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Ramadan Rituals I Grew Up With
While we were guests of that country, Ramadan was the one time when we felt just like the local people. It was a wonderful time – a feeling of unity was over the country and everyone had plenty to eat and was able enjoy the special season. I remember on some evenings my family would skip Iftar to go to the mosque where they served an extravagant meal after the sunset prayer.
British Woman Detained for Wearing Bikini, Britons Call for Burqa Ban
Since when is wearing a bikini in a mall normal behavior anywhere?
The Ways in Which the Economic Crisis Has Penetrated the MENA.
One of the most interesting aspects of my travels was to both implicitly and explicitly hear and see the impact of the economic crisis originating from the States’ bad banking and lending practices on MENA countries. The following are stories that cover the arrhythmiac economic heartbeat of the some of the Arab countries: Expats in UAE [...]
Pregnant Driver Causes Unborn Baby’s Death?
Dubai’s wacky legal system is in the news once again. On Sunday, a Lebanese woman was convicted of negligent homicide after allegedly causing an accident in which her unborn child was killed. In October of last year, just four days before a planned cesarian delivery, the defendant was driving around the notoriously dangerous streets of [...]
Swine Flu Haiku
Dear sweet Lebanese,Please stop kissing each otherThanks, The Management. Israel’s got swine fluWait – no – it’s Mexican fluYeah…that’s not racist. Netanyahu’s scaredIsraelis love to travel…And lock others in. If Saudi gets it,Will they still call it swine flu?Only time will tell. Syria’s carefulNo breeding of piggies therePhew, what a relief. Emirates: alert!Better watch out [...]
My Master
“Can I please be your bitch White Man?” The Emiratis do it again as they try their hands at winning the white man’s favor and purse strings. In an attempt to attract the colonial masters (that they have ironically appointed themselves) to their latest coastal residential development project in Abu Dhabi, Al-Raha Beach, the company has [...]
UAE Seeks Feedback On Flickr Filtering
In an unprecedented move, the Telecommunications and Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE is giving users the opportunity to submit feedback over the blocking a number of sites, including Flickr. Internet Service Provider (ISP) du, followed larger ISP Etisalat last year in blocking “offensive” sites, including Skype, a number of blogs, and information on the [...]
10 Ways to Tell That You Are in the Emirates…
1. Two men with ambiguous sexual preferences, one with his arm around the other’s waist, and the partner with his arm over his friend’s shoulder hit on you. 2. A spa for cars is all the rage. 3. On a plane flight from the states to Dubai, the overweight American hick with an stretched to [...]
I Guess the Tent Ain’t Big Enough…
Over the years many analysts have linked the price of oil with the degree to which Gulf states seem willing to reform. When oil prices are high Gulf governments might give some lip-service to “reform”, but in general squeaky wheels are bought off and few significant changes are instituted. When oil prices dip, the fundamental [...]
Arabs and Muslims making lists!
For their July/August 2008 online issue, the good people at Foreign Policy published the results of a readers poll ranking the Top Public Intellectuals in the World. 500,000 readers made their choices based off of a list of 100 names. And guess what? The top 10 public intellectuals on the list are all-gasp-MUSLIM! You know [...]
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