UAE Detains Activists

Several political activists in the United Arab Emirates are being detained, after signing a petition for free elections and other changes to the UAE.  The UAE is having national elections on September 24th, and Human Rights Watch and other organizations are asking for the release of the activists before that.

Women's News April 25, 2011

A Muslim woman may be representing the UK in the Miss Universe contest.  And she's getting some flack for doing it too.  Here are some comments condemning and supporting her.

What I find ironic, is compare those Muslim reactions in the UK to this American commercial featuring Miss Turkey.  It wouldn't surprise me if many Americans were confused by this, because they think of Turkey as a Muslim country, whereas it's really more of a secular country.

Neat article about Emirati women at a university in Sharjah (UAE) who attended a conference discussing all sorts of topics that you don't think would normally be discussed: mental health, suicide, divorce, substance abuse, etc.

Update

My health issues have been popping up some, and I'm distracted by trying to keep track of all the protests.  So don't be surprised if I'm not blogging every single day for a bit.

If you're tired of reading about dead protesters, how about some Happy News:  read about Abu Dhabi's new art district.

Quick News Roundup

There's so much happening in Egypt, and also in Yemen, that I've been remiss in my postings.  Here's a quick recap of some recent events.

Public protests have been banned in Algeria since sometime in the 1990s.  The president just announced that protests will now be allowed, except in the capital of Algiers.  The opposition party has planned a protest for next week, and that would be in Algiers.


A supposed UAE spy-ring has been uncovered in Oman, and some Omanis have been arrested.  The UAE says it is not spying on Oman.  The spy-ring may be interested in the Omani succession or in Oman-Iran relations.

There are protests going on in Palestine both for and against Mubarak.  In general, Fatah supports Mubarak (and vice versa) and Hamas is against him.

Syria's Day of Rage fizzled out.  The government has more control over things there.

On Sunday, trial starts in Iran for the 3 American hikers accused of being spies.

UAE Boots Canada

Canada and the UAE are now feuding.  UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad wanted to expand their flights in Canada, but Canada refused.  So the UAE is now requiring visas for Canadian visitors - and if you don't fly on a UAE airline, a 30-day visa is $250 (Canadian).  The UAE has also told Canada to get out of its base in Dubai.  Canada also has a lot of trade with the UAE, which could be affected.

Nigerian Governor To Be Extradited

The UK has been trying to get its hands on a former governor of Nigeria, James Ibori, for corruption charges.  He's accused of stealing almost $300 million and socking some of it away in UK banks.  He managed to escape when Interpol tried to arrest him, and then he ended up in Dubai, UAE.  The high court in Dubai just ruled that he can be extradited to the UK.

Women's News October 18, 2010

It's been a while, but I am trying to keep up with women's news in the Middle East too.  Most of it is bad.

The Federal Supreme Court in the UAE says that a man can discipline (beat) his wife and children, as long as he doesn't leave any marks on them.  Yay?  I've seen in movies that beating someone with a sack of oranges doesn't leave any marks.  I wonder what else husbands can come up with so that no marks are left on their wives?

As part of a course in Yemen, women were surveyed about their working rights.  Most of them did not know their rights, and most of them reported discrimination.  But they were usually unable to fight against the discrimination, for fear of losing their jobs.  This really is not surprising.  Yemen is a fairly conservative country, and even in the United States women still run into these problems.  For a long time, in the United States, women who work were seen as being the 2nd income, therefore they did not need to make as much money as men, because they had a husband who worked.

edit: fixed title and tags

Japanese Tanker Attacked

It's almost official - the tanker was hit by a dinghy filled with explosives, according to the UAE. Some American analysts aren't convinced yet. An Al-Qa'eda group - the Abdullah Azzam Brigades - has claimed responsibility. This is bad news. This is the first time a tanker has been attacked in the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Apparently it happened when the tanker entered the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is the little area between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (next to the Indian Ocean). One side is Iran, the other side is UAE/Oman.

Why is this so bad? Because Iran was not involved in the attack. And the US State Dept considers Oman the safest country in the Middle East. So is this a UAE-based group? Or part of a Saudi group, which is nearby? Al-Qa'eda has a big presence in Yemen now, and attacks there are not unexpected. Apparently the Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility for other attacks over the last few years too. So are they the new kid on the terrorist block?

Yum, Blackberries

Okay, what is going on in the Gulf States? First the UAE decides to ban the Blackberry, then Saudi Arabia jumps on the bandwagon and preempts them. So service stops in Saudi Arabia, only to start up again. Indonesia (a Muslim country) is also annoyed at RIM, the maker of Blackberry.

So what's the big deal? Blackberry communication is encrypted. Which means that the Saudi government cannot monitor what you and your friends are doing on your Blackberries. One article I read mentioned a Saudi blogger, who said he received a lot more comments from people using Blackberries, because they weren't afraid the government would arrest them. So there are freedom of speech issues here, except that Saudi Arabia doesn't have freedom of speech.

Another big deal is that the Blackberry is Western. And by that I mean the company that makes it (RIM) is Canadian, and the servers are in Canada, the US, and maybe Europe. And the Middle Eastern countries cannot believe that the US government isn't getting its hands on Blackberry information. So Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and India, all want the ability to read what people are saying on their Blackberries. In Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf States, the Internet is throttled and the government has complete access to what people are doing. They now want that same access on the Blackberry. Supposedly, RIM is now trying to work with Saudi Arabia on the situation. And see this article for a bit more information on how the Blackberry works.

All About the Emirates

First, the fun news. Abu Dhabi Media Company is teaming up with National Geographic to produce 10-15 films with some actual money behind them.

The bad news. The Emirates are cracking down on everything. This is mainly in Dubai. Dubai has been billing itself as very open and accessible for everyone, not some scary Muslim place. But if you remember, a boy was raped there last year [can't find my post], and several people have gone to jail for drug possession, even for something as stupid as poppy seeds off a bagel. Now, two Brits have been accused of having sex on the beach (for real, not the drink) and sentenced to 3 months in jail and a fine.

The BBC even has a little video of what you can do in Dubai.

Terror in the UAE?

The United Arab Emirates is a very rich country, and somewhat modern. So far they've managed to avoid terror attacks at home. Now the British government is warning its citizens that they may be at risk. Frankly, I have wondered in the past why attacks take place in certain areas. Yemen has an al-Qa'eda cell and gets attacks. The same for Saudi Arabia. When the US was attacked on 9/11, that was a "big message" from the terrorists. Dubai is a major symbol of modernity and wealth in the Arab world. So why hasn't it been attacked yet? Is it that difficult, or is some of the funding coming from there? I'm not a psychologist, but I would think that Bin Laden would see Dubai as a symbol of Western decadence, or something like that. Yet things seem to be peaceful over there. So is Dubai a ticking time-bomb or a source of terrorist funding?

Emirati News

1) Abu Dhabi is trying to create a Green City: no cars, no waste, no carbon. We'll see how that works out. Some people are claiming it's just a stunt.

2) Be careful when you visit the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has arrested a number of people lately for carrying drugs. And when I say drugs, I mean tiny tiny amounts of marijuana, for example. One guy had something like 0.003 g in the tread of his shoe - so it probably wasn't even his. One woman was in jail for 2 months while she proved she had a prescription for codeine. One guy had poppy seeds from a bagel on his shirt. A lot of Europeans think that if you are caught with marijuana, you just plead guilty at trial and get deported. Not in the UAE - you get caught, you go to jail. The moral of the story is: don't carry any illegal drugs. If you carry legal drugs, even non-prescription ones, you might want to take only what you absolutely MUST have to survive. And get a detailed not from your physician saying what you are taking and why. Fair Trials International is trying to help some of these people. They also have a list of drugs/medications to avoid.

Arms Fair

There's an arms fair going on in the UAE - the largest in the Middle East. Bring the kids!