Not Just a Dial

The proposition of "Just a Dial" is to provide information for a small price. It works like this:

1. you call a number
2. you ask a question, eg where can I buy an Ipod in Deira
3. they give you some options
4. you say thank you and good bye.

However, while the business model is similar to directory enquiries, they are able to push forward the obvious lack of enforcement of any data protection in the UAE. Fair play to them for investing 5 million dollars to get this running but will the man on the street go for it.

1. The service costs something, something like 18 fils per minute.
- it's not free
2. Advertisers can pay to get at the top of the list
- you may not get the best option
3. Your details get passed to the retailer
- your data is not guarded.

I have no issue with the first two options. After all, nothing in this world is free, and second of all, they are providing a good service of organising information in what needs to become an organised infocentric society.

My issue is with my own data. I don't want to call up a service which sells on my number. Once that data has passed to someone else, it could go anywhere. Shouldn't it be the case that I should choose to opt in or opt out from such distractions in life?

It may be fashionable to be on the phone in the UAE, to appear to be important and to talk when one should be concentrating on other things (driving, watching a film, studying, working), but this kind of blatant disregard for data takes it too far. We all know that data is sold on the black market, but there needs to be some sort of law in place to prevent this from happening and for it to be enforced in the same way that the druggies are treated (sometimes).

If I want to dial, I want it to be Just a dial.

Islam is perfect?

Perhaps, but surely you need to address those who misinterpret the faith and those who cite Islam as their reason for attrocities.

Evelyn Waugh on Dubai

amusing comparison by City of Sound.

"This triumph of industry and order over the elements seems to me typical of Dubai. Nothing could be more supremely artificial, except possibly the india rubber bathing beach which they had just decided to install....."

Read the whole thing

Pimpin' aint easy.

We have all heard of some stories of abuse of maids, some of whom are raped or beaten, but who have no choice but to live on due to necessity. Whether the story of revenge by one maid putting the baby in the microwave is true or not, the hought of such an action demonstrates the feeling of resent felt by those who get mistreated. There are, of course, many maids in the service of good mannered folk who are all inclusive of their maids to the point that they appear as part of the family.

The story of Samia, however, is a sad one. Being forced to jump from from a window to escape her "family", she says:

"I was hit, kicked and stepped on every day," she told Gulf News from her hospital bed at Rashid Hospital. She added that her employer also "sold" her to others, making her do chores for them without any money.

And for those who sat on the fence on whether this could be considered modern day slavery, perhaps getting sold to the family next door, might convince against it being hard out here for a pimp.

Moe Quran Competition Coverage...

...from the Independant. The Most interesting part:

The competition also contains a separate programme for prisoners in Dubai, who can reduce their jail terms by proving that they can learn the Koran.

The programme is not open for those facing the death sentence or guilty of murder, but for those on lesser sentences, memorising the whole of the holy book can knock 20 years off their time in prison.

Koran provides the ultimate memory test for Muslim boys

Voip Ban lift?

Apprently the TRA are considering lifting the ban. That is complete common sense.
If this is the case, and there are no provisos to the ban lift, then this is great for business and life in the UAE.

More from voip-sol, that quote Zawya

Burgernomics

Anyone with the most basic knowledge of economics will know of the Economist's Big Mac index as a light-hearted introduction to exchange-rate theory. The basic premise is this:

Burgernomics is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity, the notion that a dollar should buy the same amount in all countries. Thus in the long run, the exchange rate between two countries should move towards the rate that equalises the prices of an identical basket of goods and services in each country. Our "basket" is a McDonald's Big Mac, which is produced in about 120 countries. The Big Mac PPP is the exchange rate that would mean hamburgers cost the same in America as abroad. Comparing actual exchange rates with PPPs indicates whether a currency is under- or overvalued.

Although there are flaws to it, it is generally a goodish indicator of whether a currency is over or under valued. In the latest Economic Bulletin from the DCCI, (which, by the way is a good read, although a little dry), they have covered how this theory works for the GCC currencies:



You will see from the table that all the GCC currencies are undervalued compared to the dollar, with the average price of 3.10 for a Big Mac in the US. The UAE is the least undervalued at 12%, but still undervalued. And whilst this doesn't bear any meaning to currency markets, it is probably something that the important men who are deciding about the single GCC currency must be pondering long and hard about.


DCCI - Economic Bulletin
Big Mac Index, Bugernomics from the Economist
Gulf News Article

Khubaib the Kenyan competes in the Quran Competition

The take of the West on Dubai International Holy Koran Award

The competition, the Dubai International Holy Koran Award, is open to males aged 21 and younger, and this year more than 80 young Muslim boys and men faced off in more than two weeks of nightly performances that end Tuesday. The contestants came from around the world to represent their countries, including Iran, Iraq, Brazil, Australia and the United States.

“This is the Olympics of Koran reading,” said Ahmad al Suwiedi, head of the competition’s organizing committee


Read the article from the NYT

Entertainment at the Labour Camps

Is this what really goes on? ;>

Service charge = tax

The real value of the phrase "Middle East tax haven" decreases by the day. A sign of the times, I am afraid:

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority's (ADTA) decision to impose six per cent service charge as tourism fees on hotels and service apartments has sparked mixed reaction in the industry. The move will come into effect from January 1, 2007, according to a report in the Gulf News. Hotels impose a 16 per cent service charge on all bills but at present they pay no fees to the municipality, whereas hotels in Dubai pay 10 per cent of their service charge to the municipality, the report added.

Apparently no need to worry the consumer, but as we well know, that hidden cost will creep into the bill by hook or by crook. International hotel operators in Abu Dhabi will not accept their revenue slashed in the short term.

The UAE Inflation Numbers from the IMF

IMF have released their regional outlook report with some interesting numbers. We are interested in the United Arab Emirates
2005a 2006e 2007p
Real GDP Growth annual % change 8.5 11.5 5.8
Real Non Oil GDP Growth annual % change 11.0 10.5 6.6
Real Oil GDP Growth annual % change 2.1 14.1 3.5
CPI annual % change 8.0 7.7 5.0
Nominal GDP in USD 129.6 176.8 196.2


What's the interesting number here? The CPI figures. For two reasons. One because the official the current UAE numbers for inflation are 5% and that is signifcantly different to 8 or 7.7. Two, the numbers look set to fall to 5%.

What you have to bear in mind is this. The numbers that the IMF are using are fed from government data in the local countries, so while Mohsin Khan might project to 5.0% right now, that my still be little aggressive especially if we consider the housing balance shortage severely shifting towards Abu Dhabi with no real short term solution.

Read the IMF report and make your own judgement.

Natural Remedies of Arabia

Got a headache? Then some of the local herbs, spices and food of the Middle East can help out. This little guide from Saudi Aramco's magazine is one of those little eye openers worth having a quick look at.

Many of the natural remedies presented here are the result of a questionnaire distributed throughout the Arabian Peninsula in early 2002. The questionnaire, printed in both Arabic and English, asked families to explain how they, as well as their mothers and grandmothers, use various herbs, spices and other substances in natural healing. It also requested specific remedies for conditions such as headache, colds and coughs, sore throats, hair loss, general fatigue, childbirth and so on. We present their generous responses, which have helped to unlock many of the mysteries of local medicinal herb shops and reveal unique insights into the natural remedies of Arabia.

Natural Remedies of Arabia

If VOIP is considered a provider...

..there is no hope. It appears that the TRA considers skype and the like as a provider of telcommunication services:

Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP) are considered a regular telecommunications service and therefore fall under the jurisdiction of national regulations, according to the UAE's Telecommunications Regulations Authority (TRA).

"The TRA considers VoIP as a means to provide a telecommunications service," explained the TRA's manager of technical affairs, Mohammad Gheyath. "The technology and the service are not of relevance here, as voice traffic is provided over a medium.

The backwardness of this thought process, at a time where the world are looking to move forward with this medium, bears a resemblance to ignorance at the highest level. I am sure that this can not really be what the TRA thinking and the real reason must be something else. It is probably the perceived fact that:

1. revenue will be lost by the UAE providers Etisalat and Du
2. it is currently difficult to monitor voip calls, for terrorist activity and the like.

If those are the real reasons, then state it - if the whole world thought in the same way as the TRA are currently stating, then skype and the like would have to take out licences with every country in the world. All voip providers, all chat (msn messenger etc), irc should be banned. In fact, all websites should be banned. Just ban everything and be consistent.

In times to come, the UAE will look back at this, not only as a missed opportunity to move forward, but as one of those rare instances when it has taken a number of steps back.

Telecommunications body defends ban decision