Eid tomorrow,.,.

Havent had much chance to post lately as work has been intense... So many different things to talk about, the one thing ill stick to: Party safely.

Eid mubarak everyone.

The working class

So I finally started work as an analyst, woohoo... Right?

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, its got the right mix of factors
for me. But one thing was a conversation I had with my coworkers on
pay. We work at an industrial plant, and therefore our company has a
natural emphasis on production. Unfortunately the pay structure isn't.

At my company we seperate employees by tiers, with each tier based on
a mix of experience, nationality (emiritisation issues) and years on
the job and pay them accordingly. But no mention of performance? Now
I'm not saying that performance doesn't factor in to our performance,
I'm saying that it isn't an explicit factor of performance.

I know for a fact that certain sharja govt jobs pay only increases
according to degrees attained, regardless of experience and
performance.

Dubai has some choice jobs in that line too (biased to something or
the other) why no standardization?

More on this as I find out...

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Sent from my mobile device

Cityscape ... The saga continues

My curiosity is my downfall... That's what had me try the fish and
chips place at Dubai mall (Terrible)

Granted, it mightve been horrible, but that's what you get for
thinking greasy spoons could actually pass for a good meal.

Curiousity also took me to cityscape.. Here it is in 2 points of view:

1, The buyer / economist :
Luckily, the hype was toned down this year. Nonetheless you had the
wow-me factor in some of the stands, and prices... Of note was the
quiter nakheel stand, the crazy AD stands, and the general mood of the
place.

AD is building itself up a lot like Dxb did, and I'm looking at bloom
developers... They have a prime piece of property ala palm jumeira, a
premium pricing scheme ala palm jumeira, and phases 2 and 3 ala palm
deira and jebel ali, and was announced at the heart of the reccession
ala the universe .

Anyone see a trend?

I'm not saying it won't work, I'm saying bide your time. Don't launch
at the wrong time, scale it down properly (which to blooms credit they
did)... But the facts of a global recession are still clear, slow and
steady wins the race.

The marketing hype is still unreasonable. No supertowers, but a lot of
hardsells. My opinion is to follow Trump jrs. Train of thought on this
years cityscape, and tread carefully on a risk vs reward basis.

2: the social commentary:

Suprisingly Meeras had a stand up. This was a real upset for me, as
I live in Jumeira. Meeras hasn't been too popular among some local
circles since they would ask for your home in return for compensation.
Some locals don't want to move. Some locals don't want homes and
money. Some locals don't want another few years of messed up roads,
and churned up coastline.

Especially Jumeira, a place filled with history, there is a lot that
can be had focusing on its essential beauty: the people, the history,
the integration, than with another "new dubai" destination like dubai
marina.

Maybe there will be concessions for it, and ill get the best of both
worlds. But I doubt it.

It wasn't just the fish hurtin me...

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Dubai Metro

Mattar Al Tayer once said that an investment in infrastructure is
never a waste. He is right, and for that I salute him. This is the
crowning glory of modern dubai in my opinion. Its not those towers,
its not the fancy cars.

Its this.

This is on the level of the creek being built, or shindagha tunnel
being opened... Let's just hope it doesn't take too long to get the
kinks out of the system.

After all, I remember shindagha getting flooded when it rained too hard :-)

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Sent from my mobile device

Blackberry blues

Aside from CNN, and almost ALL local newspapers talking about the interceptor software on etisalat blackberries, its more popular than ever.

For some its a means of flirting. Yes, the days of bluetooth messaging
are dead. Long live Blackberry Messenger (BBM).

For some its for business emailing; Its intended purpose.

And for the rest its something in between. An alternative to the damnable iphone craze... Ugh.

Not that the blackberry is the lesser of two evils.

An intresting social experiment though. 2500 dhs for a smart phone(reccession any1?) , and you get flirts as part of your target market?

I wonder how much the next craze would cost...

I don't think the blackberry makers realized it, but they've struck gold here .

Oh, and I can blog from this thing too!

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Sent from my mobile device

Ramadan Kareem

Its finally that time of the year where we can all slow down, and
think a little.

Take a few seconds and think about the less fortunate. Put yourself in their place... Better yourself.

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Sent from my mobile device

The trouble with the UAE

This is the economist article that got the publication banned for this month.

Take a second to read it.

In a nutshell, the article outlines the economic situation in the UAE, and how Dubai particulary has been hit hard due to overzealous? decisions.

I make no bones that mistakes were made, this article is an eye-opener.

In this article they talk about Dubai's assets, and how if need be we can sell Emirates airlines, Dubal, etc etc.

And then there is talk of Abu Dhabi bailing Dubai out.

And then concluding that the Maktoums days are numbered.

,.,.,?

Without a doubt, there has to be transparency. Without a doubt, there are massive mistakes that decision-makers have to answer to. But to suggest the Maktoum's are to be swept aside on the basis of a damaged economy is flawed.

"Wealth is power" right?... This article contends (among other things) that with the decreased wealth of Dubai, there should be a corresponding weakness in power of the ruling family.

"Wealth is power": Expand that:

Power over what?

The great economist Adam Smith was very clear that "power" is not political power, though it may lead to it:

It is rather the purchasing power over forces of labor.

Even if our economy gets stuck, the people are "mollycoddled by benovelent rulers" (their words)... We have sponsorship laws, gauranteed land etc etc by the UAE government.

So despite the economists assertions about Dubai's political floor, the Maktoums are fine.