Category Archives: UAE

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab League, Arab Revolutions, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, US Foreign Policy

Chutzpah of the Arab League: Saudis and Bahrainis and Emiratis Monitoring Syrian Human Rights……..

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“BreakingNews Breaking News: Arab League offers to send 500 human rights and military observers to Syria, says Egypt TV -@BBCWorld…………….”

This is what I read Monday. The Arab League will send “human rights” observers to Syria! No doubt it will include Saudis, Bahrainis, Emiratis, and maybe Yemenis. Or maybe they will be supervised by these countries. All regimes that have shown great respect for human rights, allow free speech, do not kill protesters, do not arrest people without warrants and do not hold them for months either without charges (Saudi Arabia) or on trumped up charges (Bahrain).
I think the word “chutzpah” should be incorporated into the Arabic language.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab League, Arab Revolutions, GCC, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE

From Libya to Syria and Yemen and the Gulf: No-Fly Zones, No Freedom Zones………….

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Arab media are increasingly mentioning the N-F word, for No-Fly zone in terms of Syria. Apparently some factions of the Syrian opposition want Western no-fly zone established over Syria. Hoping it will be a prelude to the arrival of Western Special Forces of the kind that helped defeat Qaddafi in Libya.
Some Arab regimes have already established their own No-Freedom zones. The Saudis had long established an absolute No-Freedom zone in their own part of the Arabian Peninsula and they have recently extended it to neighboring Bahrain. They would also like a No-Freedom zone in neighboring Yemen where the people are in rebellion. Actually, if they had their way, they’d like No-Freedom zones all over the Arab worlds, from the Persian-American Gulf to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Weapons deals

Saudis to Intensify Arms Race and Commission Race within the GCC…….

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What does the promise of New Saudi defense minister Prince Salamn to “improve” the Saudi armed forces also means, besides fat commissions for the princes? It means bad news for the potentates of the UAE. Now the oligarchs of Abu Dhabi will have to spend more money, try harder, to catch to the Saudis in terms of being the biggest importers of weapons. And in terms of bribes and commissions paid to the potentates and their retainers. It is a race between our Gulf potentates to see who, which dynasty, can fleece the people faster and more effectively than the others.
Cheers
mhg


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Arabian Peninsula, GCC, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US Foreign Policy, Weapons deals

Gulf Arms Race: UAE JDAMS Bunker Busters, Bunkers of Sharjah and Fujairah……

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“The U.S. government may soon announce plans for a large sale of precision-guided bombs to the United Arab Emirates, a source familiar with the arms sales plans said late on Thursday, as tensions mounted with Iran over its nuclear program. The Pentagon is considering a significant sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions made by Boeing Co, adding to other recent arms deals with the UAE. These include the sale of 500 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles about which U.S. lawmakers were notified in September. The sale of Boeing-built “bunker-buster” bombs and other munitions to UAE, a key Gulf ally, is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to build a regional coalition to counter Iran. No comment was immediately available from the Pentagon’s press office or the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales. Boeing has sold thousands of JDAM bombs to the United States and its allies in recent months as they have replenished their arsenal of the popular precision-guided bombs……….”

The Unit Arab Emirates claims to have almost 1 million citizens (the rest are temporary foreign laborers, housemaids, gardeners, doctors, bankers, mercenaries, etc). There are opinions that the actual number is much less than one million. The absolute oligarchy of the UAE has been in a tough arms race, no not with Iran, but with the rival absolute tribal princes of Saudi Arabia. For several years they were the second biggest importers of weapons in the whole wide wonderful world. Last year the Saudis moved to number one and the Abu Dhabi potentates were threatened with being relegated to number two (no pun intended here). Now they are trying to catch up with the al-Saud in terms of weapons imports, and coincidentally in terms of bribes commissions that the potentates and their retainers receive.
The UAE already has American F-16 fighters that are capable of carrying JDAMS bunker busters. It is not clear why the shaikhs of the UAE want JDAMS bunker busters, and whose bunkers they might want to bust. Nobody is likely to want to attack them, not even the shaikhs of Bahrain. The Iranians most likely are concerned with bigger fish, like the Americans or the Israelis. Besides, who is going to use all these sophisticated weapons? They can keep borrowing personnel from Pakistan, or maybe even train some humorless Jordanians. Or maybe they can train their new mercenary security legion headed by Blackwater veterans and manned by Colombians, Australians, white South Africans and others.
Either way, it is not clear whose bunkers these Abu Dhabi shaikhs want to bust. Hopefully not the bunkers of Sharjah or Fujairah.
Cheers
mhg


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Culture, GCC, UAE, US Foreign Policy

Kim Kardashian Invades UAE: a GCC Invitation? About Snooki of Arabia………….

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“Kim Kardashian says beauty of Arab women ‘unique and exotic’. During her first visit to the Middle East, reality star Kim Kardashian told Al Arabiya morning show that the beauty of Arab women is “unique and exotic,” adding that she was inspired by their love for fashion. “I was seeing a lot of different women today and they are so stylish and so beautiful and I like how they do their makeup and just how they dress. They love fashion here, which really inspiring to me,” Kardashian said, Asked about what she does to maintain her body shape, the reality star said, “I work out a lot and I also take vitamins and supplements. I take Quick Trim if its bikini season and I want to really get in shape quickly.” The reality star and her mother, Kris, on Friday evening opened the Millions of Milkshakes store in the Dubai Mall. Regarding her reality television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” the reality star said it was her mom who came up with the idea brought to producer Ryan Seacrest…….. Kim was seen wearing a traditional burqua and a niqab in Dubai. She tweeted on of her pictures wearing the dress……………..” Alarabiya (Saudi)

No doubt she met the potentates of the UAE. I recall Michael Jackson went to Bahrain and met the king, who seemed to be beaming with excitement. That was just before the King’s wacko son decided to sue Jacko for several million dollars he had given him with the idea that they would become an item, professionally and musically speaking. Jacko probably realized that if these people had any talent at all it is for repression, corruption, and kleptocracy.
No news yet if Kardashian plans to visit Riyadh and feast on camel ‘qoozi with the potentates over there. Who knows, with the Jordanian and Moroccan GCC membership bid going nowhere, they might offer membership to Kim. Maybe they ought to invite her to the next summit. And what about Snooki?
Cheers
mhg


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GCC, UAE

The Dubai Metro: Possibly Mayhaps a Pleasant Surprise…………..

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“Riders of the Dubai metro were surprised to see the vice president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum among them as he was heading to the house of a leading citizen of the city. What was interesting is that Shaikh Mohammed did not have any assistants or aides or guards with him. He stood all alone throughout the trip………”

It probably was a surprise alright. It doesn’t say if it was a pleasant or an unpleasant surprise. But I am not sure if it was a pleasant surprise. What do you think (he probably does smile occasionally)?
Ruler of Dubai
More seriously, it was a good move on his part to encourage people to ride the metro. He wanted the citizens to start using the expensive metro, a good cause. Gulf GCC citizens, and I should know, are notorious for eschewing any form of public transport; thinking it is beneath them to share public transport with lowly Asian and Arab laborers who are a majority of the population anyway. Once during rush hour I recall riding one of those smoky tuk-tuks in Southeast Asia and had it drive me to the door of our IMF-World Bank conference hotel. Shocked the hell out of the Gulf potentates.
The metro may become the exception if the potentates keep on riding it. Besides, Gulfies have no problem riding public transport in Europe. See? Stupidity, nay asininity, is thriving on the Gulf. Plenty of it on the shores of my Gulf.
Cheers
mhg


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Britain, UAE

UAE in Photos: Northern Emiratis in London………….

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“Dubai’s flagship Emirates airline will sponsor Britain’s first urban cable car, spanning London’s river Thames, saying it hoped the new addition to the city’s skyline would be ready for next year’s Olympics. The 60 million pound project, due to be completed next summer, will link the 02 arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events on the south bank, with the ExCeL conference center on the north side. Both arenas will host events during the 2012 Games. Emirates will sponsor the cable car river crossing in a 10-year-deal …………….”

     
Northern Emiratis                                     al-Nahayan: Southerm Emirati

The picture above shows a bunch of Emiratis who run the airline. Funny, they don’t look like any al-Nahayan or al-Maktoum I have ever seen. They must be from one of the northern Emirates. Compare the photo of Shaikh Khalifa next to it (definitely a southern Emirati).


Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Human Right, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Is it Possible to Insult the UAE Potentates?…….

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“During the 10 month old Arab Spring, the United Arab Emirates expressed its opposition to the trial of Egyptian former president Hosni Mubarak, sent troops, as part of the “Shield of the Arabian Peninsula,” to oppress the Bahraini uprising, and arrested several activists who demanded reform. The arrests started with blogger Ahmed Mansour who was detained, as rumored, while talking in a Friday prayer about supporting the Arab Spring, the Egyptian revolution, and the third Palestine Intifada, which failed to materialise a few months ago. The other four detainees are Nasser Bin Ghaith, Fahad Al-Sihhi, Hassan Ali Al Khamis, and Ahmed Abdulhaleq Ahmed. All five are accused of publicly “insulting” the country’s president and top officials. ………”

Insulted the president and top officials? It is not like they told these worthy potentates to go and do something to themselves. They put it more politely than that. They just called for political reform and more freedoms, something that royally pissed off the shaikhs of the Al Nahayan clan of Abu Dhabi.
The rulers of Abu Dhabi did not only object to the trial of Mubarak, they objected to his popular overthrow. They were as pissed as the Al-Saud that the Egyptian people wanted him out. The brilliant Saudi king is on record for having famously said early February that the Egyptian protesters were “foreign infiltrators and agents of foreign powers”. They both thought the U.S.A. could and should keep him in power by force if necessary, sort of like they are doing in Bahrain.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Politics, bloggers, Human Right, UAE

Emirati Activists Charged for Flipping off the Potentates and for Terrorism……..

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“Six men have been referred to the Federal Supreme Court over charges including perpetrating acts that pose threats to state security, undermining the public order, opposing the government system, and insulting the president, the vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the UAE Attorney, General Salim Saeed Kubaish, said yesterday.
The six were named as Ahmed Mansour Ali Abdullah Al Abd Al Shehi, Nasser Ahmed Khalfan bin Gaith, Fahad Salim Mohammed Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali Al Khamis, all Emiratis, and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq Ahmed, who does not carry identification papers, were said.
General Kubaish said the crimes are punishable by the Federal Penal Code and the Federal Law on Combating Cyber Crimes.
He said the six were detained after evidence against them was established by investigations……..”

I guess by “cyber crimes” they mean blogging.
They flipped off the ruling potentates, but only metaphorically. Their written demands and comments were very polite, too polite in fact toward the potentates. I’d flip off the potentates and the watermelon court that will no doubt sentence them to prison, unless it is ordered by the potentates to do otherwise.
Cheers
mhg


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Apartheid, Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Corruption, ethnic cleansing, GCC, Human Right, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US Foreign Policy

Delusional Bahrain: Despots and Miscreants and a Precocious Schmuck Minister………….

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“MOI: Groups of miscreants were out in various areas of Bahrain today in response to calls made through social media websites. Since their movements were illegal, security forces dealt with them and some of the miscreants were arrested and legal actions taken against them.
With regard to incidents at City Center, at around 4:00pm a group of miscreants and lawbreakers broke into the shopping mall to create chaos and spread terror among the public there. As a result the security forces, including women police, had to interfere and deal with them and some of them were arrested and legal actions taken against them.
The Ministry of Interior apologises to the mall management and the public for any inconvenience caused and affirms that the situation everywhere has returned to normal……….”
Ministry of Interior of Bahrain, the body in charge of police, midnight raiders, looters, imported foreign mercenary thugs, politically nationalized foreign goons (from Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and former Iraqi Ba’athists), torturers, and all round nice guys of the al-Khalifa team. All presided over by a precociously schmuck minister of interior. The country is now a ghettoized occupation zone and these ruling schmucks talk about “normality”.

“The people of Bahrain have won a victory for democracy by their very high participation in the ‘supplementary’ elections……” Regime Spokesman

The rulers of Bahrain are holding another phony election which most of the people of Bahrain have decided to boycott.
Nobody in the whole wide world believes what the regime says on this issue except the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, a couple of other GCC potrntates and some experts in the United States State Department (okay, the latter pretend they do, like the lady in bed who only “thinks of England”).
Cheers
mhg


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