Why UAE?

Before anyone start exclaiming about how long I have been away, (or more probably start wondering who the hell I am and what ego allows me to assume that people will even miss me), let me say that I have missed you too, and honestly I have been up to no good.

Before indulging in that, more appropriately on my own blog where something like that belongs, I have a major question (actually two questions, but you answer one or the other, not both) to ask everyone here (and yes, there's a point and it will come):

a) As a professional expat, imagining that you are NOT already here, would you be now attracted to come into Dubai to look for employment? If you were in Dubai, would you now stay, or would you leave under certain circumstances?

b) As an investor/enterpreneur, would you now make an investment or open a business or project in Dubai? If you already invested in Dubai (property purchase doesn't count, investing in a business) or setup a business, would you stay, or are you now looking for a way to leave?

Really looking forward to some answers here, It'll help YOU more than me.

Good to speak to everyone again,

Dubai Warrior

"Emirates See Fiscal Crisis as Chance to Save Culture"

"“This is a blessing; we needed it,” Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a political science professor at United Arab Emirates University, said of the fiscal crisis. “The city needs to slow down and relax. It’s good for the identity of our country."

......

“I hear this complaint over and over, but what is the solution?” said Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, a businessman and writer. “What should I do, go to the street with a stick and chase people out? You have to be reasonable.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?pagewanted=1

I wonder, do all Emaratis feel this way?

burj dubai base jump video

248am.com has posted a video of the base jump by a Brtish man off the Burj Dubai which lead to him being fined.



Direct link to video: http://current.com/items/89546563/world_record_base_jump.htm

The Atlantis Party.

Several times more fire works than the Beijing summer Olympics.
One hotel staffer in jail for leaking guests' list to the press.
Shortage of Champagne supply in the world.
Police, civil defence and emergency services on alert.

It’s the grand launch of Atlantis hotel.

One would wonder who’s in his right mind would spend 30 million dollars in the midst of a global recession just to inaugurate a hotel?

Go figure.

Some guests (expected):

Robert De Niro
Michael Jordan
Oprah Winfrey
Janet Jackson
Lindsay Lohan
Kylie Minogue
Tom Cruise
Ben Afflek
Denzil Washington
Richard Branson

Multi-national Dubai police

Does anyone have an idea as to whether the 50% or so of the latest Dubai police academy graduates (see Gulf News story link below) who are NOT Emirati will be serving in Dubai? Or whether the Yemenis, Palestinians, Omanis and others are just getting the police training here, and then heading back home?

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Government/10260967.html

Dubai Nikolai

Dubai Clock Tower

Am I being weird or is my annoyance justified cause after seeing the new clock/s on Dubai clock tower I am not too happy. They replaced a clock that had Arabic numbers on it with a Roman numbered clock. Why couldn't they keep it Arabic??? Roman numbers are easier to read for most people (read: new expatriates) but I still feel Arabic was the way to go....though there is this hope that the Clock Tower will not be torn down/replaced any time soon like many other old things in Dubai (Omega has a three year contract with them)....

The OldThe replacement

Dumb question...?

Hi - dumb question time.

We Brits are currently feeling pretty smug at the collapse of the pound against the once useless US dollar and by extension the AED. Here is the dumb question,(I'm in AL Ain remember) well two of them - what is maintaining the dollar and what is to stop it, and the AED from heading south again?

GN or the National?

You decide,

Accused had no intention to kill victim
and, and... so, so... It just leaves you wondering.

Motorist who reversed over woman ‘only meant to scare her’
Thank you. Now I can go on to the next story.

I have to admit I was skeptical on hearing that a new national newspaper was coming out of Abu Dhabi when The National was announced at the start of 2008. Abu Dhabi is hardly known for being informative or transparent when it comes to reporting what happens. Remember the March FOG crashes? Separate from Ghantoot was another 80-car crash near Shahama. There was no news coverage!

I've heard the complaint, "The National articles are too long." I won't dispute that. They are long, and who has time--we're all busy with school, work, family, etc. But I much prefer the option of choosing to stop reading rather than being left hanging by incomplete reporting. If it is a really tantalizing story, then I have to waste more time searching the Internet for the rest of the story.

It isn't even just that The National goes more in depth. The articles are also much, much better written. Compare just the opening lines of the two articles linked to. The National very clearly sets the stage, while the GN starts out and continues with a series of teaser lines.

The big gamble

Because of the recent economic developments, we see a lot of questionable practices by banks coming to light. Maybe you came to know, that if you had a bank account in the USA (with an insured bank that is) - the maximum amount you could recover per account, in case that bank busted, is U$ 100000. Check this document.If you deposited more...well, that would be your loss.
In Europe, that amount is even substantially smaller in many countries.
Let's assume for the sake of it, that tomorrow a big bank in the UAE will run into major trouble because of the current credit crunch and maybe, just maybe, because they finance 100's of real estate projects that will most probably default. The bank may get subsidies from the government to save themselves- but what about the money of the account holder?
So obviously, the question is, what's the law on this in the UAE? Anybody knows?

Disappointing

1)
"Al Ain: The civic administration here has waved gardens and parks entry fee for women and children.

"The measure has been taken to persuade Emiratis and expatriate residents to experience the benefit of lush green parks in different areas of city," said an official of Al Ain Municipality.

"Al Ain, which is known as the Oasis city, has around 70 parks and gardens that are the attractive centres for picnics and outdoor parties for Emiratis, expatriates, and tourists from the neighbouring GCC countries. Many of the gardens are free for the public access, while some of them have the nominal entry fee of just Dh1. (...) "
link


(Outdoor parties in the park? haha!)

2)
"Dubai: A Gulf diplomat’s son is being questioned for the premeditated murder of a 20-year-old Emirati, Dubai Public Prosecution sources said on Wednesday.

The diplomat’s son was stabbed by the suspect, who is facing premeditated murder charges, the sources told Gulf News. (...)"
link

I was trying to comprehend article 2) but you can see the utter confusion due to the second paragraph!

Number 1) is just terrible English. I can't stand it when the word "the" is omitted when it shouldn't be, but this is the first time I am seeing it used where it shouldn't!

It seems standard of English in Dubai is having direct correlation with the driving.

Dubai And The Music Industry

I've been noticing that Dubai is becoming a hot spot for the music industry. Many famous artists from all around the world come here to perform whether it is exclusively for Dubai or making Dubai part of their tour destination.
Many Arab artists are even starting out in Dubai and are being promoted on the Radio.

Take Radio One (104.1) for example. They have a weekly session just to promote the local talents and that builds up to them becoming world famous.

This thought has crossed my mind and I just wanted to find out what others think about it. Do you think that Dubai is becoming a hot spot for the music industry? Will Dubai become like L.A in terms of people coming here to get their big break?

UAE Community blog on Twitter

I have set up a Twitter feed of UAE Community blog, so it's one more way to get alerted of new posts here.

Twitter users can just start following Twitter.com/uaecommunity:



You can also get Secret Dubai diary via Twitter.com/secretdubai

A research request...

Hi expats - Thailand's Masterpiece below posted a request on my humble Al Ain based blog. I think he or she may get a far more satisfying response from the broader community.

Cheers

DtP

Thailand's masterpiece said...

Hi
I am a student in the university in al ain. I will do a presentation about a multicultural UAE. I chose this topic because I want to make people here especially locals aware of the multicultural society they are living in and I want all of us to respect others more so that we can live here, in the UAE happier.

It would be great if you can give me some ideas to do this presentation. I also have some questions for you.
-What do you like about local people?
-What don’t you understand about them?
-Do you have any problems with people from different cultures that arise from language, cultural and religious differences?
-Do you have any funny situations created from the difference in cultures or languages?
Please mail me your answers to reefuns@hotmail.com
Thank you in advance

Anusorn 

Historic vote: Obama vs. McCain?

Do a quick poll in the last-minute run-up.

Who does your vote stand by?

Obama or McCain?

Facebook to be financed by Dubai?

According to this report, Facebook CFO Gideon Yu is in Dubai attempting to find more backers to fund the enterprise.

It seems that they have already burned through a large proportion of the US$500 million they have already raised.

Being funded by Dubai may not be a bad thing for U.A.E. Facebook users. The powers that be would find it difficult to justify banning a social network that has local connections, wouldn't they?

UPDATE: This article sheds light on Facebook's expenses and shows how easy it is to spend $500 million!