Pardon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- The ruler of Dubai has pardoned a Grammy-winning music producer who had been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of carrying cocaine into the country.

7days.ae deletes 'offensive' story

I had bookmarked 7days' coverage of the 'Jobs for nationals' story on 25th June.

Browsing back to read the user comments I found this:

This story has been removed from the 7DAYS web site, because some of the comments that followed it were found to be offensive by some of our readers.

7DAYS would like to reiterate the fact that the comments that follow any of the stories on the 7DAYS web site are those of the authors, and do not represent the views and opinions of 7DAYS or Al Sidra Media. We do moderate the comments for offensive content, but this is an imperfect process, and we urge readers who are offended by comments to contact the site administrator at webmaster.

We apologise for any offense caused.

Note the sole user comment that remains there.

Well, I can accept offensive comments from being removed (even that is arguable), but in what way was the article offensive ?? Why remove the story instead of individual comments ?! Were they short on moderators ?

Does anyone have a copy of the original story ?

Magic Roundabout

Fact: Most drivers in Dubai cannot cope with the simple concept that is the roundabout.

Imagine how the hell they would cope with this traffic calming solution from the UK.

Perhaps the U-Turn is not such a bad thing after all........



Check out http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

They swear it works.......think it would work here......lol

Letter sent to Gulf News

FAO HUMAN RESOURCES DEPT

Why do you continue to run stories like this:
Retaining passports is 'forcible labour'
when you illegally forcibly retain the passports of your own staff? They are not serfs. This is not the Slave Age, much as you might wish it.

And don't give me any rubbish about their "contracts" and "company policy" - you know this practice is illegal, and that is utterly vile hypocrisy for you to accuse others of it in your newspaper.

You utterly disgust me. GIVE YOUR STAFF THEIR PASSPORTS BACK.

Not a Cloud in the Sky

...I'm hopeful that car traffic will subside when the promised metros, trams and other forms of fancy transport get built. Cars too will become cleaner and more efficient and Dubai-ites will be able to afford them. The frantic pace of construction too will eventually subside--in five years if we're lucky, but more likely 10 or 15.

Too much air pollution: read or have your say.

L I V E S T R O N G

If you use iTunes to download original music, and can spend $0.99 to support a very good cause, please click here.

MKD Piano Album 4

Latest piano album here.

Enjoy!

Thanks as always to SD.

White

It is a color ubiquitous in the dress of local men. They wear a full-body gown, dishdasha, and head-piece, guthura. Why does it have to be white? There's nothing wrong with the color itself, but imagine this: There are in the country, say a population of 250,000 local adult and young-adult men. They each have 10 identical outfits, all the same cut and same design of full-body white gown and matching white head-piece. They wear one of these each day to school, to work, to weddings, to funerals, to parties, to view a soccer match, to go for a drive, to shop in a mall, to pray in a mosque... you get the picture. The same gown, the same color, on 250,000 men, for any occasion, at any time, every single day of every year. White!

Please help - found budgerigar

We have found a green, very tame budgerigar in the Gardens/Jebel Ali Village area. It was tapping on the window for ages and we were worried it was suffering from the heat so have let it inside, and it's now in a very large cardboard box (plenty of ventilation) with water and some seeds.

If you have lost a budgie - or know someone who has - or would like a budgie as a pet, please get in touch. We're not allowed to keep pets here - given the way they "dealt with" the feral cats (many of whom were tame, lovely animals) I dread to think what they will do with this poor budgerigar :(

Please email me or reply below if you can help.



This is it - click for bigger. We've nicknamed it Pippin.

Does Anyone Have More Details?

How many are familiar with the tragic story behind these beautiful residences. Do you know where they are and what the problem is? Actually I hope someone in the know can offer some informed explanations. Read the synopsis to this story at What's Wrong With These Beautiful Pictures?.

Situational Awareness...

Situational Awareness...

Scenario:

You are driving in a car at a constant speed. On your left side is a
valley and on your right side is a fire engine travelling at the same
speed as you. In front of you is a galloping pig which is the same size
as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you is a helicopter
flying at ground level. Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also
travelling at the same speed as you.

What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

Click here for the answer.

Arabic Translation Available

I've added an Arabic translation link in the sidebar. But it seems not to work when clicked on. Instead, the link must be copied into the URL bar manually or opened in a new tab for those with tabbed browsing. Unlike the other translation links, this one is not yet banned by Etisalat.

Could an Arabic reader try it out and comment on the quality of the translation?

History Diving

These mild tremors made me wonder
Year 2012. You are on 178th floor in the Burj Dubai. Here comes the mild tremor again.

"In case of emergency, take the stairs" says the signboard. All the best :)

Unless they have a back-up plan, how long do you think they will take to evacuate the whole building?

Beirut, anyone?

AFP, via Yahoo News: Welcome to Beirut, Sin City of the Arab world

"This allows for a more permissive and less hypocritical society," she says, adding that "contrary to Dubai, it is not just a form of freedom aimed at creating the right atmosphere for business and tourism".

Obviously if I say I most certainly agree, I'll be called an unpatriotic local.

Anyways, I won't be able to see Hakeh Neswan ("Woman's Talk") any time soon, although I'd love to see it if they manage to get it here to Dubai.

Got a wet mattress?

Well, you can them dry them in Emirates Road under 'special living' conditions if some sources are to be believed. It is not getting any better for the labourers in the UAE, is it?