Grapeshisha to be banned?

I have been blogging for a little over a month now. I have tried to cover a number of issues, from the ports to women equality, topical issues such as competition, redistribution and consumerism. I have also tried to throw in some amusing anecdotes. I have tried to be fair and not too right wing. I have tried to line with reason. In sum, I have made extra efforts to try and tread that fine line to open discussion without overly offending anyone.

The UAE blogging world is perhaps viewed as a slightly dangerous area. There was Secret Dubai that was banned for misinterpretation and then reinstated, as well as some others that were banned due to their radical thoughts, without being constructive.

Whether my time has come is not yet known, but it was rather disconcerting to find out through the press:

"officials told Gulf News they have no role to play in this issue, as it should be taken care of by the people who provide licences....."I will not reveal the brand name, as I am not out there to ruin people...""

I'll continue to blog until I get offical notice. ;>

Dubai means something else in Swaziland

Dubai means different things to different people. To some, it means a land of opportunity. To others, it means contruction and traffic. To some xenophobes, it is an Arab state linked with terrorism wanting to take over ports. But in Swaziland, a 'Dubai' is an illegally imported vehicle, as referenced by this article. The question is this: If you wanted to buy a Dubai in Dubai, where dy'a buy it?

7 stars do not exist

In the latest piece about the Emirates Palace and Abu Dhabi by the New York Times (free sign up required), journalist Katherine Zoepf reads back the the EP brochures:

"...in what seems to be a slap at the promotional claims of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, which says it has seven stars, the frequently asked questions section notes that "the seven or six star ratings do not officially exist. ... We classify Emirates Palace as just that, a Palace."

And a palace would be the place to serve expensive drinks:

"A waitress at the Havana Club cigar bar spontaneously offered a tour of the bar's marvels, including Cohiba cigars in a dramatically backlit storage case and a kind of Cognac called Hardy Perfection that costs 9,000 dirhams, or $2,400, a glass.

"A lot of people have asked about it," she said, "but the seal is still on the bottle." "

Expect Diddy, Snoop and the rap fraternity to name drop Abu Dhabi, like it's HOT!

Fo shizzle.

Sheikh Zayed and redistribution

The UAE is a country, or federation, in transition. Either in transition or just being born, and so what we are going through, the pain, if you would call it that is part of the journey on the way to a vision. There are traffic issues. Yes. There are cultural clashes. There is misinterpretation. And yes, there is inequality. But let us look at this in perspective. Aside from the rigours of daily life, this is the country of the UAE Nationals. I don't buy the "if you don't like it you can go home" attitude because that is wrong. The expat and the local have both benefited from the UAE and will continue to do so together. Without the expat, the country would not be where it is. And without the leadership, the UAE Nationals may be in a different situation.

The late great Sheikh Zayed was revered and for good reason. Because of his generosity, UAE Nationals have a better life than their neighbour Arab. And because of this, the UAE Nationals have opportunity.

But, in parallel to this backdrop, the cost of living increases, the inflation, the extra cost - these all can lead to a long term problem of loss of talent. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and now that UAE Nationals are starting to struggle, something needs to be done, because the circle of union between labour and expertise and worthwhile opportunity is about to be broken.

The time has come to take Sheikh Zayed's legacy one step further:

Whatever the argument regarding GDP and economic growth, there seems to be consensus among economic experts that income distribution is the key reflection of growth, and that while the wealthy are getting even richer, the middle and lower middle classes are paying the price.

It is time to redistribute to create a real middle class, or else the talent will be lost and the new talent will not be lured. The need is now.

Women as Global Leaders

I remember that this was a success last year, and for the students who will attend this conference in Abu Dhabi next week with Queen Rania, Mary Robinson, Cherie Booth and Sheikha Lubna amongst others are the lucky ones. Still today, we talk of opression of women and of Muslim Women. This is a clear sign that the UAE is at the forefront of bring women to the forefront and is not afraid of shirking away from the issues. With two females now in government, the role of women in UAE society should start to become cemented more as a norm than an odd occurrence. And although there is a long way to go before true equality exists, events like this distances the UAE from preconceived stereotypes that some aliken to Taliban oppression. I hope that the event inspires those that attend.

Pan Emirate English News Channel

I posted previously about a great little service, called Mosaic, that provided snippets of the news from the Middle East and translated them into English, for those that don't speak Arabic or the local language in which the news is broadcast. Now, while this is amazing in its own right and points somewhat to how we will watch our tv in the future, the need for an English Language free to air News channel is an obvious one. At the end of May, Al Jazeera International will launch its new English speaking channel to start to provide the bridge to the West. The channel will bring its new age journalism to the masses and will no doubt continue its bare bones approach to journalism thats has stirred up so much controversy since its launch. Even with names such as Sir David Frost and Rageh Omar due to join the channel, I believe that it will still breed controversy but is a welcome addition to an onviously vacant area.

The channel comes at a critical time and will give a much needed outward view to the West, even if Dubya doesn't like them very much. But, I digress. I want to concentrate a little closer to home. Al Jazeera satisfies one type of audience including those who live in the UAE, but what we are beginning to find is the tipping point to the English Language is slowly drawing nearer to the point that soon, more people in the UAE will be more likely to speak English than Arabic, as a sole language. Now, what I am not saying is to get rid of the Arabic TV stations. No, what I am saying is that something is needed to compliment these channels, and fast. Increasngly business is transacted in English, the financial institutions function in English and many larger and multi-national organisations located here use English as their official language. With the influx of expatriates, a Pan-Emirate current affairs type channel, at this point in time, would have numerous benefits, and, I believe, would be hugely popular. If we consider that we rely on, let's be real, very little good quality daily written media, we are sometimes being fed undebated nonsense. Some of the radio stations promote a litle debate as do new media such as blogs, but the time has come to step up and move news and current affairs to the forefront to satisfy the ever growing non-Arabic speaking crowd. Now that the Ministy of Information is defunct, the Ministry under whose remit this would now fall could gain some serious browny points from implementing such a channel in a first real move for free speech. If Qatar can do it, so can we.

Objectivity

Every so often, an objective piece emerges in one of the quality publications that tries to paint an accurate picture of what exactly is going on in the UAE. I think that this recent Business Week article summed it up quite well:

The Dubai Ports deal, though, is just one relatively small episode in the second great Mideast oil boom. The boom is characterized by hugely ambitious projects that are transforming the shores of the Persian Gulf into a Xanadu with some of the most fantastic and expensive structures on earth. The rush of petrodollars is creating enormous private and public wealth and reshaping Gulf business and society.

And while the focus is not just on the construction, there are always going to be inaccuracies when accurate information is particularly hard to obtain. Sadly, this is one of the reasons that pessimists jump on when criticizing the potential that the UAE has. The truth will be told.