Early this morning, the Israeli Defence Force boarded one of six ships carrying humanitarian aid from Turkey to Gaza and killed at least 10, possibly 19 unarmed activists. This happened about 50 miles offshore, in international waters. By any reckoning, that's an act of war. And yet, there is hardly any international condemnation (half a dozen ambassadors called in for a slap on the wrists), and the silence from the US has been deafening.
Israel behaves more like the rogue state it is with every passing day. Arab states continue to prevaricate and tremble at the knees, while the US not only refuses to condemn Israel's actions, but actively enables them with billions of dollars of aid every year. I would have expected Obama to take a very firm line with Israel, but it seems he's lost his bottle.
Had the Israeli government sat down and brainstormed what was the worst, most revolting, sickening and disgusting thing they could do, I doubt they could have dreamt up anything to beat murdering a dozen or so peace campaigners whose sole aim was to bring some relief to the Palestinians. I am sure that most Israelis are fundamentally decent people, but that cannot be said for their leadership. Human decency features nowhere on their agenda.
Will no-one stop these bastards?
So, Pastor Terry Jones, a Florida-based leader of A Very Small Church Of Nutters, has declared this coming September 11th to be 'International Burn a Koran Day'. Despite massive condemnation from Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, the Pope and Tony Blair, he is still planning to go ahead and throw 200 Qurans onto a bonfire. I find it incredibly hard to believe that, in a country where pretty much anyone can be arrested for pretty much anything, this moron from hell cannot be stopped from carrying out this vile act. Sadly, there's also no way you can explain that to the proto-rioters in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Middle East and bits of North Africa, who are so used to a lack of freedom they think if your Government knows you are about to do something insanely stupid and doesn't stop you from doing it, then that government implicitly supports your actions.
In this case, bollocks to freedom of speech. Pastor Jones must know the impact of what he is planning, and the likely consequences thereof. If the US government cannot stop him, then there is something seriously wrong with the system.
We regularly get asked about jobs in the UAE and how to get them. So to throw it out there to readers:
- how did you get your own job?
- what are the best recruitment agencies for media jobs in Dubai? and the worst?
- which job ads sites are most useful?
- is there need to visit the UAE and go doorknocking, or can jobs be picked up remotely?
- what about jobs on the sales side as well as editorial?
Dubai Rental Property have been comment spamming this blog and my Madrid blog, neither of which are about property rental, at least in Dubai. I asked them to desist yesterday, and in response they left me five fresh comments. I know that off-site links from other blogs and websites are good for search engine rankings, but this is going too far. I will be watching the results for Dubai Furnished Property quite closely over the next few days, and also reporting the company to Google if they persist in their extremely irritating action. Foolishly, they publish a mobile, landline and fax number on their website. It may become necessary to make a few phone calls.
The Asian Business Leadership Forum, ABLF, has launched a special edition magazine celebrating the Year of Tolerance. More...
Mark your calendars, the UAE government has confirmed the full list of UAE public holidays for 2019 and 2020.
In a Tweet announcing the holidays on the UAE government official page it was announced that the UAE cabinet will grant the private and public sector an equal amount of holidays both this and next year.
In previous years, public sector workers have been given additional days off.
According to the Tweet the ‘decree aims at achieving a balance between the two sectors and supporting the national economy’.
The Islamic holidays listed are based on the Hijri calendar, which is a lunar calendar. So, the dates are still subject to local sightings of the moon.
The UAE Cabinet approves public holidays for the public sector for the years 2019-2020, and grants the private sector equal holidays. The decree aims at achieving a balance between the two sectors and supporting the national economy. #UAEGov pic.twitter.com/R2ZAsu4hF4
— UAEGov (@uaegov) March 5, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
ALSO READ: UAE to ‘enhance and improve’ end-of-service gratuity system
Although previously the government has given estimated dates for the Islamic holidays, this year it looks like they’re waiting until closer to the time.
UAE National Day – which always falls on December 2, normally means one day off for private sector workers, but according to the Tweet, this year everyone will enjoy two days off to mark the UAE’s 48th birthday on December 2 and 3. December 1 is also a public holiday for Commemoration Day which falls on November 30 (a Saturday), so we’ll get a nice five-day weekend to kickstart December.
ALSO READ: Astronomer predicts when Ramadan 2019 will start
Like many countries, New Year’s Day is a public holiday in the UAE, and one of three secular holidays observed in the country. This year, it falls on a Tuesday, so it won’t be a long weekend.
This holiday marks the night that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem and ascended to heaven. Isra’a Wal Mi’raj is observed annually on the 27th day of the Islamic month of Rajab, and falls on April 3 in 2019, according to the Hijri calendar. April 3 is a Wednesday, so it is likely that this will be a mid-week day off.
Eid Al Fitr roughly means ‘breaking of the fast’ and is the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It’s dependent on the sighting of the moon, and automatically begins after the end of Ramadan. We won’t know until closer to the time whether this will fall on Monday June 3 or Tuesday June 4.
This holiday marks the second day of the yearly pilgrimage to Haj, and will likely mean a day off. It falls on a Saturday in 2019.
Honouring Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, we typically get three days off for this holiday – so combined with Arafat Day, we’ll likely get Sunday through Tuesday off. This means it could be a five-day weekend in August.
Islamic New Year in 2019 is likely to fall on a Saturday – we get one day off for this holiday so we may not get a long weekend.
This holiday marks Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday, and is celebrated on the 12th day of Rabi Al Awwal, which will fall on November 9 in 2019, subject to moon-sighting. This is a Saturday in 2019, which could mean we’re given Sunday off.
Formerly referred to as Martyr’s Day, this holiday honours the Emiratis who have died while protecting their country. It falls on a Saturday in2 2019, which means it may be combined with National Day.
2019 will mark the UAE’s 48th birthday, celebrating the unification of the seven emirates in 1971. It falls on a Monday this year, and as we had a two-day holiday on Sunday and Monday for the occasion in 2018, it may be that it’s a four-day weekend again in 2019.
We’ll update this page through the year as public holidays are announced, so be sure to bookmark it.
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The post UAE government confirms full list of UAE public holidays for 2019 appeared first on What's On Dubai.
Film director working on vast art installation inspired by cult classic On the Road
He trained as an artist and has found inspiration in old master paintings in making some of British cinema’s most avant-garde films. Now the director Peter Greenaway is working on perhaps his most ambitious artwork so far – an actual racetrack as a vast outdoor art installation.
It will be a tribute to Jack Kerouac’s cult classic On the Road, the story of a hedonistic road trip across the US, as Greenaway seeks to recreate Kerouac’s sense of adventure for the 21st century, as well as raising questions about “the future of our roads and how we are going to use them”.
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