3rd pro-democracy activist detained by UAE authorities

"Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Three activists have been detained in the United Arab Emirates in the past three days, according to a fellow Emirati activist.

[...]

The third, Nasser bin Ghaith, an Emirati writer who also maintains a website, was detained Sunday, al-Mansoori said.
Officials in the UAE have not responded to persistent queries regarding the detention of Mansoor. CNN has recently queried officials about the other detentions.
Mansoor was part of a group of 133 nationals who petitioned the president on March 9 for direct elections. The group included academics, former government officials, journalists and activists."

--more here: CNN.com: 3 UAE activists detained since Friday

From the Dubai School of Government website...

"Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith is an Emirati financial analyst specializing in economic trading blocs. Since 2006, he has served as the legal advisor for the UAE Armed Forces/Directorate of General Purchasing, responsible for negotiating contracts with major global defense firms such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Northrop Grumman. He is currently a professor at the UAE Armed Forces Staff College, as well as a lecturer of International Economic Law at La Sorbonne, Abu Dhabi."

-- more here: Dubai School of Government: Nasser bin Ghaith on the Economics of Transparency

Thanks to John Chilton for the heads up


EDIT:

Some more information concerning the case of Ahmed Mansour (the first to be detained) via Kkalmarri on twitter (Google translated from Arabic)

"Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim: Details of the case of Ahmed Mansour found at the Office of the Attorney General in the emirate of Dubai FreeAhmedM # # uae # UAEeslaah
about an hour ago via Twittelator
The back of the right Yamtablin Dahi Khalfan Tamim: Ahmed Mansour was arrested at the request of the prosecution against the backdrop of the UAE criminal case FreeAhmedM # # uae
about a hour ago via Twittelator"

EDIT 2:

"DUBAI / / Blogger Ahmed Mansour has been arrested in connection with a criminal case, police confirmed today.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Dubai Police chief, said the arrest was made in the emirate based on a request from the UAE attorney general.

"We were asked by the Federal Public prosecution to arrest him in connection with a criminal case and the case has been referred to him," he said.

However, Lt Gen Tamim did not disclose the nature of the charge, saying the details of the case are with the UAE attorney general."

-- more here: The National: Dubai blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour arrested

UAE detains second pro-democracy activist

"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Authorities in the United Arab Emirates detained a second pro-democracy advocate just two days after they took a leading reformist blogger into custody, a prominent lawyer and political activist said Sunday.
Fahad Salem al-Shehhy was detained late Saturday in Ajman, an emirate north of Dubai, after participating in an online forum calling for democratic reforms in the UAE, said Mohammed al-Mansouri, an activist.
The United Arab Emirates is an alliance of seven sheikdoms run by ruling families where political activity is severely restricted.
The forum had been run by Ahmed Mansour, a blogger and human rights activist, who himself was arrested on Friday in Dubai after he signed a petition in favor of an elected parliament.
Police and government officials have not responded to calls for comment."

--more here: Yahoo! News: UAE detains second pro-democracy activist

Activist Detained in the UAE

Ahmed Mansoor, a man who signed the petition to the UAE government asking for universal suffrage has reportedly been detained...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Authorities in the United Arab Emirates detained a blogger and rights activist who had said he’s gotten death threats for calling for political freedoms and an elected parliament in the Gulf nation.

Ahmed Mansour was detained Friday at his home in Dubai, his wife and a colleague told The Associated Press. Mansour’s wife, Nadia, said 10 policemen — some wearing civilian clothes — searched their house for three hours before taking her husband into custody and seizing two laptops and several documents.

“They were calm and polite, but they did not allow me to speak to my husband while they were in the house,” she said. A female officer was guarding her while others searched the house and questioned her husband. They refused to tell her where they were taking him, she said.

--more here: Washington Post: UAE detains Dubai democracy activist, blogger who called for elected parliament in Gulf nation

According to the Financial Times, Ahmed's Employer, Thuraya/Etisalat tried to double his salary and send him off to Pakistan...

"Last week, Mr Mansoor received death threats on social media sites. He was asked by his state-backed employer this week to leave the UAE and take up a position in Pakistan.

State-owned Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) requested that Mr Mansoor, who works for the satellite telecoms company Thuraya, should move to Etisalat’s Pakistan office as soon as possible.

“Thuraya have asked me to move to Pakistan on a salary worth twice as much as my current package. But I have rejected this request, as I am an employee of Thuraya, and there is no need for me to go there,” he said before his arrest.

“It’s definitely aimed to remove me from the country, and if I don’t accept I will fear I will be fired.”"

-- more here: FT.com: UAE activist detained after death threats




From Ahmed's Blog:

"The security guard of my building came to my apartment at 3:50 am few minutes ago. I could tell immediately that there is something wrong. i reluctantly opened and asked him what? he said there are three policemen waiting for you in the main entrance, i told him are you sure they are policemen? he said yes. they told me to tell to go and see them down, i told him what they need? he said they say something related to the car. i told him then send them up to my apartment. closed the door and called Dubai police immediately, and i told him the story that i was told by the guard, and i told them that i have been receiving death threats and that i can not go down like this. they told me you are right and we will send some one to check, stay home. after minutes somebody from Dubai police called me from his mobile and asked me guide him to the place, i did, he told me i will call you back.
he called me back after minutes telling that they are suspecting your car and would like to take it. i told him if they want to take the car they can do that in the morning, not 2:50 am. or they are the State Security making their old trick i further said. he said now will you come down or not? i told him if they want the car they can take it, he said what about your belongings, i said there is nothing valuable there, they can take it.
this method is well known method of the State Security because they do not have an arrest warrant, they make such tricks to bring you down and take you. i'm ready to go, but they should either do it the right way or by force.
I refused to go down from my apartment and started writing this email. not sure if they took the car or not, i will not soon know. the scenario is that if they take it, they can put whatever they like inside and make a case against me. i'm declaring here that my car is clean of unlawful material, it has a swiss style knife that put there today after receiving 6 death threats and some papers of no great importance.

Regards,
Ahmed Mansoor"

--more here: جاؤوا لاعتقالي اليوم الساعة 3:50 صباحاً They came to take me in at 3:30 am today :مواطن إماراتي مغلوب على أمره


(links found via dr_davidson on twitter)

U.S. warns UAE for being just a bit too full of itself

The Chicago Dope has posted a pretty funny satire piece on its site;

"The United States issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for what it called “provocative self-confidence”.

According to the U.S. State Department, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, left unscathed by recent turmoil in the Middle East, “is looking a little too comfortable given the state of the world.” The UAE has been recently designated by the U.S. State Department as a “pompously rogue nation”, refusing to succumb to instability like the rest of the region and is accused of inciting feelings of inferiority among its neighbors.

Both the United States and the United Nations have each condemned the UAE’s excessive use of political calm along with its defiant flaunting of economic strength and high per capita income.

...
On Wednesday, Emirati Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum further increased regional tensions by announcing a $1.5 billion investment in electricity and water infrastructure projects in the underdeveloped areas of the northern emirates. This prompted the administration to again respond with strong condemnation.

“This type of provocation is not productive and only leads to heightened levels of envy and resentment in the Persian Gulf region,” Carney said.

According to the White House, the United States is considering seeking a UN resolution designed to point out the many faults and lingering insecurities that the UAE likely has, but won’t admit to, internationally.

-- more here: The Chicago Dope: U.S. warns UAE for being just a bit too full of itself

Make sure to check out the comments section where more than a few people from the UAE have failed to understand that the piece is satire.

Here are some choice comments:

"LOOL.. US never fails to LOL me.. but this time its beyond red line..

i don’t know about the newspaper that spread this out.. but i believe that an apology is required to UAE for all this shit.."

"I searched the white house website and googled the hell out of Clinton and Jay Carney and did not find the statements published above! except in this website.

I doubt that Clinton and the white house will issue such stupid statements. The last statement on the white house website was thanking the UAE for its help in Libya.

Well.. if it is true.. then it is apparent that US is the one who envies the UAE. Or they want something from the UAE and they want to apply pressure on it using such statements.

It is bizarre and the double standards from US are true. If the UAE is starving its people the US will condemn it…. If the UAE is spending money on infrastructure and people are wealthy US will also condemn!!!!! "

"What seems to be the problem here? Is it that the UAE is still able to invest in infrastructure? (btw, not that we need to justify it, it was a MUST to invest in electricity and water infrastructure projects in the northern emirates, it wasn’t a luxurious plan.

Or is it that other countries in the region are having major problems? or that life in UAE is calm and both locals and expats working here are happy?

...

Btw, I won’t send the link to any of my friends, i don’t believe in FREE advertising :p

"Fuck off usa"

"I find it beyond ridiculous that you , U.S , stick your butts into other countries’ business !! You have a WHOLE NATION who is CORRUPTED in ALL sorts of way that need your ” Consideration”. You desperate interference only make us realize how fortunate of a country/citizens we are !

P.S , a piece of advice , get your facts right !!!"

"The only country that is full itself is america,, so what if we spend 1.5 billion on infrastructure projects???
The UAE is a small country but it gives to charity every year more than the US ever will..
Who died and made america the leader of the world??
They seem to stick theire nose in everything"

There is a thread on a certain UAE forum that seems to point at the website as factual too as well as a post on banatzayed.com with even more absurd comments

A Week by the Lake

I had lunch al fresco today, and for the first time this year, the air was marginally on the wrong side of comfortable. It may be one of the last outdoor lunches I get before its too hot.

Yes, that's right, summer is on the way. Most would think that Dubai residents would regard the approaching summer with almighty dread - the Armageddon skies, melting roads, boiling temperaments - it's not for the faint-hearted, especially for those without the blessing of air-conditioning, for whom the summer can often mean illness and/or death. The body is simply not built to live 24/7 at 48º C. But for the fortunate few, Summer in Dubai actually means Summer out of Dubai. We look forward to it, because it means an extended holiday on the continent dahlings.

For an Australian, it is actually more expensive to go home than it is to fly to Western Europe and rent a house for a few weeks, and for the last few years, that's exactly what we've done. I've just booked this year's jaunt and I'm thoroughly in the mood, so prepare yourself for a series of French and Italian travel posts "a la Sarah"

Let's see if you can guess where I'm talking about - read more here...

Earth, what?

I think it all started with Al Gore, the savior of the environment.

Did Al Gore forget to turn his lights out during Earth Hour?

Did you guys know that yesterday evening 8:30 to 9:30 PM marked that 'hip' thing called 'Earth Hour'? It has been, I believe, a total of 3 Earth Hour years for our family for every year that we have been here. And boy oh boy, the hype keeps on increasing about shutting-off-shutting-down for an hour supposedly to conserve our depleting resources.

Say what?

I say whoever coined this term needs a kick up their -- ya' all know what I mean here -- for it is THE most absurd of all theories for preserving/conserving our natural resources. Shutting down for an hour every year just for the sake of shutting down to prove oneself hip and attuned to world affairs is also not the right way to do it. And the way the people here publicized this whole gig while having horse races and rich parties on borrowed credit. Ah well, I guess that's hip.

How about whichever entity that coined this term makes a greater effort in educating everybody if they seriously considered the 'depletion of our resources' theory credible to mankind's existence on this planet. But, looking at this whole thing 'out of the box', I would say those same individuals have a vested interest in an alternative form of energy, the final price of which to ordinary citizens is still being worked out, as we speak, debate, and watch from the sidelines.

Judging by the way this whole scenario is unfolding, I would say we all better be prepared for a 2, 3, or 4-fold increase in our utility bills in the near future.

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed." — Mahatma Gandhi

P.S.: One of the reasons I admire Sheikh Zayed was for making Al-Ain greener than the rest. I doubt if his children would ever catch-up, match-up, whatever.

Sheilas in shelas and impressions on oppression

Australian Sheila in dress-ups

In Australia, "Sheila" is a term for a woman. It's fairly archaic now - generally only used by rusty old bogans (tasteless morons) from the outback (countryside), and rarely comes without the obligatory sexist smack on the bottom and a demand for a "frosty one from the icebox" (beer from the fridge). In the Middle East, a sheila is a head covering, pronounced with an "ay" vowel sound rather than "ee", and also spelled shaila, shela and shayla. You will see plenty of "Sheelas" in Australia, but "shaylas" are few and far between.

In countries like Australia, France and the USA, any dress that covers more than what they deem “normal” is seen by some as a form of cruelty or domination. The first thing most Australians would think upon seeing a woman in traditional Arabic dress is "she's from a different world", followed by "that poor thing, her husband/father makes her dress like that" and "she must have a terrible life." And it's little surprise. Australia's Muslim minority only takes up about 1.5% of the total population, and many have assimilated to the point where conservative dress has been abandoned. The only time we see any traditional arabic dress is on TV, when we see Iraqi women wailing with grief over their son's bloodied bodies, or rows of Taliban-governed Afghan women in blue burqas with only a gauze for vision. Of course we associate it with misery and oppression.

Read more here

More Art....

From the Economist....

THE citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) do not enjoy a vote but they relish a bit of artistic agitation. Earlier this month, Art Dubai, a fair, coincided with the preview of a sprawling group show, the Sharjah Biennial. In the lush ballrooms of Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah hotel, around 80 galleries from more than 30 countries exhibited their wares. A half-hour drive north, in the bookish, alcohol-free emirate of Sharjah, three curators had installed the work of artists from 36 nations in a range of ruins and cultural heritage buildings as part of a show called “Plot for a Biennial”. For a short while the two emirates were the hub of the contemporary art world.......


Rest of trhe article is here:

Foment of the moment

Even at art fairs democracy is hard to sweep under the carpet





http://www.economist.com/node/18438073?story_id=18438073&fsrc=rss

Interesting Documentary / Interview (Aqeel The VHS Collector)

I stumbled upon an interesting documentary titled "Aqeel the VHS Collector"; you can read a little about the background of the video here. Well worth a watch.

Aqeel The VHS Collector from Moath on Vimeo.

Saadiyat in a limbo

'More than 130 artists have said they will boycott the Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi over what they say is exploitation of foreign workers, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.'

(click on image for full article)

This pertains to Saadiyat Island and their spin-off projects of borrowed culture & art.

I wonder if this boycott threat would make any difference?

Would it prompt the concerned bigwigs to speed-up corrective measures enabling this artificial island to be up & running at the earliest?

The Farmer's Market - Souk al Bahar

It's Friday morning. I've been in Dubai long enough now that I don't accidentally call it Saturday any more. To my right is the aroma of fresh cut herbs and earthy vine ripened tomatoes. To my right, the alluring nutty aroma of artisinal bread. I can't stop myself from running my fingertips across the tops of outstanding and upstanding chives - a welcome change to the droopy, supermarket-refrigerated version. And I am staring at the Holy Grail. The highly sought after and seldom found, local free range egg. It's hard not to break into song.


I'm at the "farmers market", a weekly affair organized by and held next to Baker and Spice at Souk al Bahar. It's small - only a few stalls - a far cry from the whole-oval affair at the St Kilda Peanut Farm back in Melbourne. The buskers, the chai brewer and the gourmet hotdog man are missing - but it is, nonetheless, an excellent attempt to help Dubians to understand the possibilities of the region, and give them the ability to purchase food that has a carbon footprint smaller than the shadow of a blue whale.

Read more...

Etisalat Efficiency

I'm sure everyone here has ventured to Mall of the Emirates and seen the 50 meter deep queues at Etisalat's outlet.

The majority of these are people paying bills. Bills that could be paid on an electronic kiosk or through an ATM or through the internet. Does Etisalat think to provide electronic kiosks to cut down the queues? No.

Even for a simple transaction like cancelling a 49 AED / month service Etisalat offers no method of achieving this this via the internet or phone; they insist customers drive to an Etisalat office or outlet.

The best question of all... Is why Etisalat has an outlet immediately outside Virgin Megastores and another one immediately inside Virgin Megastores. They both have practically the same amount of staff, are about the same size, and are both just about as useful (i.e. not useful) as one another.

It's a great feeling walking past the 50 meter queue outside to the 10 meter queue inside. I'm not even exaggerating, I've been doing this since they opened this outlet and it works every time. I save countless hours every time I do this, having said this I still waste 30 minutes waiting for the inside counter to be able to serve 3 customers.

Of course, no one should be surprised by this high level of efficiency coming from a company that couldn't notice someone pinching their pockets for two entire years.

Economic implications from natural disasters

In continuation with my earlier write-up, Fareed Zakaria over at CNN has written an interesting article about the recent earthquake in Japan and its impact on their economy.

Although he commends the Japanese along the following lines:

-- (their) precautions and preparedness.
-- (their) safety codes and drills.
-- (their) advanced safety measures at nuclear plants.

But it appears from his writing that the Japanese had not prepared themselves from an economic disaster despite knowing the fact that their country being on a fault line was prone to natural disasters. This disaster came in the form of a tidal wave of economic downturn last Friday with the numbers continuing to rise on the final invoice.

In endorsing Mr. Zakaria's essay, I am of the opinion that countries should work on having a back-up (in place of ridiculous structures & other absurdities) plan to deal with disasters of such magnitude whether they are man-made or natural to avoid being a burden on others.

I seriously believe there's a lesson to be learnt from the Japanese disaster, which if seriously considered and put to use would help us all in the long run.

New scam in town

Guess what?

After the inheritance emails, there's a new scam in town.

A couple of co-workers are getting emails supposedly from the US State Department informing them that they've been selected for the United States Permanent Resident Card. Funny thing is, they never applied for this card in the first place. Go figure.

Below are snapshots of the email they've received from scammers who inform them that there's a processing fee of 880 $ and that it should be transferred to an agent in England through Western Union.

First, that itself raises a caution flag, as State or any other US Government department would never ask for a wire transfer via Western Union let alone appoint an agent on their behalf, as this scammer claims in the email.

Second, US Government Departments use the USPS (US Postal Services) for communicating with individuals.

In case any member or reader has received such emails, treat them as scam and use Google to report this violation/violator to the proper authorities.

Consider yourselves warned.

Nuclear meltdown risk in UAE

I've been constantly following the nuclear plant explosion in Japan post yesterday's earthquake and it brings to mind stories my parents used to tell us about the Three Mile Island episode from back home. It appears no radiation leaked from that site but there were many cases of thyroid cancer amongst other serious ailments.

Considering the UAE is finalizing a deal to build nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes and especially since it is situated on a fault line, I get the jitters about all after affects post explosion, meltdown etc. in case the earth moves at the magnitude (8.9 on the Richter) similar to the current Japanese earthquake.

Will the authorities reevaluate their decision considering the Japanese predicament?