du has 'adult' content

Khaleej Times has a shocking report on adult content that is accessible via du internet connections.

""I have been an etisalat customer for long and recently happened to use the du Internet. I was surprised to find that a site which was inaccessible in the etisalat network was available in du," claimed a user.

Another user who did not wish to be identified questioned whether regulations for both operators were different. “I have also stumbled across web sites on the du Net that are inappropriate. As far as I know, such web sites are blocked automatically in the country. However, it means that we have to be extra careful when children are around as they might be able to access content that we do not want them to see,” he said. In a statement to Khaleej Times, du said, "As a licensed operator, du complies with all the regulations, directions and policies, including Net censorship imposed by the TRA. We receive direct instructions from them on blocking web sites and filtering Internet content, and implement them within 24 hours as we have already invested in the infrastructure that enables us to censor the content of the World Wide Web. If any consumer has any specific issues relating to a particular web site, they can communicate it directly to the TRA and we will take the necessary measures."

[...]

""Currently, TRA is in the process of putting together a law to govern Internet proxy in the country which may allow the service provider to point out sites that need not be blocked by TRA. However, any such web site that is not in accordance to the UAE's religious and cultural values or is outright pornographic material, will remain blocked," he said.

This law would also give the freedom to service providers and customers to choose web sites that may be educational, scientific or medical content and are currently being blocked in the country by the TRA due to their generic nature.

The TRA official also said that whoever comes across a web site that does not conform to UAE laws should report it to TRA so that immediate action can be taken."

more here

Vimeo

Can anyone explain why Vimeo is blocked by Etisalat?

"The main difference between the site and other competing video sharing services such as YouTube is that Vimeo allows only user-created videos, of a "friends and family" nature. No pornography, TV shows, music videos, movies or anything not created by the user can be uploaded."

Gear up for more news: The National - UAE's new national newspaper will launch on 20 April

The UAE's new national newspaper, The National, will publish its first issue on 20 April.The broadsheet newspaper will be the largest English-language newspaper launch in the region.

Abu Dhabi Media Company, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, last year appointed former Daily Telegraph editor Martin Newland to launch The NationalNewland has said the newspaper will target high-income, English-speaking expatriats, as well as people from South Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The National will have far more resources at its disposal than most other newspapers in the world. Newland has hired 175 journalists, including 40 home news reporters and 25 foreign correspondents.

The National will be available in the UAE and on flights throughout the region from 20 April, but Newland has yet to say when it will be published in the other Gulf countries (MEED).

Ships impounded in Dubai after undersea cable cuts

"Two ships have been impounded by Dubai authorities in relation to a series of submarine cable cuts which wreaked havoc on Indian and Middle Eastern service earlier this year.

It was confirmed yesterday that the Dubai Port Trust has impounded the MV Hounslow and MT Ann on suspicion of causing breakages to the Reliance Globalcom Flag Europe-Asia cable, which was damaged along with the SEA-ME-WE 4 and Falcon cables in early February.

An official from Reliance Globalcom said the company had given the details of the two ships to Dubai authorities after studying satellite imagery of ship movements around the breakage area, according to Indian newspaper The Hindu. “The matter has been brought to the notice of appropriate authorities which are taking necessary action,” the official said.

The owners and captains of the two ships are set to be questioned in Dubai over the incident.

more here

Higher and higher... what's the point?

Another tower, higher than the previous one - what's the point other than bragging rights? Would anyone really want to live or work that high up? I know I wouldn't.

Nakheel’s Al Burj will reach a height of 1,200 metres on Limitless’ Arabian Canal development, according to media reports citing project consultants Woods Bagot. The new tower will be around 300 metres taller than Emaar’s Burj Dubai project, which will set a new world record on completion.  “We are still finalising the design concept of a new project involving an iconic structure,”

Gulf News: "Website remark 'is not objective'"

Gulf News responds to the website; http://www.uaelawdirectory.com/ (an interesting mission statement, by the way!):

"Some foreign media have the habit of taking up trivial issues and blowing them up which raises the question of objectivity, said a senior official.

Ebrahim Al Abed, Director General of the National Media Council, was reacting to a foreign website which describes Sharla Musabah, owner of a villa called City of Hope, as "Mother Teresa of Dubai".

Al Abed told Gulf News nobody can put restrictions on foreign media as such but what has been published on the website is not objective. "If we pay too much attention to them we are falling into their trap and that means we are considering them important, which is not true," he said."

......

"The Indian community members said they cannot accept the fact that Sharla is being described as 'Mother Teresa of Dubai'. Y.A. Rahim, President of the Sharjah Indian Association, said no one can be Mother Teresa and nobody can reach her noble status.

"The Indian community in the UAE and in the world denies this rubbish," he said. "If Sharla is claiming that she is doing social work, she cannot even reach one per cent of Mother Teresa. We are not accepting that at all."

........

"Mother Teresa was a great woman who dedicated her life to serve poor people and the community. No one can reach mother Teresa, she is a woman who cannot be compared to anyone," he said."

Full article.

You may also note the 'important correction' added to the NY Times article about Mrs. Musabih:

Correction: March 30, 2008
An article last Sunday about Sharla Musabih and her efforts to protect battered wives and victims of human trafficking in Dubai paraphrased incorrectly from her comment about the need to take strong action to protect women. She said she was fighting any attitudes that made domestic abuse possible; she did not say that she was fighting patriarchal Arab traditions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/middleeast/23dubai.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&oref=slogin

New Post

Fed up of cars?

I am.

So here's a new post. From an inferior Northern git.

A Tale of Cars...

Once upon a time, there was a patrol car riding the streets. It hit a car, causing a chain reaction of cars hitting other cars, causing quite a big accident.

The patrol car got angry that it caused an accident, and fined many vehicles parked around the area just because it felt that 'it was their fault' for making the patrol car cause an accident. And the fined vehicles (who had nothing to do with the accident) lived grumpily ever after.

For a detailed story, click here

(Another) Fire in Al Quoz.

I am not sure where it is exactly. Looks pretty close to the location of the first fire.
Helicopters are hovering around the area at the moment.

I hope no one got hurt.

As Dubai Millionaires Multiply...

money masks missing liberties

"I couldn't have done a 10th of what I've done if it hadn't been for Dubai,'' says Naqvi, 47, who moved to Dubai in 1994 with $50,000 of savings and now runs buyout firm Abraaj Capital Ltd. His $5 billion of assets include stakes in Turkish hospitals, Saudi Arabian pharmacies and a Jordanian aircraft repair company. Successful investments include Dubai's Arabtec Holdings PJSC, which is building the world's tallest skyscraper, Burj Dubai, on a $20 billion construction site not far from Naqvi's office.
In a ditch near the Giorgio Armani-designed hotel on the tower's lower floors, construction worker Omkar Singh leans on a shovel and wipes sweat from his brow. Singh, 24, went into debt to pay 60,000 rupees ($1,500) -- more than six months of earnings, including overtime -- to an agent to get to Dubai from India. The agent promised eight-hour workdays. Singh says he works at least 10-hour shifts, six days a week. "I was taken for a ride,'' he says.

this is by far one of the most comprehensive and balanced pieces done on dubai. talking about human rights, the piece adds:

Sheikh Mohammed declined to comment for this story through Mona al-Marri, a spokeswoman at Dubai-based public relations firm Jiwin.

it goes on to say:

French-born Denis Ravizza says he's so comfortable in Dubai he doesn't worry about any loss of political freedom. "I don't care about living in a place where I don't vote and I don't decide,'' says Ravizza, 44, the associate dean of Dubai's French Fashion University. "What they decide for the country is good for me.''
Others say that freedom matters. "If we are talking about making Dubai the finest city in the world, it needs to be more transparent,'' says Maitri Somaia, 20, an Indian media and communications student. "I definitely don't feel oppressed, but whatever I say, I frame my sentences very carefully. I have to.''

Everyone who ever set foot on arabland, knew the ways of the government. those in power were not voted in, they inherited it. when we stepped on these sands, we also gave up the right to express our opinions in the way we knew back home. and the trade-off was made in return for security, a better quality of life, and yes, monetary benefits. why then, do we come to foreign lands and demand the luxuries we grew up with? why did we willingly give them up, if they were so important to us to begin with?

New SALIK Gates?

A friend forwarded an email she got yesterday outlining three new SALIK gates that are due to open in July: Maktoum Bridge, Floating Bridge and SZR near Safa Park. An Arabic newspaper I'm not familiar with (Ittihad) was quoted as the source. Does anybody know anything about this, or did we all just fall for an April Fool's prank?

(Seems to me that putting a gate on a "temporary" bridge doesn't make much sense, but what do I know? It sounded plausible, which is why I ask.)

Naif Souk, WOT?

This goes for hemlock, Naif Souk is gone. Souk Naif or what we used to call Souk Al Sanadik (the boxes souk) once the center of Dubai shopping caught fire !!!





What has lift of it !!!

















link

Am not a conspiracist but does anyone think that there is a relation with this?

Jumeirah Garden City

So here goes another good projects with a creative name, NOT !!

This picture only show the area that will be affected, the project boundaries and not how the project will look like. It cover the areas of Satwa, Al Wasl, Jumeira 1 and Jumeira 2. You can see Safa park on the furthest left, the old prison with some facilities in the middle and Dhiyafa road on the right side.

You can see islands above too

Again Emiratis will be treated like bing balls and will be kicked from their houses with a pathetic compensation.

Jumeirah - a beach that was (?)

Does anyone know what's going on at Jumeirah Beach? Where previously white sands led the way down to the sea, now ALL of the stretch from Jumeirah 1 to Jumeirah 3 has been cut off from public, and villas are being constructed on it.
has anyone been there recently? what's this about? is this the only solution to the acute housing shortage in Dubai (building sea-front villas that will sell for over AED 30M each)?
i want my beaches back! last year, any turn you took towards the sea (on beach road) led you right to the sands, and you could drive next to the sea. this is so disappointing. were these developments ever announced?

carpooling registration

According to Khaleej Times...

"Yes, we have also come across cases when some motorists complain about being fined wrongly by the inspectors. Car-pooling is something which we are encouraging at the moment in a bid to reduce the traffic bottlenecks in the emirate. We plan to set up a link on the RTA web site or create a fully new web site just for registering their names for car pooling," he said."

--more here

I have a question... If a person buys a car with 4 seats and they're only legally allowed to use 1 of those seats, is the RTA going to begin paying a share of the car's value for the other seats which are pretty much illegal to use?

""Right now there is no definite legislation in this connection. We are sure that this new service would solve this problem once and for all. The investigations would be done intensively to ensure that people engaged in the practice of illegally lifting passengers do not take advantage," he pointed out."

Yes, because heaven-forbid anyone 'take advantage' of people waiting several eternities for the RTA to summon taxies