What Does It Feel Like to Fly Over Planet Earth?

Is anybody here fascinated by what's out there? Well, now's your chance to experience it in this slightly 1 minute Youtube video.

Enjoy the trip.

A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, El Salvador, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line), a satellite (55sec) and the stars of our galaxy.

For more images and videos please visit Infinity Imagined.

Apple!!

They're here! At last... as of today. Still can't believe it!

Rains and Storms of UAE 10/9/2011

Greetings,

Yesterday we had a heavy rain in alain and here is some pictures of the rain and storm we had

Enjoy the pictures

http://someone1986.blogspot.com/2011/09/rains-and-storms-of-uae-1092011.html

Alert! SMS alert

"SMS [this code] to [this number]", they say. What they don't often say is how much that SMS is going to cost.

One of my friends has recently discovered a potentially rather expensive yet legal scam in the UAE. Quoting him:

"...take care with those 'Stop receiving SMS by texting (a 4 digit number)' messages - Etisalat will charge you up to 30dhs for the privilege! Most orchestrated by a 'ghost' company in DIC (Cellhub Ltd) whose number doesn't work and whose web presence is empty - the word 'collusion' comes to mind...

and

"...and to find out who owns any of these mysterious 4 digit numbers you have to call another Etisalat number - charged at 3dhs a minute - they'll initially hang straight up (to bank 3dhs) and if you're daft (or annoyed) enough to call back, they'll keep you on for an average of 8 mins (yes, tried it!) and then tell you they can't help and you should call 101 (the guys who told you to call them originally!) - geez - and all this is legal!"

I've not been able to verify the above claims independently, but please beware.

All services offering SMS communications that cost the user a premium (radio stations, advertisers, etc) should be required to state every time precisely how much the message is going to cost.

]}:-{>

Human bondage disguised as freedom of opportunity - The National

Human bondage disguised as freedom of opportunity - The National

Some Critical and indepth analysis by Maryam Ismail

UN Report on the Mavi Marmara Out Tomorrow

BuJ posted about this when it happened (and no post since then has gotten as many comments as that post), and now, more than a year later, the UN is releasing its official report on the incident. The whole report can be found here at the New York Times, and a summary story here from the same source.

Among the findings:

• "Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is both legal and appropriate" and "in keeping with international law and that its forces have the right to stop Gaza-bound ships in international waters"


• "The way Israeli forces boarded the vessels ... was excessive and unreasonable."


• "When Israeli commandos boarded the main ship, they faced “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers” and were therefore required to use force for their own protection"


• Recommends that "Israel make 'an appropriate statement of regret' and pay compensation"

(All quotes from NYT article, not UN report).

As I noted, there were a lot of very strong opinions about the legality of the interception and blockade at that time. Just curious if this info changes anyone's mind.

Double standards

To all those celebrating, here's you all a Happy Eid Al Fitr.

An interesting article appeared in today's Gulf News, which in turn prompted me to write this post after a hiatus.

29 days of stringent (Bravo! to all those I say that endured the daily 15 hours) fasting has just ended and the GCC Authorities have already published a number amounting to $5.8 Billion in terms of loss of revenue to their GDP. This loss was attributed to reduced working hours.

Wow!

Religion and Money do bond after all.

I suppose that loss would have prompted the Government to declare a 2-day holiday for the UAE's Private Sector making everyone go back to work on Thursday while the Public Sector bigwigs get to party 9-days (2 weekends included) straight-up.

What about the loss of incoming revenue due to 5 days of no-work hours at the Public Sector? Has this been considered or its just that sector continues to reap all benefits at someone else' expense?

The GCC's two-faced policies have never surprised me. After all, that's what walking a thin rope and juggling is all about. One tilt sideways and the show's over.

And on that note, I wish one and all Happy Holidays.

Top of the Burj Khalifa - the very top

This is worth sharing as it's not an image, nor an opportunity, that most would get - or have the nerve to get.

Alisdair Miller climbed to the top of the Burj Khalifa lightning rod, and when he got there, he had the presence of mind to let go with one hand, pull out his camera, and photograph this:

At the top by Alisdair Miller As they say in Spain, the man has muy grandes cojones!  Click on the image or the link at the bottom of the image as that will take you to a larger, much sharper image.

Clandestine Croissant, Anyone?

I'll be honest. This fairly trivial post is occasioned in part by the desire not to see ten weeks' blog silence extend to a full quarter. That would almost feel like a final lurch from moribund to just plain dead. Do we, as a community, really have so little to say?
Anyway, here's your starter for ten: what harm would it do to allow food outlets to remain open during Ramadan? Take for example Le Dôme cafe in BurJuman Centre. They are open for delivery or take-away service only. Where is the sense in that? Someone might just buy half a pound of mince and a packet of lentils from a corner shop to cook after sundown, but a grilled cheese croissant and a café latté?? It's hardly likely that's going into the fridge to be fresh for Iftar. If we're happy to acknowledge that many people in town are not fasting, why can we not also let them sit down in comfort to eat their lunch? The daylight is so bright that it's barely possible to see in through the windows, so the temptation argument doesn't apply. And as those who are fasting have no good reason to step inside, the thing would seem to be self-policing. I'm convinced :-)

The Dubai Jazz Combo Showcase

On Stage with The Dubai Jazz Combo

Like The Dubai Jazz Combo on Facebook.

25th May, "Peace of Mind in a Chaotic World" - by Wayne Yusuf Estes

www.innerpeacedubai.com

The Event: Peace of Mind in a Chaotic world- Talk followed by Q & A
Speaker: Wayne Yusuf Estes [www.innerpeacedubai.com/estes]
Date and Time: 25th May, Wednesday at 7:30 pm
Registration: Pre- register FREE at www.innerpeacedubai.com
Venue: Conference Center Auditorium , Knowledge Village (Near Block 2A)
Location Map: Available at www.innerpeacedubai.com

Rulers of Dubai and Qatar - Swimsuit Edition

Circa 1980?

Old photo from here.

Something about the hat, the shirts, the chest hair suggests Festrunks from Saturday Night Live.

BakeFestDXB returns!

Craving for something sweet? Want to throw caution to the wind and tuck into some baked goodness?

Then you need to come down to #BakeFestDXB - the event for community bakers here in Dubai. We had a lot of fun when we did it last year, and we're going to hold it again at the new and improved Wild Peeta which can accommodate a LOT more people.

So if you're hankering for some homemade cakes, pies, cupcakes, and other melt-in-your-mouth wonders, then book your attendance via the Facebook or Twitter links below. We are all booked out for tables, but you are still more than welcome to come down and buy some of the wicked treats on sale :)

Need a recap of last year? Video here, photos here, here, here, here, and here.


RSVP through Facebook or Twitter!

Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF Episode 3

More groundbreaking television content....

Obviously after bagging on the consumption of alcohol in a previous episode, they logically visit a night club to go clubbing which obviously the first place you go to where alcohol is definitely not consumed under any circumstances.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSmDXjbVR9k
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw1pjgQVdos
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVLy-9GZXqE
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZTDKeSrqIk
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5uJveU_ndM

On the Capture of Osama Bin Laden...

The question is not whether or not Pakistani officials knew about the whereabouts of Bin Laden, but why were they harboring him. Obviously, he was being kept safe in an ISI safehouse. The US was being taken for a ride for all these years. Good on Pakistan and shame on the US for being so feckless up till now.

Sorry, I know not UAE news, but its a story with some relevance here nonetheless--we're part of the larger geopolitical sphere.