Secret Dubai diary Intrigue and adventure in the United Arab Emirates





iPhone RPGs

Dubai Info

Best role-playing games
Spiderweb Software
for Mac & PC





24 August, 2005

Go Sheikh Mo

Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed has been voted the Arab's world's most admired leader, according to an online poll.

"Shaikh Mohammad won 40 per cent of the votes in the poll conducted by www.alarabiya.net, the news portal for the Arabic news channel Al Arabiya, and on AME Info, the Middle East's premier online business resource."

Great news, but "Sheikh Idol" or "Sheiklebrity Big Brother" would have been infinitely more entertaining.

24 Comments:

Blogger Parv said...

Gotta give the man mad props. He is a great, proactive leader. I'm not Emirati, but with living in Dubai and Sheikh Mo getting an award, it kinda makes ya feel all proud and shtuff...aawww shucks.

24 August, 2005 15:33  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have a friend who has recently moved to the UAE. We have been chatting online, and he ensures me that he's not being sensored. We talk about all kinds of things and after reading the posts of many of you locals, I wonder if our topics of conversation can put him under scruteny. Please tell me if I'm being overly worried.

24 August, 2005 16:38  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm also wondering if the internet has been down a couple of times this week?

24 August, 2005 16:39  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes the internet has been down a couple of times this week/month, due to etisalats highly believable "two ships sunk at the exact same time, and somehow hit two seperate cables" scenario otherwise known as "we dont want to lose money from paying for bandwidth that we are selling.

also the internet IS censored. my letter to gulf news from my petition to unblock the internet got a response from etisalat themselves, and yes, you guessed it, they blamed a random government department...

"No need for proxy
Etisalat should remove the internet proxy. It should stop blocking the internet for private users and make it an optional service for any users with young children, or those that are offended by free information.

The proxy (blocking service) not only slows down internet browsing greatly, the listings used are inefficient.

Also an appeal to stop blocking VoIP services. Perhaps Etisalat should enforce the proxy on public access terminals only.
From A Reader
Al Ain
Name withheld by request

The management of Etisalat replies:
The decision to use a proxy filter to block websites is not an individual decision of the corporation but we are complying with the requests of the authorities in compliance with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE.

If you think a site should be blocked/unblocked, please contact us on http://feedback.ecompany.ae and we will promptly investigate it and take action.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE has stated that all use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony in the UAE is illegal. The TRA has instructed Etisalat to block all access to VoIP telephony. "

yeah, and im bob marley. and BTW, i dont live in al ain. stupid people at gulf news. either i wrote the letter myself and forgot about it (no way to check as my computer is in bits and pieces on its way to australia), or someone ripped what i wrote here: http://www.petitiononline.com/unblock/petition.html and sent it to gulf news. im not sure what happened.

24 August, 2005 16:51  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the new ISP/telco is never going to happen. and when it does, be prepared for dissapointment. its going to be government run, which means that they listen to the govt, and listen to the TRA (telephone reg authority) who will tell them to ban VOIP and 90% of the web.

banning stuff also keeps there bills down quite a lot, face it, when people cant access torrent sites, i.e. piratebay.org, because etisalat lists them as "criminal skills" it is a pain in the ass to use connection capacity to the max. so when etisalat blocks it, less traffic has to be paid for.

24 August, 2005 18:29  
Blogger secretdubai said...

It is deviating somewhat! You guys are right - he is an exceptional ruler, a real visionary.

I still miss Sheikh Zayed enormously. But the newer generation aren't bad at all.

24 August, 2005 19:01  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am the kind of person who is highly critical of all kinds of leaderships. When I have nothing nice to say about a leader, I usually say nothing (it saves everyone the trouble). However, Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai is certainly someone I do admire and look up to. I would have certainly been voting for him.

There are often those who will say, "Well, they got all the money, so of course.... " but it's not so. If it was, Tripoli would have been competing with Dubai today on different levels.

It is much harder to know what to do with power once you have it than getting to power. Sheikh Mohammed has certainly figured out what to do with it and mastered it.

24 August, 2005 19:17  
Blogger samuraisam said...

well, technically speaking, seeing as this blog is about an online survey, it isnt deviating from the originaly topic.
but back onto topic.
Sheikh Rashid was also legendary.

24 August, 2005 19:54  
Blogger Keef said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

24 August, 2005 20:12  
Blogger Keef said...

Messed up the last attempt - I hate the way Blogger doesn't let u edit comments!

Sheikh Mo, way to go!

Etisalat, poo poo poo.

24 August, 2005 20:21  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Sheiklebrity"

This is just a super neologism. It's the perfect word for Various Important Persons who are "important" for no discernable reason.

25 August, 2005 00:19  
Blogger secretdubai said...

I'll have to use it again then! Just need some Gulf royalty to enter a talent contest, and bingo ;)

25 August, 2005 01:51  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sheikh Mohd is one of the smart leader in the world and one of the the very best in Middle East.
He is a perfect choice !

25 August, 2005 10:27  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding privacy online, Id like to ask from those with experience in Dubai and some technical person, how can I be traced if i post something on a blog or use an internet service such as yahoo (an account which was setup overseas) ?

Sheikh Mohammed is no doubt a great leader and would get my vote for Time man of the year.

25 August, 2005 20:17  
Blogger samuraisam said...

not bothered to re-type:

http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2005/08/guide-to-blogging-in-uae.html#112497568325404058

25 August, 2005 21:12  
Blogger secretdubai said...

In terms of online privacy: the only way you can guarantee being safe is if you are a high-level hacker of the sort that can evade most government security. Otherwise, there will always be traces and trails, no matter what you do.

However: unless you have done something seriously offensive, no one is likely to bother to try tracing you.

The bigger concern is that most people don't realise how much they give away, once they for example blog enough entries and things about their personal life, it's easy to join the dots and trace who they are. You wouldn't have to be a technical expert to do it.

If you really want privacy, don't blog. If you desperately want to blog, never use your real name, email, work name, etc - and also throw in a few fake details from time to time (mention you work somewhere you don't, that you were overseas when you weren't, mention that you have a sister when you don't, etc. These are the things that help muddy the trail - but obviously only in terms of your readers, not the government).

25 August, 2005 22:29  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok..
So what I hear you saying is that only something published like blogging is in danger of being 'sensored', but personal emails and IMs are not sensored. Or in other words email cybersex or IM cybersex is not something that people should worry about. Or email opinions or IM opinions are not monitored. Do I have it right?

Sorry for posting 'off topic' but I felt like I needed to ask.

Thanks to the host country for understanding my ignorance and interest in learning the rules.

Much love,
Green in Greenland

26 August, 2005 08:03  
Blogger samuraisam said...

they 'can' be monitored.

but remember, there are well over a million internet users in dubai, do not for one second think that no one else does what you do.

26 August, 2005 12:22  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anonymous:

so is there no way whatever im typing can be databased and then searched later on when needed?

27 August, 2005 10:38  
Blogger samuraisam said...

consider how much space would be required.

say 1 mb (1 floppy) per person per day. thats 4 million mb.

Perhaps if your REALLY pissed someone off they might log everything you say, but i cant think of a reason why theyd bother, and if they actually knew how, and if anyone found out how much shit would rain from the skies.
Just play it safe. If you want to keep secure there are ways, such as purchasing a dedicated server or something in the US, and connecting to it securely, then they cannot see anything, but if you're chatting to someone here on an unsecure medium then you're still catchable.

27 August, 2005 14:03  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

29 August, 2005 00:08  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

40 % only? then how did the other 60% do? who wete the others who got 60%?

04 September, 2005 23:07  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am Raheel and i am live in dubai.this time all over the is market is comedown same here but if govtment trust me i can up the market with in only 72 hours inshahalla but this is my 4th latter to HH Sheikh Mohammad now i leave the comments on this web site maybe somebody read my advice and give this advice to HH SHEIKH MOHAMMAD i have very good plan if the plan apply this market this is (item boob) plan and Dubai govt can profit 100 billion to 300 billions only few days.inshahalla
if some govt person want to meet me than please contect on my e mail address.
raheelcbi@gmail.com

10 November, 2008 22:18  
Blogger Unknown said...

jaffer here dubai is what today we just have to thanks shiek zayed aww i really really love this guy he is a great human.may god give him a great place in heaven amen

12 January, 2009 02:19  

Post a Comment

<< Home



next issue is no. 12




Google Secret Dubai
iopBlogs.com, The World's Blog Aggregator
 Blog Top Sites

Powered by Blogger




StatCounter stats