19 September, 2005
Because they so obviously won't print it...
Dear Khaleej Times,
Please stop continually describing yourself as "Your Favourite No 1 newspaper".
You are not my favourite UAE newspaper by any measure: rather something I only read when all other material is exhausted, including the Arabic papers which I can't even understand.
You are also not the "No 1" newspaper here. I note from your website that your circulation is 87,000, whereas the Gulf News reports a circulation of 91,000.
I look forward to the prompt removal of this mendacious and boastful phrase from your paper.
Yours sincerely,
JJ
Jumeirah
Please stop continually describing yourself as "Your Favourite No 1 newspaper".
You are not my favourite UAE newspaper by any measure: rather something I only read when all other material is exhausted, including the Arabic papers which I can't even understand.
You are also not the "No 1" newspaper here. I note from your website that your circulation is 87,000, whereas the Gulf News reports a circulation of 91,000.
I look forward to the prompt removal of this mendacious and boastful phrase from your paper.
Yours sincerely,
JJ
Jumeirah
Suggestion from strangeloops
Excellent suggestion from strangeloops in their latest blog entry:
"If we’re going to complain, let’s try to elevate it to an artform. Let’s try to be more creative, more subtle, more constructive and less hurtful."
It would certainly make many blogs more readable and interesting. Perhaps we'll soon see some exquisitely written "poetry of moan and whinge".
"If we’re going to complain, let’s try to elevate it to an artform. Let’s try to be more creative, more subtle, more constructive and less hurtful."
It would certainly make many blogs more readable and interesting. Perhaps we'll soon see some exquisitely written "poetry of moan and whinge".
UAEU mathematics department is empty of male students
Khaleej Times report: (quoting)
The UAE University (UAEU) has decided not to accept new male students in the Department of Mathematical Science of the Science College, as there are just three students in this division.
Dr Mohammed Ali Al Azzab, Deputy Dean at the College of Science said that the UAEU stopped accepting male students until such time that the needs of the UAE job market for mathematics graduates are studied. He pointed out that local students have refrained from applying to this branch because there are no specific openings for mathematics graduates.
"Most of math graduates work as teachers whether in government or private schools but teaching is not an attractive job for locals," noted Dr Al Azzab.
The Department of Mathematics at the UAEU has only 200 female students and last year, only 10 male students graduated from it to face an uncertain future.
Writing up urban legends as news is lazy reporting
Police dismiss 'dead baby' drug video
A senior law official has rubbished rumours that drugs are being smuggled in baby’s bodies.
Story here.
Urban legend about ready to celebrate its 20th birthday here.
A senior law official has rubbished rumours that drugs are being smuggled in baby’s bodies.
Story here.
Urban legend about ready to celebrate its 20th birthday here.
The Caring Face of Abu Dhabi’s Oil Companies
The oil and gas operating companies which make up the Abu Dhabi National Oil company really do need to work on their customer service.
Calling the front desk of these major oil and gas companies would often be the stuff of comedy, were they not major oil and gas companies. It is not uncommon for the phone to go unanswered when you call the main switchboard, the call ending with a helpful message telling you there is no answer. Or you get the engaged tone, as if you've called your friend and his teenage sister is hogging the line. Either way, this is pretty poor for any company, never mind the headquarters of a national oil and gas company on which a good portion of the nation's prosperity relies. Try calling the main switchboard of Shell in The Hague during business hours and see if you get an answer.
Sometimes you don't even get this far. I called one of the national operating companies this morning, on the main switchboard number displayed on their website, to find myself connected to a fax machine.
Getting your call answered is only a minor hurdle, however. Things are not usually straightforward from thereon. For starters, the call - at the main switchboard in the headquarters of a national oil and gas company - is often answered with:
"Ullo"
In fact, this seems to be the standard method of answering a call from almost every telephone in the organisation. When you have made your request to the main switchboard, there is no "Just connecting you now, sir" confirmation, just an abrubt change in sound on the line. And where they actually connect you to is a lottery in itself. Asking the main switchboard to put me through to the Commercial Department has landed me in the Mail Room on several occasions, where the helpful mailing clerk has suggested I try the main switchboard if I want the Commercial Department. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes of being bounced around between unanswered phones and unhelpful employees before you actually get to somebody who might know a person who can help you. Once you find such a person, you cling to their direct number for dear life.
Visiting in person isn't much better. The receptionists vary between operating companies, and some are indeed pretty good. Others, however, are on their mobile to a mate when you approach the reception desk, and if they don't ignore you entirely they attempt to find out what you want whilst continuing their conversation. They are also not too good at listening. When you visit a company, you get a slip of paper with the person's name and location on which forms part of your visitor's pass. Half the time I end up with a stranger's name on the slip of paper, whose name may or may not have vaguely resembled the chap I was going to meet. Which then leaves me with the problem that I do not know his location, and have to ask around. This leads to more hilarity as people who sit next door to the chap I'm trying to visit deny all knowledge of his existence, or read the incorrect name on my visitor pass and tell me I'm on the wrong floor.
In short, it is an utter shambles. It really needs to be sorted out.
Calling the front desk of these major oil and gas companies would often be the stuff of comedy, were they not major oil and gas companies. It is not uncommon for the phone to go unanswered when you call the main switchboard, the call ending with a helpful message telling you there is no answer. Or you get the engaged tone, as if you've called your friend and his teenage sister is hogging the line. Either way, this is pretty poor for any company, never mind the headquarters of a national oil and gas company on which a good portion of the nation's prosperity relies. Try calling the main switchboard of Shell in The Hague during business hours and see if you get an answer.
Sometimes you don't even get this far. I called one of the national operating companies this morning, on the main switchboard number displayed on their website, to find myself connected to a fax machine.
Getting your call answered is only a minor hurdle, however. Things are not usually straightforward from thereon. For starters, the call - at the main switchboard in the headquarters of a national oil and gas company - is often answered with:
"Ullo"
In fact, this seems to be the standard method of answering a call from almost every telephone in the organisation. When you have made your request to the main switchboard, there is no "Just connecting you now, sir" confirmation, just an abrubt change in sound on the line. And where they actually connect you to is a lottery in itself. Asking the main switchboard to put me through to the Commercial Department has landed me in the Mail Room on several occasions, where the helpful mailing clerk has suggested I try the main switchboard if I want the Commercial Department. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes of being bounced around between unanswered phones and unhelpful employees before you actually get to somebody who might know a person who can help you. Once you find such a person, you cling to their direct number for dear life.
Visiting in person isn't much better. The receptionists vary between operating companies, and some are indeed pretty good. Others, however, are on their mobile to a mate when you approach the reception desk, and if they don't ignore you entirely they attempt to find out what you want whilst continuing their conversation. They are also not too good at listening. When you visit a company, you get a slip of paper with the person's name and location on which forms part of your visitor's pass. Half the time I end up with a stranger's name on the slip of paper, whose name may or may not have vaguely resembled the chap I was going to meet. Which then leaves me with the problem that I do not know his location, and have to ask around. This leads to more hilarity as people who sit next door to the chap I'm trying to visit deny all knowledge of his existence, or read the incorrect name on my visitor pass and tell me I'm on the wrong floor.
In short, it is an utter shambles. It really needs to be sorted out.
18 September, 2005
World's largest carpet
Of course it has to be "world's largest" :-)
It's 5700 square meters and will use up 45 tonnes of wool and cotton - how would you like to take that outside for a good spring cleaning?
The Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, opening here in early 2007, will have the world's largest carpet, an official said on Saturday.
It's 5700 square meters and will use up 45 tonnes of wool and cotton - how would you like to take that outside for a good spring cleaning?
17 September, 2005
Contact help - BSAk Rants
I just found this interesting UAE blog, BSAk Rants, which will be added to the Blogroll.
However I can't see a way to invite the writer(s) to this place, as there's no email and comments appear to be turned off.
If anyone knows of a way to contact them, do email me - or if it's a friend of yours, do email them first to get their permission. Obviously please don't "out" the person or anything - UAE community is very much about respecting privacy!
However I can't see a way to invite the writer(s) to this place, as there's no email and comments appear to be turned off.
If anyone knows of a way to contact them, do email me - or if it's a friend of yours, do email them first to get their permission. Obviously please don't "out" the person or anything - UAE community is very much about respecting privacy!
16 September, 2005
Censorship
Gulf News recently wrote an article about a report claiming that "the UAE's policy of blocking offensive websites is strongly supported by the country's residents." The footnotes of the report in question said that "60% of [Etisalat's] 14,000 domestic subscribers [responding to questions in a poll] favored retaining filtering." The source for that statement was the Ministry of Information. One of the ministry's other jobs, coincidentally, is to block access to websites it considers "inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates."
An unscientific poll of 30 people I once conducted here suggested a distinct lack of support for censorship, a finding that has been consistent with anecdotal evidence I have come across. However, I would like to see the opinions of a slightly broader spectrum of Internet users in the country before I judge the truth of the statement on support for censorship.
With that in mind, I would be grateful if you, the bloggers of the UAE, could write about your views on the following:
1) How often, if ever, have you had trouble accessing material you would consider legitimate to view?
2) Do you support the current degree of censorship of the Internet? That is, do you feel it is just about right? Do you think it should be stricter? Less strict? Should it be done away with altogether?
3) What would you think of a system in which individual users got to choose whether they wanted their access to the net censored, as opposed to the current one where everyone's access to certain sites is blocked?
I'd also like to remind all of you to keep any discussion civil, and to remember and respect the boundaries of the UAE.
An unscientific poll of 30 people I once conducted here suggested a distinct lack of support for censorship, a finding that has been consistent with anecdotal evidence I have come across. However, I would like to see the opinions of a slightly broader spectrum of Internet users in the country before I judge the truth of the statement on support for censorship.
With that in mind, I would be grateful if you, the bloggers of the UAE, could write about your views on the following:
1) How often, if ever, have you had trouble accessing material you would consider legitimate to view?
2) Do you support the current degree of censorship of the Internet? That is, do you feel it is just about right? Do you think it should be stricter? Less strict? Should it be done away with altogether?
3) What would you think of a system in which individual users got to choose whether they wanted their access to the net censored, as opposed to the current one where everyone's access to certain sites is blocked?
I'd also like to remind all of you to keep any discussion civil, and to remember and respect the boundaries of the UAE.
Mother of the nation
Anyone remember Papermoon and their Sheikh Zayed song?
First, it turns out that they are Austrian, not German.
Second, it transpires that they have also written a song for Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. Sadly no demo or lyrics are online, but here is a sample:
Mother of the nation
You're a light that shines on me
Mother of the nation
You're the wind beneath our wings
All your lifetime you would care for all of us
Like for your family
[...]
As the mother of the nation we will praise you
Straight from the heart
As the mother for us all we celebrate you
You shine like a star
For your loving, and for your endless care
When someone needed you, your helping hand was there
When someone needs you, your helping hand is there
Mother
It's high time some quality tribute songs were written by UAEans.
First, it turns out that they are Austrian, not German.
Second, it transpires that they have also written a song for Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. Sadly no demo or lyrics are online, but here is a sample:
Mother of the nation
You're a light that shines on me
Mother of the nation
You're the wind beneath our wings
All your lifetime you would care for all of us
Like for your family
[...]
As the mother of the nation we will praise you
Straight from the heart
As the mother for us all we celebrate you
You shine like a star
For your loving, and for your endless care
When someone needed you, your helping hand was there
When someone needs you, your helping hand is there
Mother
It's high time some quality tribute songs were written by UAEans.
15 September, 2005
Evacuating UAE=nightmare?
When I was reading about the recent catastrophe exercise at the Dubai airport, I thought back on the Katrina disaster in the US and what's been said about the failures to evacuate enough people out of the path of the hurricane. Could you even imagine evacuating Adu Dhabi or Dubai in the event of a natural disaster of that magnitude? We live in Abu Dhabi and I imagine that we'd be best off ditching everything and trying to swim to the mainland. There's only two bridges tying AD to the mainland so driving off the island is probably out of the question.
Reverse Swing
A business delegation led by the Dubai's Department of Tourism and Marketing conducted a Business Roadshow 2005 in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The third in a series of five city roadshows, it aims to acclimatise Indian businesses to the opportunities available in the free zones in Dubai and thereby attract investment.
The delegation comprises senior representatives from various government organisations that include Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Ports, Customs & Zone Corporation (JAFZA-Dubai Business Hub) and Emirates, the national carrier.
Speaking to mediapersons, Khalifa Ali Buamaim, manager (overseas promotion), DTCM, said, "The Business Roadshow 2005 started in Delhi with an MoU signed between the DTCM and the Confederation of Indian Industry that will bridge any existing gaps and assist Indian companies seeking to invest in Dubai."
James Adams, marketing communications manager, Dubai Silicon Oasis, said, "The DSO is targeting companies that fit into the semi-conductor supply chain. At the front-end, we are looking for companies into electronic design automation tools for end-user applications like mobile, PCs, plasma TVs and at the back-end looking for application companies that are interested in manufacturing."
The delegation seeks to address 1,100 key organisations from five cities – Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai – and from various sectors such as IT, BPO, FMCG, pharma, aviation, logistics and gem and jewellery.
The third in a series of five city roadshows, it aims to acclimatise Indian businesses to the opportunities available in the free zones in Dubai and thereby attract investment.
The delegation comprises senior representatives from various government organisations that include Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Ports, Customs & Zone Corporation (JAFZA-Dubai Business Hub) and Emirates, the national carrier.
Speaking to mediapersons, Khalifa Ali Buamaim, manager (overseas promotion), DTCM, said, "The Business Roadshow 2005 started in Delhi with an MoU signed between the DTCM and the Confederation of Indian Industry that will bridge any existing gaps and assist Indian companies seeking to invest in Dubai."
James Adams, marketing communications manager, Dubai Silicon Oasis, said, "The DSO is targeting companies that fit into the semi-conductor supply chain. At the front-end, we are looking for companies into electronic design automation tools for end-user applications like mobile, PCs, plasma TVs and at the back-end looking for application companies that are interested in manufacturing."
The delegation seeks to address 1,100 key organisations from five cities – Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai – and from various sectors such as IT, BPO, FMCG, pharma, aviation, logistics and gem and jewellery.
Rapist Gets 2 Years For Bad Behaviour!
Article in Gulf News: A drunken UAE national has been jailed for 2 years for kidnapping an 18-year old Pakistani girl and raping her five times. Simply appalling!
A young girl's life is ruined and he only gets 2 years? That's like a slap on the wrist and "Don't do it again!" I believe in the UAE justice system, but news like this really makes my blood boil! I don't think sentences for rape cases are lax, but they are biased. The situation, and the court sentence, would have been very different if:
1. Subcontinent expat kidnaps and rapes UAE national
2. UAE national kidnaps and rapes Western expat
and so on...
A crime is a crime no matter where it happens. Race, creed and nationality should never be a criteria in sentencing criminals. This is great dilemma for the country's justice system, especially one that is promoting itself as a tourist destination, a business hub and prides itself as a safe and crime free nation.
---------edit: note from secretdubai----------
While everyone would agree that light sentences for rapists are inappropriate, or that nationality shoud never be an issue in sentencing, please remember that there are people of all nationalities posting here, including UAE nationals. Bear this in mind if you comment below, because if this becomes an Emirati-bashing discussion, it will be deleted.
We also don't have the full facts of this case. Nor - no matter how much anecdotal evidence you may have, or how many newspaper stories you have collected - do we have any firm evidence or research into whether the UAE judiciary discriminates between nationalities when sentencing.
A young girl's life is ruined and he only gets 2 years? That's like a slap on the wrist and "Don't do it again!" I believe in the UAE justice system, but news like this really makes my blood boil! I don't think sentences for rape cases are lax, but they are biased. The situation, and the court sentence, would have been very different if:
1. Subcontinent expat kidnaps and rapes UAE national
2. UAE national kidnaps and rapes Western expat
and so on...
A crime is a crime no matter where it happens. Race, creed and nationality should never be a criteria in sentencing criminals. This is great dilemma for the country's justice system, especially one that is promoting itself as a tourist destination, a business hub and prides itself as a safe and crime free nation.
---------edit: note from secretdubai----------
While everyone would agree that light sentences for rapists are inappropriate, or that nationality shoud never be an issue in sentencing, please remember that there are people of all nationalities posting here, including UAE nationals. Bear this in mind if you comment below, because if this becomes an Emirati-bashing discussion, it will be deleted.
We also don't have the full facts of this case. Nor - no matter how much anecdotal evidence you may have, or how many newspaper stories you have collected - do we have any firm evidence or research into whether the UAE judiciary discriminates between nationalities when sentencing.
Depressingly Familiar
Yet another pedestrian is killed on the roads in Dubai, this time an Aisha Mohammad Ebrahim, a 50-year-old Pakistani.
No doubt there were several factors involved, speed more than likely being one of them. Now I don't know the specifics of this incident to comment on it in particular, but as a more general observation it must be said that not only are the drivers in Dubai pretty daft, the actions of some pedestrians border on suicidal.
Anyone driving in Dubai for more than a day or two has had to slam on the brakes to avoid ploughing into somebody who has stepped out into the road with gay abandon, seemingly oblivious to the approaching traffic. These people seem to fall into two categories: the Stupid and the Arrogant. The Stupid do not even bother looking and step out into the road, normally when crossing a T-junction where they have failed to spot a car turning into the road they are attempting to cross. The Arrogant spot the car, but wander into the road anyway forcing the car to slow down or move over, a tactic which depends on the rather shaky assumption that the driver has spotted them and his brakes are working.
Then you get those who simply cannot judge speed and distance. Having believed they can make it across the road with a pushchair and four kids in tow before an oncoming car reaches them, they break into an ungainly sprint when they realise they have mistimed badly. For this inability to judge speed and distance, I blame a lack of playing cricket in their youth.
There are also those pedestrians who are not actually trying to cross a road, but are simply ambling along the tarmac as if they are on a quiet stroll in the Creek Park. This does not tend to happen on the main roads, but in the still busy minor roads this is all too common. Blaring the horn at such people usually generates a look of surprise as if they had witnessed the Second Coming, and an outrage akin to the wrath a father feels when he reads his teenage daughter's secret diary. It is not unusual for such pedestrians to carry out this bizarre activity at night whilst wearing dark clothing.
The death of Aisha Mohammad Ebrahim is tragic, and should not be trivialised. But any attempts to reduce the numbers of such incidents is going to take a concerted effort to educate pedestrians, not just drivers.
No doubt there were several factors involved, speed more than likely being one of them. Now I don't know the specifics of this incident to comment on it in particular, but as a more general observation it must be said that not only are the drivers in Dubai pretty daft, the actions of some pedestrians border on suicidal.
Anyone driving in Dubai for more than a day or two has had to slam on the brakes to avoid ploughing into somebody who has stepped out into the road with gay abandon, seemingly oblivious to the approaching traffic. These people seem to fall into two categories: the Stupid and the Arrogant. The Stupid do not even bother looking and step out into the road, normally when crossing a T-junction where they have failed to spot a car turning into the road they are attempting to cross. The Arrogant spot the car, but wander into the road anyway forcing the car to slow down or move over, a tactic which depends on the rather shaky assumption that the driver has spotted them and his brakes are working.
Then you get those who simply cannot judge speed and distance. Having believed they can make it across the road with a pushchair and four kids in tow before an oncoming car reaches them, they break into an ungainly sprint when they realise they have mistimed badly. For this inability to judge speed and distance, I blame a lack of playing cricket in their youth.
There are also those pedestrians who are not actually trying to cross a road, but are simply ambling along the tarmac as if they are on a quiet stroll in the Creek Park. This does not tend to happen on the main roads, but in the still busy minor roads this is all too common. Blaring the horn at such people usually generates a look of surprise as if they had witnessed the Second Coming, and an outrage akin to the wrath a father feels when he reads his teenage daughter's secret diary. It is not unusual for such pedestrians to carry out this bizarre activity at night whilst wearing dark clothing.
The death of Aisha Mohammad Ebrahim is tragic, and should not be trivialised. But any attempts to reduce the numbers of such incidents is going to take a concerted effort to educate pedestrians, not just drivers.
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