Proxy unbloxy

Anyone finding that the proxy is down?

There seem to be certain areas of the sandlands where the proxy is down since yesterday, and the entire internet is available.

Long may it last ;)

it could be you....

Jailed blogger in solitary confinement, family says

Is the Arab world's motto not "let writer beware"?

The New Middle East

A short overview of the situation in the Middle East by the Carnegie Endowment. (PDF file)

[.....In the end, U.S. pressure on Egypt and other countries was short- lived. By mid-2006, with the situation in Iraq deteriorating and concern about Iran mounting, the administration forgot its previous criticism of friendly autocratic regimes, redefined them as moderates, and sought to forge an anti- Iranian alliance with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, plus Egypt and Jordan. The failing attempts to promote reform from the top were abandoned in the name of security.
Well aware of the United States’ troubles in the region and the strategic leverage it gives them, rulers such as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Mubarak of Egypt have pushed for nothing less than a return to pre-9/11 American policies, i.e., ignoring the domestic behavior of Arab allies and concentrating on their regional and international actions.
One indicator of the success of Arab pressure against democracy promotion has been the remarkable decrease since 2006 of critical statements by the Bush administration about domestic politics in Arab moderate states, despite clear signs of backsliding, particularly in Egypt and Jordan. Repressive measures against opposition movements, predominantly the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Jordanian Islamic Action Front, as well as undemocratic constitutional changes have been publicly ignored by the Bush administration....]

Truely a hidden gem

I stumbled across this website a few days back and I thought that I should share it with you all.

http://www.dubaiasitusedtobe.com/

This is for all those people who truly understand the what we localexpats mean when we say Dubai is nothing like it used to be. It is by far one of the most nostalgic website I have ever come across.

Dubai pardons Briton 'with cannabis on shoe'

"DUBAI (AFP) — A British man sentenced to four years in jail in the Gulf emirate of Dubai for having a tiny amount of cannabis stuck to his shoe has been pardoned, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Andrew Brown was released early from prison in the Western-orientated emirate which is a popular destination for British tourists, the English language 7Days reported, without stating how much of the jail term he served.

The 43-year-old was arrested in September at Dubai International Airport after customs officers found 0.003 grams (0.0001 ounces) of cannabis on the sole of one his shoes."

--more here

Raising funds for charity

A friend and I have decided to walk up to Everest Base Camp as a way of keeping fit. We have now decided that we will use this opportunity to raise some money for Nepalese charities. We will still pay for our own trip but are recruiting volunteers to help raise some money for orphanages.

All our activities will be in Fujeirah/East Coast area. We are planning a "country fair", a mad hatters ball. We have a lot of volunteers to help with putting these together so that we save as much money for the charities.

Does anyone know what the procedure is for volunteers to raise money for a charity outside the UAE?

What's Happening to my Favourite Camping Spot?

We camped last weekend in an area NW of Dhaid near Falaj al Moalla in Umm al Quwain. Driving across the desert we came across a bunch of site offices and a huge pile of rebar in the middle of nowhere. In the morning we spotted a group of surveyors with their theodolites on the crest of one of the nearby dunes.

Looks like another beautiful part of the wilderness is about to be dug up to make way for yet another development that no one wants or needs. *sigh*.

Any one here know what is happening out there?

Thanks,

The trains have arrived...

The first of the Metro trains have arrived - here's what they look like...

Mile High Tower to Surpass the Deathspire?

Maybe, if Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal gets his way:

Kingdom Holding Company, controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, plans to invite contractors to submit bids before July to build the world's tallest tower in Saudi Arabia, reported our sister publication Meed. The Mile High Tower, which could reach 1,600 metres in height, is to be built in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and may cost up to $10bn. The Mile High tower could be twice as tall as the Burj Dubai, Meed said.

"Tobacco law may stub out shisha"

Dubai: The Ministry of Health plans to institute a complete ban on shisha and midwakh once the UAE introduces the federal anti-tobacco law, expected to come in by June.

Smoking shisha, or the water pipe, is a popular pastime among Middle Easterners and others who associate the activity with Middle Eastern culture. Midwakh, or the Arabic pipe, is popular among teenagers who have said it gives a more intense high.

The UAE has been working on a federal law regulating tobacco and its uses, content and sale, in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Dr. Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, told Gulf News among other things, the law forbids tobacco use in enclosed areas and public places, without specifying the type of tobacco.

Rest of article to be found here

Perhaps our ME-based, outdoor tobacco fans may not celebrate this new announcement.

The public, three point "tuck, tuck, tuck" (sound emanating most likely from a 4wd) midwakh pipe-a-light may soon be outlawed, as might the hubblies & bubblies amongst us huffing & puffing sheesha-enthusiasts.

What's your favourite flavour?

A Strange Love Story

Today's Al Khaleej newspaper carried this strange story of a father who demanded memorization of the Holy Book Quran as a dowry for his daughter. Reading this story kind of made me happy after reading two depressing posts by A Lost Dot & i*maginate a couple of days ago.

The details of the story are that the guy who asked for the hand of the girl is 25 years old, an engineer by profession, wich means he is quite well off. Now this guy involved some elders to try to convince the girl's father & after the negotiations, the father reduced his asking price by two third & still insisted that the guy memorize at least 10 chapters of the Holy Book, which he has already started. Those who understand arabic can read it here.

What you guys think of this? Honestly, this made me happy that there are still people in this country who have not embraced money worship as their main religion. It is heartening to read such stories in an age where the average Emarati wedding costs 300k & which has led many couples to the debt trap. The end result is the 46% divorce rate we have today & I think one of the main reason behind this is the sizeable amount of people's salary going towards servicing their debt.

Weekend Weather Warning

I think that anyone planning to go boating this weekend would be well advised to stay ashore!

"Internet access to be liberalised"

That's what a headline in Emirates Business 24/7 says.

What the story really says is that instead of the blanket blocking of entire sites such as Facebook a new, far more sophisticated, system will be put in place by the TRA that will only block sections of sites.

The report says: "...sections of social networking websites such as Facebook that encouraged dating would be banned... but the rest of the site would be accessible.

The new system will apply throughout the UAE, including the free zones and will be announced, they say, by the end of the year.

Story is here.

"Watch what you wear"

"A range of popular T-shirts that sold out in Dubai could land you six months behind bars if you wear one, 7DAYS can reveal. The gents’ garment has an offensive four-letter word printed on the front, in bright yellow. The slogan reads: ‘**** fashion, go punk’ and was printed across T-shirts being sold by clothing store Vero Moda.

Police have warned people to be careful when buying clothes with images and slogans on, in case they cause offence to certain religions and cultures.

A CID officer with Dubai Police said anyone caught wearing such a T-shirt could be arrested and referred to court. He told 7DAYS: “It is an indecent act and we would warn the person who wears it and the shop which sells it. If the person is caught wearing it a second time we would punish them by referring them to the court to decide the penalty.”

(...)The men were riding a motorbike when they were involved in an accident and taken to Rashid Hospital in Dubai. Staff there noticed the offensive shirts - which displayed an obscene image - under the mens’ jackets and complained to the police. An investigation was carried out and the men were referred to public prosecution. They were eventually found guilty in court and jailed."

It's about time such an incident was reported - the full article can be viewed here.

Dubai's new record-breaking feat

Here we were thinking that Minnesota's next-gen St. Anthony Falls Bridge was kicking up the next generation of mega engineering a notch from even the quake-proof Bay Bridge Skyway. But leave it to Dubai to build it way harder, faster and stronger—or, at least in the case of this newly approved design from New York's Fxfowle architects, way cooler.

...this as-yet-unnamed span will be the world's largest arch bridge, with 2000 vehicles set to cross its 12 lanes—per hour, in each direction—when it's slated for completion in 2012. At 670 ft. tall, Dubai's next super structure will stand higher than the George Washington Bridge (604 ft.) but fall short of San Francisco's existing Golden Gate Bridge (746 ft.).

Source