Hiya doin People!
I know i have not kept my word, ok i am a lazy b@stard i agree. i have not written a single word since may 6 on the blog but i have to say i was working hard on finding a job!
its exactly 2 months later and i am very close to signing a contract, most of you already know where so i just wont say it :)
well what has been going on in the past 60 days? for once i have had two stories, back to back published on the front page of the national, u can check em dated 23rd and 24th of june.
Since then i had a few failed projects, eh eh eh trying to set up a comedy show amongst other things.
But today i am writing to yall from the beautiful south east asian country of Malaysia!
i have been here ten days now and will stay here for some time until my work papers are finalised.
My time in malaysia has been amazing due to the help of my good friend Sanjay Sathyan's brother Praadhip.
i arrived in Kuala Lumpur on the 25th of june, the eve of my birthday and it has been a roller coaster ride since. Partying like rock stars and doing the do!
Malaysia is a really interesting country and specially Kuala Lumpur or KL as the locals call it.
Its a country of a unique ethnic mix, the Malays, Chinese and Indians are the three blocks of the ethnic pot here.
The Malays represent the Muslim ideals of the country while the chinese represent the street market and production power and the indians represent the capitalistic power of this country.
sitting here writing at the Starbucks in Petaling Jaya i can see around me on every table Malay chinese and indians sitting together and laughing or chatting about every thing from the current riots in china to the iranian election results. We say Dubai is a melting pot but honestly, thats bull crap!
Bieng black my self i usually face discrimination in one way or another in different countries around the world, here i have not encountered it once. people are chilled, non expectant and laid back.
only down side to the country is...... ...... ......... still trying to find onme for now!
Honestly i would advice people in Dubai to consider KL as a great quick 4 day holiday destination.
You can come and stay at a six star hotel for only 500 dhs a night! i am staying at a governemtn owned hotel which is really nice and has big rooms with great service for only 112dhs a night, tell me where can you get a price like that any where in the gulf!
The nighlife here is amazing, stuff is so cheap u can spend 300 dhs and be the king of the bongo in KL, and thats going royal.
check out the flight offers in the malaysia arlines website and im sure you can find bargains.
In any case, will post some thing soon, but dont hold your breath!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Freedom of the press....what press?
Hiya doin boys and girls.
this is the life after career death now. well i have to be honest, last night i recived a great peice of advice from a friend that i intend to fullfill.
i was told that in order to succeed i have to set a personal discipline which i should follow religiously, so much that it turns into a habbit. knowing my self i need that sort of discipline. what makes this important is the fact that one should not be the sort of person who waits to be ordered around, one should know what to do and just do it.
that makes you your own boss, and at this time i intend to be my own boss, :)
the personal disicipline i intend to follow is going to be writing.
i vow to you that to my best efforts i will try to write you guys a story every day from my personal experiences. at times they will be short and at other times they will be full fleged features. but at least 100 words every day.
this will be my first one, well here goes!
JOURNALISM FREEDOMS IN THE UAE, WHERE REALLY IS THE PROBLEM?
A few days ago an interestin in focus article was published at gulfnews about journalism freedom. A side bar written by Abbas Al Lawati was focusing on the fact that more emiratis are needed in the business and they are the ones holding the real power behind pushing for more freedoms.
i agee in full with Abbas's conclusions but i would also like to highlight that the problem does not only last there. in uae journalism there is a plague of ethno centric styles bieng imposed upon publications.
in any local news paper today the reporting team in the trenches are either young residents who have been in the country for years before starting, educated here or even born here or they would be highly qualified individuals from abroad who have no concpet of the cultural fabric that is the UAE.
the editorial team usually would be either from major papers in south asia or east asia and at times europe or the US.
the editors are usually either locals or europeans.
now what is the problem with such a mix?
in my opinion to have unbiast, truthful reporting that would make sense to all the readers you do not need to look at market reports or who our readers are. first and foremost you should know where u live and all the back doors like the back of your hand.
i belive from editor to janitor, you have to have been raised in the UAE. its true there are not enough emiratis out there but there are more than enough people born here, in my book if you have not spent at least 15 years in the country you dont qualify.
let me give you an example, bringing a copy editor fromt he times of india who has been here for six years working. that editor will always implement what he knows best, indian journalism. in the uae the ceo or the tourist do not want to read about indian issues, or what shah rukh khan ate for breakfast, honestly, even if there 30 billion indians in the country. people want to read something in a unified language that makes sense to u and me. for such ethnocentric stroies there are 1000's of publications in thier home countries which ar available here.
for example, i would rather read about the over population of Hor al Anz district in Dubaiand unhygenic living conditions there than the philipino choir which one an award at a kareoke show!
getting back on the subject this is the UAE's press freedom limitation in my opinion. i will site an example, last summer when the whole beach sex incident hit all the papers, gulf news had the story, they ran it as a small side bar to a bigger beach decency story. in my paper a colleague alerted me to the story and i went forward to the indian news editor and requested for it to be run the next day. he looked at it and dismissed it, for two reasons, it was not significant enough for him and it was not an enterprise story.
i sat back and told him that he may have just missed on the biggest story of the summer. and he did.
this was not the first incident, many more followed, such as kerry winter's case, and the dubai fraud inquisition. the guy is definately not the sharpest tool in the shed when it coems to his news sense.
such shortcomings with in our journalists in dubai are consistent. we have to create a grass roots movement and recruit people who breathe the same air as our public and not concentrate on expertise that most ceirtainly lack it.
this is the life after career death now. well i have to be honest, last night i recived a great peice of advice from a friend that i intend to fullfill.
i was told that in order to succeed i have to set a personal discipline which i should follow religiously, so much that it turns into a habbit. knowing my self i need that sort of discipline. what makes this important is the fact that one should not be the sort of person who waits to be ordered around, one should know what to do and just do it.
that makes you your own boss, and at this time i intend to be my own boss, :)
the personal disicipline i intend to follow is going to be writing.
i vow to you that to my best efforts i will try to write you guys a story every day from my personal experiences. at times they will be short and at other times they will be full fleged features. but at least 100 words every day.
this will be my first one, well here goes!
JOURNALISM FREEDOMS IN THE UAE, WHERE REALLY IS THE PROBLEM?
A few days ago an interestin in focus article was published at gulfnews about journalism freedom. A side bar written by Abbas Al Lawati was focusing on the fact that more emiratis are needed in the business and they are the ones holding the real power behind pushing for more freedoms.
i agee in full with Abbas's conclusions but i would also like to highlight that the problem does not only last there. in uae journalism there is a plague of ethno centric styles bieng imposed upon publications.
in any local news paper today the reporting team in the trenches are either young residents who have been in the country for years before starting, educated here or even born here or they would be highly qualified individuals from abroad who have no concpet of the cultural fabric that is the UAE.
the editorial team usually would be either from major papers in south asia or east asia and at times europe or the US.
the editors are usually either locals or europeans.
now what is the problem with such a mix?
in my opinion to have unbiast, truthful reporting that would make sense to all the readers you do not need to look at market reports or who our readers are. first and foremost you should know where u live and all the back doors like the back of your hand.
i belive from editor to janitor, you have to have been raised in the UAE. its true there are not enough emiratis out there but there are more than enough people born here, in my book if you have not spent at least 15 years in the country you dont qualify.
let me give you an example, bringing a copy editor fromt he times of india who has been here for six years working. that editor will always implement what he knows best, indian journalism. in the uae the ceo or the tourist do not want to read about indian issues, or what shah rukh khan ate for breakfast, honestly, even if there 30 billion indians in the country. people want to read something in a unified language that makes sense to u and me. for such ethnocentric stroies there are 1000's of publications in thier home countries which ar available here.
for example, i would rather read about the over population of Hor al Anz district in Dubaiand unhygenic living conditions there than the philipino choir which one an award at a kareoke show!
getting back on the subject this is the UAE's press freedom limitation in my opinion. i will site an example, last summer when the whole beach sex incident hit all the papers, gulf news had the story, they ran it as a small side bar to a bigger beach decency story. in my paper a colleague alerted me to the story and i went forward to the indian news editor and requested for it to be run the next day. he looked at it and dismissed it, for two reasons, it was not significant enough for him and it was not an enterprise story.
i sat back and told him that he may have just missed on the biggest story of the summer. and he did.
this was not the first incident, many more followed, such as kerry winter's case, and the dubai fraud inquisition. the guy is definately not the sharpest tool in the shed when it coems to his news sense.
such shortcomings with in our journalists in dubai are consistent. we have to create a grass roots movement and recruit people who breathe the same air as our public and not concentrate on expertise that most ceirtainly lack it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Arab Political Rap Made in Dubai
Published: April 02, 2009, 08:59
Thought provokers: Reality rap By
Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
They call themselves thought-provokers, even activists, but with no political affiliations.
Meet a new breed of rappers, for whom freedom of expression knows no bounds here in Dubai. Part of an underground hip-hop scene, they go about airing views that might not be welcomed in their home countries.
Raising awareness
Fouad Abdul Hadi is raising awareness on the plight of war victims in Palestine, where he grew up. Witness to the atrocities of the Jenin massacre in 2002, Hadi, 14 then, began to write about the mayhem that surrounded him.
“I thought the only conflict in the Arab world was in Palestine but when I came to Dubai, I learnt about the humanitarian crises in Darfur and Somalia,” said Hadi.
“After seeing that people don’t care any more about what happens in Palestine, I decided to remind people of this and other forgotten regions.”
Hadi’s producer, Jabbar or Hani Khateeb, is also a Palestinian but he has never been to Palestine. “I first learnt about my Palestinian identity from my grandfather,” he said, adding that he has lived in many parts of the world, including Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, Chicago and now Dubai.
The 25-year-old producer and rapper was arrested in Chicago when, as a student at the University of Illinois, he spoke at an anti-Bush rally.
"
Their teammate, Lucky Swerte, is a 25-year-old Swiss producer and rapper who was born in Indonesia. “The economic collapse of Indonesia in 1997-98 provoked me to write music that captures how I feel about corruption in my country.”
The music that these artistes have been producing is available on tapes and CDs and can be downloaded from www.myspace.com/therecipedxb
Check out the video excerpts of the interview
Thought provokers: Reality rap By
Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
They call themselves thought-provokers, even activists, but with no political affiliations.
Meet a new breed of rappers, for whom freedom of expression knows no bounds here in Dubai. Part of an underground hip-hop scene, they go about airing views that might not be welcomed in their home countries.
Raising awareness
Fouad Abdul Hadi is raising awareness on the plight of war victims in Palestine, where he grew up. Witness to the atrocities of the Jenin massacre in 2002, Hadi, 14 then, began to write about the mayhem that surrounded him.
“I thought the only conflict in the Arab world was in Palestine but when I came to Dubai, I learnt about the humanitarian crises in Darfur and Somalia,” said Hadi.
“After seeing that people don’t care any more about what happens in Palestine, I decided to remind people of this and other forgotten regions.”
Hadi’s producer, Jabbar or Hani Khateeb, is also a Palestinian but he has never been to Palestine. “I first learnt about my Palestinian identity from my grandfather,” he said, adding that he has lived in many parts of the world, including Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, Chicago and now Dubai.
The 25-year-old producer and rapper was arrested in Chicago when, as a student at the University of Illinois, he spoke at an anti-Bush rally.
"
,” he said.I was in a country where freedom of speech was obliged by law but I still had to go through what I did
Their teammate, Lucky Swerte, is a 25-year-old Swiss producer and rapper who was born in Indonesia. “The economic collapse of Indonesia in 1997-98 provoked me to write music that captures how I feel about corruption in my country.”
The music that these artistes have been producing is available on tapes and CDs and can be downloaded from www.myspace.com/therecipedxb
Check out the video excerpts of the interview
Kerry's Killer
Kerry's alleged killer under the spot light
Published: April 09, 2009, 15:08
Arnold charged with murder in Winter case
By Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
A British expatriate charged with killing his South African ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty after prosecution formally indicted him in a Dubai court on Thursday.
Mark Arnold, who faces charges of premeditated murder for killing Kerry-Carol Winter on August 20 last year said “no” after the charges were read out to him by a court translator Thursday morning.
Her body is yet to be found.
Arnold, 42 a former operations director at Hill International, is charged with beating Winter with a baseball bat at her house in Al Barsha in Dubai, killing her, wrapping her body in a blanket and putting her in a bag with weights before dumping in the sea.
The prosecution presented testimony of 10 witnesses, including a friend of Arnold who testified that he was asked by the defendant to buy a GPS tracking device, a waterproof bag and burlap sacks from Carrefour.
Another key witness was Arnold’s Pakistani driver who testified that he was told to collect Winter’s mobile from his house and to forward any message from it to Arnold while he was in the UK. The driver also testified that he drove Arnold around when the defendant was tracking Winter.
Arnold’s ex-wife Dianne Joy Arnold told prosecutors that she was approached by Arnold on the eve of August 25 after he drove Winter’s car to Dianne’s house. She saw Arnold was washing the car at her house and was asked by him to keep Winter’s mobile but she refused to do so.
A Russian witness who was the last person in contact with Winter before her disappearance testified that she received a call from Winter at 7 pm August 20 saying that she was being assaulted by Arnold. Later, she received an SMS from Winter claiming that she had left the country for a long weekend. The prosecution claimed that this SMS was sent by Arnold who had Winter’s mobile.
The prosecution told the court that Arnold’s fingerprints were found on Winter’s car. Also, Winter’s blood traces were found in the car, the prosecution told the court.
The case has been adjourned till April 24.
Arnold, who is defended by criminal lawyer Ahmed Al Hammadi also faces a civil suit from Winter’s family which is being handled by another criminal lawyer Hussain Al Jaziri.
Published: April 09, 2009, 15:08
Arnold charged with murder in Winter case
By Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
A British expatriate charged with killing his South African ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty after prosecution formally indicted him in a Dubai court on Thursday.
Mark Arnold, who faces charges of premeditated murder for killing Kerry-Carol Winter on August 20 last year said “no” after the charges were read out to him by a court translator Thursday morning.
Her body is yet to be found.
Arnold, 42 a former operations director at Hill International, is charged with beating Winter with a baseball bat at her house in Al Barsha in Dubai, killing her, wrapping her body in a blanket and putting her in a bag with weights before dumping in the sea.
The prosecution presented testimony of 10 witnesses, including a friend of Arnold who testified that he was asked by the defendant to buy a GPS tracking device, a waterproof bag and burlap sacks from Carrefour.
Another key witness was Arnold’s Pakistani driver who testified that he was told to collect Winter’s mobile from his house and to forward any message from it to Arnold while he was in the UK. The driver also testified that he drove Arnold around when the defendant was tracking Winter.
Arnold’s ex-wife Dianne Joy Arnold told prosecutors that she was approached by Arnold on the eve of August 25 after he drove Winter’s car to Dianne’s house. She saw Arnold was washing the car at her house and was asked by him to keep Winter’s mobile but she refused to do so.
A Russian witness who was the last person in contact with Winter before her disappearance testified that she received a call from Winter at 7 pm August 20 saying that she was being assaulted by Arnold. Later, she received an SMS from Winter claiming that she had left the country for a long weekend. The prosecution claimed that this SMS was sent by Arnold who had Winter’s mobile.
The prosecution told the court that Arnold’s fingerprints were found on Winter’s car. Also, Winter’s blood traces were found in the car, the prosecution told the court.
The case has been adjourned till April 24.
Arnold, who is defended by criminal lawyer Ahmed Al Hammadi also faces a civil suit from Winter’s family which is being handled by another criminal lawyer Hussain Al Jaziri.
RERA sweep
hey wassup!
just wanted to say i am alive, and i am desperately trying to keep writing but this brotha b busy n shi'!
lemme give ya sumthin to contemplate about, my last story....
Published: April 09, 2009, 09:00
Rera: Dealing with defaulters
By Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
The number of property-related cases has jumped significantly this year – many of which involve off-plan sales, cases of investors withdrawing and illegal provisions in purchase agreements, Real Estate Court’s top judge said.
Abdul Qader Mousa Moham-mad, Chief Justice of Dubai Real Estate Court, said from September 1 to December 31, 2008, the number of cases filed was 173. But, in just three months – from January 1 to March 30 this year – 267 cases have been filed. Investors not paying
“Some investors do not make the payments or refrain from making further payments due to fears that developers may fold up or run away,” Mohammad said.
The Real Estate Court, a civil court, was created in September last year to deal with property disputes arising in the wake of Dubai’s property boom.
Most of the cases involve buyers who have stopped paying for units booked with developers.
* Read related story: Damac 'will pay out over project delays'
“In this case, the developer has to alert Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), which then informs the investor that he has a 30-day period to fulfil his contractual obligations. “If the investor does not fulfil his obligations, the developer has the right to cancel the contract and return the money paid, minus 30 per cent of the amount already paid – and not of the total contract value,” he said.
Pay back clause
“A number of investors wish to discontinue payment and are trying to get back 70 per cent of the amount they paid. As per law, developers are supposed to retain 30 per cent of the amount already paid by the investor,” he added.
The judge’s explanation puts to rest confusion surrounding this clause. Developers used to claim that they may keep 30 per cent of the total contract unit’s price and not 30 per cent of the amount paid, in case an investor withdraws.
The judge also explained that when a purchase agreement signed by the buyer and seller contains provisions that contradict the law, those provisions stand null and void.
“Property laws in Dubai contain general laws. Provisions in the purchase contract are accepted as legal if they do not breach the law,” Mohammad said. Other cases involve delays in construction and hand-over of properties sold off-plan, he explained.
Developers at fault
“We have cases lodged against developers who did not hand over projects on time or have not even started building. In such cases, we look at the contracts individually and then the court decides. If the developer is found to be at fault, we then nullify the contract and order them to repay investors the full amount paid by them.”
Many of the cases lodged by investors have to do with properties sold off-plan, he added.
“A lot of complainants come to the court without purchase contracts. They present only booking forms issued by either developers or property brokers. The court settles contractual disputes. So, in case of booking forms or instalment receipts issued to buyers, these documents are viewed as contracts, but disputes arising out of clauses not mentioned in these documents need to be proved in court,” he said.
He also stressed that the law on escrow account is clear.
The Escrow Law
“Law No 8 of 2007 [the Escrow Law] states that a project developer has to place a deposit or financial collateral of equal value of the property at Rera.
“This is why every buyer has to be registered in the Real Estate Registry in order to guarantee his rights.”
The court demonstrated its strict adherence to the law last month when it ordered a Dubai developer to pay over Dh8 million to an investor after it deemed the purchase contract the company gave to the buyer invalid as the developer failed to register the land with the Land Department.
Advice to buyers and investors
Under Law No 13, 2008, the developer has no right to ask buyers to pay extra money for any increase in the size of the unit, if the project is completed
Service charges must be Rera- approved. Before paying service charge, the buyer must register his unit with the Dubai Land Department and wait for approval
Go to the Land Department directly to register the unit; don’t pay the excess charge if the unit is ready (Law No 13, 2008)
Charges for utilities should be imposed by the utility provider; a developer has no right to charge unit buyers for chiller connection unless the provider allows the developer to do it contractually
The property registration fee is two per cent, to be paid to the Land Department by the owner (one per cent) and the developer (one per cent)
Buyers are not obliged under the law to sign anything they don’t agree on
(Additional inputs from Mohammed N. Al Khan)
just wanted to say i am alive, and i am desperately trying to keep writing but this brotha b busy n shi'!
lemme give ya sumthin to contemplate about, my last story....
Published: April 09, 2009, 09:00
Rera: Dealing with defaulters
By Awad Mustafa, Staff Reporter
The number of property-related cases has jumped significantly this year – many of which involve off-plan sales, cases of investors withdrawing and illegal provisions in purchase agreements, Real Estate Court’s top judge said.
Abdul Qader Mousa Moham-mad, Chief Justice of Dubai Real Estate Court, said from September 1 to December 31, 2008, the number of cases filed was 173. But, in just three months – from January 1 to March 30 this year – 267 cases have been filed. Investors not paying
“Some investors do not make the payments or refrain from making further payments due to fears that developers may fold up or run away,” Mohammad said.
The Real Estate Court, a civil court, was created in September last year to deal with property disputes arising in the wake of Dubai’s property boom.
Most of the cases involve buyers who have stopped paying for units booked with developers.
* Read related story: Damac 'will pay out over project delays'
“In this case, the developer has to alert Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), which then informs the investor that he has a 30-day period to fulfil his contractual obligations. “If the investor does not fulfil his obligations, the developer has the right to cancel the contract and return the money paid, minus 30 per cent of the amount already paid – and not of the total contract value,” he said.
Pay back clause
“A number of investors wish to discontinue payment and are trying to get back 70 per cent of the amount they paid. As per law, developers are supposed to retain 30 per cent of the amount already paid by the investor,” he added.
The judge’s explanation puts to rest confusion surrounding this clause. Developers used to claim that they may keep 30 per cent of the total contract unit’s price and not 30 per cent of the amount paid, in case an investor withdraws.
The judge also explained that when a purchase agreement signed by the buyer and seller contains provisions that contradict the law, those provisions stand null and void.
“Property laws in Dubai contain general laws. Provisions in the purchase contract are accepted as legal if they do not breach the law,” Mohammad said. Other cases involve delays in construction and hand-over of properties sold off-plan, he explained.
Developers at fault
“We have cases lodged against developers who did not hand over projects on time or have not even started building. In such cases, we look at the contracts individually and then the court decides. If the developer is found to be at fault, we then nullify the contract and order them to repay investors the full amount paid by them.”
Many of the cases lodged by investors have to do with properties sold off-plan, he added.
“A lot of complainants come to the court without purchase contracts. They present only booking forms issued by either developers or property brokers. The court settles contractual disputes. So, in case of booking forms or instalment receipts issued to buyers, these documents are viewed as contracts, but disputes arising out of clauses not mentioned in these documents need to be proved in court,” he said.
He also stressed that the law on escrow account is clear.
The Escrow Law
“Law No 8 of 2007 [the Escrow Law] states that a project developer has to place a deposit or financial collateral of equal value of the property at Rera.
“This is why every buyer has to be registered in the Real Estate Registry in order to guarantee his rights.”
The court demonstrated its strict adherence to the law last month when it ordered a Dubai developer to pay over Dh8 million to an investor after it deemed the purchase contract the company gave to the buyer invalid as the developer failed to register the land with the Land Department.
Advice to buyers and investors
Under Law No 13, 2008, the developer has no right to ask buyers to pay extra money for any increase in the size of the unit, if the project is completed
Service charges must be Rera- approved. Before paying service charge, the buyer must register his unit with the Dubai Land Department and wait for approval
Go to the Land Department directly to register the unit; don’t pay the excess charge if the unit is ready (Law No 13, 2008)
Charges for utilities should be imposed by the utility provider; a developer has no right to charge unit buyers for chiller connection unless the provider allows the developer to do it contractually
The property registration fee is two per cent, to be paid to the Land Department by the owner (one per cent) and the developer (one per cent)
Buyers are not obliged under the law to sign anything they don’t agree on
(Additional inputs from Mohammed N. Al Khan)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
help
today i am in desperate need of some help!
this brother canot find a story! dunno what it is this week, is it me, am i being lazy, am i hittin a dry spell or what? one colleague in the office gave me some good advice telling me that maybe i should do a psitive story.
honestly i hate positive stories, i feel like in a time of loom doom and gloom positive stories are just lies and bull-dung. i hate positive dubai stories so much that i can just puke at the sight of a paper carrying one and wipe the my bum with it.
but i dont want to act like a hypocrate, i have down my share of positive stories. to be honest the ones i wrote were usually becaue i really belived in them. the worst ones though were the negative stories turned positive by my fantastic colleagues in the editorial dept. tha shi really gets me, i can remember two storis that have been spun so bad that i couldnt even recognise a word on the damn article i supposedly wrote.
i have decided that any story that will be raped by my editorial colleagues i will kill before it sees the light of day.
enough of that. i still need yall help, any stories yall wanna share. hook a brother up but then again think before you call or write, i actually want something to print, not unconfirmed facts or personal vendetta stories.
peace yall n ill cya when i cya
this brother canot find a story! dunno what it is this week, is it me, am i being lazy, am i hittin a dry spell or what? one colleague in the office gave me some good advice telling me that maybe i should do a psitive story.
honestly i hate positive stories, i feel like in a time of loom doom and gloom positive stories are just lies and bull-dung. i hate positive dubai stories so much that i can just puke at the sight of a paper carrying one and wipe the my bum with it.
but i dont want to act like a hypocrate, i have down my share of positive stories. to be honest the ones i wrote were usually becaue i really belived in them. the worst ones though were the negative stories turned positive by my fantastic colleagues in the editorial dept. tha shi really gets me, i can remember two storis that have been spun so bad that i couldnt even recognise a word on the damn article i supposedly wrote.
i have decided that any story that will be raped by my editorial colleagues i will kill before it sees the light of day.
enough of that. i still need yall help, any stories yall wanna share. hook a brother up but then again think before you call or write, i actually want something to print, not unconfirmed facts or personal vendetta stories.
peace yall n ill cya when i cya
Thursday, February 12, 2009
the weeeeeeeek end
damn dubai! damned ethnocentric mutha -*&^%ers from random areas in the world trying to be the arbab!
damn them all!
wheeeew feels alot better releasing all that negativity :)
well its thursday night and the feeling is right and the party is at apartments! old skoolz will be spinnin some much needed soulful music tonite which for sure will pull in some fine specimens as usual to the club :)
i promosed my self tonite after leavin the office with skoolz to pull some game tonight, especially coz i will have my ace wing man Danesh 'Maverick' Mohioddine at da club tonite.
friday nite shall be good also. crazy ali, this mad mad pakistilian dude, is throwin his bday party at the hive. good firends a good crowd and no muppets is what i love bout them peeps. its rare in dubai to find people who actually hang out to enjoy them selves and each other rather than check out whats in your wallet to know how to deal with you at that particular moment.
well im off to forny-kate, deviate and oblitarate my liver tonight. in the eternal words of sanjay "the liver must die, it is a criminal that must be punished"
cya when i cya
p.s yeah about valentines................ thats some seriously white sucka shi'
damn them all!
wheeeew feels alot better releasing all that negativity :)
well its thursday night and the feeling is right and the party is at apartments! old skoolz will be spinnin some much needed soulful music tonite which for sure will pull in some fine specimens as usual to the club :)
i promosed my self tonite after leavin the office with skoolz to pull some game tonight, especially coz i will have my ace wing man Danesh 'Maverick' Mohioddine at da club tonite.
friday nite shall be good also. crazy ali, this mad mad pakistilian dude, is throwin his bday party at the hive. good firends a good crowd and no muppets is what i love bout them peeps. its rare in dubai to find people who actually hang out to enjoy them selves and each other rather than check out whats in your wallet to know how to deal with you at that particular moment.
well im off to forny-kate, deviate and oblitarate my liver tonight. in the eternal words of sanjay "the liver must die, it is a criminal that must be punished"
cya when i cya
p.s yeah about valentines................ thats some seriously white sucka shi'
Monday, January 26, 2009
Return to the wild and the dubai movie industry, sorry media industry
Returning back to work after the holidays feels like bieng back at school after summer break. Our offices moved to a new and better location which has new and not so better rules!
Currently we have been relocated right next to where the enemy sleeps! we share a news room with our competitor which is quiet wiered for any newspaper.
Office politics aside, a new realisation has dawned upon myself today concerning the journalists and media people in dubai. media life has become a miniturized showbiz life, with the news issues bieng the movie releases, the people in the news are the characters in the films and the journalists reporting them are the super stars of the block buster while the news papers are the film houses.
Such is one reporter who i know through my courts and crime beat, with out naming any names, this character could be described as the Paris Hilton of the Dubai media circles.
Hot, sassy and very tenacious could describe that person, but at the same time this character can be described as a risky and dodgy person to deal with -from personal experience-
A few months back when i first met our local media perosn Paris Hilton, i was intriuged by her. I have heard alot about her from colleagues and have seen some of her movie releases with in the local media. Never the less i smelt a rat i did not feel comfortable with paris at all and felt she always carried a mask and was not sinciere.
One good day as my colleagues and my self were doing the daily grind at the halls of Dubai Courts and trying to desperately produce the next oscar worthy short film we were blocked by the court clerks announcing to us that no cases will be disclosed to us according to orders from the criminals court judge.
Ten days later in the aftermath of a dried up crime movie industry in the local media we rectify the situation with the courts and stories and cases were released to us again.
Apparently paris hilton had a melt down with one of the clerks leading to a court judge bieng involved and then deciding not to disclose case details to any journalist.
Over the months many more episodes happened leading to alot of internal gossip about ms Hilton between the media circles.
Over the next few months i am sure you will see many posts about ms hiltons actions that will always continue to amuse you.
An intersting movie release with in the media was last weeks american consulate threat entitled "the threat" this movie which was simutaneously released by two papers had a set of completely different cast story and plot!
Although the theme was the same but the characters and motives were completely different in the two versions which were released in two consecutive days.
-Police have arrested an American national who made a malicious report that the United States consulate in Dubai was under a security threat-here is how the story changes -->
story 1.
The suspect, who is a Lebanese, but carries US nationality, had made a malicious report against a Sudanese man, claiming that the Sudanese man was planning to do something against the US consulate in Dubai. The suspect who is a resident, made the report because the Sudanese man cheated the suspect after taking his Dh700,000 claiming that he could double his money for him.
Lieutenant General Dahi said police arrested the Sudanese, who is a visitor, for conning the suspect.
story 2.
On Tuesday, the police received a call from a Syrian man using an etisalat public payphone, claiming that a Sudanese man was planning to attack the US consulate. The Syrian identified the Sudanese to the police, Tamim said. The Sudanese, an employee of the US Consulate, was summoned by the police, and after investigations it was found that he posed no threat to the consulate. The Syrian man wanted to “create trouble” for the Sudanese national. The Syrian has been arrested.
i personally like the second version because my country man has been cleared but to you which one seems more credible!
ahh the movie industry, i mean the media industry in Dubai is fun!!!!!
cya when i cya
Currently we have been relocated right next to where the enemy sleeps! we share a news room with our competitor which is quiet wiered for any newspaper.
Office politics aside, a new realisation has dawned upon myself today concerning the journalists and media people in dubai. media life has become a miniturized showbiz life, with the news issues bieng the movie releases, the people in the news are the characters in the films and the journalists reporting them are the super stars of the block buster while the news papers are the film houses.
Such is one reporter who i know through my courts and crime beat, with out naming any names, this character could be described as the Paris Hilton of the Dubai media circles.
Hot, sassy and very tenacious could describe that person, but at the same time this character can be described as a risky and dodgy person to deal with -from personal experience-
A few months back when i first met our local media perosn Paris Hilton, i was intriuged by her. I have heard alot about her from colleagues and have seen some of her movie releases with in the local media. Never the less i smelt a rat i did not feel comfortable with paris at all and felt she always carried a mask and was not sinciere.
One good day as my colleagues and my self were doing the daily grind at the halls of Dubai Courts and trying to desperately produce the next oscar worthy short film we were blocked by the court clerks announcing to us that no cases will be disclosed to us according to orders from the criminals court judge.
Ten days later in the aftermath of a dried up crime movie industry in the local media we rectify the situation with the courts and stories and cases were released to us again.
Apparently paris hilton had a melt down with one of the clerks leading to a court judge bieng involved and then deciding not to disclose case details to any journalist.
Over the months many more episodes happened leading to alot of internal gossip about ms Hilton between the media circles.
Over the next few months i am sure you will see many posts about ms hiltons actions that will always continue to amuse you.
An intersting movie release with in the media was last weeks american consulate threat entitled "the threat" this movie which was simutaneously released by two papers had a set of completely different cast story and plot!
Although the theme was the same but the characters and motives were completely different in the two versions which were released in two consecutive days.
-Police have arrested an American national who made a malicious report that the United States consulate in Dubai was under a security threat-here is how the story changes -->
story 1.
The suspect, who is a Lebanese, but carries US nationality, had made a malicious report against a Sudanese man, claiming that the Sudanese man was planning to do something against the US consulate in Dubai. The suspect who is a resident, made the report because the Sudanese man cheated the suspect after taking his Dh700,000 claiming that he could double his money for him.
Lieutenant General Dahi said police arrested the Sudanese, who is a visitor, for conning the suspect.
story 2.
On Tuesday, the police received a call from a Syrian man using an etisalat public payphone, claiming that a Sudanese man was planning to attack the US consulate. The Syrian identified the Sudanese to the police, Tamim said. The Sudanese, an employee of the US Consulate, was summoned by the police, and after investigations it was found that he posed no threat to the consulate. The Syrian man wanted to “create trouble” for the Sudanese national. The Syrian has been arrested.
i personally like the second version because my country man has been cleared but to you which one seems more credible!
ahh the movie industry, i mean the media industry in Dubai is fun!!!!!
cya when i cya
Saturday, January 24, 2009
My first ever posting!
Hi this is my first ever blog posting, pretty lame for a career writer eh.
no worries though, well its about 4:10 a.m Sunday morning, in about five hours i have to be in my office reporting back from leave. i just returned from a 12 day trip to Sudan checking out the pre Egyptian pyramids that are there.
hopefully soon i will put the pics up along with the story i will publish. - i have to say i hate it when people say in blogs that i will put this or that up, because it usually takes for ever to be done, but do remember
the trip was not a success as a contingent of reporters were supposed to accompany me to check it out and all but one have failed to show up due to various reasons, visa trouble, Gaza war or just being shit scared to venture off to Africa!
the pyramids though were an unbelievable sight. standing high and mighty between the desert sands since 300 b.c.
next to the pyramids you can see the temples and the royal city which holds the sacrificial bed where they laid down the most beautiful virgin in the kingdom and slit her throat to appease the god of the sun.
sounds nasty, man am i glad i live now and here to just be a tourist to this site not a witness :)
well now that i am back to the real world one has to re-assess ones priorities.
a trip like this one is like a pilgrimage, it clears the mind and gives one a perspective.
cya when i cya!
no worries though, well its about 4:10 a.m Sunday morning, in about five hours i have to be in my office reporting back from leave. i just returned from a 12 day trip to Sudan checking out the pre Egyptian pyramids that are there.
hopefully soon i will put the pics up along with the story i will publish. - i have to say i hate it when people say in blogs that i will put this or that up, because it usually takes for ever to be done, but do remember
THIS IS MY FIRST POSTING :)
the trip was not a success as a contingent of reporters were supposed to accompany me to check it out and all but one have failed to show up due to various reasons, visa trouble, Gaza war or just being shit scared to venture off to Africa!
the pyramids though were an unbelievable sight. standing high and mighty between the desert sands since 300 b.c.
next to the pyramids you can see the temples and the royal city which holds the sacrificial bed where they laid down the most beautiful virgin in the kingdom and slit her throat to appease the god of the sun.
sounds nasty, man am i glad i live now and here to just be a tourist to this site not a witness :)
well now that i am back to the real world one has to re-assess ones priorities.
a trip like this one is like a pilgrimage, it clears the mind and gives one a perspective.
cya when i cya!
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