Instant Justice

I want to share an incident I saw today morning. One of my neighbors deflated tyres of the two cars which were parked in front of his house. I think he was kind enough to only show kindness to only one tyre. Why he did that? Because he has reserved four parking spaces for himself in front of his house gate although most of the times he parks his car inside & interestingly he only own a single vehicle.

I would like to point out the fact that only a couple of years ago you could park the car in any angle you want in our neighborhood but now many people who don't have the luxury of indoor parking struggle to find a vacant space.

Why I am posting this here? To highlight the fact that as the population of Dubai is growing, have you noticed any change in the attitude of people towards others? At least I have noticed that people have become more selfish, they lose tempers easily & hearts have become harder unlike before. Is this a price all "developed" countries also had to pay on their path towards economic "growth"?

Was he justified in his action? What would have been your action if you were in the place of the person who deflated the tyres, since I have explained the situation in the above paragraph. And how would you have felt if early in the morning on your way to work, if you were greeted by a deflated tyre?

blogger access problems?

Are any users located in freezones having difficult accessing blogger? (i.e. blogger not loading at all?)

EDIT: It may be that all Du/freezone internet users are unable to access blogger (ever since the secretdubai block); still waiting on more information, but have 3 users confirming a blank screen when trying to access blogspot/blogger.com

HELP REQUIRED

Can anyone tell me if they've travelled the road between Nizwa & Salalah, Oman? If so, can you remember if there were any petrol stations along the way? There's a big distance between Adam & the next town - Hayma - and from the map, there doesn't appear to be any filling stations in between in between!

Any help will be most appreciated.

The Fifth Bridge Has Been Named

The new bridge has been named Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Crossing.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_and_Transport/10197660.html

There were some speculations about the name in one of the earlier posts in this blog.

EUR / USD 1.55

I haven't read anything worth linking to lately on depegging. What do you guys think, is this still going to happen or should I start looking for a job elsewhere? Any information, anyone?

Carnage Q

Is it just me (and Mars) - or anyone else think those cars in flames given the carnage on the 11th (see pictures on post below) quite puzzling? Am confused how several vehicles, caught fire? It seems they were up in flames on impact or something? The flames seem to be on the cars, and not spread across the highway - which should be the case perhaps given leaking petrol?

Am I missing something? Thoughts appreciated.

Interesting links of the day

Marketplace has two interesting features on Dubai;
The first: "For every Indian or Pakistani who decides to leave Dubai, for every Bangladeshi who figures their opportunites will be better at home, there are dozens or hundreds of others who'll gladly replace them. Scott Tong met one of them in Manila."

The second: "Falcons hold a special place in the United Arab Emirates, so it's probably no surprise that they have a hospital especially for their care. Kai Ryssdal has more."
(Unfortunately the video featured in the falconry piece has been declared against the moral, social and cultural values of the UAE)

They also have a number of other interesting features on the UAE in their archives

In other news, apparently someone in the UAE has found a spare 2 million pounds to get a private dance from Britney Spears

Dubai Arch Bridge meets with approval

Take a look at this graphic. It's New York Magazine's "Approval Matrix". Dubai's arch bridge ranks very high in brilliance and high brow-ness.

'Arabic has been confirmed as the official language of UAE federal authorities'

So much for Arabic being the official language if they can't spell the country's capital right. When will the Emaratis say 'enough!'!!


This photo was sent to me by email today……… heads should roll.... people need to respect the country and the language.... No more La Hoya Bays and No more westren names.... Arabic names for projects in an Arab country.... these are baiscs... Sign boards even for shops should be frist approved as many are misspelled in Arabic before being displayed to the public.

Taking the bus

My car has been in the shop for a week. During that time, I have been getting a ride with one of my co-workers from Dubi Internet City all the way back to the Burjuman area. Last Thursday, he had other plans, so I thought I would just take a taxi. After 40 minutes of waiting, I decided to take the bus. I figured, they got new buses now, preparing for the Metro.. why not?

So, I walked over to the bus stop, saw the first bus, hopped in. Okay, squeezed in. I have to admit that I drive a fully loaded BMW 530, which would make me a lot more susceptible to discomfort. However, this experience is far worse than I had expected.

The A/C was not on. The bus quickly filled up to its maximum (people standing without seats). I started sweating, so I quickly took off my jacket and loosened my tie. Yes, I was an odd-ball in the bus. Then the stink started sinking in. Even if the passengers wouldn't have normally had such strong body odors, the lack of air circulation and cool air would have induced it anyway.

The seats are terribly uncomfortable. My ass was numb within 10 minutes. It could be that I have been spoiled with my leather seats, but I do consider myself a practical man.. I saw the bus is a mode of transport. I was willing to be inconvenienced.

The windows are tinted, thanks to the advertisements on the bus, so I can hardly tell where we are. I didn't get off until the bus reached the central station. I got out, lit up a cigarette.. breathed the fresh air (the weather was spectacular that day).. and hailed the first taxi I saw.

If I could go back in time, would I have waited longer for a taxi or taken the bus? I would have taken the bus. Would I take the bus again, knowing these conditions? Not likely. I really hope that this is not how it's going to be when the Metro arrives. I want to use public transportation. I am tired of driving. RTA, quit your self-congratulatory bull, and increase the buses so we are not packed like sardines. Fix the A/C's in your buses (ironically, that is why my car was in the shop!).

no more salivation

"DUBAI, 11 March 2008 — Authorities in Dubai have launched a major cleanliness campaign that, among other measures, imposes fines of up to 500 dirhams for spitting in public places or littering.

As part of emirate-wide efforts to make the streets and countryside cleaner, authorities have begun a campaign to raise awareness of recent changes to municipal laws, which includes a fine of up to 10,000 dirhams for septic truck drivers who dump wastewater illegally. Truck drivers found dumping other trash anywhere besides in designated waste-disposal areas could face fines of up to 50,000 dirhams. Vehicles used to dump waste could also be impounded and the owners of the vehicles could face losing their business licenses."

more here

Continuing Medical Education in UAE – Fraud Alert

Please be aware and make your employees aware of dramatic increase in illegal CME Accreditations flipping throughout the Arabic Gulf countries. The scam involves hospitals and medical establishments posing as “International CME Accreditations” – offering purchase Seal of Accreditation from USA. The scam is most prevalent in new hospitals and high-end medical establishments, particularly in UAE and Saudi Arabia by American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME).

Read More...

11 March Melee

Not to tout my own horn, but I've posted a narrative of the tragic events on the highway today--particularly the Al Rabha incidents. It's not suitable to post on the community blog, but some readers may like to read this narrative account.

CARNAGE

Hot off the email - photos of the carnage this morning.

NPR's Marketplace comes to Dubai

Marketplace, a business/economics program of the U.S. National Public Radio is in Dubai this week. Here are some of the programs it's done already:

Environmental costs of spinning sand into gold
The real Emiratis
Americans in Dubai
The dream of Dubai
It all began along a creek in the desert
Book club's ex-pats tell Dubai story

Besides audio, some of the stories have transcripts. There's also some video episodes and still images.

It's part of a larger series Marketplace is doing called The Middle East @ Work. More stories from Dubai are to come.

Cairo also figures prominently from earlier in the series.