UAE to monitor sites via satellite

Click here to find out what sites.

While they are looking other kinds of sites could usefully be monitored - e.g., traffic congestion, road accidents, borders. Private grounds.

I wonder how powerful the zoom is on that thing.

Recognition for UAE Community blog

Hooray! Emirates Today's Blogbites may be somewhat absent at the moment, but UAE Community Blog is far from forgotten:



Here's an screenshot of the article to preserve our fame forever!

Cultural swap

A new blog, Gimme Your Stuff, aims to promote a bit of cross-cultural sharing:

"Though I'm not in the UAE (I'm in Australia) I'd love to get some people from the UAE involved in our cultural exchanges. Our aim is to help people to learn a little about the world, and I think other people could learn a huge amount from Middle Eastern bloggers, probably in opposition to what they hear and read in the news.

Want some Tim Tams or Maple Syrup? Got a spare mosque clock or box of Bateel dates? Or even a baby camel that you want to swap for a polar bear? Click here.

Our heroes at Dubai Municipality

"I have told you a hundred times.. ", the Dubai Municipality official said to my puzzled Egyptian friend, ".. no touching, no mingling, no kissing..this is UAE..not America. You being an Arab should know. Not approved".
If you ever visited the DM office for approval of an outdoor advertisement (which is by the way, mandatory for every public display in the Dubai), you are likely to have a similar experience, especially if the artwork has a picture of a western couple holding hands which they would liken to the 156th sexual position in the Kamasutra. (Now dont go around hunting for number 156, they know better). My friend has been there, heard that a hundred times, but this time around he didn't anticipate a problem with a normal couple holding hands in front of their beachfront property to be displayed in a drum truck, paraded around in the city(Not to Sharjah, mind you).
One short walk in Bur Dubai or Rigga Road will convince anyone where the Moral Police should be turning their attention to. But such a crackdown on prostitution looks to be a distant possibility considering that the Emirate might lose out to other sex-tourism destinations in terms of tourist arrivals.
Meanwhile our friend at the DM office reluctantly accepts my friends offer to put the couple separate; the guy on the extreme right and the girl on the extreme left without any possibility of violation 156. So when our DM superbrain drives home after a week, he might just find a drum truck with a couple holding hands in front of a beachfront property. Ofcourse, he did not realize that putting the couple on the two ends of a drum truck display means that they are going to be together when it is stuck on a circular display. Just like everything else that happens in Dubai.

Support Saudi Eve

More bad news from the regional blogging scene, with Saudi Arabia blocking the blog of Saudi Eve.

A good summary of the background to this can be found on Aqoul.

Those of you that have a minute to spare, and support a freer internet, please consider taking time to submit an unblock request for Eve.

Alaa Abdel Fatah in Time Magazine

In case anyone is interested, the jailed Egytian blogger is featured in Time Magazine

UAE's photogenic representation at the Turin 2006 Chess Olympiad (Women)

Check out this page which has a collection of some of the photogenic female participants at the Turin Chess 2006 Olympiad.

You can rate which of the players are prettiest (1-5 rating) and the chosen photos are likely to be used to illustrate the Olympiads.

I voted for Bosnia and UAE :)

Einstein I.Q. Test

Einstein I.Q. Test

Check out your IQ, enjoy!

Want to put your creativity to good use? Here's the chance.

Creative Majlis invites you to explore various exciting opportunities to pool in your talent and skills with creative professionals from around the world for social causes and community service.

EVENT DETAILS
'How Your Talent Can Impact The World Around You'
An interactive session covering the broad scope of creative voluntary work in Dubai
Conducted by Maliha Raza

Proposed agenda:
* What is voluntary work? Why volunteer?
* Scope of voluntary work in Dubai
* How to use your special talents towards community service
* Open Space - an activity for members to explore their interest-areas in voluntary work & propose project ideas
* Creative Majlis as a platform for creative community service, locally and worldwide

When: 7:30 pm onwards, Monday, June 5, 2006
Where: The Grind, Al Manazel Building, Mankhool Road, Bur Dubai, UAE.
Contact number of the venue: Ph: 04-3989304

Entry and participation is free. Participants ordering refreshments need to pay for their orders individually.

Kindly RSVP here

We look forward to your participation.

Farrukh Naeem & Mayura Sandeep
Founders & Moderators
Creative Majlis
Email: creativemajlis@yahoo.com
Phone: 050-7151722

About Creative Majlis
Creative Majlis is a global network of creative professionals pooling in skills and resources voluntarily for community service and social causes. We are based in Dubai and our membership is across countries like the USA, South Africa, Germany, Singapore, Russia, India and of course, the UAE. Membership to Creative Majlis is open to all who wish to volunteer for social causes with their skills, experience, resources and most importantly, creative ideas. We welcome writers, copywriters, art directors, graphic designers, artists, journalists, PR professionals, publishers, printers, internet wizards, volunteers ready to devote time and efforts to community service.

About Maliha Raza
Maliha Raza is a core team member of Creative Majlis. She has an extensive experience of over 13 years in the field of organization development (OD). Maliha has consulted for organizations in eight countries over the globe and implemented OD assignments for leading international organizations ranging from the development sector (United Nations) to financial organizations (Amex) and the cellular industry (Airtel, Hutch) to IT. She is also a life coach, counsellor and a trained clinical psychologist.

Is it illegal to sit in a car with a lady?

'Emirates Evening Post' a seemingly obscure newspaper, with a not-so-remarkable editorial content, has again raised some uncomfortable questions, albeit unintentionally through their 'Ask your Lawyer' column.
A man and a woman, not legally related(can be friends, colleagues etc) are "not supposed to sit together in a car, or go for movies, or to restaurants etc.. " says the matter-of-fact lawyer to a bizarre question.
Wonder why some half-dressed male and female models clinging together in a showroom opening of an international brand as seen on a popular newspaper doesnt make the cut.

E-book project to give free access to third of a million books next month

June 02, 2006 (AP) -- Electronic book devotees may want to set aside
some extra screen time this summer, as two nonprofits are preparing to
provide free access to 300,000 texts online.

Project Gutenberg and World eBook Library plan to make ''a third of a
million'' e-books available free for a month at the first World eBook
Fair. Downloads will be available at the fair's Web site from July 4,
the 35th anniversary of Project Gutenberg's founding, through Aug. 4.

The majority of the books will be contributed by the World eBook
Library. It otherwise charges $8.95 (euro6.98) a year for access to its
database of more than 250,000 e-books, documents and articles.

The rest at http://www.physorg.com/news68484530.html

ABN AMRO SHOCKER!

Imagine you are in Paris for Business and then get an SMS from your bank stating 'loan payment is overdue and make payment ASAP', and then you can't call them back because all their lines are busy. After a few hours of repeated trying you get through only to be told, 'it was a mistake'.

Who is going to pay for my roaming and international calls?
Thank you ABN AMRO, you suck!

Culture & Heritage for AED 50 Billion

The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning "to cultivate", generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity.

Egyptian Culture has 5000 years history of flourishing art, architecture, religion, literature and language. Indian culture is one of the oldest and has retained much of its illustrious art, architectural and musical heritage till date. Almost 1200 years of Roman culture and heritage is considered instrumental in shaping the social structure and civilization we see today.

So when a UAE government-funded property developer gives another-drop-your-jaws- here-is-another-press-release which says that“Culture City will offer the cultural soul that Dubai deserves”, I begin to wonder if you can really buy culture and heritage for 50 billion Dirhams. The not-so-distinguishable clichéd wind-tower(which itself has its origins in Iran and Bahrain) logo makes me all the more skeptical.

So what do you think? Is this the real culture and heritage of Dubai?

Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel

I had someone ask for an aisle seat so that his or her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"

Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel

actual stories provided by travel agents

funny.

Booming Dubai alienating natives

Aljazeera.Net - Booming Dubai alienating natives

Suhail al-Awadhi, 37, a senior municipal official, says he "was living three years ago in Hamria, but it was invaded by Indians, Pakistanis and bachelors, so I moved out".

Al-Awadhi was referring to an area in Dubai's historic centre.

Like all Emiratis, those in Mizher received free plots of land from the government plus interest-free loans or grants ranging from 500,000 dirhams ($137,000) to one million dirhams to build homes, according to Awadhi.
. . .
In his new book My Vision, Sheikh Mohammed explains his aim to develop Dubai as a fusion of Middle Eastern and Western values and a melting pot of creeds and nationalities, comparing the city to Cordoba, the seat of the Islamic caliphate in Spain in the 10th century.

But areas like Mizher are proof the fusion is not there yet. Plus, some Emiratis do not share the vision.

Not our country

Ibtisam Suhail, a political science professor at the UAE University in Al-Ain says "many people oppose this hyper-development and wonder who are we building all these projects for".

"You feel this is not your country anymore. There is a great feeling of alienation among Emiratis," added Suhail, also a resident of Mizher.

Suhail, in her 40s, believes not much thought has been given to the social consequences of fast development or the fragile demographic position of Emiratis.
. . .
"Citizens have been sidelined in the decision-making process. People have not been asked whether they want this," she said.