Indigestible news

Okay, so here are some weird news, or rather inaccurate statistics that took my attention today. It is either that the reporters don't know what they are talking about (well, they don't usually because they copy-paste those press releases from the sources without paying attention to the details). Or they actually think that those things would pass without anyone thinking about them. Sometimes I wonder why are they underestimating our intelligence.

UAE to Achieve 3.2% growth rate in GDP in 2010

According to the "UAE Economic Report 2009" article the UAE's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) grew by 1.3% in 2009 to AED 914.3 billions (for future referencing, the GDP for 2010 should be around AED 943.55 billions and the GDP for 2008 was AED 902.41 billions). There is no "UAE Economic Report 2008", at least online so I relied on another official online sources from the Minister Of Economy. According to their statistics the UAE economy grew by 7.4% in 2008 from AED 729.7 billons in 2007 to AED 929.4 billons.

OK the irony

2010 === 943.5

2009 === 914.3

2008 === 902.4? or 929.4?

2007 === 729.7

And then, they keep insisting that our economy didn't shrink. They need to make up their mind. It is either their data of 2008 was wrong or the economy really shrunk by about 1.6% in 2009. I really don't understand why think think that it's better to make-up the statistics. The whole world is under a big crisis so big deal if we get affected? lol, anyway, I seem like a drama queen in this post :P

Here is a comment of someone named Don on Arabianbusiness. I was going to post about this same topic here in the blog but I couldn't have said it better than him and I got bored from writing. Forget his conspiracy theory about the shortage of units. I guess we don't get enough from those people paranoia.

In reference to the October 2009 article " UAE population hits 6m, Emiratis make up 16.5% by Andy Sambidge - Wednesday, 07 October 2009", the UAE has achieved another world's first, a popoulation increase of 36% in 6 months to hit 8.19million, or over 70% for a complete year with a forecasted population of 11 million by year end.

We are dramatically short of housing units then. Time to start building again as we will be short by well over a million units by year end. The housing shortage crises has arrived again.

Don't we all just love the statistics here. A shame on Arabian News for publishing such articles without looking back a few months ago making the news reporting have no credibility.

Movie of the Week: Shrek Forever After

Sultan Bin Sulayem Finally Appear In Public

After all the rumors about him being replaced as a chairman of Dubai World and after a long time of the Dubai Government Media office confirming that he is still at office, Bin Sulayem was finally seen in the regular executive council meeting yesterday.

UAE Top Websites 2010

As taken from Alexa. I didn't bother positing the known websites like Google, Facebook, etc, I decided to post what can be related particularly to the residents and citizens of the UAE based on their rank.

UAE

World

Website

Description

10

162

maktoob.com

Largest Arab Online Community with the most famous email service as well as bilingual Arabic and English online community services.

13

5,938

uaewomen.net

Emirati women gateway on the internet

14

254

kooora.com

The first Arab football website includesfollow-up and global analysis of all football events.

16

5,576

gulfnews.com

Online version of the daily newspaper. Includes headlines, polls, articles, analysis, commentaries and weather updates.

19

115

rediff.com

Online portal with free e-mail and many other services

21

10,361

dubizzle.com

Dubai's comprehensive listing for properties , classifieds , jobs , autos , furniture , electronics , appliances , computers , flatmates , apartments and villas

23

1,537

manoramaonline.com

English and Malayalam language daily based in Kottayam. Local news and features

26

12,686

etisalat.ae

Telecommunication services and technology company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.

29

170

indiatimes.com

Portal site; includes news stories under subject headings, and links to other information sources.

30

1,889

mozook.com

Largest Arab Online Community with the most famous email service as well as bilingual Arabic and English online community services.

State Security Clearance Over Promotions and Appointments in the Federal Government

Emirates draws the most negative policing experiences from its neighbors A decree necessitating a police approval before appointing any clerk

[The Arabic Network For Human Rights Information]

Okay, I disagree with this decision but don't see the need for such a drama title.

Ironically I first read about it in writer column in a government owned newspaper. Fadila Al Muaini was basically saying that while she agrees that we need security protection this decision is beyond all the norms and directly affect Emiratis national employment right in the government [Albayan]

A literal translation of the letter by Google

"Kindly note that based on the directives of His Highness the Minister of Presidential Affairs, the need to obtain clearance before the termination of personnel actions related to public office in all grades and on the basis of circulars issued in this regard.

Please instruct it to those who need the need to obtain clearance from the competent authority before the end-measures (recruitment - promotion - loan - Mandate - Transport - study leave - regularization - Reset - Recruitment higher degree).

Therefore, the authority request everyone to abide by the circular for the public interest."

The UAE constituation in Article 35:

"Public office shall be open to all citizens on a basis of equality of opportunity in accordance with the provisions of law.
Public office shall be a national service entrusted to those who hold it. The public servant shall aim, in the execution of his duties, at the public interest only."

Oh well, look at the bright side. They are still using Arabic in their circulation :P

P.S: Wonder why a professional website like ANHRI would upload a photo with the name karar.

Why Dubai's Islamic austerity is a sham – sex is for sale in every bar

Couples who publicly kiss are jailed, yet the state turns a blind eye to 30,000 imported prostitutes, says William Butler.

[The Guardian]

Won't bore you with posting the rest of the article here. You can view check it in the link posted above.

Just trying to pick on the stuff the author wrote ..

- Why does he believe the word of the lady about "kissing on the cheek" against the word of the court which believed that it was more like a french kiss? Sodom-sur-Me? like lol. Then he goes to mentioning that Dubai has 30,000 prostitutes, who did the estimation?

- He goes into categorizing Dubai into groups. Emiratis sell sex visas to feed all the groups. Its like every other day for Europeans and Americans with prostitution. Male Expatriates are faithful 10 months a year but cheat their wives in the summer, why summer? He basically say that all males are unfaithful when they get the chance to. I think he was speaking of himself.

- Dubai is full of contradictions and has its share of hypocrisy but this article is ......

A hard edge to Dubai's glittering allure

For all its image as a carefree paradise, the emirate's constant surveillance is a reminder of the limited safeguards on privacy and political freedom. One researcher found out the hard way.

[Los Angeles Times]

Sheikh Ahmad: The real estate boom will never come back

He said that Dubai will focus on the sectors that are the core of its business and the future of Dubai which are exports, tourism and services leaving out the real estate sector.

He emphasized that real estate speculators are not welcomed in Dubai. He also said that Dubai will have a growth rate of 5% this year.

[Emaratalyoum]

Don't Do List in Dubai

"BRITS in Dubai have been given an official "Don't Do" list to keep them out of jail following a spate of clashes with strict Muslim authorities."

"Holding hands is tolerated for married couples, but KISSING and hugging is considered an offence against public decency.

[The Sun]

Wonder how Terry and Toni got away with it?

Terry and Toni kissing in Dubai [Soccer-portal]

The UAE: Fifth in the world's worst immigration laws

At least we didn't come first :P

"living conditions are often harsh, including 80-hour work weeks, back-breaking manual labor, and below-minimum-wage pay. It's not atypical for immigrants to live in "tiny pre-fabricated huts, 12 men to a room, forced to wash themselves in filthy brown water and cook in kitchens next to overflowing toilets."

The World's Worst Immigration Laws [foreignpolicy]

Photo [oxfamblogs]

500 Dirhams pocket money for Emirati teens a week

So according to the article, Emirati teenagers get 11 times more than Britain teenagers. I remember that we used to get 3 Dirhams daily 5 days a week as a pocket money for school so 3 times 5 = 15. Lets say things got expensive now so maybe 5 by 5 = 25 or to exaggerate 5 by 10 = 50. How did they calculate it? A DS game every week?

£85 a week for the UAE's pampered teens [Telegraph]

Photo by JakeBrewer [Flickr]