05 July, 2009

Recession proof water bottles

Yesterday's National reports:

Bling H20, according to an emphatic Mr Boyd, is a “must-have” for everyone, and the fact that the bottles are reusable means they are affordable, even in the recession.

“You don’t throw them away once you finish, you just refill them,” he said. “There is a financial crisis and you can feel it, but the fact that these bottles can be refilled makes them affordable.”

As befits the aspirations of the product, the bottles are being sold exclusively at Harvey Nichols in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. Naturally.

Prices range from Dh180 to Dh15,000.

How people spend their money is their personal choice. I don't care who buys this stuff. Or the gold plated SLR or the diamond encrusted Vertu...

but when someone tells me a 'bottle' of water is a 'must have' because 'it can be refilled' (and that alone makes it recession friendly), it makes me want to bang my head in the nearest wall. are you serious?! and more importantly, what chemicals are you on?

The same story continues with:

The charity Global Water attempted to appeal to the consumer conscience, saying the price of the Dh250 bottle could supply a child in Africa with water for life. 

That, in my opinion, is a low blow. Just because someone can afford umm... crystal encrusted water bottles, they shouldn't be forced to think about... you know, reality.

The crazy quilt that is the UAE

Check out this map.

For one thing, did you know you could drive from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah without passing through Sharjah? That's because Dubai is not a connected set. Neither is Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, or Fujairah. You can even drive straight from Ajman to Fujairah.

I recall reading that the British deployed the Trucial Scouts to determine the present day borders of the seven emirates. And that they did it by surveying locals to determine their allegiances. I suppose the idea was to set borders that would be politically stable.

02 July, 2009

Al-Maktoum-owned paper لامارات اليوم suspended over article that charge al-Nahyan-owned horses were doped

AFP:
A UAE court ordered the suspension of a local newspaper after it published an article claiming horses owned by the Abu Dhabi ruling family were doped, a local daily said on Thursday.

The ruling, which was issued on Wednesday and can not be overturned, stipulates that Arabic-language Al-Emarat Al-Youm halt publication for 20 days, a verdict effective "within a few days," said the Abu Dhabi-based Al-Ittihad.

Al-Emarat Al-Youm, run by a media company under Dubai Holding, owned by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum, in October 2006 published a front-page story accusing the Warsan Stables of using dope on horses.

Warsan Stables is owned by members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, while Al-Emarat Al-Youm is one of the most widely read publications in the country.
Zawya:
Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal upheld a defamation conviction against Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm, suspending the newspaper for 20 days and fining Editor-in-Chief Sami Al Reyami Dh20,000 in a defamation case raised by Warsan Stables' owners.

The case stemmed from an October 2006 article that accused Warsan Stables of giving steroids to horses in an Abu Dhabi race.
...
[Mohammad Yousuf, Chairman of the UAE Journalists' Association] noted that suspending a newspaper will cause damage to the UAE's reputation at international freedom and human rights organisations, which will take advantage of this ruling to accuse the UAE.

Yousuf expressed hope that the ruling would be suspended and that the newspaper would continue to come out so as to preserve the UAE reputation.

However, there are consultations with supreme bodies to find a solution to this case.
Some interesting ironies in this April 2009 story:
The ruler of Dubai is being investigated by equestrian authorities after a horse he owns and rides failed doping tests after two races.

Sheik Mohammed said he was unaware of the doping but accepts full responsibility. The drug use came to light following testing by his staff after endurance races this year in Bahrain and Dubai.

The International Equestrian Federation said Tuesday it is investigating. The federation's president is Princess Haya of Jordan, who is married to Sheik Mohammed. She has led a campaign for a drug-free sport and will step aside from her official duties when the governing body considers the case. ...
There is also a case touching Sheik Hamdan. The FEI's rules hold the rider responsible.

‘You’re American? I Should Kill You!’

An American interns as a reporter in Dubai and lives in a Sharjah apartment with 9 other men who are from Palestine, Lebanon or Iraq.

Cory Eldridge's story

Internet Guru Leo Laporte To Talk At Tedx Dubai

TEDx Dubai 2009 announced yesterday that internet legend Leo Laporte will speak at its October 10 conference.

Laporte is a journalist specialized in technology; he hosts and produces the most popular technology shows on the Internet.

His shows are hosted on the This Week In Technology network (TWIT). All of his productions are available completely for free - he runs his business exclusively through a few sponsors and listeners donations; it is a revolution in the making, the real proof that if you have good content, people will follow you no matter what.

Full story here: TEDx Dubai Blog

Change to family sponsorship minimum salary

According to a report in Gulf News, quoting the Director General of the Naturalisation & Residency Department, expats wishing to bring their families to the UAE will in future need a minimum salary of Dh10,000 a month.

There will also be a requirement that applicants will have to rent an independent house or apartment.

The new decisions will be effective when the residency laws are officially changed.

The report is here.

30 June, 2009

KT: Online Forums a Risk for Website Owners

"DUBAI — Online forums catering for Dubai residents are gaining in popularity, but many run the risk of being closed down. Strict rules on defamation in the UAE mean that moderators of online forums are constantly wary about giving users free rein.
Jane Drury, editor of the immensely popular forum ExpatWoman.com, 
said that it was the responsibility of 
site owners to ensure that content 
was appropriate.

“It is undoubtedly the responsibility of site owners to do their best to ensure that content is appropriate,” she said. “But it is very difficult — well, impossible — given forums are in a live environment, for webmasters to maintain exactly the tone or content that they might wish.”


more here

28 June, 2009

Camp Champ...

A heartwarming, slightly quirky story:

Sweet melodies are soaring above the usual banging and crashing at building sites around Dubai as labourers prepare their vocal chords for their own version of "Pop Idol".

The singing contest for the thousands of people living in workers' camps in the Gulf emirate will stage its first auditions on July 3, local media reported on Sunday.

Workers from five companies and living in more than 50 camps will take part in auditions for the third edition of Western Union Camp Ka Champ, whose title means "Champ from the Camp", according to the reports.

"The contest was developed to give labour camp residents an opportunity to discover their singing talent," the paper said, citing organisers.


More here.

No Pakis or Bongs allowed here....

A Pakistani colleague of mine recently wanted to bring his brother over for Eid - so off he goes to get the visit visa sorted out.

Only to be told that no visit or residence UAE visas will be issued to Pakistani or Bangladeshi passport holders. No reasons as to why or how long - just said no.

Is it true, or was my colleague on the unlucky end of a rather lazy and cruel person? If it is true, can anyone say why and for how long?

IMHO, I truly think it is ridiculous to stop issuing visas like that (any country for that matter). Especially as there has been no political disagreements as such, and the fact that many people from those countries (I'm talking about middle-class income earners) would like to have family visit during Ramadan and Eid.

Dubai 2020?

This is so cool if it is successful:

"Dubai has set up a committee to investigate launching a bid to host both the 2020 Olympics and the 2020 World Expo.

If successful, it would be the first time both events were staged in the Middle East, and in the one country."


More here.

What do you think? And will we be able to pull it off?

Feed changes

I have placed the RSS/atom feed for this blog through feedburner, hopefully everything is ok, if anyone has any problems with the feed let me know via comments.
Also if you'd like any services etc added to the feed feel free to comment.

If you don't use feeds for blogs then everything should remain the same.

24 June, 2009

Poster boy no more...

This just in - and it sounds mighty interesting:

"Nasser Al Sheikh has been deposed from all his positions - even as assistant director general of Dubai Ruler's Court for Foreign Affairs - the Media Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced."

The link to it can be found here.

That's all that's being said now, but the big guy of Amlak not only getting the pink slip from the mortgage house, but losing all his titles? Wow, he must have really pissed off some big people.

Let's see what happens next...

23 June, 2009

Naughty Paris

Saucy minx PARIS Hilton has been given a major dressing down for, er, dressing down.

TV producers had banned the airhead heiress from wearing a bikini while she is in Dubai shooting the third series of My New BFF.

But within hours she was posing for photos in a skimpy twopiece.

Read it here.

22 June, 2009

Video from very top of Burj Dubai

Stumbled upon a really great video on YouTube, taken from the very very very very top of the Burj Dubai. Simply Breathtaking...

Iran engages in packet inspection

Wall Street Journal:
The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world's most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale.

Interviews with technology experts in Iran and outside the country say Iranian efforts at monitoring Internet information go well beyond blocking access to Web sites or severing Internet connections.

Instead, in confronting the political turmoil that has consumed the country this past week, the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts.

The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.
Lovely.

One presumes other governments bought the capability.