Alexander McNabb

Total Confusion: The UAE National Identity Card

Total Confusion: The UAE National Identity Card

ALEXANDER MCNABB: The ‘application application’ has been removed. Typing centres have been closed. And the clock is ticking towards the end of year deadline.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

Edward Said – A Threat or an Asset?

Edward Said – A Threat or an Asset?

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Public intellectuals reflect the conscience of society and should not be regarded as a threat, but as part and parcel of the community.

 Alexander McNabb

There are Bad Days, and then there are…

There are Bad Days, and then there are…

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Adding to that, we have finally had it confirmed that, in the UAE, ‘freehold’ actually means ‘usufruct’. What the hell is ‘usufruct’..?

 Matt J. Duffy

Wikileaks – Where is the UAE Media?

Wikileaks – Where is the UAE Media?

MATT J. DUFFY: I suggest that one—or preferably all—of the UAE’s press outlets compile a simple report analyzing the leaked cables. The report should be published without a byline so no single reporter can be sued.

 Hisham Wyne

Entrepreneurship is ‘a state of mind’ – gurus

Entrepreneurship is ‘a state of mind’ – gurus

HISHAM WYNE: What makes a successful entrepreneur? At the ‘Celebration of Entrepreneurship’ conference which was recently held in Dubai, there was consensus among some of the region’s most celebrated businesspeople.

 Alexander McNabb

An Incredible Journey behind the UAE’s 39th National Day

An Incredible Journey behind the UAE’s 39th National Day

ALEXANDER MCNABB: I have some old video footage of Sheikh Rashid, a man that used to take 5am tours around his city as it was being built, in true Arabian Nights style…

 David Roberts

Qatar and Her Neighbours in the Cablegate Releases

Qatar and Her Neighbours in the Cablegate Releases

DAVID ROBERTS: Qatar maintains a close relationship with Iran to safeguard its “trillions of dollars of potential wealth”. Nevertheless, the Head of the Army noted that “we’re neighbours, we’re not friends…”

 Alexander McNabb

Strange Searches leading to Plastic Destination

Strange Searches leading to Plastic Destination

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Fake Plastic Whore Face, Tantalise your tastebuds, mish mushkila ya habibi meaning, what is mineralised water and the Nipple souk… Fake Plastic Souks is the expert on them all…

 Ahmed-Al-Omran

Top 10 Twitter Users in Saudi Arabia

Top 10 Twitter Users in Saudi Arabia

AHMED AL-OMRAN: Twitter’s swept the world but has it made serious inroads into Saudi Arabia? Yes! And here’s my personal ‘Top Ten’ countdown of the Kingdom’s leading Twitter users.

 Alexander McNabb

On Your Bike – an Untrue Ad Executed Badly

On Your Bike – an Untrue Ad Executed Badly

ALEXANDER MCNABB: My delight is enhanced that the latest piece witless buffoonery originates from HSBC, the bank that likes to say ‘Is there anything else I can do to help you?’ at the end of calls where they have been signally useless.

 Steve Royston

Are they Messengers or Missionaries?

Are they Messengers or Missionaries?

STEVE ROYSTON: Successful companies tend not to fire their communications people. That’s not to say that politics, ambition and personal fiefdoms won’t get in the way

 James M. Dorsey

The Booming Voice of Pent-Up Middle East Anger

The Booming Voice of Pent-Up Middle East Anger

JAMES M. DORSEY: As dark as that moment was for Casablancan rockers, the trial was a turning point setting Morocco on a path to becoming one of the Arab world’s more liberal societies when it comes to alternative lifestyles.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

The UAE and the UK – a Special Relationship

The UAE and the UK – a Special Relationship

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Today, there are approximately 240,000 British citizens living in the UAE, with another one million plus visiting the country every year and up to 40,000 Emiratis visiting Britain annually.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

Entrepreneurs to leave mark for next generation

Entrepreneurs to leave mark for next generation

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Arab governments need to understand that without pan-Arab initiatives, true prosperity will not be achieved. We must capitalise on our strengths as a region with a population larger than the United States…

 James Mullan

The Biggest Bonus of them all, & How to Spend it

The Biggest Bonus of them all, & How to Spend it

JAMES MULLAN: The journalist was inspired. After he left I turned to the client to congratulate him on conducting such a wonderful interview. He was grim faced. ‘You know what this means, James? Slavery. There will be no place where you can escape work, no time when you will not be expected to work. It’ll be hell on earth for most people.’ Within two years the guru had retired from the IT business and embarked on a successful career as a rock musician.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

A more balanced federal budget benefits us all

A more balanced federal budget benefits us all

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: But how can the country cover a federal budget shortfall of Dh18.2 billion, which is now carried by only Abu Dhabi and Dubai? A tax regime…

 Alexander McNabb

UAE Media Shame and ‘The Tent Next Door’

UAE Media Shame and ‘The Tent Next Door’

Gulf News deserves to be held to a higher standard than Gulf Today, though. And in this, it has failed. Its silence is nothing less than shameful – and its shame is clearly exposed by The National.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai

A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Nestled in one of Bur Dubai’s older districts is one of the emirate’s best kept architectural secrets: the Ismaili Centre of Dubai.

 James Mullan

‘If it bleeds, it leads’. Agendas, bias, ‘poppycutting’

‘If it bleeds, it leads’. Agendas, bias, ‘poppycutting’

The UAE finds itself in the international spotlight again – and for all of the wrong reasons. So why do the Western media ‘accentuate the negative’ and forget the positive when reporting events in the Arab world?

 Alexander McNabb

Taxis in the UAE – Who’s Being Taken for a Ride?

Taxis in the UAE – Who’s Being Taken for a Ride?

It’s expensive stuff, this taking a taxi. And yet the drivers seem to be worse off than ever – although I don’t see the large numbers of middlemen at the taxi companies and regulators suffering.