Middle East Blogs – Ten Sites CNN Missed
STEVE ROYSTON: My only quibble about CNN’s list is that it picks up exclusively on Arab writers and – with the honourable exception of Mahmood the Bahraini Blogfather – most of the writers seem relatively young.
Lebanon’s Hottest New Act… Mashrou Leila
RACHEL MCARTHUR: Remember the name Mashrou Leila (Leila’s Project), because we guarantee this band will become a household name very soon.
Bastakiya, Bur Dubai: Dubai’s Lost Souls
SARAH WALTON: Possibly Bur Dubai is the soul. At least it is the heart – geographically it sits smack in the middle of the city and without it, Dubai could very possibly be a robot.
Lebanese Entrepreneurial Spirit Strikes Again
MICH CAFE: It works for pizza, why not for shisha? An enterprising Beirut businessman spotted a gap in the market and has a Vespa equipped staff to fill it.
Oh No… Doha enters Tallest Building Competition
DAVID ROBERTS: We’ve managed to avoid the worst of Dubai’s excesses – until now. Yes, Doha is set to enter the region’s competition to build the world’s tallest tower.
GCC Thought Leaders: Step Up and Connect
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: In the GCC what we need is an intellectual evolution of enlightenment not a political
revolution against government.
Entrepreneurs & Privatisation: The Future for GCC Growth
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: The GCC is at a crossroads – its growth requirements are in direct conflict with the needs of the world’s net consumers of oil.
Surely Some Mistake? Dubai Runs Out Of Petrol
ALEXANDER MCNABB: You couldn’t make it up, could you? Dubai, part of major oil producing nation the United Arab Emirates, has run out of fuel. Seriously.
Reasons For, and Against, Working in the MidEast
STEVE ROYSTON: One year ago I wrote the 10 good reasons to work in the Middle East. I would not change one of them. I have, however, added 10 reasons you may not want to.
Gulf Government Silence Speaks Volumes
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: Most government media arms have dug their boots in. That their positions may be correct is irrelevant. After all, how strong is a position that isn’t communicated?
World’s Tallest Building – What Jeddah Really Needs..?
DAVID ROBERTS: Twice as high as the Burj Khalifa the recently announced Kingdom Tower in Jeddah seems an extremely unlikely proposition indeed.
Newspapers Inconsistent Over Blogger Arrests
MATT J. DUFFY: The question all UAE, and indeed regional, newsrooms ask is what is the responsible approach. A responsibility to reporting the facts, or to safeguard their future.
Picture Perfect: Dubai Sheikha’s Likeness to Her Mom
MICH CAFE: I saw Sheikh Mohammed holding Sheikha Al Jalila on the night of the Dubai World Cup. It immediately reminded me of the 1978 photo of her mother in the arms of her uncle.
Paranoia and Control in the Gulf Economy
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: Incubation is the most innovative role governments can play, sparking industries whose high start up costs are a barrier to entry.
UAE Newspapers & the Self Censorship Debate
MATT J. DUFFY: The subject matter of this article offers a insight into which types of stories the paper’s leadership believe would be “irresponsible.”
Comment on The Real Damage of Vanity Fair’s Attack on Dubai by CR
I’ve lived here for almost 5 years, my wife for nearly 10. Whether people want to accept it or not most of what he said is true to varying extents. When you read the article, look past his rather bitter tone to core of the it. I admit he is making rather broad generalizations, but the core of his article is pretty much on target. Emirati’s have lost virtually all their own culture, most of them live in an economic fairy tale, this entire country would COMPLETELY FALL APART without its poorly paid and extremely mistreated Asian labor force, there is most definentely ” a generation of kids who expect to never seriously work—but do expect secure jobs” ( I have met or have friends who have met way to many for it to be untrue and alot of the early 20’s and younger actually laugh about the way their parents or grandparents lived before the money), most expats (not all) are “single, greedy, and insincere” living lives that “revolve around drink and sex and pool parties and barbecues with a lot of hysterical laughing and theme nights, karaoke, and slobbery, regretful coupling” (go to any friday brunch to meet them). Not everyone (Emirati and expat) can be defined by the above,some are actually “normal”, but they are the exception not the rule. Don’t get me wrong though, most days I like it here (wadi’s, dunes, beaches, camping, variety of restaurants, endless sunny days) and at least Dubai really tried to be a fun place to live and a tourist mecca . Abu Dhabi waits to see how something works in Dubai, then does a cut rate, waste of money version of its own.
The Real Damage of Vanity Fair’s Attack on Dubai
MATT J. DUFFY: Gill’s article does not make the case for stricter press laws, rather it shows the need for journalists to take their profession seriously…
Omanis, Protests, and The Right to Pursue Success
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: In stark — but unsurprising — contrast to the uprisings around the region, Oman’s protest did not call for the fall of its regime or even its ruler.
Peninsula Journalism Attack Resonates Regionally
MATT J. DUFFY: The ‘fourth-estate’ is crippled by lack of legal protection, and journalists unwilling to deal with the consequences of being critical argues the Peninsula – to almost universal agreement.
Title Irony: Why Journalists like to do PR on PRs
ALEXANDER MCNABB: It infuriates me because I know how very dishonest the practice is – from a media that insists on telling us that it is the only trustworthy source.