous Posts:

Makkah Clock Tower

Mike Tyson in Makkah

Makkah Video Timelapse

Top of the Makkah Clock Tower Video

Hajj 2010

I see big signs on the road I travel advertising the time it would take to reach destinations from the new King Abdullah Economic City, so the train will be very fast.

The Saudi Railways Organization, which only operates a relatively small railway, will have its hands full from now on. (Current railway is in orange in the following picture) everything else is an expansion.

The winds of change are blowing, I just hope the guys from the monopoly film do not start squatting there, since homeless people like train stations.

Really impressive, what do you think?

King Abdullah assigned Prince Nayif as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, my best wishes to him, and may God help him in carrying out his duties.

In this time of global instability, the transition was smooth, a plus in my book, and a sign of good things to come to Saudi and its people.

Prince Nayif, is an executive type, who puts in long hours at the office, and is responsible for the safety we currently live in as part of his duties as minister of interior, a task that should never be underestimated in a big and rich country like Saudi Arabia, and if alqaeda tried to assassinate his son Mohammad, with a bomb reportedly up someone’s rectum, you know he was cracking down on them.

Prince Nayef’s appointment was congratulated by US president Barack Obama. Vice President Biden was delegated to offer condolences for Prince Sultan’s death and congratulate Prince Nayef on his appointment.

The ongoing relations between the US and Saudi Arabia has been going on for decades since U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with King Abdulaziz aboard the cruiser USS Quincy at Great Bitter Lake in Egypt.

I wish him the best again, and wish King Abdullah a long and healthy life.

Husam submitted this wonderful film he took in Yemen, since he was there on 10-10-2010, and this year he is the producer/organizer of Saudi Arabia’s contribution for 11-11-2011.

I thought I would do my part, since both are areas I am passionate about (Saudi and Filmmaking) I have joined the movement and I am letting people know.

So if you are in Saudi, own a camera, think you might add a little flavor to the global nonprofit film, don’t let anything hold you back, join us, all it takes is a short video you can take with your phone nowadays and a submission to the group.

Let us show the world what we want them to see.

One Day on Earth – Saudi Arabia

Husam’s Profile on One Day on Earth (so you can add him)

And if you want to, you can add me also

If you are not in Saudi, you can also film anything wherever you are, and submit it… what have you got to lose?

I found this wonderful recent addition to the Saudi Filmmakers group, a timelapse video filmed in parts of Jazan in Southern Saudi Arabia (close to Abha, check this video of paragliding there), this is the first attempt for the photographer (Waleed Marhoum) in making timelapse videos, but I am sure (I really hope) it won’t be the last.

“It is with deep sorrow and grief that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud mourns the loss of his brother and Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Abdulaziz Al Saud.” (source)

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz passed away on October 22, 2011 in his mid-eighties, may he rest in peace. His passing is significant on the world scene because of his position as Crown Prince of the country which sits on more than a quarter of the world’s known oil reserves.

The issue of succession is raised again.

In Saudi (and the world), there is this fear, that the next inline would be more controlling or less controlling, more “religious” more “liberal”, more this, that or the other depending on who you talk to and what they would like to see. The rumors and so called “intelligence reports” about King Abdullah that were online back when he was crown prince, were nothing to be optimistic about, yet in reality, his impressive accomplishments are something most of us are proud of (I sure am, here, here and here as an example, and I don’t think I am alone in that).

Prince Sultan left behind him a legacy also, while some do question it, he was still a man that left an impression on the people, mostly due to his infectious smile and his generosity as I read from reports, and many on twitter on the day of his passing.

My memories of Prince Sultan are only that of passing by his palace in Jeddah on my way to school most of my schooling years, always wondering if he was there or not, now I know… he won’t be living there anymore.

Most Pictures are from alriyadh online newspaper, the last one is mine.

Feras Bughnah and his team were detained, rumor has it, because they made this video showing the poor parts of Saudi… I also made a video a while ago showing the poor parts of Saudi and the relief efforts… I am still here, so I know, first hand that it was not due to the video it self, i.e. showing the poor parts… it is more than that.

I can only speculate, as everyone is doing at the moment, and since Yasser Almisfer says he knows… but won’t tell me… I have to think about it… a little out loud.

Saying the government does not know about the problem of poverty is not right, the King himself visited those areas when he was crown prince, so saying the video was an eye opener… is not truthful.

He showed the house of a guy who makes around 5000SR/month, has two wives and eleven children, and they usually eat flour according to the man himself, I know people who live on credit… but not making enough money and yet having two wives and 11 children… and not knowing why you are poor, and actually finding another woman that is willing to marry your broke self… I have to say… the man must have some skills… either that or he just fell on his luck.

He also showed a home of a widow, who lives on social security and the help of the people.

The Imam of the mosque said there is a problem of drugs in the neighborhood, and… some people pimp the women in their household to make money (both problems in most poor neighborhoods all around the world, and I thought that’s why we had misyaar marriages, and other sorts of marriages… to add a touch of legitimacy to those types marriages, but hey, I am no scholar, so don’t quote me on this)

So still, even after I speculate, I am still scratching my head wondering what could it be that had them detained… only time will tell.

I was invited by Big_Hass to attended TEDxArabia on Thursday October 6th 2011, and I am glad I attended, it was interesting to say the least. The Theme of the event was “Live Your Dream”.

Registration was a bit lost, cards were everywhere, and… they couldn’t find the one with my name on it (or my friend Hameed’s card)

I did miss the first part due to me being late, but I didn’t miss much I guess.

Some talks were great, some were boring, and when the rep of the “angel sponsor” (Nestle) started talking, she almost made me hate coffee.

My friend Hassan gave a nice talk about hip-hop and what it should represent (hint: it is not the garbage on mainstream media, it’s a little more like this, or this). My friend Aziz Hamza also gave a presentation about a new iphone/ipad application of hijazi proverbs his company developed.

Ahmad Almehairy, gave one of the most memorable talks of the evening, encouraging small business, and encouraging investors to invest in small businesses. After checking him out online, it turns out he is a VP of a “Private Wealth Management Office LMC invests in Venture Capital, Real Estate & Public Equities. Slogan: Investing for the prosperity of our nation” so basically it was a sales pitch… most of the talks were somewhat more or less sales pitches.

The Smile of Swords as she translated her name (Dr. Basma Alseyofi) was also a very energetic and motivating speaker who wrote a few books and serves as a consultant on many governmental projects.

The nice thing about the event was a live music performance by a group called AlFarabi, who performed their song “story of a king” their musical style was fusion, the song was in Arabic, you can check out a studio version here.

There is a new cartoon coming out about the companions of the prophet, the main hero of the cartoon is the companion Bilal, a freed African slave and the first caller of the athan. The interesting thing is that they used forensic art to find what Bilal and his wife,  and other companions looked like, which would be more authentic than seeing a light skinned actor with blackface playing the part as they usually do in films and series about the period.

I am also excited about a new art gallery which will take place in Jeddah in January 2012, I forgot the name, but not the date

All in all it was a good event, thanks to big Hass for inviting me, and thanks for the organizers of the event for making it all possible, it was way better than the videos I saw of last year’s event, and I know if it is done next year, it will be even better… and I hope I get an invitation to the event next year also… either that or I am giving a talk… the last guy on stage gave a talk because he updated a page on “the definition of genius” on Wikipedia.

There was also a moment of silence while standing up for the passing away of Steve Jobs, who without his vision, none of this would’ve probably been possible.

After a quick survey and visits to kindergartens (involving me staying in the car outside because I cannot enter, all female staff and all) we settled on a Montessori style school, he is in preschool now, and while Saudi has a new optional age for entering first grade at five and a half, provided he can read and write in Arabic a little bit, we couldn’t and didn’t want to do that, both my parents have spent their lives teaching, and they were against him entering school at such an early age.

We hope it is good, he just completed his first week, but there are things we didn’t like… and do not like in all of them.

First thing, no music, that to me is unnatural, the policy is no music, because to them, it is forbidden in Islam… which brings me to the second thing… religious training, say what you say about this, but here is my reasoning.

In Islam, a child is asked to optionally pray five times a day when he/she turns seven. Prayer is a pillar of Islam, and prayer becomes mandatory at ten, so why should a child before the age of 7 go through that. He is already asking us questions about death (before he entered the school) and they are uncomfortable, mainly because he saw pictures of my grandparents and asked where they were and how they died and what happens to them now and such… and if they comeback.

And no, I am not the only one having these concerns, a while ago a YouTube video of a Saudi kindergarten caused some rage because they taught kids how to perform an Islamic burial and funeral, things that many kids witness anyway, but should not learn.

There is the option of letting him go to an international school. It is very expensive for us to go with that option, so at the moment it is not an option at all.

His first experience with school is from our time in Australia, where addressing his caretakers was done on a first name basis, he used to call women who had grand kids older than he was, by their first names, now he does not understand why he has to call them “Abla (teacher)” and not their first names.

We also do not like that they sell junk food (they all do, even when I was a kid, and I loved it, but I am a parent now so chocolates and gummy candy should be consumed only when we let him… of course his grandparent do not care about our reasoning so I guess the imaginary control we have is useless).

At the end, we hope his “schooling does not interfere with his education”.