We suspect this will be less shocking to those of you already familiar with the violent crackdowns taking place in Bahrain, but most will likely find it discomforting nonetheless. Government officials from both the United States and Bahrain have insisted that the ordinance being sold by the Department of Defense couldn’t/wouldn’t be used against the Persian Gulf nation’s civilian population; however, some reports suggest that attacks with American weaponry have already occurred. source
I’m disappointed and puzzled by their change of heart and last minute decision. I was personally invited to take this trip by The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain over a year ago. They came to me. … I was thrilled at the opportunity to represent my country and the spirit of inclusive and open-minded freedom that makes our nation so special and inspiring. So, for a Department of State representative to say Andrew W.K. ‘doesn’t meet their standards’ after they invited me and planned my trip for a year… well, that doesn’t meet my standards either.Andrew W.K. • Offering his side of the story on his halted plan to visit Bahrain as a cultural ambassador, rescinded by the U.S. State Department yesterday. W.K. claims his first email from State asking if he’d like to travel to Bahrain came on September 13th, 2011 — already several months into the bloody conflict that has plagued it to this day. The State Department cancelled the request yesterday, with a spokesman saying the invite was “a mistake and not appropriate.” That said, for a mistake, it was a pretty long and slowly evolving one, if W.K. is to be believed — he claims he went through both planning and necessary background checks in the year preceding the date, and made multiple calls to the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office in Manama, Bahrain. source
Andrew W.K. has a new gig lined up — cultural ambassador to the Middle East, as selected by the U.S. Department of State. The staunch partying advocate will be spreading that message abroad, traveling to Bahrain in late December, visiting universities and elementary schools alike. As he put it himself, on his website: “I’m very thankful to the Department of State for giving me the opportunity to visit a place I’ve never been before. And I feel very privileged and humbled by the chance to represent the United States of America and show the good people of Bahrain the power of positive partying. I can hardly wait for this adventure!” (Photo by whartonds) source
Now, a grand spectacle has come to Bahrain - the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix has begun and we have decided to add to that spectacle.
As in the past, we have DDOSed websites of the Bahrain government. And as the media has already reported, we have DDOSed or defaced a number of sites associated with F1, which has gone ahead with its event in a country that has been the subject of a brutal government for over a year. On top of it all, we have decided to contribute some additional excitement to the day by hacking F1’s servers and taking the personal information of those attending the race, among other things.
Click on to read the full press release. The race went on despite the disruption by Anonymous, but the Formula 1 site also went down for large portions of the day. The end effect? The race got overshadowed by the online protest.
![pantslessprogressive:
Downfall of the despots. A Lebanese activist carries a caricature as Lebanese policemen stand guard during a protest in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, in front of the Arab league headquarters in Beirut. The caricature depicts (from right to left) Tunisia’s former President Ben Ali, Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. [Photo: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
Fascinating illo. Nice twist on the Time theme.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lth32kw50Y1qzr73ro1_500.jpg)
Downfall of the despots. A Lebanese activist carries a caricature as Lebanese policemen stand guard during a protest in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, in front of the Arab league headquarters in Beirut. The caricature depicts (from right to left) Tunisia’s former President Ben Ali, Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. [Photo: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
Fascinating illo. Nice twist on the Time theme.
They start working and finish all together. Which means, it’s like a job. They talk about Iran, sectarian warfare — they use common words and they never discuss. They just come to fight.London-based Bahrain blogger Hussain Yousif • Describing the trolls that have come up on Twitter around Bahrain-related topics; trolls which seem to work on a 9-5 schedule. We’ve noticed a bit of signal-jamming in our day as well — there were a lot of pro-Libya protesters on both Twitter and YouTube who tried to cloud the information actually coming out about Libya, for example — so we totally believe this. Have you guys, especially the ones closely following the news in the Middle East, run into anything like this? source (via • follow)
Editorial priorities are weighed on a number of factors at any given moment. All news organizations have faced these pressures, but despite this and the challenging terrain in Bahrain, we have covered events in the country extensively.Spokesman for Qatar-based/funded Al Jazeera on the news channel’s perceived lack of coverage surrounding the protests in Bahran. (via soupsoup)
Bahrain destroyed the statue at the Pearl roundabout, the focal point and symbol of weeks of pro-democracy protests there. See the full story here.
Bahrain TV anchor cries on air after caller asks for protection.
Oh my goodness, this is heartbreaking. It’s in Arabic.
PP: Even if you don’t speak Arabic (like me), you should watch this video for the footage.
We are not seeing this type of footage from the streets of Bahrain in the US.
We don’t understand a word of this. But the emotions? We could pick those up easily.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Due to the ongoing circumstances in Bahrain … King Hamad has announced a state of national emergency as of Tuesday for three months.An announcement on Bahraini state television • Announcing a “national state of emergency” in the country. The announcement comes a day after troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered the country to help quell the protests. The U.S. government has called for restraint in the wake of fresh military action. source (via • follow)
That top photo is absolutely gripping. Absolutely.
New York Times reporter Michael Slackman is shot at while reporting from Manama, Bahrain.
HOLY CRAP. This is scary.
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