A very grumpy little pair of pieces in today’s Gulf News: the ‘phone company that everyone loves to shout at, Etisalat, has released a new block of numbers starting with the prefix 056 and hasn’t bothered telling anyone, according to the paper which gives the grievance front page space (alongside a report of the horrific crash that happened yesterday on the Sheikh Zayed Road outside the Grand Hyatt: a minibus jumped the central barrier and hit an oncoming car with the loss of five lives) and then repeats the story inside.
The source of at least some of GN’s grumpiness is given away in the story, “repeated requests by Gulf News for a comment from etisalat went unanswered”, and then GN gets its revenge, continuing with “Etisalat subscribers regularly complain about the poor customer support.”
Ouch.
The GN story is hung on a single subscriber complaint, which is a tad thin if you ask me. Australian businessman Irshad says he's been given a new number and is facing constant problems with people insisting they’ve got the number wrong. The paper says that ‘apart from a press release’ there has been no attempt at raising awareness of the new number: that press release, as far as I can see, went out in August 2006!!!
Changing a national numbering scheme without any attempt at public awareness is an odd decision to make. Choosing to ignore media enquiries about it an even odder one, particularly given that Etisalat is involved, at least nominally, in a competitive market. The result would appear to be some unwelcome coverage given unusual prominence, I would submit precisely because the company has been ignoring the newspaper's requests.
You can only conclude that there’s a potent cocktail of stupidity and arrogance at work here and that’s surprising given the vast number of very positive changes that have been taking place over at Etisalat towers over the past couple of years.
This news is also bad news for a completely different reason: it’s the death knell for the Du test, because people are going to start asking for the ‘full’ mobile number including the prefix now.
Mind you, I have to confess I’ll be delighted if people start asking “Is that 050 or 056?”...
:)
Monday, 14 July 2008
Sunday, 13 July 2008
14
Enigmaticaly, little orange bus stops have started popping up all over Sharjah. The fact that bus stops have popped up isn’t in itself enigmatic: the enigmatic bit is that they all carry the number 14. It must be the Mother of all Bus Routes, the Sharjah Number 14.
There is no other number. Every single bus stop is served by the number 14 bus: from Al Wahda and Al Arouba street right up to the airport and around the university, down to the industrial estate and out to the Emirates Road.
And, of course, this being Sharjah: if every bus stop on every route is numbered 14, then obviously every bus should be a number 14 bus, too. And so it is. Yup: every man jack of ‘em’s a number 14 bus.
This from the place where every roundabout is named as a square.
Ya gotta love it...
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Thursday, 10 July 2008
Lifeless
Google has a new 3D 'immersive world' offering called Lively. It allows you to move around as an avatar in 3D spaces called 'rooms', where you can interact with people, chat and generally be three dimensional and immersive.
Where Lively possibly gets interesting is that it combines streams of Google-related stuff: you can watch YouTube videos or view Picasa images within the Lively environment, as well as embed desktop gadgets and post Lively rooms to your blog. The 3D immersive experience, in short, crosses a number of boundaries with reality and gives some possibly interesting new ways for people to access and use content - including music.
It's currently in Beta, but there's a long way to go. Lively crashes Firefox repeatedly, suffers from awful lag and appears to be, well, lacking a point. You'll need to download the (free, of course) Lively client browser plug-in.
And there endeth the Geek post...
Where Lively possibly gets interesting is that it combines streams of Google-related stuff: you can watch YouTube videos or view Picasa images within the Lively environment, as well as embed desktop gadgets and post Lively rooms to your blog. The 3D immersive experience, in short, crosses a number of boundaries with reality and gives some possibly interesting new ways for people to access and use content - including music.
It's currently in Beta, but there's a long way to go. Lively crashes Firefox repeatedly, suffers from awful lag and appears to be, well, lacking a point. You'll need to download the (free, of course) Lively client browser plug-in.
And there endeth the Geek post...
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Silvio
Gianni posts a link to this story which I otherwise would have missed. Unlike myself, being of mature years and a more reflective and sensible nature, he declines to comment.
The White House, home to that fine, upstanding fellow George Bush, apparently handed out a press pack to members of the media travelling to the G8 Summit that neatly positioned Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi as “one of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice”.
It gets worse. The four page biography of Berlusconi contained in the press pack was apparently yanked from an encyclopaedia without being edited or checked and also referred to Berlusconi gaining his position through his media contacts.
Brilliantly, it went on to highlight his early career: “He earned money by organising puppet shows and making people pay a ticket, he sold vacuum cleaners, worked as a singer on cruise ships, made photographic portraits, and did the homework of other students in exchange for money.”
The White House has been forced into a grovelling apology to Silvio and 'the Italian people'.
You gotta love it.
Meanwhile, in related news, the gravitas and deportment of said Italian premier are here displayed for all to see. A pair of classic Silvio moments:
The White House, home to that fine, upstanding fellow George Bush, apparently handed out a press pack to members of the media travelling to the G8 Summit that neatly positioned Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi as “one of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice”.
It gets worse. The four page biography of Berlusconi contained in the press pack was apparently yanked from an encyclopaedia without being edited or checked and also referred to Berlusconi gaining his position through his media contacts.
Brilliantly, it went on to highlight his early career: “He earned money by organising puppet shows and making people pay a ticket, he sold vacuum cleaners, worked as a singer on cruise ships, made photographic portraits, and did the homework of other students in exchange for money.”
The White House has been forced into a grovelling apology to Silvio and 'the Italian people'.
You gotta love it.
Meanwhile, in related news, the gravitas and deportment of said Italian premier are here displayed for all to see. A pair of classic Silvio moments:
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Betrol
The ADNOC queues go on and on and on. But the whole 'we're selling fuel cheaper than anyone else' binge appears to have caught up with them. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has been using private tankers for some time to shift the massively increased volumes of diesel it needs to distribute to meet the demand for fuel that's Dhs10 a gallon less than other outlets.
But this seems to have led to new challenges: all through this week my local ADNOC has had 'no special'.
There are two grades of fuel sold by local petrol stations 'special' (low octane) and 'super' (high octane)*.
And special is off the menu, it would appear. So I've been paying 50 fils a gallon more at the EPPCO station down the road...
*Thanks to the Dubizzle reader that fixed this! :)
But this seems to have led to new challenges: all through this week my local ADNOC has had 'no special'.
There are two grades of fuel sold by local petrol stations 'special' (low octane) and 'super' (high octane)*.
And special is off the menu, it would appear. So I've been paying 50 fils a gallon more at the EPPCO station down the road...
*Thanks to the Dubizzle reader that fixed this! :)
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Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Monday, 7 July 2008
Pringles
WHAT'S IN A PRINGLE?
If you’ve been watching the Great Pringles Are Not Crisps controversy, you’d be forgiven for wondering what they are. What are Pringles 'crisps' actually made of? So here, thanks to a 43g pack of Cheesey Cheese Pringles and a few mildly obsessive minutes on the Internet, is a breakdown of what you’re eating when you, errr, 'pop and can't stop'...
Enjoy!
THE INGREDIENT LIST
Just think, every time you hold one of those tasty 'shaped snacks' in your fingers before popping it into your mouth, it's actually an artificially shaped experience consisting of:
Dehydrated potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn oil and/or palm oil), corn flour, wheat starch, maltodextrin, emulsifier: E471 (from palm oil), cheese powder* (non-animal enzymes), salt, rice flour, whey powder, dextrose, flavour enhancer: monosodium glutamate, vegetable oil (sunflower, palm, coconut), natural and nature-identical cheese flavour (composed of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese out of non-animal enzymes), buttermilk powder, onion powder, sugar, dried cream, non-fat milk, sodium caseinate, whey powder concentrate, food acid: lactic acid, flavour enhancers: disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, yeast extact.
*from cows milk
Energy per 100g: 534 kcal
Fat per 100g: 35g of which 10g saturates
THE SUMMARY
Just in case you didn't click on the link to the BBC story above, Pringles' "unnatural shape" and the fact that the potato content is less than 50% helped Justice Warren to decide that they're not crisps and therefore exempt the UK's 17.5% Value Added Tax.
You’re basically eating a mixture of dried potato and a variety of other processed food starches bound together with some strong fats and stabilisers, then flavoured with powerful artificial flavour enhancers, some processed dairy product extracts intended to create a slightly sour cheesy flavour and a splosh of sweeteners to help it all go down.
Yummy!
THE BREAKDOWNSo what are those delicious looking ingredients, listed in order of weight? Here's a breakdown of every lovingly processed one of them!
Dehydrated potatoes
Apparently, according to media reports, something like 40% of a Pringle is actually potato – and dehydrated potato at that.
Vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn oil and/or palm oil)
Corn oil is just fine, a relatively cheap vegetable oil. Palm oil is cheaper and more insidious, packing a wicked load of saturated fat: see this article over at The Fat Expat for more.
Corn flour
Is what it says on the packet, a starch derived from dried corn. Usually GM corn.
Wheat starch
Another starch, this time derived from wheat.
Maltodextrin
Derived, usually in a process of acidic breakdown, from vegetable starch (typically rice, corn or potato). Apparently a recent trend towards using wheat starch is suspected as a causative in increased coeliac reactions in the US. It’s basically an artificial sweetener.
Emulsifier E471 (from palm oil)
No wonder they call it E471. The ‘E’ numbers are the European Union food additive numbering codes and you can usually reckon, when you see one of these little darlings, that the number is preferable to the actual name. E471, then, is Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (glyceryl monostearate, glyceryl distearate). We’re basically looking at a fat, chemically derived from palm oil, being used to combine otherwise difficult to combine substances (emulsification).
Cheese powder (non animal enzymes)
Basically, they haven’t used an animal rennet.
Salt
Sodium Chloride. Salt.
Rice flour
Yet another starch packing out that meagre piece of potato...
Whey powder
Whey is a by-product of cheese production and whey powder is used as a cheap sweetener as it’s rich in lactose – anything up to 75%.
Dextrose
A form of glucose, a sweetener.
Monosodium glutamate
MSG or E621: this is not generally considered to be a terribly good thing. MSG is an artificial flavour enhancer, widely used in Chinese cooking but used in highly processed foods to add ‘zing’ where flavour would otherwise be lacking. There is widespread anecdotal evidence of MSG side effects, including headaches, flushing, sweating, numbness, tingling or burning sensations, particularly in the mouth, chest pain and shortness of breath. However, it is still an additive approved for use in both the US and EU.
Vegetable oil (sunflower, palm, coconut)
Again, sunflower oil is a vegetable oil and is generally considered to be good for you in moderation. Both coconut oil and palm oil are very high in saturated fats and pretty much the same as eating pure animal fat in that respect. Both of the latter oils are more stable at room temperature, being semi-solid – particularly coconut oil.
Natural and nature-identical cheese flavour (composed of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese out of non-animal enzymes)
Nature-identical flavours are artificially created flavourings, typically a compound of flavoids combined to match a breakdown of components created by spectrometric analysis.
Buttermilk powder
Literally the dried by-product of making butter, buttermilk is used as a flavouring, adding a slightly sour, tangy dairy taste.
Onion powder
Again, a flavouring
Dried cream
Is what is says.
Non-fat milk
Just that!
Sodium Caseinate (from cows)
Frequently used as an emulsifier and stabiliser
Whey powder concentrate
See whey powder above
Food acid: lactic acid
Both a preservative and a taste ingredient (it is used extensively in sour milk products).
Flavour enhancers: disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate
Disodium inosinate (C10H11N2Na2O8P to you) is commonly used alongside disodium guanylate, which results in disodium ribonucleotide or E635: a flavour enhancer that effectively potentiates MSG – ie: it makes the flavour ‘kick’ of the MSG greater. This lets manufacturers get more bang for their MSG buck.
Yeast extact.
Another, slightly more natural, flavour enhancer. Yeast extracts are made in a process that’s just like pouring salt on slugs: you add salt to a yeast suspension and the cells shrivel up and die. They are then heated and the unwanted cellulose strained off.
(I had a few angst moments about whether to post this here or over at The Fat Expat, the food blog to end all food blogs. I plumped for here, given that this is not really a recipe or a review, but something of a rant - and consumer protection is a FPS tag, not a TFE one.)
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Sunday, 6 July 2008
Complaining
This will be the last extract I offer from the greatest guide to letter writing ever compiled, the compendious 1111 Letters for Al Occasions, the magnificent octopus orchestrated by K. Malik and published by New Light publishers of New Delhi. Because I'm bored now, that's why.
That K. Malik's advice in the matter of petitions is offered in a long and largely unsuccessful correpondence should not detract from the close study of this most fascinating chain. That he believes a causal link between mosquitoes and influenza should not, in this modern day, cause you to question this most learned man's sanity. That question, I think you will agree, was settled between us some time ago...
Public Petitions
Public Petitions are joint applications for a common cause. These should be signed by a large number of citizens to impress upon the authorities the urgency of the matter.
Growth of Mosquitoes
To
Lieutenant-Governor
Delhi
Dear Sir
The population of mosquitoes and flies has assumed unprecedented malevolence this year in West Delhi because the Corporation of Delhi has not sprayed the area with DDT and other pesticides.
There is great danger of malaria, flu and other epidemics breaking out.
We request that immediate steps should be taken to terminate the mosquito and fly nuisance and hazard in West Delhi.
Yours Faithfully
Ram Kumar
Karam Singh
Din Mohammed
Joseph Stephen
And other residents of West Delhi.
Reply to Above
Your application dated ...... has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Delhi Administration, for necessary action.
Reminder
To
The Chief Secretary
Delhi Administration
Delhi
Sir
We have the honour to draw your kind attention to our petition forwarded to you by the Lieutenant-Governor regarding the over-population of mosquitoes in West Delhi.
Kindly arrange to terminate the nuisance.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to Above
Your application has been forwarded to the Chief Health Officer, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, for necessary action.
Another Reminder
The Chief Health Officer,
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Delhi
Sir,
Please state what has happened to our petition to the Lieutenant-Governor, forwarded to you by the Chief Secretary for ending the mosquito menace in West Delhi.
Reply to Above
I am personally visiting your locality on May 10 at 11am with necessary DDT staff to spray the mosquito-breeding pockets.
Reply to Above
You did not turn up on 10th May as promised. We had prepared tea and garlands in your honour, but you did not come.
Since you are too busy to come, please pass on our application to the mosquitoes themselves.
Letter of Apology
Dear Sir
I regret that I was unable to visit your locality on 10th May because I was urgently called to the Corporation meeting regarding your application to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Rest assured, my staff will soon be visiting your area to terminate the mosquito menace.
Yet Another Reminder
The Lieutenant-Governor
Delhi
Sir
We have the honour to draw your kind attention to the our petition dated .....
Mosquito menace continues as usual.
Reply to Above
Dear Sirs
I understand that the Health Staff did visit your area with pesticides to destroy the mosquitoes.
Reply to Reply
Yes, the Health Staff of Delhi Corporation did indeed visit the locality with pesticides.
They simply passed on our petition to the mosquitoes and sold the pesticides to a chemist.
And the mosquitoes lived happily ever after!
That K. Malik's advice in the matter of petitions is offered in a long and largely unsuccessful correpondence should not detract from the close study of this most fascinating chain. That he believes a causal link between mosquitoes and influenza should not, in this modern day, cause you to question this most learned man's sanity. That question, I think you will agree, was settled between us some time ago...
Public Petitions
Public Petitions are joint applications for a common cause. These should be signed by a large number of citizens to impress upon the authorities the urgency of the matter.
Growth of Mosquitoes
To
Lieutenant-Governor
Delhi
Dear Sir
The population of mosquitoes and flies has assumed unprecedented malevolence this year in West Delhi because the Corporation of Delhi has not sprayed the area with DDT and other pesticides.
There is great danger of malaria, flu and other epidemics breaking out.
We request that immediate steps should be taken to terminate the mosquito and fly nuisance and hazard in West Delhi.
Yours Faithfully
Ram Kumar
Karam Singh
Din Mohammed
Joseph Stephen
And other residents of West Delhi.
Reply to Above
Your application dated ...... has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Delhi Administration, for necessary action.
Reminder
To
The Chief Secretary
Delhi Administration
Delhi
Sir
We have the honour to draw your kind attention to our petition forwarded to you by the Lieutenant-Governor regarding the over-population of mosquitoes in West Delhi.
Kindly arrange to terminate the nuisance.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to Above
Your application has been forwarded to the Chief Health Officer, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, for necessary action.
Another Reminder
The Chief Health Officer,
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Delhi
Sir,
Please state what has happened to our petition to the Lieutenant-Governor, forwarded to you by the Chief Secretary for ending the mosquito menace in West Delhi.
Reply to Above
I am personally visiting your locality on May 10 at 11am with necessary DDT staff to spray the mosquito-breeding pockets.
Reply to Above
You did not turn up on 10th May as promised. We had prepared tea and garlands in your honour, but you did not come.
Since you are too busy to come, please pass on our application to the mosquitoes themselves.
Letter of Apology
Dear Sir
I regret that I was unable to visit your locality on 10th May because I was urgently called to the Corporation meeting regarding your application to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Rest assured, my staff will soon be visiting your area to terminate the mosquito menace.
Yet Another Reminder
The Lieutenant-Governor
Delhi
Sir
We have the honour to draw your kind attention to the our petition dated .....
Mosquito menace continues as usual.
Reply to Above
Dear Sirs
I understand that the Health Staff did visit your area with pesticides to destroy the mosquitoes.
Reply to Reply
Yes, the Health Staff of Delhi Corporation did indeed visit the locality with pesticides.
They simply passed on our petition to the mosquitoes and sold the pesticides to a chemist.
And the mosquitoes lived happily ever after!
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Thursday, 3 July 2008
Boycott
Uncelebrated by the region's English language media, a spat of some considerable proportions has been going on in Jordan, where the Jordan Festival, an intended celebration of music, culture and art, has been struggling in the face of calls for a boycott by Arab artists being raised by the Jordanian Artists Association.
The reason for the boycott was that French advertising agency Publicis was alleged to be retained as part of the organisation of the event and Publicis was further alleged been behind the organisation of Israel's 60th birthday celebrations. At least two artists, including Lebanese superstar singers Assi Hillani and Ellissa, had pulled out as a consequence and the viability of the event was starting to be questioned.
His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan weighed in yesterday in an interview carried by Petra News Agency. Publicis Groupe has also categorically denied any involvement in the arrangements for the Jordan Festival in a piece carried by Arabic Daily Al Hayat yesterday and also denied any involvement in the arrangements for the Israeli 60th anniversary celebration beyond its CEO's attendance as a private individual.
But it might have been too little, too late. The boycott, according to a report in today's Jordan Times, continues. A letter's gone out from the JAA to five other national artist's associations calling on them to support the boycott. A boycott which would appear to be based on very little evidence indeed, but a great deal of emotional response.
Worst of all, take a look at the last line of JT's story: JAA's president has called for a boycott of Algerian Cheb Khaled (AKA 'Khaled didi') because he once played a concert with an Israeli artist in Rome.
I once had dinner with an Israeli. Should I worry?
The reason for the boycott was that French advertising agency Publicis was alleged to be retained as part of the organisation of the event and Publicis was further alleged been behind the organisation of Israel's 60th birthday celebrations. At least two artists, including Lebanese superstar singers Assi Hillani and Ellissa, had pulled out as a consequence and the viability of the event was starting to be questioned.
His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan weighed in yesterday in an interview carried by Petra News Agency. Publicis Groupe has also categorically denied any involvement in the arrangements for the Jordan Festival in a piece carried by Arabic Daily Al Hayat yesterday and also denied any involvement in the arrangements for the Israeli 60th anniversary celebration beyond its CEO's attendance as a private individual.
But it might have been too little, too late. The boycott, according to a report in today's Jordan Times, continues. A letter's gone out from the JAA to five other national artist's associations calling on them to support the boycott. A boycott which would appear to be based on very little evidence indeed, but a great deal of emotional response.
Worst of all, take a look at the last line of JT's story: JAA's president has called for a boycott of Algerian Cheb Khaled (AKA 'Khaled didi') because he once played a concert with an Israeli artist in Rome.
I once had dinner with an Israeli. Should I worry?
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Credit
Gulf News had its day today with the news that UAE businessman Abid Al Boom had his assets frozen. The paper first ran the story last week (on the 27th June, in fact) that Al Boom was in schtuck, pipping the other English stories to the post, although its angle on the story was perhaps a little interesting.
The GN story from last week, "Lawyers flay newspaper for slandering Al Boom company" took the angle of 'the astonishment expressed' by lawyers and the 'anger' expressed by Al Boom himself at the news reported by an Arabic newspaper, the name of which GN refused to give on the grounds of the UAE Journalism Code of Ethics.
Today GN's reporting pretty much vindicates said Arabic newspaper (which I can, in an exclusive shock horror revelation, tell you was Dubai government-owned Emarat Al Youm) , although nowhere does Gulf News' coverage today say that. The National also ran the story, crediting 'a local Arabic newspaper' and even Emirates Business 24x7 ran the piece front page but didn't credit its sister title with the scoop.
Which does rather strike me as denying credit where it's due. EAY broke the story, but was never given that credit in the English press. Citing the Code of Ethics is all very well, but I for one couldn't find the relevant part of the code that stops a newspaper crediting its fellow paper for publishing a story.
BTW - that code (linked above) is well worth a read for anyone in, or dealing with, UAE media!
The GN story from last week, "Lawyers flay newspaper for slandering Al Boom company" took the angle of 'the astonishment expressed' by lawyers and the 'anger' expressed by Al Boom himself at the news reported by an Arabic newspaper, the name of which GN refused to give on the grounds of the UAE Journalism Code of Ethics.
Today GN's reporting pretty much vindicates said Arabic newspaper (which I can, in an exclusive shock horror revelation, tell you was Dubai government-owned Emarat Al Youm) , although nowhere does Gulf News' coverage today say that. The National also ran the story, crediting 'a local Arabic newspaper' and even Emirates Business 24x7 ran the piece front page but didn't credit its sister title with the scoop.
Which does rather strike me as denying credit where it's due. EAY broke the story, but was never given that credit in the English press. Citing the Code of Ethics is all very well, but I for one couldn't find the relevant part of the code that stops a newspaper crediting its fellow paper for publishing a story.
BTW - that code (linked above) is well worth a read for anyone in, or dealing with, UAE media!
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