A lot has been happening in the Middle East that I have many thoughts about ( Read more... )

I've been tagged by a friend [read: ruthless traitor] to do this meme.. I usually don't do memes, but this one looks interesting so here are ten facts about me that you should know since y'all have been reading my blog so faithfully ( Read more... )

I was supposed to go to this Best Buddies Int'l meeting where we were supposed to brainstorm for ideas for a fun-fair that we are planning to hold in March for the special needs children ( Read more... )

It's the UAE's national day today, so Papa was off work. My folks and I decided to go out for a drive. We had planned to go towards Hatta/Oman, but we ended up going only to al-Dhaid [pronounced Zayd, z with a lisp] and coming back to Dubai for lunch ( Read more... )

In the first mention of the Hebrew language in a good light in our local media, educators have voiced their opinions about promoting the learning of the language in Arab countries to reciprocate the learning of the Arabic language in Israel, where Arabic is one of the official langauges ( Read more... )

The joy and excitement was so thick in the air that you could cut it with a plastic knife. We were all sitting there, breathing as silently as possible, glancing at our fellow inmates and smiling occasionally. That familiar tingle in the tummy, that feeling of cheer coursing through the body - for a lot of us, today was the last day of the academic ( Read more... )

So you know how the UAE is coming up with all these new projects that are setting world records - like the Burj al-Arab, the seven star hotel on the coast of Dubai; or the huge palm-shaped man-made islands called Palm Jumeirah or Palm Jebel Ali; or the tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai and on and on ( Read more... )

A 27-year-old Emarati diplomat who is in Iraq has been abducted.

Argh! I know they've kidnapped Arabs before.. but targeting a UAE national? The UAE has done nothing against Iraq, said nothing against it and is not even very involved in the whole political scene ( Read more... )

Somebody's just trying [very hard] to get some attentionA group of students from Ras al-Khaimah ["Head of the Tent" in Arabic], the northernmost emirate of the UAE, are whining over an English language textbook. Why? It has Israel on its world map but not the UAE. Boo hoo ( Read more... )

Yesterday, Gulf News published this article, about the laws controlling the things that can be said or done on the Internet in the UAE.

Point numbers 4 and 5 pose, for the lack of better vocabulary, a huge pain the ass for me by stating that:

• Anyone convicted of abusing holy shrines or religious rituals or insulting them or inciting others to do ( Read more... )