Modern Theft – DU They Think They’ll Get Away With It?

DU are modern thieves. There’s little more to this story than that. But bare with me anyway, assuming false charges against Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum triggers your curiosity, that’s where this is going. And yup, that’s exactly what DU’s done.

I bought a flat from Nakheel. No, that’s not correct; I bought a flat that was developed by Nakheel from a real-estate agent. For a moment, let’s assume it wasn’t a flat but a vehicle developed by Mercedes, and sold to me by some authorized distributor. Does Mercedes, or say Eppco petrol station have the right to sign a contract with each other, giving Eppco exclusive rights to my petrol needs, banning me from using Emirates petrol stations? What if Eppco didn’t have any petrol in stock and probably wouldn’t for the next 3, 6, or even 9 months, while Emirates was fully equipped to serve my needs today? What if I bought my Mercedes with the intention of using it as a taxi; my only form of income? Does Eppco have the right to financially handicap me that way? No logic, no matter how bent, twisted or exaggerated, can convince me that such a contract would be ethically, morally, or economically fit, anywhere on the planet between any two companies. On the contrary, every singe day that went by, Mercedes & Eppco both would be stealing my consumer rights and my daily income.

And that’s exactly what DU is attempting to do to me and any other Nakheel, (and even Emaar, so I’ve heard) property owner right now. You see, DU’s signed contracts with Nakheel, giving them exclusive rights to the communication infrastructure of all the new properties. To make simple, it means they’ve build all their tunnels banning Etisalat from doing the same, but they’ve not got any active wiring to actually install people’s communication needs in their houses. Letters have been sent to Etisalat banning them from serving any Nakheel property owner, so Etisalat can’t just run their wiring through and give us all internet, cable and telephones. No, no without a no objection letter for Etisalat, we’re forced to wait out DU. And as we all know, DU isn’t prepared to serve anyone anything yet, despite their multiple promises concerning their completion dates, they’ve ye to come through. What logic gives DU the right to enforce some bizarre ban on my property, literally stealing my consumer right to chose, simply because they’ve got infrastructure rights to this building, regardless of DU’s current consumer incompetence, is truly beyond my comprehension. And since both Nakheel & DU repeatedly tried to place the blame on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, claiming he had signed a decree making all of *New Dubai* exclusive to DU and banning Etisalat from serving the same area, I have an inkling it’s beyond these company owners conscious ethics, as well. Infrastructure rights and consumer rights are two completely different things. A lesson DU’s manager needs to learn.

You see, after hearing this excuse from multiple staff members in both DU & Nakheel, who I’m more than willing to name, I called the executive office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and inquired about it. I couldn’t believe that man with such a gleaming reputation for logical morals would consider such a decree. And of course, no decree of such consumer thievery was ever signed, according to a gentleman who has given me permission to also pass on his name to the appropriate parties. But DU still doesn’t want to admit it. And they’ve done a fantastic job of convincing their staff, because even as I heard it pretty much from the concerned mouth itself; offered a name and the telephone numbers to them, many of DU’s staff members still argued that this decree was a fact. Tell me, are DU staff members calling the Executive Office liars? And if so, where should that leave them and their company all together?

Nakheel on the other hand, was immediate to apologize for the mistake. Nakheel on the other hand, has more ethics than DU ever will. Nakheel, though a company I was almost outraged by initially through this entire scenario, eventually gained my respect. They gave me my letter.

I need internet. I want it from Etisalat. ‘Why’ is irrelevant to DU and they have no right to inquire. But to state the obvious, it’s because DU isn’t prepared yet. To state the unobvious, I never intended to shift to DU and I won’t even consider it now, after speaking to DU’s grossly rude, completely egotistical, incomprehensibly arrogant manager, who has no problem stealing from me and forcing all us property owners to use DU’s services against our wills. All of which he was more than happy to make clear during my conversation with him, “I am not willing to break my contract with Nakheel for you.”

Haven’t you already broken multiple contracts concerning deadlines, which assuming such contracts existed, would make you in void of them anyway?

To which I actually shouted back, “All of your staff is telling me it’s ok to have Etisalat installed, but you’re not willing to give it in writing. What you mean is, you intend to deceive the public by stating you never forced us to use your services, knowing Etisalat can’t do anything without a ‘No Objection’ letter from you, effectively binding us to you by force?”

“Yes. Maybe if you learned to speak nicely to people, you’d get somewhere in life.”

Funny, I got further than you did. Right now, Etisalat is running their wires in your infrastructure and will be providing me the services I want. Seems like you lost a potential customer – and are now being rightfully slammed on the net, while I got what are my rights; what I wanted from the start.

It was that simple. The man admitted to being a deceiving, money-grubbing thief, with the audacity to give me life advice. Personally, I’ll never deal with a company managed by such a person, even if it somehow evidently means reselling my flat and never dealing with Nakheel as well, again – though that would be a pity as they’ve been more than helpful in sorting this issue out. I don’t recommend you deal with DU either.

What I want to know now, is why haven’t any of the local newspapers reported this pretty massive (for us and for potential future property owners) issue? Had I known about DU’s attempts at modern thievery, I’d not have bought here in the first place. Or I’d have been damn sure I sorted this all out before I considered purchasing. I wasn’t lucky. I was pushy and demanding about my consumer rights. And eventually, I got exactly the help I needed from Nakheel. But it was only after so much effort I was almost exhausted. And I don’t imagine many people would bother taking it as far as I did simply due to lack of required energy. And I wonder if Nakheel will eventually be forced to write a “No Objection” letter for 70,000 + individual property owners before DU realizes they can’t force anyone to use their services – regardless of their infrastructure rights.

Deserves Recognition

Hey tainted whoremale. shut the fuck up.

lol

That's gotta beat any insult I've ever heard in blogsphere. Let's make a game of this.

Leave your best insult directed towards me (or others - as in ANONYMOUS OTHERS I don't want personal attacks directed at anyone other than me, and will delete any such attempts) in the comments here. If you manage to get me giggling more than this one did, I'll give you a cookie.

Wash my Mouth out with Soap…

…Because I haven’t heard that one before.

I’ve got a problem. Actually, I believe I’ve got a few. Either I’m lacking comprehension or a fair number of my readers are. Before I start whining, let me point out the oddity of people’s addiction to the things they hate… once again.

Why the fuck do so many people who claim not to like me, still read my blog? If I’m always whining, then you should know there’s nothing here that interests you. Common sense would tell me not to bother. If curiosity is the cause, then take your look, confirm what you’ve already preconceived and get the fuck out. Why in the world attempt to start an argument with someone who literally has a blog reputation for being a bitch and tearing the shit out idiots, over and over again in the past? Do you think you can win?

I’m softer than I once was. I’ll give you that. My writing’s not up to par. And I really don’t care enough to turn this into a complete rant. But what I can do, is point out how truly oblivious some people (in particular, bloggers) are.

I knew something like this was coming. But I assumed it would be more articulate, a little more offensive, and it would take a little longer for anyone to jump at the opportunity to vocalize how much they dislike me. I also assumed it would be coherent. Someone please tell me, where in this post Mr. Haroun commented on, I could possibly be described as whining. From what I can see, that post was pretty fucking positive. And I believe I even made a comment to blackfeline about how sending a letter bomb would be better suited for a time when things aren’t going so wonderfully well for me.

Haroun, the biggest offense you’ve managed to make, is the fact that I’ve got your blog listed on my blogroll, while you haven’t listed mine in return. I love you just the same and I will continue to read your non-whining-stories of heartache, encouragingly-non-pathetic attempts to find the right woman, and all about your non-deplorable sexual attraction towards your dog, with sincere devotion.

Blinded by Simultaneous Love & Hate – Saddam’s Execution & Response

Like most bloggers who have been silent, I assume, I’ve had some very conflicting feelings and thoughts concerning the execution of Saddam Hussein. Before I share my thoughts on this topic, I need you all to know a few very important facts so you know where I’m coming from. I am a Muslim convert. I’m not a very good one. I’m Suni. My ex husband, and consequently my son are both Shia. I do not believe that I have the right to force my son to follow Suni ways, as both sects believe the child should follow the father’s religion. That doesn’t mean I will discourage him from learning about Suni ways, as I believe with all my heart that I failed to educate myself about the true differences prior to marriage, and thus my son, my ex, and myself will have severe internal conflicts concerning this all in the future. I fully believe that Allah will lead my son to the right path, so long as I make knowledge of both sects available no matter what.

I personally do not believe in the Shia path. But I’m in no position to hold their beliefs against them in any way. I simply can not understand or accept a large number of aspects to it. Though, I can accept that the reasoning for this could be that I’m simply not yet educated enough on the topic itself, or that no one has been able to explain a few things that I believe are contradictory.

I am NOT trying to start a Suni/Shia debate. I am not a scholar and I will probably have little or nothing to add to any conversation of the sorts. I’m simply going to explain my reaction and what I believe is really happening with Saddam’s execution.

I, like countless others watched the video of Saddam’s execution. Don’t bother throwing your shit at me for linking that, as some ignorant, anonymous ass did CG, in the UAE Community Blog. Like it or not, the majority of the population on the planet has some sense of morbid curiosity and will watch this clip for that reason alone. And I’m betting a large percentage of Saddam’s victims’ families need to see this video for some sort of closure, simply because it’s all too common that famous people’s deaths are denied and doubted to the fullest extent. Think about it, how many people still think Elvis is alive? Photoshop can do wonders, as most internet users are well aware. The photographs simply would not be enough for some.

Now back to the topic; my first response to the news of his execution drew a complete blank. I later watched the video and found myself disgusted. Slowly, I started to piece together an actual opinion on it all. You see, I’m not disgusted that Saddam has been executed. I’m not disgusted that he’s been hanged rather than executed through lethal injection or some other ‘humane’ form. I believe in the death sentence. I believe a murderer deserves to die. And there is no doubt, people died in Saddam’s hands. But I also believe that the reason a killer should be executed is because Allah is the best at handing out consequences. And Allah knows best what any person deserves. And execution will send the executed to Allah immediately, and we living can move on knowing that then justice has been truly served.

I was not so disgusted at the shouting of Saddam’s rival’s name. That simply confused me concerning Shia’s a little further. I believe that should I be in the sight of death, the only thing I should be thinking or saying is, “With Allah his soul, where true justice resides”. Don’t misunderstand that, I’ve never been taught that through Islam or elsewhere. I just know it’s what I feel is the morally right thing to think, feel and say in such a situation. I could be way off as my morals certainly aren’t saint-like and I've never watched a person die; however I also believe Allah gave us all the innate ability to know between right and wrong. To me, that was simply wrong. To me, it’s almost like replacing a time when you should be worshiping, with praise for a human being for the sake spite.

Anyway, I wasn’t disgusted at the taunting of a man whose life was seconds from oblivion. That disturbed me, but I can see why some would be unable to bite their tongues.

I was disgusted by the sheer, single laughter heard almost immediately after his demise. To me, that single laughing voice speaks volumes of equality between the evil of Saddam Hussein while slaying countless people and the evil of the man who was able to laugh at such a moment.

Why?

Intent; subconscious belief and reasoning. Allah alone knows our intent. Allah alone knows what’s in our hearts. But that sheer laughter, while death has literally just taken place in front of this mans' eye, was an unconscious response. A piece of a man’s heart he simply couldn’t contain. I don't believe he was born with the ability to react in such a way. I believe he was created. Just as I believe Saddam was created.

I don’t know if Saddam ever laughed while or immediately after murdering people. I don’t care to know either. I believe he deserved to be executed. Period. But I do believe that while the Shia’s in Iraq celebrate so joyously for what they consider their victory, and the Suni’s avenge all the loss after both the death of Saddam on the day of Eid, and the loss of the Baath regime, whom they truly loved, they’re all being side-swiped by the kafr, who were responsible for building Saddam into the monster he was in the first place; the kafr who neglected to stop him while the atrocities were actually taking place but forged an excuse to punish him later. I believe that the Muslim’s both Suni & Shia are having their undeniable hate for one another played on; pulled like strings to puppets and neither one is to gain in the long run. I believe that love and love lost and hate, hate for those who where the hands of that loss, two of human beings' strongest emotions are the tools being used by the kafr to tear the Middle East, the Muslims even further apart.

And I believe it’s all for the sake of oil.

Who the Hell Wrote That?

After reading through that last entry of mine, and realizing it doesn’t even sound like me, I’ve come to accept that I can be a really, really shitty writer at times. I can’t even follow that entry to the end without getting bored. Allow me to apologize now for anyone who had the misfortune of actually reading that.

I’ve been browsing blogs again lately – thank you CG. It’s taking me a while to get around to all the ones that I used to frequent and I’ve seen very few new ones but I’ve got to say, with so little being said about Saddam’s execution, so much being said in the silence and the same hums about traffic, the same idiocy of your average anonymous commentator, not all that much has changed in blogsphere.

I suppose I should make this my official ‘I’m BaAAAAaaaack’ entry and explain my absence, what’s been happening throughout, what’s going on now, and why my blog most probably won’t sound even close to the way it used to, in new entries.

First of all, I removed my blog thanks to that infamous twat who was interviewing expatriates in the UAE for research for a book he’d like to write. I along with others were talked into sharing details of our lives, thoughts, and other information about interaction between locals and non-locals in the UAE under the impression that he was intending to write something positive and truthful about the UAE. When he found himself apprehended by authorities (and believe me, authorities here don’t apprehend people without a hint of a reason), he sent an apologetic note about how all his files including those with my blog url, correct contact details and some of my personal writing – which I did not give him permission to share or publish, were confiscated. I wouldn’t be calling him a twat for this happening, nor would I have been so incredibly offended by this inconsiderate being, had he not written the most arrogant, insulting, absolutely unbalanced, account of his apprehension in the UAE and the UAE society in general shortly after in his blog, without any regard for those like me who still might have been in harms way due to these files being confiscated.

At the time I had too much going on otherwise to even bother with the ass, who if you haven’t noticed has achieved in losing any respect I might have once had for him. Around the time I received this man’s hyped up, paranoid email talking about how his situation would become an international issue because he is a bull-whatever-the-fuck-that-noone-in-the-uae-knows-or-
gives-a-damn-about, I was going through my own personal hell. It simply made sense to remove my blog at the time, and not bother with it at all.

As many of my previously avid readers know, I had gone back home to Canada for surgery. I failed to mention here or anywhere in public exactly what the problem was and without sharing any in-depth details due to potential consequences of doing that (and I’d appreciate it if any of you who know or are intelligent enough to figure it out, don’t say anything here in public – failure to comply will only make me delete any comments and initiate comment moderation) my body was being poisoned by a deceased foreign object. By the time I reached Canada, I was literally on the verge of death and had I not reached when I did, I would be dead now. Thank you Layla123, for your support, right up until the last moment. I’ll not forget it, ever.

It took me well over my month there, and beyond that to recover. I am fine now, and I’m not asking for any pity because of this. I am fully at fault for what happened. Do not misunderstand. I’m sharing these details for the sake of explaining my absence and my very severe change of heart concerning most things.

The bottom line is, I don’t give a fuck anymore about a lot of things I used to, in particular bloggers and most people in general. I learned a lot and my eyes were truly opened. I believe anyone who has been as close to death as I was, would have a similar change of heart concerning life in general.

2006 was a complete bomb for me in most every possible way. There’s no where for 2007 to go but up. Prior to the New Year, I’d started working on all the changes I finally realized I needed to make and stick to. I’m currently spending most of my time attending to souq.com where I’ve become an avid seller. I import items from abroad, I sell the jewelry I make, and I sell off all sorts of odds & ends that are no longer needed, as my parents are leaving to Canada for good on the 10^th of this month. I make a fairly moderate amount of money each month from souq, and since I only intend to expand my stock and thus sales, I believe should I continue I should be able to make a really decent amount of money in the next few months time. It’s my solution to not working for another dickhead boss in the UAE again. However, I may have to take up a job temporarily because I’m also in the process of a few other things.

Right now I’m purchasing an apartment, and I’ve succeeded in taking a loan that will cover that expense. The apartment is located close to my ex husbands place, and my sons school which is perfect. The ex husband and I are getting along better than we ever have, and he’s literally shocked me with kindness recently.

The boy and I have separated again, and this time it’s for good. In fact, I’ve given my word to a few people that I’ll never take him back. I’m not sure if I believe myself yet, because the truth be told… I’m a stupid little girl at the end of the day and I really did love the guy with all my heart. It doesn’t help that I’m a romantic at heart, and I’m totally in love with being in love, but I don’t have the time or the energy to date or even meet new people. I’m fucking lonely without him. But currently, I hate him just the same.

So that’s it… That’s what’s been going on and that’s pretty much where I stand now. I’m sure I left a lot of details out and it’s not intentional. I may or may not get around to filling in the rest later.

Until then, may all of us have a better 2007, than 2006 in every possible way.

Race, Theft, Scam & the UAE

This morning over coffee with my parents we were discussing multiple changes in the UAE that have taken place over the last decade. With them going for good, they can reflect on the good and the bad with a rather objective eye. One of the major changes, due to increased living expenses and general lower quality of life I’d guess, is increased crime rates.

My father informed me that ‘Smily’ a man whose name we can’t pronounce, who works here with my father’s birds and always has a huge smile on his face, was robbed last week.

Smily was walking to the bus stop to catch a bus to the souq. He had on him 1500Dhs, two months worth of his salary and though I’m not sure, I’m guessing he was intending to buy gifts for Eid for his family back home. I’m going to stop you right there and tell you not to bother giving me or my family shit about his shitty salary as the fact is, we don’t condone it, it’s not up to us and if it were, he’d be paid more. In fact, my father often does give him and all the other workers bonuses strait from his pocket though he’s not in any way responsible for their salaries.

Anyway, he was approached by two Egyptian guys in a car, who offered to drive the literally poor man to the souq. Smily agreed happily. I bet he was thinking he'd saved a bit of transportation money, and came across truly kind-hearted people. Once in the car, the men took Smily to a deserted road, where with the threat of violence they demanded he give them all his money. Two months worth of salary gone. They let him go, but he failed to take the license plate number and has refused to make an official police complaint on the bases that he believes nothing will be done about it because Smily is an Indian.

I think a couple of things about this. To start with, the police’s incompetence has less to do with race than most here would like to presume. Just last year my father and a Canadian business colleague who was here on a short business trip, were sitting in busy restaurant when a couple of Indian scam artists approached, one diverting the whole table’s attention while the second crept up from behind swiping my father’s colleagues bag, which happened to be literally full of cash for a pending falcon purchase. My father caught on quick, chased the thief until he dropped the bag, but never actually caught either of them. The restaurant owner then informed my father’s table that the same thing had happened two days earlier when a German woman’s purse was snatched there. They’d called the police but the police never bothered to show up. This time, the Asian national was the thief and European/Western tourists the victims. Nothing was done.

The second thing I think is that Smily, failing to make an official complaint is just another example of the reasons why Asians are most often the target of such crimes, and even alternative types of abuse. Smily is far from the only Asian I’ve ever come across who refuses to officially stand up for their rights because of a prenotion that nothing will be done. In fact, a huge percentage of Asians I know tend to think and act like this. And the widespread knowledge of this attitude is why they’re often the target of thieves like this, I’m sure.

What happened to Smily and his final reaction to this all is incredibly sad. This morning, one of the workers is intending to make a complaint to the Sheikh who he officially works for, not for the sake of catching the thieves but because he hopes the Sheikh will show mercy and offer him the money he was ripped of. Personally, if I were the Sheikh I wouldn’t dare – for the simple reason that UAE is famous for scams and without an official complaint, how in the world can I verify that this robbery actually took place? And who is to say that next week, another complaint won’t be made by one of the many, many other workers I have, again without any actual proof, and I’d be expected to show the same sort of mercy? I’d be counting on a single act of mercy shown towards one man, one incident, turning into a deceitful bonus for all my employees before I could count on it actually being appreciated.

You can argue that all you'd like. But I'm betting the Sheikh agrees with that concept, because he himself has gone through it before in the past. And I'm also betting Smily had a larger chance of getting anything in return if he'd only made an official complaint - whether it be the police actually catching the thieves or the Sheikh showing financial mercy.