School Bullies...

Today's Gulf News reports, "Bullies force traumatised pupil away from school."

A 12th grade pupil of an Abu Dhabi school said he has stopped attending classes after continuous mental and physical torture by a group of bullies.

His father said the boy has been traumatised for the past eight months after joining Sunrise English Private School in 11th grade and needed psychiatric treatment. "He was afraid to disclose the harassment he faced in the school." The boy has not attended school since September 3.

Sam said: "I did not disclose the torture because my class teacher warned that I will also be suspended if an incident was reported to the principal. She said so when I complained in the beginning of May against five boys who dragged me from the classroom holding my neck and slammed my head against the wall."

His father said he complained to the principal and later in writing mentioning the names of nine bullies as the principal told him to but no action was taken.


Doctor's certificate demanded

Principal C. Impanathan told Gulf News that it was difficult to take action against nine pupils on a complaint. "I came to know the complaints two weeks ago only when the parent approached me." About the alleged warning by the class teacher to take action against both complainant and accused, the principal said that the teacher explained to him that she did not use the word "suspension" but warned strong action against creating problems in school. He said he would consider taking further action, including suspension or dismissal of nine accused pupils, if the parent produces a certificate from the doctor mentioning the names of the accused.

This is a serious matter; bullying in school, physical abuse - are all crimes that should never be tolerated. Strict action has to be taken against the bullies. If teachers and principals who have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for children to learn - failed in their duties - they should be punished and banned from working in schools.

He said he would consider taking further action, including suspension or dismissal of nine accused pupils, if the parent produces a certificate from the doctor mentioning the names of the accused.

How on earth can any doctor give a certificate mentioning the names of the accused? Would the bruises bear the names of the accused? This is not news reporting by Gulf News, this is something else.

Whether the principal said something so stupid and outrageous to Gulf News can only be verified from the 'audio recording' - if they have any.

French President's wife files for divorce

Before you rally up the troops to shoot me down for contributing an irrelevant post, hold your mighty horses and hear me out ...

Cecilia Sarkozy, French President's wife, is filing for divorce months only after her notorious and powerful husband has been elected by the French people. Whatever the reasons behind the move, what a formidable woman she is to shun the status of president's wife - that so many would covet no matter what!

My (irrelevant?) question is: how many Dubai-based chicks do you know who would dump a rich and famous guy if she either stops loving him (but was love ever part of the equation to start with..!) or if he lets her down (either does not live up to her values, cheats on her, whatever) as opposed to how many would put up with any shit he dishes out as long as he is the cash-cow who buys her armani handbags and cartier jewellery?

And what do you think of the materialistic mindset which is in overdrive mode in Dubai? Please no hypocrisy, go anonymous if you have to, but say the truth! Preferably though, do post in your blog name thanks :)

Irrelevant responses would include : (1) Delusional characters with a misplaced feeling of superioiry telling us how divorce does not happen in their part of the world, wherever that is, (2) indignant lil ladies claiming that Dubai is a holier-than-thou place where no one is materialistic. Just move on to the next post, thank you very much!

We all more or less have something to tell about the material mindset in our blogs (we're possibly one of those chicks ourselves, or amongst the guys who love the type!), let's drag the dirty linen in public and have a field day ha! ;)

Dubai on 60 Minutes

Dubai got covered on CBS' 60 minutes program. (Oct. 14th 07)
You can view some video excerpts here.

Rise in ticket prices :D

I didn't notice this until today. I finally managed to persuade my Mum to watch this movie (late I know, I know) and while one ticket gives the regular Dhs 30/- price, I just saw that the other one says Dhs 330/-

Most expensive movie ticket I've ever seen...

Smoking in Dubai

I am sure there is someone out there who can tell me what are the actual laws are now on smoking inside in Dubai because I am really confused. As I udnerstood it smoking in all malls is now banned and smoking in restaurants and / or bars (only in malls?) is restricted to those outlets with their own air-conditioning systems.

Is this correct? If so does anyone know why the Agency Wine Bar in Emirates Towers still allows smoking in their 'outside' area?

What are the laws of smoking in bars / restaurants not in malls?
What about hotels?

Does anyone know of what further amendments in the law are in the pipeline?

Answers on a postcard please.

Thanks!

CASH ONLY!

Seems like the bitch fighting petrol companies had with the credit card firms about charges levied on credit purchases has escalated. So they have decided to transfer all the costs involved in facilitating credit card purchases onto the customer. Initially credit card purchases incur a 1.6% levy.

But now the have decided to take it one step further:-

"Motorists will not be able to pay for a tank of petrol by credit card at most petrol stations from Saturday."


GREAT!

Women of Dubai

Mrs. Salma Hareb, CEO Jafza & Economic Zones World at award ceremony along with HE Sultan Bin Sulayem - Chairman of Dubai World and Mr. Ibrahim Janahi, EVP Sales.

The Executive Council Meeting at The Executive Office

Voting now open in Hayah Film Competition

You may be interested to know that voting for the People's Choice Award is now open in the Hayah Film Competition. Go to www.hayahfilm.com to cast your vote.

The Hayah Film Festival is presented by Abu Dhabi Women's College and EmiratesMac Apple User Group. It's a section within the Middle East International Film Festival.

You can go see movies in the main festival at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Tickets are free and available through the festival web site.

ATMs, Chaos, and my Granny

I don't like to write about current news and events. These things are important to know, but we cannot change most of the things we dislike in the near future. We have to accept them, work with them, raise our voices, and wait. But there are topics and issues that everyone reading this blog can deal with as an individual everyday. There are things we can do to improve life, with very little effort. And this Daily Volition can can cause a chain reaction if we do it right. Let's start with the situation involving: ATM Spackers.

A spacker is a spastic person, and in this case it is referring to a person who cannot manage to interface with an ATM- A machine designed for the lowest common user.

Everyday I notice people at ATMs. People act funny with their confidential cards and passwords. However, this city is full of people who cannot withdrawal money in under 60 seconds. I am not referring to those making deposits. I am talking about the people
who keep removing and reinserting their cards, miss typing their PIN numbers, and simply do not read the screen when it asks them questions.

If you cannot withdrawal money in 60 seconds or less, then you are an ATM Spacker, and you need to admit it. You need to start working on it because you are causing chaos on a city wide level. Let me explain how this happens and what you can do to fix it.

Scenario: ATM Spacker goes to the ATM and there are 3 people behind them. They waste 3 or 4 minutes on the only machine in a 5 minute drive. As time goes on the line grows to 6 people. The 5th person in line is late for another pointless meeting at a coffee shop 30 minutes away.

Fast-Forward.

The 5th person is now in their car and feeling late and frustrated. Not only that, they are filled with hate for the ATM Spacker. Visions or confrontation passing before them so fast they cannot visually process the road.

As they rush to their meeting with all this anger and anxiety they stop caring about road safety and manners. They justify all their actions off of this single event. And while they are driving this dark path, they stop paying attention to things like pedestrian crossings. Before you know it they slam into a shopping cart(trolley) being pushed by a little old lady and her housemaid.

Why? All because of the ATM Spacker. So ATM Spackers what can you do to prevent such events?

First, admit you have a problem. Second, go to some ATMs in places where there are not many people,or where there are many ATMs, and practice. And don't just go to your bank's ATM! Try out a few. Read. Learn. Evolve. Don't fall into a category of user that statistically has an IQ score of less than 50.

And if you are too old to care, make some one get money for you. My grandmother can't use ATMs or gas pumps at the self-serve(that means pumping your own gas). So she doesn't waste anyone's time. She just calls me when I am around to go do it for her. And if not me, then someone else she knows. She knows if she hits the road she will cause chaos.

I hope this has been helpful an insightful. The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. ATM Spackers, you know who you are.

D. Blogger

Al Faker?

As I admired my small collection of shisha flavours I noticed that the packaging was different between some of the products despite bearing the same name; both bear the same brand name ("Al Fakher") yet one uses the website http://www.alfakher.com and one uses the website http://www.alfakhir.com. The former company/website seems more legit to me and seems to be the company that launched a campaign against fake products by introducting security seals on it's products. Both compaies have different contact numbers yet have the same brand name.

Does anyone have any information on this?

Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak to all the UAE Community Blog readers in the UAE and worldwide.
Eid has been confirmed tomorrow 12 October 2007.
I'll leave you with some artwork from the USA postal authorities :)

The simple guide to dealing with unwanted SMSs

Every few days over the last month, I have been receiving unsolicited text messages about promotions - and other cryptic messages - which are getting rather annoying.

Here is an example (atrocious spelling included):
"Tomorrow!CLEARANCE, Top Fation of famous brands,Men?s Dress Formal casual, Lady?s Bags,Perfumer & Shoes" (etc.)

I braved the 101 call (helpline), and luckily had to endure no more than a one minute wait to get through.

So, for anyone who doesn't want to receive unsolicited text messages in future, here are, according to the 101 operator, the instructions on how to block incoming texts coming in from the same organisation:

Press "b / then a space / then type the name or code of the sender organisation / then 1011"

The interesting part is you have to send a text message (with the above instructions) to block the sender, meaning there is a cost of blocking spam, which is absorbed by you.

Incidentally, I also asked if it would be possible to block Etisalat's own promotional messages. "Yes", she said. I asked, "Are you sure?" 4 times, assuming she might have some information to add after the 5th time. After the 4th time, she added, "Listen, if you want to block Etisalat messages, you have to come to the Business Centre".

Thank you, Operator, for making me ask you a simple question 4 times before getting a full, comprehensive response.

Now, one should not only pay for the petrol to get down to whichever business centre this is, but presumably pass through Salik as well, to reach there - and take time out of one's schedule - all to block a message that comes from Etisalat themselves.

To round this all up, I would propose that a telecommunications company be able to deal with basic customer issues over modern technology, and that includes the telephone.

Is there a Rent Cap?

On the first day of 2007, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued a decree which gave some "hope" tenants paying exorbitant rents in Dubai.

"According to the new decree, rent allowance shall not exceed 7% of the annual rent charge of the property. This shall apply to all rent contracts that are to be renewed in 2007 on condition that no rent increment was made on that property in 2006. No rent allowance increment shall be made in 2007 on properties whose contract had already been signed in 2006, Article 2 of the new decree said."

Despite my landlord raising my rent in 2006 with the 7% rent cap supposedly in effect - this year my landlord has increased the rent this year by more than 12% to renew the contract for the flat I have been staying for more than 5 years.

When I raised this issue with the owner, he laughed and said "nothing is going to change - pay the rent or get out!."

I just wanted to know if I missed reading a "by-law" some where along the course of the year which nullifies Sheikh Mohammed's decree or should I just swallow the fact some decrees have no weight and pay another rent increase which would be funding his family skiing trip in all probability.

Can anyone on UAE Community please clarify the rules? Thank You!

This rent increase notice has really made my Eid fun!

Link: New Rent Cap Ruling - 1 Jan, 2007

Shocking Saudis!

Agence France Presse:

An advertising agency in Saudi Arabia plans to air public service commercials to promote kinder treatment of domestic helpers in a country where reports of abuse of foreign workers abound. The ads will air on Arab satellite television stations after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, expected to end on October 12, said Kaswara al-Khatib, founder and chief creative director of Full Stop Advertising.

[...] "We deal with helpers as if they are not humans and have no feelings," (quote from Kaswara al-Khatib, founder and chief creative director of Full Stop Advertising).

[...] Reports of exploitation ranging from the withholding of salaries and passports to physical assault and sexual abuse are increasingly appearing in the local press.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) charged in August that the beating to death of two Indonesian female workers by a Saudi family highlighted the "atmosphere of impunity fostered by government inaction" toward abusive employers.

In July 2004, HRW was accused by Riyadh of exaggerating the incidence of foreign labor abuse in Saudi Arabia after it released a report alleging that foreign workers were systematically exploited, some of them living in slave-like conditions.

Riyadh police teamed up with the Sri Lankan Embassy in September to rescue a Sri Lankan maid who had telephoned the Arab News newspaper to say she had been imprisoned, abused and unpaid by her woman employer for at least seven years. [...]

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I find it shocking and revolting that such practices happen in Saudi. Islam is not about covering your hair and acting prude or not speaking to ghair-mahram men while you starve your domestic help at home, it starts with treating your fellow human being with dignity, respect and mercy, especially when you are in a position of power over them!.

Indeed, as the ad campaign features, "He who has no mercy will not receive mercy,"(Hadeeth quote) Certainly in this case that's how it should be!