Soccer: Australia -v- Iraq ticket ripoff

Ticket prices have just been confirmed for the Aus-v-Iraq match to be played in Dubai tonight. There is a euphemistically named "two tier" price system in place: 20 dirhams ($US5.45) for Iraqis/Arab nationals and 356 dirhams ($US100) for expats. That's not just a tier mate, that's the whole bloody grandstand!

But this bit of shiftiness and some other unsportsmanlike incidents pre-game have not gone unnoticed out there in the Real World with an article already in the Melbourne Age. I'm annoyed and I'm not even Australian!

Skype blocked in the UAE

Skype is a software programme, created in Estonia, which allows users to make phone calls from their PCs. Calls made to other Skype users are free and there's a small fee for calls to landlines and cell phones. I can make calls to NZ, talk for 15-20 mins and it only costs around 40c US.

Access to Skype is now blocked (again) in the UAE. It was banned previously (2005-ish) but people got around it by using VPNs but now that doesn't work either. Attempts to access the Skype website result in this message:



'We apologize the site you are attempting to visit has been blocked due to its content being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates.'

I don't understand how making phone calls to family and friends overseas is "inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE". Inconsistent with profit making more like it........

How architectural plans are interpreted on site

Another one for the 'Only in Dubai' department.

Madame is not amused.

Madame seems to have her own fanclub :-) The latest news is that she served only 4 days of her sentence and then we bailed her out of the Big House. Up until recently, you could pay the fine plus 100 dirhams per day for each day of impound and keep the car. We were *told* that people could no longer do this, but in true Dubai style that wasn't true at all. After 3 days without Madame Colin asked the question, paid the cash and got the car back immediately.

Madame however, was not amused. To show her displeasure she blew her alternator which means she's now sitting out at the Audi dealers having a nice time with all the other Audis (her peeps) while waiting for a new alternator to be imported from Germany. While she's is out of action I'm tootling round town in a 'loaner' a little Audi A4. Where Madame is a fire breathing tiger, the Baby Audi is a little kitten. So I just 'pull my head in', drive in the right hand lane with the Good Kids and watch the endless display of imbecility and death wish that pass for driving on Dubai roads.

Satwa: الى اللقاء (See you later)

Sadly, we’ve joined the exodus from Satwa and, after we moved out, as arranged, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (“DEWA”) cut off the water and electricity supply to the Satwa villa on 17th May. DEWA produced the final bill on 20th May. Now DEWA are refusing to refund the original deposit we paid as they're demanding that we pay for water and electricity at the Satwa villa from the date they disconnected the power and water, 17th May, to the date the bill was produced, 20th May. Why? According to DEWA their policy is that the amount to be paid by the consumer is calculated on the date DEWA produces the final bill not the date the service actually ceased. So if, for example, a villa in Satwa is demolished before DEWA produces a final bill for that property, and due to the number of Satwa disconnections it takes them let's say, 6 weeks, to produce a final bill, is the consumer required to pay for water and power (non)supply to the pile of rubble for that 6 week period? I'm sure we'll find out the answer when the demolitions really get under way over the next few months.

The keffiyeh kerfuffle

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald just leaves me shaking my head.
May 29, 2008 - 1:15PM

The US Dunkin' Donuts chain has pulled an online advertisement featuring celebrity chef Rachael Ray after critics argued that a scarf she wore in the ad offers symbolic support for terrorism.

Dunkin' Donuts said today it pulled the ad over the weekend because of what it calls a "misperception" about the scarf that detracted from its original intent to promote its iced coffee.

Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. The ad's critics say such scarves have come to symbolise Muslim extremism and terrorism. According to Malkin's syndicated column (which in the UAE is blocked, possibly on the grounds of terminal idiocy), Ray is wearing a scarf that resembles a kiffiyeh. Malkin said the garment was "popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos,".

(If you follow Ms Malkin's logic then the following assumptions must also be true:
1. The Yorkshire Ripper wears trousers.
2. Most men wear trousers.
3. Therefore most men support the Yorkshire Ripper?)

Dunkin' Donuts, based in Canton, Massachusetts, says the black-and-white scarf that Ray wore had a paisley design, and was selected by a stylist for the advertising shoot. The chain said no symbolism was intended.

On her blog, Malkin said Ray's decision to wear the scarf was "clueless sporting of a jihadi chic keffiyeh".

"I'm hoping her hate couture choice was spurred more by ignorance than ideology," Malkin wrote last week.

Acknowledging the "keffiyeh kerfuffle" that had since erupted, Malkin yesterday explained her stance further.

"Anti-American fashion designers abroad and at home have mainstreamed and adapted the scarves as generic pro-Palestinian jihad or anti-war statements.

"Yet many folks out there remain completely oblivious to the apparel's violent symbolism and anti-Israel overtones."

Shevonne Hunt, a freelance journalist, has reported on the popularity of the keffiyeh in Australia.

She said the so-called "dessert scarf" (maybe she's means 'desert') had become a recent fashion craze in Australia, following a similar trend in the US about a year ago that started after celebrities including Jude Law and the Mary Kate Olsen were seen wearing one.

In Australia, versions of the keffiyeh were available at popular fashion retailers, including General Pants, Cotton On and Tree of Life, Hunt said. But retailers said they often sold out of the scarf, she said.

But the keffiyeh's recent popularity as a fashion item is disappointing to many who understand its history, she said.

"Some people used to wear the keffiyeh as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people. But now, the people wearing it often have absolutely no idea what it means or its background," she said.

"Many Palestinians are now actually annoyed because it's lost its power, it's lost its impact."

Instructions to the masses

New instructions to shoppers in several of the major malls in Dubai:
Please do not:
~ Smoke inside the mall
~ Leave children under 8 years old unattended
~ Cycle, rollerblade or skate inside the mall
~ Wear inappropriate clothing to the mall (I hope that applies to leopard print leggings!)
~ Display "indecent affection" in public
~ Climb on ballustrades, balconies,fences and railings.

This fuller explanation from "The National".

DUBAI/ABU DHABI // Shoppers are being told to dress appropriately and refrain from public displays of affection by a poster campaign in malls.

Showing excessive amounts of flesh and kissing are cited in the courtesy policy at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.

Large blue posters are visible at the entrance to the mall on glass sliding doors. The policy is also printed on the maps and store directories which many visitors use to guide themselves around the 223,000 square metres of shops.

A spokesman for the mall said: “Every year we receive a number of complaints about people coming here and not respecting the traditional way of dressing in the Muslim world.

“It is usually tourists who come in wearing beachwear and who are not aware of our custom. We wish everyone who visits the mall to have a pleasant experience, therefore we feel it is our job to point out the acceptable way to dress.”

The Burjuman and Reef Malls in the city will soon be putting up similar posters outlining their code of conduct.

Bruce Von Kaufmann, operations manager for the two malls, said: “Inappropriate dress is often mentioned in our feedback forms and it often comes up in our executive meetings. We decided to act this year and would have done so whether or not the Mall of the Emirates had taken the lead. It is important for us that people are aware of their surroundings when they visit our malls so we advise discretion.”

The signs at Burjuman and Reef will inform visitors that respectful dress should be worn at all times and that customers should refrain from kissing and cuddling.

“Not every tourist reads the in-flight magazine from cover to cover so we feel that discreetly pointing out the traditions and culture of the UAE is as helpful to them as it is to us,” he said.

The posters are currently in the final stages of design and will be put in place in the next few weeks.

Aaron Richardson, public relations manager for Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, said that there is no official dress code there at the mall. However, if a shopper was dressed inappropriately, management would bring this to their attention.

“We have only received a couple of complaints in the three years that we’ve been operating, although we do monitor visitors to the mall and would advise customers if we felt it was necessary to do so,” he said.

At the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi, which is home to over more than 300 stores, the management has a similar procedure. Nadeem Wajahat, the general manager, said: “We strive to ensure that the mall offers a wholesome atmosphere for all our shoppers. We treat each [complaint] uniquely, depending on the factors at play. Each situation is considered as important as the next. I am proud to confirm that, to date, never have we needed to involve mall security or the local police.”

Mr Wajahat also said that he hoped that visitors to the mall would be aware of the cultural traditions of the UAE and act accordingly to this.

Khalid Hamad, 27, a marketing manager from Abu Dhabi and regular shopper at Marina Mall, said: “When I go abroad I make sure I am aware of other cultures and traditions. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for visitors here to do the same.

“If I saw a woman in her bikini in the mall it would go against everything I have been taught about decent behaviour. I would be offended.” (Can I say here that a woman in a bikini or a bloke in Speedos wandering around Chatswood Mall or Henderson Square would get, amongst other things, a degree of negative comment too.)
Reem al Hamly, 21, an interior design student who dresses in an abaya and black sheila, feels it is important to introduce guidelines for westerners in the malls for the sake of the children. “For me, women walking around wearing swimwear or other garments showing a lot of flesh is not personally offensive but I worry about the example it sets to children and young people,” she said.

“I am old enough to make my own decisions about what I wear and to be well informed about other cultures but it will be confusing for those who are being taught one thing at home and seeing something different when they are shopping.”

aseaman@thenational.ae