"Dubai Police Will Tackle Chaos on New Year's Eve Celebrations"

It may not come as a surprise to you; there are more dramatic headlines in the Arabic press than there are in English. (like the one above)

On the other hand, some stories get only succinct coverage.

Apart from the above headline, and according to Al Emarat Alyoum, at the evening of January the 4th, Burj Dubai (the iconic landmark that will epitomize Dubai for decades to come), is going to be inaugurated. 1000 agents will be deployed to secure the celebrations, which will start by evening prayers at the highest mosque in the world (at floor 154).

Traffic police will be out in full force as well, to ensure a ‘stringent’ flow of traffic. And since fire works are going to be the first and most dazzling of kind in the world, RTA, (may God heighten their affairs) will run messages through overhead info boards warning drivers not to stop and stare.

Thanks RTA.

Parking at roads leading to the Burj is utterly prohibited. Any car seen parked will be towed at the spot.

It’s not clear yet whether the Burj itself will be open to public or not.

6000 people are expected to turn up at the event. And this is, I speculate, is only the official guest list.

I expect the rest of the crowd will have to watch from the waterside walkways and restaurant from the Dubai Mall side of the lake.

It’s a huge, huge scope. I actually do not envy Dubai police at events like these atall. Like every other occasion, you want to strike a balance between inconspicuous presence of security personnel and readiness. It’s not easy, but I trust they could do it.

Actually, they’ve been planning the security arrangements for the inauguration party for months; coordinating joint operations between the police, CID, state security, Civil Defense, health and safety ..etc...

As always, traffic police will do the grunt work and bear the brunt.

Also, the department of premises’ security (couldn’t come up with better translation) will control entry and exit (or what I guess the professionals would call ‘perimeter security’). It’ll also run mobile search unit to scan the vicinities and secure them. (Doesn’t that sound like a normal day in the suspenseful life of US secret service agent?)

Explosive handling and emergency units will also be present.

Now, don’t be alarmed ladies and gentlemen. This is all routine for an event as big and significant as this one.

Here is a map of the available parking lots. You may also note the numbers.

Story in Arabic here.

Brief counterpart in English here.

Happy new year and congratulations to Dubai for this massive accomplishment.

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm really excited... :)

The Gaza Freedom March

Kindertransport survivor, Hedy Epstein, with school supplies destined for Gaza

(courtesy of Ali Abunimah from Cairo)

Thursday Special

Few years ago, when the intensity of construction in Dubai was not so intense, our office used to contract a freelancing structural engineer. He was an asshole.

One of the projects he’d designed in 2004 is now in its second year after commissioning. And the construction/design faults are starting to emerge at the surface. Slowly and relentlessly. Construction faults are like natural phenomenon, they are going to show up no matter what you do. They are governed by physical laws, and the design/construction’s inability to meet these laws.

So this building has reported sick lately, complaining of cracks through its upper basement ramp—the one which goes down to the underground parking lot. The cracks are relatively huge, 3-4 millimeters in width. The reason, according to our present full-time structural engineer (who is not an asshole) is that the concrete of the ramp wasn’t reinforced enough in the direction that is supposed to resist shrinkage and expansion.

Cracks aren’t uncommon in construction. They vary in width and causation and seriousness. Most visible, hairline cracks you see aren’t serious. A crack has more psychological effect of unsettledness on a human that its actual effect on the building. And since buildings are essentially built to make the resident yuppie assholes feel safe and secure, these cracks has to be dealt with.

The way to fill such a crack, at a floor level in highly abrasive area of traffic, is to use a material called Polysulfide. It fills in nicely, bonds with the cracking concrete, and seals it against rain and weather element. It’s a very nice chemical (chemistry is quite underrated in construction). It’s an adhesive, durable synthetic rubber. It even feels nice to the touch, which brings me to the next subject.

What is it with assholes? I mean, if we were to diagnose their biggest issue, what would it be? Basically, I guess it’d be their being assholes. That is the most salient feature. Now, building on this conclusion, wouldn’t it be nice to plug the asshole? It’d stop being one. Think about it, if an asshole is plugged, it’s not a hole anymore. That solves more than half the problem. And since yours truly is boringly hetero, I thought the easiest way to plug those assholes is by using a synthetic material. And here, ladies and gentlemen, I prescribe the ultimate antidote for assholishness.

A long lasting, permanently flexible, rubbery soft, marine polysulfide sealant.

Apocalypse 2012

I was absent-mindedly flipping through mute TV channels yesterday (something I rarely do) when a text banner at the bottom caught my attention. Abu Dhabi TV was hosting couple of people to talk about and debate….. the possibility of a disaster at the year 2012.

I didn’t stick around long, but long enough to hear a guy (who I later realized is the editor of Science and the World magazine) outlining a doomsday scenario for December 2012, and in quite a ‘clever’ way, too. But let’s examine the 2012 enigma before we come back to this guy.

The infamous movie, which I haven’t seen and don’t plan on seeing, is the instigator of this absurd whirlwind end-of-the-world scare. According to the movie, 2012 is the end of the Mayan calendar (which is not true). Never mind that the Mayan civilization itself ended few hundreds years ago.

However, Hollywood knows, as much as you and I know, that a segment of the movie-going population will not be entirely convinced that a calendar concocted by few native Latinos will indicate the end of this hedonistic world as we know it. There must be a scientific hint of truth to the matter.

Here where it becomes a little more tricky.

It seems that there might indeed be a solar storm at the year 2012, but with a little proviso: a- the sun does experience these storms on an 11 years cycle. b- the projection for the storms varies between 2011 and 2013.

So back to our fancy editor on AD TV: first thing he said is that the last solar storm took place in the 1850s. And that at the time there were no cell phones; but there were telegraph lines. And when accounts were gathered in the aftermath of the storm, it turned out that these telegraph stations were burned (an Arabic word that also means for an electrical equipment to short-circuit.) So he warns against indifference towards the storm; he predicts that the influx of neutrons and other energy conveying particles will hit the earth with a bang. Then the stratosphere will breathe in those particles and expand (!). Next thing you know is all wireless communications around the world are compromised and power generating stations are busted. He describes the repercussions as ‘catastrophic’ for developing nations.

His counterpart, a graceful looking lady at the other side of the debate table, was struggling to stifle her laughter.

And this is from an editor of a science magazine.

But mind you, it’s a science magazine in the Arab world, where more than 85% of the population does not believe evolution is true.

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Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?

A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.

My Musical 'Shite'

The National is decent newspaper. Despite my qualms with the line of their political editorials, I still rate them as the best in the UAE.

Today, they ran a cool piece titled ‘My Musical Secret’; you are requested to disclose the kinds of songs on your MP3 player that you strive to keep from the prying eyes and the eavesdropping ears. Notice how most of these songs were number one hits in their time. And yet, you are invariably met with derision should you mention them, or the bands that play them, in public. The sophisticated yuppie assholes are far more refined than this populist ‘shite’. Oh yes sir, they are.

Eventually, it’d stand to logic that there are certain individuals in the population that really listen to and enjoy these songs. Otherwise they wouldn’t sell and make hits, right?

Right.

So, being one that hasn’t been interviewed by The National, I volunteer to string out the list of shame. Minus the sexy photo, of course. Which shall remain sexy but unpublished.

First off let me make few things clear: I only listen to my MP3 player when I’m working out. In the Gym, that is. This has a huge influence on the genre of music and how often it’s played. When I drive, I often listen to the BBC world service, both in Arabic and English. When I’m home, I’m tuned to JazzFM online. When I’m at work I mostly listen to classical music. The rest of the time is dominated by upbeat songs while running or straining under light weight dumb-bells.

Fortunately, my MP3 player has a feature called ‘Most Played Tracks’. So I’ll just copy/paste what’s in there without editing. Here we go.

1- Roc Boys. (by Jay Z)
2- Hit ‘em up. (Tupac, who else?!)
3- Bird of prey. (Fatboy Slim.)
4- Let me ride. (Dr. Dre)
5- Numb Encore. (Linkin Park and Jay Z.)
6- Sex Machine. (James Brown)
7- Rock with you. (Michael Jackson.)
8- Shaft Theme. (Barry White.)
9- Sing it back. (Moloko.)
10- Jump around. (House of pain.)


Go ahead and put up yours. I dare you…

Anthropogenic Climate Change

Here are few links I've come across this past week. Articles, research papers and rebuttals. I've decided to compile them all here for easy access in the future.

The back and forth debates in internet forums over climate change and the possible outcomes of Copenhagen conference show how little is really known about the subject. It also illustrates how dumb climate change denialists really are (probably even more dumb than evolution denialists).

Here we go:

- Seven Answers to Climate Contrarian Nonsense (Scientific American).

- List of scientific institutions that claim there's indeed a scientific consensus over climate change.

- So is more CO2 heating up the planet or is it the other way around? (What does the lag of CO2 behind temperature in ice cores tell us about global warming?)

- Cutting Through The Anti-Environment Propaganda *

- Global temperature well above average **

- “The Great Global Warming Swindle” is itself a Fraud and a Swindle (best referenced paper I've seen on the matter so far)

- 'Acidifying oceans' threaten food supplies, UK warns.

* One denialist actually posted that link as a proof that volcanoes emit more CO2 than human activities. It turned out that it actually refutes this claim.

** Another guy warned that we should take a look at the diagram attached to this article. It clearly shows, according to him, that global temperature aren't rising. :)

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P.S. Got any links? please leave in the comment section and I'll update as they come.

"Swing down, sweet chariot stop and let me ride" Edition #2

The things that will usually get you are those you are least prepared for. Rain in Dubai is one of them. You toil under the relentless heat or the fair weather most of the year, day in and day out, that you embrace the frame of mind that the opposite and disparate natural phenomena, like rain and cold, are something from outer space.

So when it rained in Dubai yesterday, it really poured. It reminded me of this glorious day couple of years ago when the whole place flooded and we were relieved from work two hours early in order to get home safe without using canoes. Rain here usually catch people off guard. This unpreparedness isn't only limited to physical sealants and kosher water proofing on the roof; it also has to do with the driving skills (or the lack thereof) in the rain. Most drivers here probably do not realize that there are two factors to keep in mind while driving in the rain; low visibly and slick roads. Also, there seem to be common consensus amongst drivers that, if I'm confronted with a suspicious looking puddle ahead (the kind that will make your transition gear swim in dirty water), then you are entitled to swerve your car without notice in a last ditch attempt to avoid the puddle. Which could also lead to a fatal accident if the driver in the lane next to yours isn't on the same wavelength as you are (which always happens to be the case since, well, he's got puddles of his own to worry about).

On the other hand, you have got to love the RTA. They never cease to impress you with their gems of wisdom. Especially that now their informative newsletter comes on Radio with every news bulletin. And yesterday was no exception. They so conveniently blamed the 'spat' of minor accidents on drivers and their recklessness. Overflowing rain storm network isn't a big deal, really. Standing ponds are no big issue. It's always the drivers and their recklessness and poor judgement. Really.

However, the best RTA announcement I'd heard so far was last thursday, and I'm really disappointed I couldn't find any links to this epic story anywhere. Basically, the RTA were trumpeting and boasting a new record; number of accidents in Dubai for the year 2009 has dropped by 12-13% from the numbers of 2008!! And the RTA is attributing this drop to their own competence and stringent measures to curb rickless driving!!

Priceless.

____________________________________________________________

Photos are courtesy of Gulf News. The photo of the red car was actually taken in Abu Dhabi but.... you get the picture.

Sayed El Qimni سيد القمني

Sayed El Qimni (or, according to wikipedia, El Qemany) is an Egyptian scholar. He's mainly known (as far as I'm concerned, at least) for being the winner of Egypt State Appreciation Award for Social Science in the 2009. He's done an extensive work on the history of Islam, the emergence of the Islamic message, and the socioeconomically factors that were in a way catalytic in the evolution and development of the early Islamic state.

My purpose here is not to provide an anthology or a critique of the man's work. There are specialists on the subject that could agree or disagree with him. The veracity of his work doesn't concern me here. I leave it to those who are really capable of dissecting his hypothesis to do so.

What has drawn my attention to this man is a debate I've watched on youtube a while ago (Arabic). It was between him and an Islamic scholar. The gist of the matter is that the Islamic scholar is suing Sayed El Qimni for winning the State's award and would like it to be withdrawn from him (with an apology, perhaps!) The reason behind the lawsuit, which I deem utterly frivolous, is that, according to the clerk, El Qimni has insulted the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by researching the history of Islam emergence and the aspects of the Arab society and the loose fabric of tribes that had populated the Arabian peninsula the time.

It doesn't really stop here, he'd also at some point accused El Qimni of apostasy.

You have probably heard that apostasy is a serious transgression in Islam and that certain fundamentalist (underground) groups do not have any scruples about exacting death upon those who'd been deemed as apostates. Sayed isn't the first Egyptian intellectual who'd been labeled as such; Farag Fuda, a writer, was shot dead in 1992. Najeeb Mahfooz, a novelist and Nobel Prize laureate was stabbed in 1994. Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid was forcibly separated from his wife by a court order in 1995. A feminist by the name of Nawal Al Sa'dawi was issued numerous death threats.

And that is in Egypt alone.

As you can see, the venues of exerting pressures on 'rogue' intellectuals and writers isn't always

unlawful; the fundamental elements sometimes resort to the court of law to attack and damage them (this usually happens after extensive smearing campaigns in the media.) This is because personal status laws in most, if not all, Arab countries are inspired and derived from Sharia' Law (and the religious laws of the respective religious communities present on the ground.) While it is quintessential for large section of the Muslim population in the Arab world to conduct their civil unions and other affairs according to the Sharia law, imposing this model on the entire society has become, in my opinion, a detriment to the development of a healthy civil society.

What if, for instance, a Muslim girl and a Christian guy loved each other and decided to get married? well, apologies, young ones, there is no provision in the law for this. I know of many instances where the Christian guy would convert to Islam in name just to be able to live lawfully with his sweetheart. Eventually, people will find ways to circumvent the laws that stands in the way of their happiness. Nevertheless, the existence of these laws is, as I said above, a detriment and a source of division within the one society.

In any case, such laws already exists and are being observed. The fundies, when they've become disheartened with the behavior of a certain writer or intellectual, will seek to establish his apostasy in a court of law and leave him to bear the brunt of all the legal and social consequences. As I said above, Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid was separated from his wife, it would probably not have helped him either to recant any of the statements on which he was being sued. Such is the rigidity of the law and those who are exploiting it to get their way.

I'm not up-to-date on the proceedings of the case against Dr. Sayed El Qimni. But I think it's utterly ridiculous that one would be sued for a research he'd done, more so that the lawsuit would seek to get an award imparted by the state withdrawn from him. It's utterly ridiculous that anyone would get sued, harassed, persecuted or threatened because of a research they'd done or an opinion they'd voiced. We have enough restrictions on freedom of speech to self-impose some more. A culture that is confident of itself and its pillars wouldn't fear the voice of dissent. I daresay it wouldn't even fear the voice of apostasy. Islam is a beautiful religion in its spiritual aspects and it provides comfort and peace to Millions around the world. I refuse to believe that my Arabic and Islamic culture is unsure of itself as to become coercive or a source of pain and repression to some.

Not in my name.

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Post Script: it may not surprise you that thinking about and writing this post felt to me like opening a Pandora's box. Given its sensitive nature, I'd debated myself at length whether to publish it or not. Eventually, I'd decided that I'd go ahead, after paying special attention to the words and their impacts, and making sure they do not end up offending anybody.

Please take the above into consideration while commenting.

Berlin and Israel Wall

No further comment is really needed here.

They are biased, and they are not about to change anytime soon.

The hollow ‘left’ of western democracies is on a constant mission to find causes worth their while. From the failing states of Africa to the suffering of monks in the expanses of Burma; there’s an abundant supply of misery for the intellectual elitists to chew on.

Yet when it comes to the siege of Gaza and the continuous suffering of its residents, little or nothing at all is being said.

I could probably use some distinctions here; there are certainly those journalists who are consistent in their stances toward human rights abuses. I am certainly not talking about those (who are, for all the wrong reasons, infinitesimally insignificant in their influence). The group of individuals that is the most eloquent demonstration of this hypocrisy is the likes of Thomas. L. Friedman or Jeffery Goldberg. I have absolutely no respect for this duo. On the other hand, and while I disagree vehemently with Johann Hari’s views on Dubai, I respect him for being consistent when addressing the plight of Palestinian people.

Hell, I even I agree with his critique of Tarantino's infamous movie.

It’s an observation larded with irony that many people who cheered Hari’s article on Dubai wouldn’t ever agree with his view on Gaza’s massacre.

To this denomination of people, the two aforesaid journalists (Friedman and Goldberg and their likes) are of great use. They tell them that the status quo of the foreign policies of their countries is absolutely fine. They keep the uncomfortable facts away. To them, the United States (and to lesser degree, the UK) have always been the neutral broker of peace, the power player whose biases are always weighed in by the moral superiority of Israel. “They are like us”, “they are the only democracy in the middle east”, “their survival is in danger ”..etc.. are the hot headlines and talking points these journalists are supposed to maintain.

No, I’m not talking about a powerful cabal or a worldwide conspiracy. I’m talking about the media not being representative of the situation on the ground.

Sometimes, the biases of free (or cheap) speech could be as disgusting as those of propaganda outlets.

It’s not the fault of free speech, though. It’s the imbalance in power and influence. obviously, the Israel lobby is much more effective than the Muslim and Arab lobbies combined. An American scholar, John Mearsheimer, talks about this in his book "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy". To illustrate the power of the lobby, a congressman staffer once told a journalist that they (the lobby) could at any given moment rely on the reflexive support of 250-300 congressmen on whatever they propose. That’s more than half the number of congress members. The other half will probably need a little persuasion. Also, a former AIPAC member once boasted, as he sat to a restaurant table, that they could get signatures of half the senate on a piece of napkin.

Such a bias in the political circles is well understood. (You may want to read
the book for further illustrations of this power and its perils.)

The issue that grates on my nerves is that erudite journalists are supposed to be better informed and less intimidated by the consequences of their opinions than politicians. Or at least, you’d hope so.

That’s not the case at the moment. And unless that changes (I could argue) we will not have peace in the Middle East.

"Arts life: Damascus"

The following is one of the best articles I've read about Syria in a while. Although it only touches on a little facet of culture and civil life (art scene), it doesn't fail to betray the ostensible changes in the works that we all hope are really happening.

What I normally 'hate' about these articles is the fact that the writers expect readers to have negative stereotypes. Not only your unfavorable misconceptions warranted in this case, but you are indeed entitled for them.

Is it too much to expect writers and intellectuals to acknowledge the timeless fact that "political restrictions" and "traditional way of life" never stifle creative spirit in human beings-- no matter the place, time or ideology?

do I really need to be surprised that art scene in Damascus is at par with its counterpart in Cairo?

To be honest, for me, anything less would have been the surprise.

I'm maybe sounding arrogant. I do not wish to. We, ordinary Syrians, recognize the long way our country have to go to gratify our moderately sized egos. It's one thing most of my blogging friends would agree upon. This requisite push-- the charging ahead that we need, may come sooner or later. But in the mean time, please go to Damascus with an open mind. You never know, you may actually like it!

Enough of that, here's a little excerpt from the article:

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You hang out with Mostafa Ali, the sculptor with the many projects, and he’ll tell you of several things to do that day. You hang out with Hazem the translator and he takes you to any of a number of arts cafes, where everyone knows him by name.
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Silver Lining and Laziness

I settle in the chair as my barber wraps a paper collar around my neck. I wonder why barber chairs are made this way. Kind of fancy, aren’t they? They’re probably designed to make you feel special, like at the dentists, since you’re about to be operated upon. Drills, scalpels, scissors, razorblades… the gear don’t really matter. You are helpless and submissive and under the mercy and powers of the operator.

I once wondered, if a barber decides to get you killed, is there any chance to stop him? Not much, I believe. If I was as powerful as the POTUS I might get my barber vetted. But till then and in the meantime, my barber is a nice guy from the suburbs of Damascus and that‘s as good a background check as one might get.

Cars honk and hoot out on the road. “festive mood, eh?” my barber asks. Not really looking for an answer. He looks in a festive mood himself. Kind of happy and relax.

“So how is business?” I ask.
“Sot bad… you know, we had a around during Eid eave. Then things slowed down a bit. But all in all it’s good. Al Hamdillah”
“Did you not get affected by the recession?”
“Not really,” he answers, bewildered “as you know, my customers are mostly local Emiratis. And even the expats keep coming. Look at you, for example, you’re not about to grow a ponytail ‘cause of the recession, are you?”
“No, not because of the recession. But since you’ve mentioned it, I was seriously pondering a ponytail. You know how lazy Í am. I visit you once every two month and then it’s only because my hair gets messy and disheveled.”

He furrows his eyebrows while his scissor clicks away. I’m not sure whether he’s trying to concentrate or he’s baffled by my proposition.

“Oh yeah, a ponytail. But you know, it may require much more work than you think. You need to take care of your hair; wash it, brush it, apply hair product and what not. You think women spend ample time before mirrors ‘cause they have nothing else to do? No, man. Long hair is a lot of work,” he smiles and keeps on talking, can’t really stop a guy once he’s rattling off something he knows well. “but,” he goes on, “once you’ve grown your hair long enough, you’re going to love it. Most guys I know never cut their hair short again after they’ve grown it. Unless it’s for something overriding. Like a job requirement or military service.”

“I see,” I said, the idea of the ponytail burst up in the air like a bubble. In fairness, it was never strong enough to begin with.

“Anyway, the idea was bad to begin with. You know, I swim a lot and long hair isn’t good for me. Do you swim yourself?”

“Me? Swimming?” he chuckles, “man, I’m the world champion in laziness.”
“It’s not really about laziness, I’m lazy, as you can tell.” hell he could tell, the floor around us was being carpeted with two months growth of hair. “Laziness in my opinion can’t be measured by doing the things you love doing. I love swimming and work out in general. Can’t deem myself active just because I’m doing them. Laziness is about not doing the grudging things that you HAVE to do. .. That’s laziness, know what I mean?”

Problem with barber conversations, you need to keep a low bar of intellectualism. My barber nods and looks blank. Not in the mood to revise his definition of laziness.

“So back to your business,” I say, changing the subject, “you know, it’s really great that it’s not been affected throughout this crisis. “

“What crisis? Man, all I know about the crisis is that the rent had dropped down around this area. I moved into a nice flat couple of months ago. Five minutes walk away from here”

“You did…? That’s great”, as far as I kn0w, my barber was struggling to get a driver license and was living at the other end of town. It was taking him an hour to commute via RTA bus service.

When you’re being operated upon by the barber, you learn trivial things about his/her life.
Five minutes. So much for laziness.

My barber finishes with the worldly proclamation of “Na3eeman”. I pay, tip and say goodbye. See you next year. Literally. The road had become swarming with cars painted the colors of the national flag. people stuck out from sunroofs of fast moving cars. Waving, screaming, spraying paint all around them in a mischievous way.

It takes me a while longer than usual to get home. But it’s OK. Everyone is in a festive mood and the ill-fitting international headlines can take the back seat while these kids screeched their tires and celebrated. Everyone seems to be happy, and the crisis is ward off for the time being.

Laziness, here I come.