The fickle finger

From the 'Gulf News' of 4th July 08

Judges debate deportation order for indecent gesture in public
By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter

Dubai: Flash your middle finger in the face of someone in public and get deported.

Deportation has become compulsory against those who are found guilty of flashing their middle finger in public, warned a chief prosecutor yesterday.

"Expatriates should start having better control over their behaviour in public because, according to the Federal Penal Law, deportation has become obligatory against those who are incriminated of committing an indecent gesture or behaving obscenely in public such as flashing their middle finger, kissing, cuddling or hugging etc.

"Emiratis who commit the same crime face imprisonment, fine or both," the chief prosecutor, who requested anonymity, told Gulf News yesterday afternoon.

Appeals judge Mahmoud Fahmi considers the punishment as stricter than a life sentence and called on lawmakers and legislators to reconsider the compulsory deportation order.

Tight rein

"The recent amendment in the Federal Penal Law is strict. The compulsory deportation order has honestly kept a tight rein on us especially when we prosecute someone who committed an indecent gesture in public such as flashed a finger or had consensual sex ... the suspects who commit such an offence or crime aren't a threat to the society or as dangerous as rapists or molesters who deserve a deportation order," judge Fahmi told Gulf News.

Discretion

He called on the lawmakers to return to the earlier practice by which judges were given the discretion to issue a deportation order when prosecuting such suspects.

Advocate Khalifa Al Salman, who was a former judge at Dubai courts, told Gulf News: "I am strongly against the compulsory deportation order because it is very stiff against someone who commits an indecent gesture or behaves obscenely in public. Lawmakers have stipulated punishments to deter suspects from repeating a crime or misdemeanour.

"Meanwhile, an obligatory deportation order is inconsistent with such a crime. A deportation order is meant to expel a suspect from a society when he/she becomes more harmful than beneficial to that society."

Al Salman called on lawmakers to stipulate laws that entitle judges to jail or fine a suspect who commits such a crime and grant them the discretion to issue deportation orders against expatriates or not.

Provocation

A 37-year-old Pakistani worker faces a deportation order in case Dubai Court of First Instance incriminates him flashing his middle finger to a 19-year-old jobless Emirati who has also been charged with flashing his finger to the worker.

"I am guilty for flashing my finger in his face... but I reacted to his and his compatriot's behaviour."

The Public Prosecution charged the worker, J.A., with indecently gesturing in public. The jobless Emirati, S.R., was likely charged with flashing his finger in J.A.'s face.

J.A. and his compatriot, M.A., were charged with leaving the worker with five per cent permanent disability after assaulting him. M.A. was additionally charged with endangering the lives of J.A. and his 35-year-old compatriot driver, M.I., when he surprisingly pulled his breaks and swerved his vehicle against their car.

Violating privacy
Article 121 of the amended Federal Penal Law No. 3, 1987, says it's up to a judge's discretion to order the deportation of any expatriate who is jailed for a crime or misdemeanour.

A deportation order becomes compulsory when a suspect commits a crime against someone's privacy, honour or dignity. According to the same Article, a court can instantly deport a suspect in a misdemeanour crime instead of a jail sentence.

The fifth section of the same Law concerning crimes against honour and dignity, Article 358, stipulates that a suspect who commits an indecent gesture in public faces a minimum of six months in jail, and any suspect who breaches the privacy, honour or dignity of a minor under the age of 15, in public or in private, faces minimum one year in jail.

It's all in the profile

Picture from 'Xpress'

It won't come as a surprise to anyone who's been in Dubai more than 10 minutes, that the taxi drivers here pick and choose potential passengers who try to flag a taxi in the street. According to the Dubai tabloid 'Xpress' here's how its done, (and there are few places in the world where such an article could even be printed):

How cabbies racially profile Dubai’s passengers

Africans They usually head for Deira, Baniyas Square (popularly known as Al Nasr Square), Naif Souq, Frij Al Murar, Hamdan Colony and Al Baraha.

Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis They go to Bur Dubai, Karama, Old Pakistani Consulate, Oud Metha Road, Al Rigga Road, Al Muteena Road and Al Qusais.

Indian businessmen Great to pick up during business hours as they take business routes. After 5pm, they head back to the aforementioned locations.

Asians The Chinese live in large congregations, either at International City or in various areas around BurJuman Centre.

Filipinos Usually residing in Satwa, Jebel Ali or Al Muteena in Deira. Always take short rides

Emiratis A rarity

Saudis Singles usually stay at hotels in Deira near Al Rigga or Muraqabbat Roads. Saudi families make great customers as they tend to travel to major shopping malls such as Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall

Arabs Risky pick ups. They get upset fast and go to Sharjah a lot

Eastern Europeans Usually stay in Sharjah or Ajman, which means running into traffic.

Westerners Preferred customers. They usually go to new Dubai, from Jumeirah onwards.

Why new Dubai?

Taxi drivers prefer going around new Dubai because there’s less traffic. An evening trip from Madinat Jumeirah to The Springs 3 would cost around Dh25 would take around 12 minutes. A trip between Oud Metha Road and Al Maktoum Road - about the same distance - would cost around Dh13, but would take 25 minutes.

"I'm my own Grandpa"

Can you believe it? There are people in the world who actually doubt the existence of the song "I'm my own Grandpa." So here's the proof:

Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three
I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be.
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.
My father fell in love with her and soon they, too, were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life
For my daughter was my mother, 'cause she was my father's wife.
To complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to dad
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad
For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother
To the widow's grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my step-mother.

My father's wife then had a son who kept them on the run
And he became my grand-child, 'cause he was my daughter's son.
My wife is now my mother's mother, and it makes me blue
Because, although she is my wife, she's my grandmother too.

If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild
And every time I think of it, it nearly drives me wild
For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw
(This has got to be the strangest thing I ever saw)
As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpaw.

Chorus
I'm my own grandpaw
I'm my own grandpaw
It sounds funny I know
but it really is so
Oh, I'm my own grandpaw.

We're engaged.

We spent last weekend at Bab al Shams the desert resort about 45 minutes out of Dubai, cheapo me, I'd been waiting for the summer specials to start. There are photos of the tanoura dancer and the bellydancer who performed at the hotel's desert restaurant here.

On Friday afternoon over our second bottle of champagne, Colin asked me to marry him and once I got over the shock I said 'yes' and we are now engaged (no date or place planned yet).

Designer Dishdashes come to Dubai

Tom Ford dishdashas to hit Dubai
From ArabianBusiness.com
Legendary fashion designer Tom Ford is creating a signature line of dishdashas for Arab men. Picture for illustrative purposes only. (Getty Images)Tom Ford, who turned Gucci into a global colossus during his ten years as creative director for the fashion house, is creating a signature line of dishdashas for fashion-conscious Arab men.

Rumours of the launch have been circulating since last year, but Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah, owner of Villa Moda, confirmed the news in an interview with fashion magazine Grazia.

Al-Sabah did not announce a date for the arrival of the Arabic men’s line, but hinted that it would be “very soon”.


The range looks certain to create a buzz for Villa Moda’s new multi-brand store, which is set to open within weeks at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) mall.

The store will be the first to offer Tom Ford fashion in the Middle East.

Visa u-turn in Dubai

An article from the Arabian Business website today:

Dubai risks scaring off investors with visa u-turn
From ArabianBusiness.com Tuesday, 24 June 2008

INVESTOR CONFIDENCE: ING said the announcement expat homeowners in Dubai are not automatically entitled to long-term residency could hit property sales. Foreigners could be less likely to buy properties in Dubai after the emirate's real estate regulator said expatriate homeowners are not automatically entitled to long-term residency rights, ING said on Tuesday.

"There is no direct link between owning a property in Dubai and obtaining a residency visa", Chief Executive of the emirate's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Marwan bin Ghalita, was quoted by daily Gulf News as saying on Tuesday. (my emphasis)

The comments were contrary to prior statements from local developers such as Emaar Properties, the Arab world's largest real estate firm by market value, ING said, noting the remarks could trigger "negative sentiment" and impact Emaar's stock.
Dubai, the commercial hub of the Arab world, has witnessed a property boom since the government allowed foreigners to invest in properties in 2002. The emirate passed a real estate law in 2006 allowing foreign freehold ownership in some areas.

Expatriates from neighbouring countries facing political instability, such as Pakistan, Lebanon and Iran, have been lured to Dubai largely on the assumption that owning a property would entitle them to long-term visas, ING said.

"People from politically/economically unstable countries in the region bought residences in Dubai assuming they would automatically be granted residency, a huge asset to have if the situation in their home countries turned sour," ING said.

"Dubai was the only market in the region to offer such a link."

But bin Ghalita's comments on Tuesday raised questions about whether the promise of residency from developers, including state-owned Dubai Properties and Nakheel, has legal backing, ING said.

"Developers should not lure investors to the property sector with a promise of residence visa," bin Ghalita was quoted as saying.

The existence of "safety homes" in Dubai has been a key factor driving demand, and any decision by regulators to review the visa status of existing homeowners would create a "legal minefield" and could hit the emirate's image, ING said.

"Owners will feel they have been sold a worthless investment and what's more by developers that are all linked very closely to the state in Dubai," the bank said.

Shares of Emaar Properties slipped 0.45 percent on Tuesday while those of Union Properties fell 2.68 percent.

The regulator, meanwhile, has submitted a proposal to the government to grant foreigner homeowners visit visas, a rule that could also apply to existing homeowners if it is approved, bin Ghalita said.

Foreigners comprise more than 80 percent of the population in the United Arab Emirates, home to about 4.1 million people, the majority from the Indian subcontinent, Iran and other Arab countries. (Reuters)

A sh*tty story

Dubai's struggling to provide the infrastructure required to keep pace with the rate of development here. The challenges that come with the resulting enormous population increase are really brought home by sights like that shown above. All the trucks in this queue, which stretches for kilometres into the distance, are carrying raw sewerage from Dubai and waiting to unload it at the Al Aweer treatment plant behind International City. The queue is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. According to the Gulf News, the Al Aweer sewage plant was originally designed to cope with 57 million gallons a day, but is currently running at 70 per cent above design capacity and actually processes 101 million gallons a day.