I dare you to reply

About a week ago, I was talking about the problems facing the youth getting married, and ive heard a man asking for a dowry of a Quran for his daughters hand, and it inspired this article. Now
I am not kidding here, Ive seen weddings worth at least 2 million dirhams... and that was not even one of the most extravegant. So whats the story? Does it prove that you will have a better marriage? Do you think he loves you more?

Not a chance

Look, I want any local girl reading this post to think about it for a second... If you truly loved the man, and he truly loved you back, do you think money would matter?
I know that a great deal of the blame lies with the parents in setting the dowry, for a mentality here is that "my daughter is not cheap" or "we have a family name to uphold", but a happy marriage is priceless.

But there is an argument for having a high dowry... A woman should be a princess on her marriage night, and she deserves a night like that, and a dowry sweetens the deal. But what if the guy, though perfect in every respect, was not rich? Would you accept a marriage for nothing? better yet, would your parents?

I dont have daughters, but I feel I would be doing the right thing by giving her away to a proper man, regardless of whether he was rich or not.

semper fidelis

Once again everyone

"Analysts say the downward trend is likely to continue as long as speculators dominate the markets and Iran's defiance on the UN's nuclear demands may make investors jittery." (gulf news 29/4/06)

We need proper analysts.

Two days ago, the exact opposite was said. Something about the market being only in a temporary slump?

WE NEED PROPER ANALYSTS.

The solace of the sand

I grew up in a land of cousins and brothers
Where in Public, men never kissed their mothers

I learnt early on that staying silent was having grace
Yet passion's call does not allow for saving face

I sensed it was a forbidden love as I held her hand
Now in my heart's desert, I seek the solace of the sand

With the writing this poem I called forth an unjust shame
For my lonely night knows no forgiveness, remembering her name

Semper Fidelis

(I dont know whats gotten into me, but I had to write this... dont read into it)

Oh my God.

Yesterday as I was flipping through an arabic newspaper in the University coffee shop I noticed an article that has chilled my very heart...

This article was basically probing local traders opinions about the upcoming free trade agreements in the UAE. These agreements seek to break the current system of exclusive dealerships, and allow for a more free-flowing and competitive market place that would be open to foreign investment. Nearly every single trader in the article was talking about the benefits of these agreements, and how it wouldnt have a very negative impact on the current system if you were conducting your business properly... Save one man: Fardan Al Fardan.

I have always respected his opinions, and with this comment he summed up my fears:"who will protect the national (citizen)?"... While the rest of the traders were going on and on about how the increased productivity would benefit them, none of them stopped to think about whats protecting their investments... No one.

Most of the exclusive dealerships here are held by local families, so who is going to protect them? We are already grossly outnumbered by our foreign compatriots in our own country, and losing the one leverage locals have here in the UAE, the big businesses (which are mostly bsed on foundations of exclusive dealerships), would be a staggering blow.

My point is that even in America, "the land of the free", there are limitations to what foreign investors can own. Case in point: In the early 90's Prince Waleed Bin Talal, an investor in many companies in the US, was not allowed to maintain a 15% stake in Citibank, even though his investment was saving Citibank, a banking giant, from bankruptcy!

Where are those limitations here? Why arent they in place?

All I know is that when the American billionares decimate the businesses here, my reaction would be to close my eyes in sadness... And wonder why the ministers hadnt read my blog.

Sprucing Up?

I need to improve on the look of the awareness,.,. The current "all-black" theme is not going down too well,.,.

Anyways, As the topic I chose is sprucing up, I have a solution to the obesity problem here in the UAE... A national initiative that starts at school!

Think about it,,, If kids were given a mandatory 1-hour awarness lesson, be it PE or just something to keep them active, would be extremely beneficial to our students.

Hmmm, But first lets improve on the standards of education first?

(sigh)

If only the minister of education was reading my blog.... Oh the wonders that could be achieved :-)

realization of time

As I look into the eyes of my past generations, I see a perched bird of trials unspoken of.
Feathers of innocence form its wings of love, and sense its worth is known in the heavens above.
I hear its sweet song of agony, and I fall to my knees crying tears for its undying love.
Though it will fly away, I will always hold in my heart a vividly white dove.



Semper Fidelis

The Invasion of the different

It was 1 am and my friends got the bright idea to go to Dhiyafa which, to all the ignorant people out there, is the city's original flirting street... You expect cars filled with guys and girls TRYING to work out their "groove thang"

Now, since this was a weekend (last Wed) traffic was expected... But not the kind of traffic we saw.... Let me clarify, we werent there for flirting. We were pretty much spectators to the fiasco, who incidentally were looking for proper fruit cocktails... And what we saw, was rather unnerving...

Having a few gay people out flirting is expected... But I counted 5 cars at 1:30 Full of gay guys, who were basically sloooowly undressing us with their eyes (no ma7'fee [tint]). Previously, gay people would never EVER flaunt the fact that they are gay... And that was just the half of it.

The girls were even worse probably since they have always been allowed to flirt like no tommorrow... BUT what confused me is "why now?"

Why are the collective primal urges of our youth coming to a head now?!!!

Is it because of new found freedoms ? Or is it because people are finally realising exactly what can be gotten away with?

I honestly dont know

I hope this craziness goes away... But I doubt my hopes would come to fruition.

....

On another note: Radars suck

sleepless 2

Im sooooo sleepy, so Im just going to write anything, and hope it turns out fine... Apparently, I have a thing for late-night posts, but then again the blog is called DXB nights after all...

Who would you consider incomplete without? Have you found that significant other? How do you know he/she is not on speed-dial on your phone?

Some would think Im talking of love, of a love who lights up the night,,, But they are wrong. The only light comes from true friends...
All those songs about the heart's love, cannot compare to what we should owe true friends ,,, because the sheer pureness of their friendship burns me.

I just have to end with this (it wont make much sense because its sooo random):
A poet said: " ya 7abeeb ilgalb 3athbt il7esha"...

nightmare

God, its too late to talk about anything worthwhile,,, so why not talk about nightmares?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the worst nightmares exsist while we are awake,,, The once peaceful Iraq is being torn to peices from its insides, and everyone is suffering... The blood flows in rivers there, and I havent even started on the flow of tears... To think that we fear the darkness of nightmares, when we really should be fearing the darkness of our fellow men is tragic. But why do I stray so far? The thoughts I weave do not do justice to the blackness right here in the UAE... Labourers with no food, and no water... Orphans fearing for their futures... and the ghost of a growing ignorance grasping this great nation...

All I can do is pray for us all... and I hope you pray for us too.

Protection

This is probably one of the more paranoid comments I will post on this blog... (so proceed with that in mind)

Did you know that the security for important personalities here in the UAE is pathetic? Im not talking about in official events, when bodyguards are a must, Im talking about in the day-to-day life of important personalities like the top Sheikhs of the 7 emirates... Sheikh Mohamed walks around with barely any security at times... Sheikhs of Fuijairah also need a LOT more security, especially when it comes to their majlises and the like . And security for foreign dignitaries needs some help too... Just yesterday I saw emir Sultan of Saudi Arabia (who is the crown prince) with no security whatsoever,,,

Whether there is a need for such security is debatable, since it makes the Sheikhs less accessible, BUT what needs to be feared is not the local population, its the influx of foreigners coming into this country, which is bound to increase crime rates, and as a result, the risk to the leaders we cherish.

END OF PARANOIA

sorry

Ive been away for a while without warning, and for that I must apologize. Um, ok, onwards to something worthwhile! Anyone read about Sheikh Hamad of Fuijairah trying to help that poor kid? I think it was absoulutely frightning to think about the level of medical malpractice in Fuijairah... Not knowing a diagnoses means you call for outside help,,, not naming the situation "an unknown illness"... This kid deserved better, ESPECIALLY since this was something that could have avoided. I hope that whoever responsible sitting there in that Fuijarah hospital with his fake Degrees gets proper seeing to, so that this NEVER happens again... We are living in a modern country, things have changed,,,So should the quality of healthcare.

On a happier note... Sheikh Mohamed has boosted the government budget for education!!! That is quite simply amazing news IF it gets spent right (fingers crossed).

On another note... Im on spring break, so I might not post for a few days :-p

DP world

Now, I have delibirately stayed away from the DP world subject for a while now, thinking that it was just petty name-calling, and that it would die down in the US.

Then, I read this on yahoo news: "The House Appropriations Committee voted 62-2 on Wednesday to block the deal, and GOP congressional leaders privately informed the president Thursday morning that the Senate would inevitably follow suit. Senate Democrats clamored for a vote, increasing pressure on Senate Republicans to abandon the president." (D. espo, A. Taylor / AP)

I realized that its much deeper: Its rascism from a country touting equality.

Pathetic.

Who the hell do they think they are to view us as terrorists? I could just as well view them as ignorant; but the difference is I never generalize. And then I hear some crazy theories on how we could have potential for al-qaeda cells. My answer: more likely in the US, than here. We had an Israeli delegation here for the WTO meetings a while back, and no cells popped up there? We had Dr. Condoleezza Rice here, and still no threats whatsoever (from "potential" cells).
I think that public opinion is quite frankly, extremely biased in the US. But Im not worried, with China coming up at the rate that it is, and the way India is shaping up, the US will regret falling from our graces someday.

Fighting Change

"Education or freedom?"

Recently, I was posed with this very question... Would I prioritize education over freedom?

In a heartbeat.

The idea of having freedom becomes ever-so fleeting if you cant place value on it, and that can only be achieved through education. After all, wasnt education but an idea in one mans head?
The importance of education cannot be put on the back-burner for any other cause, for with education, all is possible.
Which takes me to my next point: The current education system.
The system in place here is backwards. The government schools expect you to memorize work, rather than understand, and rate you accordingly. Private schools, with the exception of a handful, are worse.
There is some effort by the Mohd Bin Rashid establishment for young business leaders and similar groups to get more education out there, but I believe it needs to be on a much, much, larger scale.
Wide-Scale reforms, and analyses of the effectivness of our tutoring must be undertaken, for there is no other way to truly realize the dream of a perfect United Arab Emirates.

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# plates

A Spooky fact is that a number here can go for as much as 1.5 million dirhams while people in Sudan die of hunger.

The fascination with number plates is a pretty big one here in the UAE, with the arrangement of numbers on the plates playing a major factor in determining its worth.

Now, Im ok with owning a number plate thats nice, but blowing 300,000 Dirhamson digits is just wrong. There are actually businesses based on the selling and buying of number plates, and from what I can tell, their success has been phenomenal.

So why is there such a huge fan base for "special" numbers? Its because there is an opinion that the rarer your number, the more powerful you are, a notion that is widely spread among the local community here.

The only truly "special" numbers in my eyes are the police numbers:

Now these past 3 days I have seen way too many police number plates on normal {non-police} cars, about 8 cars at last count. These plates are reserved for police and CID but Sheikhs and their friends, and people who are on good terms high up can get them.

# plates starting with 8xxx and 50xxx, codes A and B, are police/ CID. The idea of seeing so many on the streets is rather unsettling, but I guess that just means that there is some leniency with their numbers.

IPO craze

Tonight, Dubai TV interviewed the acting CEO of Tamweel, Adel Al Shirawi, about his company's IPO. Now, Tamweels IPO (which is when the comapny is basically going to be put up onto the stock market) is coming up very fast indeed, and Shirawi was on today to dispel any fears about it.

Lets just say he got me thinking...

Investors here like to throw money at every IPO that sprouts up. Now, Tamweel is a pretty solid company, and is expected to do well, but is that always the case?
Does every IPO have to hit record figures? Is it always a safe bet to put money on an IPO?
The answer is no, and the actions of the small investors here needs some form of control, because they obviously got the wrong idea, as shown with previous IPOs.

Oh well,.,. Live and let live?

No Candles 4 me

Im officially 18 years old today... Its time I started to be a little more responsible.

Sweets for everyone!!!

Society

An in depth examination of the UAE social structure is out of place this late at night, I will post more on the subject later.
But I will say this,.,.

Socially, the country is split into a few large groups: The 3eemis, the Arabs, The balushis, and the mtjanseen.

3eemis tend to be educated and open-minded (varies from person to person). The basic definition of 3eemi in arabic is foriegner; Owing to the widely acknowledged fact that they originated from Iran. As a result, many 3eemis are considered very fair (colour - wise) in this land. Most 3eemis came from Iran as traders, but some Arabs, whom I will explain about shortly, are also considered 3eemi if they went to (and lived in) Iran for trading activities. Many prominent trading families here in the UAE are 3eemi.

Arabs, are usually the ones driving the culture of the UAE. The Sheikhs of the UAE (and their tribes) are considered to be Arabs. Before the oil boom, most Arabs where bedouins, living off the land (and the sea), and where divided into tribes. These tribes still exsist and dwell in the UAE. In the past, due to their nomadic lifestyles, Arabs werent really that educated, but due to modernisation, education is starting to be widely accepted among Arabs. The bedouin lifestyle is not totally obsolete though, many Arabs still hold bedouin values and traditions in the UAE.
The bedouin Arabs here usually have views that are in a western view will be both very comendable but a little backwards at the same time. For example, many bedouins are brutally honest in what they say, but sometimes brutal honesty is,.,. Brutal. Personally, I view a true bedouin friend one of the best a man could have, since they are a very loyal bunch.

Next up, are the balushis,.,. They are pretty much 3eemi, but with a twist. They are not as educated as the 3eemis, and originally come from Balochistan, a land between Pakistan and Iran .

Finally, the mtjanseen, are foreigners who have been given UAE passports, usually because they offered some great service to the country.

Now, the problem we are facing here in the UAE, is that every group thinks his is the best, causing serious rifts in the society.,.,. And the results of this train-of-thought are group-specific marriages, 3eemi families dont marry into arab families and vice versa, Balushi families stick to their own community, and mtjanseen are basically stuck with no one to marry (since they are so few).
I believe that this train of thought is destructive to the nation and to muslims as a whole. period.
Where is the logic in not letting your daughter marry a man whos familly is a little different than yours? Change should be embraced.
The problem is deeply racial in my view, and is a plague, a poison, and a darkness in this fair land.

I will discuss more about this later on, when im more awake :-)

Forgot to mention

Yea,,, while people were partying it up at the maseera... Me and a friend were driving around the backroads of Shk Zayed road trying to get to that damn emarat petrol station,.,.What we found astounded both me and my friend...

Behind Shk Zayed road they are mainly these chapras (warehouses) and cargo areas for the various dealers of goods in the country,,, Strangly enough we past by a GLOWING chapra,.,. Im talking flashy lights, with music spilling out to the streets,.,.Im talking about 15 valets/ security guards for a chapra! And guess what they had beamed on the walls of that particular chapra?

Dom Perignon!
(google it, if you dont know what it is)

Seems the maseera was not the only party going on tonight (it was just getting started, and I just reached home!)

Maseera!

Tonight, UAE won a match against Oman in a 1 - 0 game in al nasr stadium.
This caused mass chaos in the minds of most teens here, and as a matter of fact, had even me, a guy who thought the UAE had no chance against Oman, smile...

Though I was not personally there ( I was half-way across the city at Mall of the Emirates) my friends were at the mini-parade in Dubai,.,. and from what I here It was amazing!

As one of my friends put it: "We are the UAEs soldiers" :-)

Maseeras rock,.,.