You don’t need a weatherman To know which way the wind blows

editor: Just a hunch but with all the reform in the air, the Bassiouni “final report” is due and it all seems too well orchestrated to me – I’m expecting lots of praise for things the regime has done, especially those in the last few weeks; police code of conduct, zero tolerance… The other items of accomplishment will be the “National Dialogue” that never was, the cessation of military courts, the hiring of Timoney and Yates, elections, change in structure of government, removal of “bad Ministers” then promoted, some words from Bassiouni repeating calls for release of the prisoners, elation for charges against some scape-goat cops, blah, blah…. And of course there will be, as with the initial release of the report, theatrics of harsh words of condemnation for regime short comings – some bullshit notion of fair and balanced, I suppose. Redux of Bassiouni’s original rebuke for regime abuses that have seen impunity for the abusers, with no real mention of those who give the orders or enable them.

There will be a new wave of harsh words for the escalating violence coming from the youth and a new definition of “extremist elements”. This will give the regime another tool to isolate them and it will make tolerable the regime brutality as it is directed toward the “extremists”, all the while turning the Villages into prisons camps – looks kind of like Gaza to me? Its been taking shape for a while… Maybe they can spin it as economic opportunity and use their model of “excellence” to train law enforcement in the US on how to lock-down their growing number of “undesirable neighborhoods”.

The grand charade nears completion – Bassiouni has set the bar on the front-end of the charade. Once he seemed to have genuine harsh words for the regime and much of the opposition were pleasantly surprised by his words that cleverly lend credibility to whole show. Little did anyone realise that Bassiouni would be setting the bar for which he would also be proclaiming it clear. The referee making the rules that go unheeded by the team that hired him – sounds a foul to me! All of this must surely have been in the fine print.

All the hoop-la won’t mean a damn thing as King Hamad proceeds with his State Department picked team, of Public Relation Democrats profiteering from Bahrain’s misery. In the process, a much anticipated “New Dialogue for Reform” will emerge with the blessing of some, while those who had a different or dissenting view have been or will be politely and sometimes not so politely, hushed or pushed aside. And get ready, if you won’t be “shut-up” they’re going make you into an “extremist”.

The only real “precondition” or demand to the finale so far has been that the prisoners must be released. And everyone wants the prisoners released. Is this demand anything new or any real surprise? It would suck being your brothers jailer and it would be damn hard, having called for their release, to take on the job of being their jailer. Unsurvivable I expect.

Seems the winds might be changing direction, maybe a storm moving in??? Just another dusty day out here in the desert. Phlipn.

HM King Hamad Will Receive The Final Report Tomorrow
19 March, 2012 – BNA

Manama, March19(BNA) His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa will tomorrow (Tuesday) receive the final report of the National Commission incharge of following-up the implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry(BICI) recommendations.

HM the King will patronize a ceremony in this regard at the Royal Convention Hall. Head of the National Commission and Shura Council President Ali bin Saleh Al-Saleh and Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa will then hold a joint press conference. HM King Hamad issued a Royal Order establishing The National Commission.

Newspapers editors in chief, GCC, Arab and foreign news agencies, reports and correspondents of Arab and foreign TV channels will attend the ceremony,ensuing a remarkable media coverage.