Benazir Bhutto 1953 - 2007

Benazir Bhutto was murdered today. Whether you liked her or hated her I wanted to publish a few words to remember her and to detest the cowardly act of murder.

No human has the right to decide when another human is to die.

May she be remembered for her good deeds.

Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji3oon

Are you 'Superior'?

As you may or may not know, Etisalat has come out with a 4mbps internet package. It is priced at the non-bargain price of 449 AED / month and is titled as the 'Superior User' package.

All previous packages are still priced the same.

(I read about it first on tbreak.com but their site is down so no link)

Extreme Inspiration - Adrian Hayes

I think a lot of you guys will be aware of this, however I really wanted to bring it to the fore again.

Right now, today, there is a team of people walking / skiing unaided to the South Pole. That's a huge task - less than 100 people have done this ever. One of the members of the team is Adrian Hayes. He's also walked to the North Pole and climbed Everest.

If they make it to the South Pole, sometime in the next 7 to 8 days (we hope) - he will be one of only 15 people ever to have managed to do the 3 (North, South and Everest) Poles.

Adrian lives in Dubai.

They are going through a tough time out there - you can send messages of support through their website.

I don't know Adrian, HalfManHalfBeer mentioned him at some point, but I've become obsessed with hoping they make it to the Pole. As he's a Dubai resident - hopefuly this community can help cheer them on....

Adrian Hayes

Some pics

Thought of adding some of my photography to this blog. I haven't put an update in a long day.
Eid Mubarak to every1, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Burj Dubai District, Dubai

Koh Samui, Thailand.

Comments always appreciated...
http://blog.basilkhleif.com

50 Cent, Watch Yourself at the Airport

This post might come off as prejudicial, but I'm just hoping we don't have to read about another Western celebrity of dubious repute being accosted at the Dubai airport. I don't have a bleeding heart for these brat celebrities, but these zero tolerance drug policies are just way off the mark. There are much more serious things which really impact the lives of innocent people here, that ought to be prosecuted much more seriously than they are--like labor abuse issues, sex abuse crimes, road rage, etc. It's just plain stupid that they round up people at the airport for having microscopic traces of chemical substances either on or in their person. Those who promote such arrests may think they are upholding the highest standards of decency but they are just being hypocrites and going after easy targets. What about tackling the real crime and issues that take place on the home turf?

So, please be careful 50 Cent!

Eid Greetings to UAE Community

Eid greetings, prayers and best wishes to all UAE bloggers, readers and moderators of UAE Community.

Here's looking forward to another year full of excitement and achievement for all...



(Source: Advertising Marketing and Creativity in the UAE)

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Life In The Emirates

Just cross-posting about this wonderful classic song about the UAE by The Establishment, so as many people as possible get to enjoy it. The YouTube video is a quick slideshow I created to go with it:

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak to all readers!

Here's a funny video which may be the UAE's first example of viral media (except for that video where the wafi didn't get robbed)...

Housemaid abuse

Abuse your housemaid in the US and :-

"A wealthy US couple have been convicted of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves.... could face up to 40 years in prison."

Abuse your housemaid "Abu Gharaib" style in Dubai and:-

"...... spend three years in jail for torturing a 21-year-old housemaid using Abu Ghraib-style prison torture tactics."

enshallah...

...enters the American lexicon via the U.S. military.

When I hear someone in Dubai say enshallah to a request, the response often is no enshallah.

And when someone says "after tomorrow" what do they mean?

WSJ: Dubai's Debt Cloud

Friday the Wall Street Journal ran an article about market concerns over the level of sovereign in Dubai. An ungated copy of the article is here. Among other things the article points out that big investors want more transparency such as access to Dubai government's books.

The UAE student blog Broadcasters of Tomorrow astutely observes: "In the end, if Dubai gets into financial trouble it would take its neighbours with it. Or perhaps they're counting on a regional bailout."

Similarly, for the Emirates Economist (shameless plug) the money quote from the WSJ article is this one: "The assumption is that Sheikh Mohammed or his government will come to the rescue in a pinch. And if Dubai gets overextended, analysts expect the emirate's much-richer cousins in Abu Dhabi will lend a hand."

With that attitude you've got the same element that fueled the savings and loan real estate scandals in the US in the 1980s - removal of downside risk.

So what do you think? Would Abu Dhabi do a bailout? Are Dubai's investors counting on it? And if so, what can Abu Dhabi do about it now?

UPDATE - Marginal Revolution links here and writes "sell short."

Farrukh Ahmed's Blog

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D1 flood

"The construction site of Dubai’s luxury residential tower D1 flooded this week after a sea wall collapsed.

The construction is located in Dubai’s Creek cultural and artistic district, built directly at the waterfront.

An eyewitness said: “Looking at the crane it seems as though the site is about 30 feet under water”.

It is believed that nobody was hurt.

A similar incident took place in February this year when the site of the Infinity Tower in Dubai’s Marina was inundated. A burst wall was also cause of the incident then. Consequently, the project had to be put on hold.

The D1 Tower, designed by Holford & Associates, is a twin tower to the world’s tallest residential tower, Q1, in Australia."

More HERE

Environmental issues

I had the most interesting call the other day at work.
Hello
Yes?
I am calling from XXX (can't even remember the name) magazine and we are publishing a special publication on environmental issues and were wondering whether you would be interested in receiving this publication?
Sure
Are there any Brits in your organisation?
No.
Any Australians, South Africans?
Nope - its a small organisation. Just me and a minion.
Would you like to receive the publication?
Of course.
Really? (he sounded so surprised - that I almost laughed out loud and felt the need to explain myself - don't know why)

What did he think- only Brits, Ozzies and South Africans understand environmental issues? Sounds like he had a very sheltered upbringing or was badly informed or... I dare not even speculate.

In his defense, once I had explained my association with environmental issues especially on a personal level, he was a bit embarrassed. But I bet I don't get that copy of the new publication. My name is wrong and so is my nationality, apparently!

Two men jailed for kidnap and rape of 15-year-old French boy

"Dubai: Two Emiratis were on Wednesday sentenced to 15 years in jail for kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old French boy.

The Dubai Court of First Instance handed down the verdict and referred the victim’s compensation claim of Dh15 million to a civil court.

The Public Prosecution had charged three UAE Nationals ­- a 35-year-old Aids patient, his 18-year-old unemployed compatriot and a 17-year-old teenager (prosecuted at Juvenile Court) - with deceiving and kidnapping the 15-year-old boy and his 16-year-old compatriot, who was kept inside the car.

The three were charged with forcefully undressing the 15-year-old boy, threatening him with a knife, before raping him.

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