Abdullah writes that there has been some speculation that this is an effort to create a distraction from the developing negative media frenzy over Mossad’s recent assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai.

A very good point:

Observers have rightly noted that while the European Union maintains its proscription of Hamas as a “terrorist organisation”, they are yet to produce any evidence that the organisation has carried out a single military operation outside Occupied Palestine.

This is in stark contrast to the Israeli government, which threatens, attacks and occupies the lands of neighbouring countries, and assassinates its opponents in other sovereign nations.

Related: Dubai has now named 26 suspects in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabouh, the Hamas figure.

Israel’s use of counterfeit foreign passports led one Australian reporter to worry about “terrorists” ability to do the same thing. Richard remarks:

Doesn’t this tell you heaps about western prejudices in favor of our own and against the unwashed hordes, that this reporter would not have realized that any nation that carries out an assassination on foreign soil while abusing the security of numerous erstwhile allies is engaging in terrorism. Why can’t these Mossad agents be called terrorists too?

If Israel would lift one finger to make a genuine effort toward peace and resolution I’d be happy to promote it, but everything Israel does seems to go in the other direction.

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Reliable “pro-Israel” advocates cannot seem to grasp this, but almost all Western objections to this action have nothing to do with any sympathy for Mabhouh or his cause. Just as objections to drone strikes in Pakistan have nothing to do with sympathy for Al Qaeda or opposition to U.S. objectives in the region, Western protests over the manner in which Israel fights it enemies is almost always motivated by an interest in keeping Israel from making counterproductive blunders that empower its enemies and isolate it from those states that would otherwise be willing to support Israel. There is probably no better ally of genuine anti-Israel sentiment than the reflexive apologists for every mistake and crime the Israeli government commits. As the old proverb goes, “The yes-man is your enemy, but your friend will argue with you.”

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The Sun reports that the cellmate of the girl believed the police were stricter with her because she was a Muslim of Pakistani descent:

“She’s a British girl but a Muslim, so I think they were tougher on her because of that.

“She was trying to report the rape but soon realized the policemen were more interested in how often she has sex with her boyfriend.

“They even asked if she did just normal sex or anything else in bed.”

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(one of my own photos – not that great). I’ve been and still remain (extremely) critical of Dubai, but the building itself is just incredible.

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This sounds really cool:

A centre to raise awareness about human rights among the public will be established by the Dubai government next year, a top police officer said at a gathering to mark the International Human Rights Day on Thursday.

The Dubai Human Rights Village will be a rights education centre and it will open in 2010.

Dr Sultan Al Jamal, Director of Human Trafficking Crimes Monitoring Centre of Dubai Police, said awareness among citizens and residents about what human rights are and what they mean is lacking. “The articles that constitute the Declaration of International Human Rights are unknown to 
many people.”

I like this concept of a ‘challenge’ room:

It will be divided into five domes that will introduce human rights to visitors. The public will be able to navigate and enquire about protection laws and government services.

The domes will focus on the rights — birth, health, food and water, education and cultural rights. Each area will have classrooms where workshops and lectures will be conducted. A challenge room will enable discussions on key human rights issues.

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Stock markets in the Gulf emirate of Dubai and its neighboring capital of Abu Dhabi fell sharply on Monday and then ground to a halt amid a lack of buyers after Dubai World’s shock proposal to suspend debt payments.
….

Dubai World property unit Nakheel, builder of the iconic Palm Jumeirah man-made island, asked to suspend trading of its sukuks, or Islamic bonds, listed on the Dubai-based Nasdaq Dubai exchange.

One of the key loans affected by Dubai World’s planned debt moratorium is a Nakheel issue of $3.5 billion of Islamic bonds or sukuks, scheduled to mature on Dec. 14.

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American chat show queen, Oprah Winfrey, was forced to apologize on Monday to an outraged audience for an episode of her show featuring women from around the world in which a guest from Dubai gave false information about life in the dazzling UAE city.

The episode, which aired in October, hosted women from cities like Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Tokyo and Dubai, where Dr. Lamees Hamdan spoke to the show via Skype and explained about her life and what living in Dubai was like.

The segment began with a voice-over by Oprah who said: “Thanks to this country’s rich oil supplies, the government provides its citizens with free water, electricity and health care. The best part? No income tax!”

Hamdan went on to explain to the audience that people in Dubai do not pay utility bills, which is incorrect, and said there were no “poor people” in Dubai, overlooking the city’s tens of thousands of unskilled workers from South East Asia.
….

The mother of five also caused a stir by saying that the traditional black dress and scarf, known as shela and abaya, was “cultural” and not religious.

Some viewers were also resentful because the interview was conducted via the online phone system Skype, which is blocked in the UAE, but was opened for Hamdan to appear on Oprah’s show.

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