So yeah, Nano is over for 2009 (thank God). It was a very busy month, not made any easier by me also trying to cross stitxh x-mas card to everyone. Well needless to say few x-mas cards were completed by December 1st, and I’m now struggling to get them all finished to send off. At the moment I need to finish 1 more for the Norwegian side of the family tree and 3 for the scouse family tree, and then of course they need to be mounted (get your minds out of the gutter now!). I’ve given myself Wednesday as send off date. They’ll prolly arrive at the two locations too late for crimbo, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

I really do apologise for not posting more often though, hopefully etisalat will install our internet soon and then you’ll all be sick of me. I have been writing a few post to publish, I’ll finally be giving my opinion on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – apparently saying it’s “blah” isn’t good enough. There will be a few other book reviews as well, a New Moon rant (the film not the book), another rant connected with the Twilight Saga (I’m gonna have to spread those way apart, people will start to think I’m obsessed and I’m really not), then some updates on my cross stitching projects, some pictures and opinions from the Killers concert at the Emirates Palace, National Day pictures from Abu Dhabi, and my pre-New Year resolutions

Hopefully a couple of these can be posted this week, it all depends on how quickly my cross stitching goes, plus I need to clean the flat (room) for Christmas and get the decorations out.

At least the weather has turned a bit colder, really puts you in the Christmas mood.

So for now, how yourself a very, merry run up to Christmas and please stick around and comment when the content is finally up.

Auf Wiedersehen ( I think)

Whilst Dubai reels from it’s near economic collapse it’s neighbor Abu Dhabi is clearly has fewer money worries. December the 2nd was the UAE’s 37th ‘National Day’ and whilst Dubai’s festivities were over shadowed by recent events Abu Dhabi celebrated in style. Unsurprisingly this opportunity to show off was not over looked, a 55 minute, £12 million firework display was the highlight of the event. The display was the biggest and most expensive ever seen in order to ” showcase the city of Abu Dhabi and all its glorious vision to a world audience”.

There has been questions raised lately about weather Abu Dhabi will step in to offer help prevent Dubai from suffering further economic woes. Abu Dhabi’s ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyanhas said that the national economy was in good shape but made no reference to Dubai’s problems. The UAE’s markets have been badly effected by the announcement on November the 25th that Dubai World may need to sell assets in order to pay back debts.

“Most of Dubai World loans range from three to five years, whereas the projects that were financed range from 25 to 30 years. The difference between the finance terms and carrying out the projects led to this crisis.”

Abdul Rahman al-Saleh, director-general of Dubai’s finance department

A latest world record was set last Thursday, during the celebration of the 38th UAE National Day. The flag was unveil at Qanat Al Qasba in Sharjah and had been officially entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. The flag was done by Sedar Group of companies, which employed 448 men to complete the task.

More at http://www.dubaisurprises.com/index.php/all-news-one-source/the-nation/376-uae-flag-world-largest-flag.html

Yesterday, December 2, was National Day here in the UAE. It was an interesting event to witness. I’ll put a few of the pictures I took on here but as always, I have more on Facebook.

Helicopter flying UAE flag

I got to the Corniche in the mid-afternoon and saw a few decorated cars driving around. They were driving with the same level of sanity as usual (which isn’t exactly sane) and it really wasn’t that busy. At the point, I kind of wondered what people people had been talking about when they said you had to be suicidal to drive along the Corniche on National Day.

A decorated car

However by the early evening, I definitely understood what they went. Things became very chaotic. There were cars spraying silly string et cetera at each other sometimes to the point there was clearly no windshield visability. People were standing on top of cars (including young children!) and sitting on open windows. I guess the best way to describe it was as a parade but without everyone participating. The amount of honking and other noise was immense. There were police cars and ambulances being completely ignored which sadly isn’t that unusual here but there usually isn’t nearly this much traffic.

Kids standing in cars

Decorating a car

Later there were fireworks (much later than the time I read they were supposed to happen). While waiting I felt a bit cold for the first time outdoors (indoors is a totally different story) since I’ve been here. The display had been advertised as the world’s largest and thus, I had pretty high expectations. I discovered that my expectations were much too high. While there were a lot of fireworks they were repetitive and there weren’t that many at once. I started to leave as they were finishing and noticed that they were coming from several other directions too but I hadn’t been able see those from the beach. In retrospect, there was probably better places to watch the fireworks but there were certainly lots of people watching them from where I was.

About the best of the fireworks

Even though few other people were leaving when I did from the beach, I encountered massive numbers of people while I walked a few blocks to a place where traffic was moving to search for a taxi. In order to get a taxi, I had to cross the street to some sitting ones because they would be gone by the time they did the u-turn. Anyway, I ended up with the dumbest taxi driver ever who kept trying to get off the highway at every exit! I’m sure I’d never have got home had I not been able to give step-by-step directions (eg. NO! Don’t turn!).

So yesterday was National Day here in the you ay ee and as usual there was just a plethora of ridiculously over done stickered up and decorated cars. I unfortunately didnt bring my real camera out but I was able to snap these with my phone and this was just the tip of the iceberg !!

Just about every other car looked like this, entirely painted and printed... nuts

this one was brilliant I thought, at least some creativity coming out and what a sick photo

that’s really it for now … I’m working on finishing up a podcast show during the weekend so hopefully you’ll get a chance to hear it quite soon!

D.

Grand Assembly of Alba Iulia

Yesterday, 1st of December, was the National Day of Romania. In the year 1918, on December 1, 1228 official delegates along with masses from Transylvania came to Alba Iulia to sign the resolution for the unification of Transylvania with Romania.

How Romanians spent National Day?

Well, in Bucharest, at Triumphal  Arch  a military parade was held between 11.00 and 12.30. Nearly 10,000 people gathered to see the artillery exhibition by military forces, including tanks, armored cars and aircraft.

More pictures from this event you can find on the website of the Ministry of National Defense.

Thousands of people attended the military parade and parade of folk costumes from Alba Iulia, where all started. Dozens of local-ities brought delicious food in Alba Iulia for the Romanian National Day:

*pictures form citynews.com

In Bucharest, district Mayors waited for the Romanian parade to celebrate
with with beans-sausages and boiled plum brandy.

*picture from realitatea.net

If you ask me about how I spent the National Day… well,  I stayed at home. I got to know just the last night that I would be having the day off. There were many people who worked even on this day. It’s not a very special day for us, even if the authorities want us to believe it. Romanian bosses don’t understand that this day must be a free day for all the Romanians (excepting the ones that are working in transportation, health, fire and other categories as for if they would stop working, it would create chaos). They consider this day like any other and so we have to work. It’s a good thing that retirees were lucky enough for being able to queue for a bowl of food for free. I’m not the type who stands in the line in crowded and cold places for a beans and sausages bath.

Romanians usually crowd when it comes to something for free: food, drink or concerts.

Everything is perfect as long as it is for free!

Decorated Cars with national flag and images of the Rulers are the common sight on UAE streets.

People will be out in force tomorrow as the UAE celebrates its 38th National Day. Chanting, singing, dancing and, of course, engine reviving and car horning are the few treats for the celebration of the UAE National Day.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development continues its various programs across the country to celebrate the UAE’s 38th National Day, which runs until December 5.

The Syrian National Orchestra band and the Ornina Theater Dancing band will contribute in two spectacular shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The bands together would be on the stage of Dubai’s Creek Park at 8 pm on December 2 at an evening gathering featuring a mix of Western classical music and classic Arabic music, in addition to a number of dance performances.

More on http://www.dubaisurprises.com/index.php/all-news-one-source/the-nation/374-uae-national-day-.html

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is one of the most destructive and widespread epidemics in recorded history. It has killed more than 25 million people since it was discovered in 1981, and it is the world’s fourth leading cause of death. In 2006, more than 3 million people died from AIDS and more than 1/2 million of them were children. 15 million children around the world have lost one or both parents because of AIDS. 38 million people are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, and without treatment, many more will die from AIDS. Less than one in five who need treatment have access to it.

These are grim statistics, but many international organizations, charities, governments, scientists and concerned citizens are working to help end the AIDS pandemic.

In 1988, World AIDS Day was started as an opportunity to unite the global community to fight AIDS by raising awareness and support for its prevention and treatment. Until 2004, UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) spearheaded the global coalition of organizations, governments and communities collaborating on World AIDS Day activities, but since 2005 it has been coordinated by the World AIDS Campaign. Until 2010, the main theme of the campaigns on World AIDS Day and throughout the year is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” This refers to the Millennium Development Goals all nations agreed to at the United Nations Millennium Summit, with one of the 8 goals being to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Despite this pledge, 4.3 million people became infected with the HIV virus in 2006 – more than in any other year!

There are many things that you can do to help raise awareness and support for the global campaign to end AIDS. Wear a Red Ribbon to shop your support for those living with AIDS and the fight against the pandemic. Take the leadership pledge to take a lead in fighting AIDS on the worldaidscampaign.org website. Write letters to local and national leaders to take a greater leadership role in the fight against AIDS, and hold an event to urge your community to get involved.

Celebrate the UAE National Day with a big BLING on your Key Chain. This beautiful piece is hand-made with love and know-how and original SWAROVSKI crystals by the German Designer SARAH ASFUR.

ORDER ONLINE HERE:

http://www.souq.com/Art-Collectables/Handcrafts/NATIONAL-DAY-GIFT-UAE-FLAG-KEY-CHAIN-with-SWAROVSKI-crystals/6155529/?mode=1&lan=EN

National Day in the UAE isn’t actually until December 2 but it was celebrated today at work because starting Thursday we have holidays and we don’t go back to work until December 6. Anyway, I have been told that I really haven’t seen anything yet but it is already very clear to me that National Day here is a huge deal. Canada Day definitely pales in comparison to National Day. This country is pretty new (it is turning 38) but it is clearly very patriotic. The college had the police band perform, had children dancing, and national food given out. There were lots of balloons and decorations and there was a big tent set up outside. I don’t really think I’m conveying how big of deal this holiday is but it is clearly something the Emiratis take really seriously.

I wish I had thought to bring my camera to work to take pictures of some of the festivities. Below is what I had to bring home. There were a lot of things for sale but I didn’t buy anything. There are lots of National Days items for sale everywhere, so I may buy some things in the next week.

UAE flag and National Day card

“I promise you to proceed at once with the task of creating a modern government.  My first task will be the immediate abolition of all the unnecessary restrictions on your daily lives.  My people, I will proceed without delay to transform life into a prosperous one with a bright future.  Every one of you must play his part towards this goal.  Our country in the past was famous and strong.  If we work in unity and cooperation, we will regenerate that glorious past and we will take our rightful place in the world.”  This is part of the famous speech that Sultan Qaboos gave to his people July 23rd in 1970 after taking over power from his father.  He has made good on his promise to Omanis and his popularity among the people is the highest of any leader in the Persian Gulf.  Today, November 18th, is his birthday and the 38th “National Day” celebration of Oman.  Portraits of Sultan Qaboos are found in virtually every business in Oman.  To give you an idea of just HOW popular and loved he is by Omanis, here are a number of photos showing the streets and businesses of Muscat lit up in celebration of his birthday, his rule and of the progress Oman has achieved under his leadership.  The Golden Tulip Hotel  The pedestrian overpasses and intersections have had such lights up during the past week and are usually accompanied with giant pictures of Sultan Qaboos.  What’s a celebration without fireworks, right?!     These fireworks were at Qurum Park. Here’s a short vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA48ecPOX5k  Another video of National Day fireworks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FddnjJbNN8A  One bonus about Sultan Qaboos having his birthday on Nov. 18th is that it puts the expat community in “the Christmas mood” a little over a month before Christmas!   Looking through my dirty windshield stuck in bumper to bumper traffic!  The Ramada Hotel all decked up for the Sultan’s birthday  Al Khuwair  Sultan Qaboos Street in Al Khuwair looking towards Ruwi  The Porsche showroom proudly displaying the Omani colors   Royal Flight near Muscat International Airport

These are just a few examples of the decorations up for Oman’s 39th National Day celebrations.  Oman has definitely come a long way in the 39 years of his leadership.  Congratulations to all Omanis and a happy 69th birthday to Sultan Qaboos!

The Dubai Shopping Festival Office has stated the one whole week of festivities to mark the occasion of Eid Al Adha and the UAE National Day that falls on December 2. The second edition of ‘Eid in Dubai’ – Eid Al Adha will begin on November 27 and will close with the National Day Celebrations till December 3rd.

The DSF office will be making sure to stretch the spirit of Eid and the Glory of the UAE’s 38th National day among locals, expatriates and tourists. Dubai will be a first choice destination in the region during the week from 27th November to 3rd of December.
On November 27, ‘Eid in Dubai’ will feature an collection of family-oriented cultural and social programmes across Dubai. Some of these highlights are… more at http://www.dubaisurprises.com/index.php/all-news-one-source/the-nation/354-eid-al-adha-and-uae-national-day-celebration.html

National Day

With its 38^th National Day on its way, UAE has already pulled up its socks to celebrate its National Day on 2^nd December. The hearts of every emerati are filled with the overwhelming memories of 2^nd December 1971 when UAE made a history by acquiring independence from the British Colonial Rule. The Al-Eid Al Watani (in Arabic) is celebrated with great zeal all over UAE with splendid aura of triumph.

UAE has trampled long strides since its birth 38 years ago. With the proud maturity in its infrastructures, trade, economy or tourism, UAE has been an object of wonder. Since the day it attained independence in the leadership of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, UAE has never looked behind in any of its developing areas. The country proudly rests in the list of most relished tourist places of the world. The day is a national holiday but the major monuments are open to the public.

UAE National Day 2009 will take pleasure in comprising 61 events in all by the ministry of culture in union with other state bodies under the chairmanship of Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, minister of culture, youth and community development. According to him the logo will act as an official element for all the communication across the seven emirates which is a pleasant brush stroke this year.

With its concrete social, cultural and religious values in addition to the vision and wisdom of its leaders, the country promises to exercise harmonious environment in this cosmopolitan society in future as well.

Congratulations and best wishes to the people of Turkey on the occasion of Turkey’s Republic Day on 29th October.

I’m really sorry I haven’t blogged for a long time. I swear it’s all WordPress’s fault. How long has it been? A month? Never again.

I tried to post things about what happened during this long respite but all the facts were gone, all the news was old. But just a brief summary:

Barrack Obama does NOT deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. This just proves that this “Swedish Academy” is nothing but a bunch of biased people that don’t know how or what to decide. What about that Afghani woman who was the first Hazara (and woman) to reach the position she reached in the government? Or were Obama’s speeches and flashy smiles more worthy than that Latin American woman who went and helped the poor in the dirt with her own hands?

Some people say he’s the most “anti-Semitic president so far.” Well, other than the fact that the term “anti-Semitic” is used wrongly anyway (since Arabs are Semitics too), he hasn’t done anything against Israel so far. He couldn’t even stop the continuous Israeli settlements through his “negotiations” – apparently the only thing he’s up to doing.

Second thing, about what happened on the Saudi National Day. Look it up on YouTube. I won’t condemn what they did, or the act of letting half of them go because of (obviously) personal connections, but the people that actually considered it an “attempt to revolt.” Yeah, right. Because these people aren’t just a bunch of uneducated, immoral, immature kids that came from Riyadh just to try have some fun. As if.

Last thing…. OK I forgot. They were a lot though.

I’ll get more relevant, authentic, and better quality stuff soon. Promise.

Revolution.

**WordPress should seriously die. I’m very serious. What’s the point of having a blog with no access to it?

Future note: if it ever happens again that you don’t see any new posts on this blog, know that WordPress has gone back to its old irritating habits again.

The People’s Republic of China was founded October 1st, 1949 with a celebration at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. This year was the 60th anniversary and there was a lot of excitement building up to October 1st. We were advised to not travel the Beijing for National Day. Security in China was extremely tight because of the anniversary, supposedly residents along the parade route were warned to not step out on their balconies, for they may be shot. Beijing was expected to be impossible for foreigners (police checks every half block). That and the fear that a nationalistic riot could break out at any moment kept me away; some Japanese reporters were assaulted in their hotel room after they tried to cover a rehearsal session.

Because I was on a sleeper train to the Yunnan Province on October 1st, I  completely missed the ceremony. But I found a short video of the parade that does some neat time lapse and slow motion tricks. There were two parades; the first a military parade in which China showcased its weapons and nuclear missiles and then a civilian’s parade with over 100,000 participants. The civilians parade’s floats had themes such as “progress of the motherland”, “scientific development”, “brilliant achievement” and “beautiful prosperous China.”

Military hardware

National Day – October 1, 2009

National Day – October 1, 2009

Part II

The photos in this section were copied from The New York Times online Global Edition, China Daily, and the Boston.com (The Big Picture) webpage. For other great photos of the rehearsals leading up to the Beijing event, go to:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/china_prepares_for_its_60th_an.html

You probably heard that the government went all-out to ensure that rain would not interfere with their big parade in Beijing. Well, all the well-timed cloud seeding and mist deflecting and whatever else they did worked because even though it was raining in Shanghai on the morning of October 1st, the fog lifted quickly in Beijing and the rest of their day was perfect.

After a night of ‘gala performances,’ it was hard to imagine a parade being anything but anti-climactic. Wrong again. The morning TV fare was exactly what it would have been in the US: a Barbara Walters/Diane Sawyer-type news anchor interviewing a panel of high mucky-mucks in the government and military about what we would be seeing in the parade. To be honest, those discussions seemed more unscripted than the commentary that went on during the parade. The newswoman asked questions that the panelists seemed, at times, unprepared for—taking a moment to formulate their answers and then often amending them later in the discussion. These two hours offered some fascinating details of the meticulous preparation of the marchers and of the current military force of China. A few examples follow.

1) Prior to this year’s “biggest ever” military parade, the Chinese held massive military parades in 1984, 1989, and 1999. The first one featured motor bikes. The one in 1999 was on mechanized vehicles. Today’s features computerized battle tanks that can fire on the move, with no need to stop. For the first time, all the military hardware was made in China. In Mao’s original 1949 parade, all of the equipment was foreign-made.

Military hardware

2) The military parade style of the Chinese is closest to that of the Russians which comes earlier from the Prussians.  Their parades are not international in flavor, like those of the French who invite units from other countries to join them. Nor is it like that of the English, with all their bearskin hats, their ritual and pomp. Instead it is precise and [my words here as I can’t remember their terms] rigid, upright, uniform, mechanistic.

Xinhua aerial

Tiananmen Tower w/ band

The Chinese military prides itself in the number and quality of its female members.

3) The Special Forces Unit is most like our Green Berets, perhaps. They are trained to be low-key, hidden—and uniquely, in China, to act as individuals, not a group. They had to be carefully re-trained for this parade to march as one, to act as a unit. All of the military units had been training for this parade for over a year; in that time they have marched over 10,000 km, the distance from Beijing to New York.

Practice marching

4) The military brass on the panel stated that China’s military force is designed not for “large formation” fighting, but “for local war, though high-tech.”  They have improved the weaponry of all three branches of the service. The newswoman asked why the military budget had increased so much if it was designed for local combat only. They replied that part of the big increase had to do with China’s “greater international obligations.” In addition, they had to increase the servicemen’s pay to match that of Chinese nationals. [One general noted that as a junior officer in 1983, he had earned Y62 a month. That was about $8.]

5) The military men marching were all the same height—between 1.8 and 1.9 m tall. Their posture, their gaze, their ability to stand still for hours without swaying, even the only-every-40-second blinking of their eyes had been precisely programmed through daily practice using almost cage-like, three-dimensional rope grids, drills, and psychological counseling.

Air force marchers

Naval Officers in their dress whites

When the Chinese flag is formally raised, it takes exactly the amount of time that the sun takes to rise above the horizon every morning. A serviceman bunches the flag into his hands once it is attached to the flagpole and suddenly throws it out to the side as the others start to pull. The burst of flag is pretty dramatic to see—has much more excitement to it than a slow, steady pull and release of the flag the way ‘we’ do it.

The numbers in the parade were, predictably, startling: there were 80,000 children forming two Chinese characters with red and yellow paper flowers, 1900 young people in a flag formation, 100 60-year-olds in one formation, 1,949 marchers holding the largest Chinese flag ever displayed in a parade [bigger than a basketball court] , 1000 farmers from one province doing an elaborate dance formation,  and 5000 children at the end of the parade with flower baskets and each holding an enormous bunch of balloons—5 smaller blue and yellow ones [maybe 16” in diameter] and one huge red balloon about 3’ in diameter that rode about 8’ off the ground. They ran up the two ramps to the Forbidden City and released the 25,000 balloons. At about the same time, 60,000 doves/pigeons were released; these birds had not been allowed to fly since mid-September, as the military was afraid that they might interfere with the planes practicing their routines. [There are practically no pigeons in parks here in Shanghai. I don’t remember about other cities. But what there are here are pigeons in dove cotes that are privately owned and flown. These cages are high up in neighborhoods like ours and almost invisible unless you are looking for them—gray mesh and dark wooden frames under the eaves, on the roofs.]

Child with flags

There were 56 formations, marching groups, in the parade—the number of ethnic groups in China. After the strictly military units of servicemen, tanks, trucks and missiles, a single formation consisted of masses of marchers in costume surrounding a large, really a huge, float. Some of them were the Ansai Waste Drum Formation [farmers in ethnic dress, dancing], Long Sleeve Dance Formation [another 100+ dancers in elaborate costume], Energy Development Formation [a float which was powered entirely by solar panels], Marching with United Will [56 sunflowers on a Chinese flag],  My Chinese Heart [returned students and overseas Chinese], Sports Development [young people on roller blades and bikes],  Harmonious Home [old age care—all in wheel chairs], One World [foreign funded organizations in Beijing].

Cast of Thousands

There were fly-overs of 150+ military aircraft including J-10s, H-6 jets, an airborne tanker flying ahead of two bombers, with re-fueling hoses in place, and training jets flown by women fighter pilots, trailing red, yellow, green, and blue vapor streams—ecologically using vegetable oil to create the colored trails.

A lot of the current camouflage is no longer greens and yellow. Now the tanks are blue and white, blue and gray; not even the uniforms have the standard camo look, blues being much more in evidence on the street—on young people clearly not in the military. Some of the camouflage on the tanks and trucks looks computer generated, in the sense that it is painted on in pixels—very geometric, like a TV image break-up.

Blue and white pixelated camouflage

Okay, so now when I tell you, “But wait! That’s not all! For an additional 30 minutes of your time, I can describe that evening’s festivities in the middle of Beijing—the brilliant costumes, the endless songs, the appearance of all the leaders, the fireworks that had as one goal ‘to set a new Guinness world record’, the ethnic dancing, the 5000 person light cube. All this for just 60 minutes, plus minimal eye-strain”, you’ll understand why I decided it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. The previous night of “dance and history,” I had chastised Woody for looking away for one second, insisting he was missing gorgeous things; the second night, half-way through the ‘songs and fireworks,’ I wrote a lengthy email to my sister, hardly glancing at the screen even though what was being televised was pretty stunning.

Fireworks over Tiananmen Square.

I won’t even begin to tell you. There. You’re welcome!