Arab Superheroes

We have covered the 99 before but it appears that there are more on the horizon, and in the not too distant future it is not crazy to think that you could have an Arab Batman V Superman type mashup all backed by the Marvel, who of course are setting up a theme park in Dubai.

So when a man has a dream:

Mr Bakhit not only honed his drawing skills, but he also developed his first story, a tale about a gang of Arab children in the year 2050. He became increasingly convinced there was not only a market for his stories and characters but that there was a real hunger among young Arabs for indigenous content and for home-grown superheroes who would speak to their aspirations and talk in their language.

....a superhero will be born.

It looks like it will be Kuwait V Jordan in the first of the Arab superhero wars. Lets hope that whoever wins, Teshkeel or Aranim that this is a new era.

A comic-book hero for the Arab world

Camel Currency Markets

In years gone by, camels would be traded in the desert as a form of currency. "I will reward you with 1000 camels" or phrases of such nature. Whether at this point in time, actual camels were used or the promise of camels is not known, but either way, the camel has a sort of value of currency, bartering or otherwise.

These days, camels are traded in the the camel markets, either as a sort of livestock for their meat, their milk and increasingly, for their supposedly health camel milk ice scream. (Go to Al Ain to see them traded) They are also used in racing, not jockeyed by kids any more, but by the robojockeys.

With the increase in the price of oil, something else is happening:

As the cost of running gas-guzzling tractors soars, even-toed ungulates are making a comeback, raising hopes that a fall in the population of the desert state’s signature animal can be reversed.

“It’s excellent for the camel population if the price of oil continues to go up because demand for camels will also go up,” says Ilse Köhler-Rollefson of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. “Two years ago, a camel cost little more than a goat, which is nothing. The price has since trebled.”

Interesting times for those with camels, who have endured years of camel snorts.


Camel demand soars