Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, each in their own way, tell a story about America, who we are and where we are going. These are their personal narratives.
John McCain’s story has been told and retold in his campaign ads. It is a story worth telling. Though younger than the so-called “greatest generation” – the generation that survived the Great Depression and went on to win the Second World War – McCain embodies their values. The grandson and son of US Navy admirals, he was raised in a culture that emphasised sacrifice, service to one’s country, and found honour in performing one’s duty.
McCain was shot down in his first aerial mission over Vietnam, captured by the North Vietnamese, imprisoned and tortured. When his captors discovered his family lineage, he was offered his freedom. He refused to leave, however, before his fellow POWs were also freed; and so he remained a prisoner for five more years.
McCain left the military life so valued by his family a few years after his release, to pursue another form of public service, running first for the US Congress and then the Senate, where he has served for 21 years.
Merging the values instilled by his military upbringing with those of the American West, which he embraced, McCain is both an independent maverick and a committed conservative driven by a fervent love of his country.
Obama’s story, too, is well-known, and the subject of his eloquently written and best-selling autobiography, Dreams from My Father. His father was a Kenyan immigrant and his mother the daughter of a working class Kansas family. Born in Hawaii, his father abandoned the family when Barack was only two years old.
His mother later remarried and moved the family to Indonesia, where the young Barack attended school before returning to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. There Barack completed high school and won a scholarship to Occidental College in California, later transferring to Columbia University.
Remarkably introspective from a young age, Obama sought to understand himself, his mixed race identity, and the meaning of family and community in a changing America. After graduation, eschewing other opportunities, he devoted himself to public service as a community organiser, working in a depressed neighbourhood in Chicago that had been ravaged by factory closings and the loss of jobs. His mission, as he saw it, was to empower and bring hope to those in this community who most needed change to improve their lives.
After completing law school at the prestigious Harvard University, Obama once again committed himself to public service. He then ran for a state senate post in Illinois, where he focused his energies on building ties between Republicans and Democrats to pass legislation that improved the criminal justice system and expanded health care coverage for children.A talented orator, a gifted organiser, and a young man with a mission, Obama ran and handily won a seat in the US Senate where his gifts and his personality helped him establish an impressive record of bipartisanship in a short period of time, catapulting him into the national spotlight.
These are the narratives, as they tell them, of the two men who will compete for the presidency. Both are compelling, and both are real. And while radically different personal stories, both are authentically American, conveying as they do two distinct images of being American in the 21st century. Both men are patriots, projecting the ideals of freedom and opportunity and service to their country in different ways.
Without wanting to prejudice either, one image is, in fact, more traditional in its self-definition of service and the ideals it projects, while the other more expansive, encompassing a broader vision and global ideals.Both men now share centre stage, having proven their political skills in this difficult campaign. Each will present their competing political solutions to the problems plaguing US foreign policy, the US economy, and the role of government in addressing a myriad social issues. As compelling as these differences will be, and as substantive as the debate over their proposed solutions ought to be, always before the electorate in the coming months will be these two competing narratives and images of what it means to be an American that each conveys.
Dr James J Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute
Upbeat in the UAE...Life goes on!
Reading through news reports on the daily life here is already depressing on the inflation and other escalating cost of living. Not to include incessant traffic jams and declining currency rate. Forget about Malaysia's political and economic situations for a while since it could lead to more depressions.There are options and choices to be made during this trying time. There are always opportunities for those who can see them from brighter perspectives. We have to be a part of solutions, not problems.
The following report adds some spices as food for thought. The thought of leaving the UAE for another hijrah has been running wild for some time. I took the risk in 2000 to land here and it was proved to be one of the better decisions in my life. Looking back, it was a quantum leap into the future, which is now 9 years later.
The future is still there, albeit shorter and more challenging for the parents like me and wife, but the future is for our children to shape their destinations and destiny.
Until then, life goes on!
The latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index has discovered that 56% of online consumers believe their country is currently in recession, the lowest level since the survey began in 2004. However the gloomy economic outlook is not replicated in the UAE where the Index stands at 111, a drop of only two points, indicating consumers are happy to splash out despite costs flying up. "The UAE is confident while the rest of the world is becoming very pessimistic. The US, New Zealand and Latvia had the steepest fall in confidence. The UAE economy is strong as the job prospects are booming," said Piyush Mathur, regional managing director, Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, The Nielsen Company.
What are consumers' major concerns in the next six months? The first choice was not the economy, according to Mathur, and people say they are not feeling a huge impact. "The landscape is changing as the boundary between life and work is becoming inseparable, and people want healthier lifestyles." The latest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 88 - down six points in the last six months - the largest single drop the Index has recorded in the last three years. The largest half-yearly survey of its kind, the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey provides insight into current confidence levels, spending intentions and the major concerns of consumers across the globe. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumers' confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend. The online survey was carried out in countries with high levels of Internet penetration. The Index has dropped in 39 countries, with double-digit drops in 15 national. Only nine surveyed territories have witnessed an increase in consumer confidence: Indonesia, Hong Kong, Poland, Brazil, Canada, Belgium, Taiwan, Egypt and the Czech Republic. The US and the UK Indexes stand at 83 and 79 respectively, compared to the UAE Index at 111. More than 20% of UAE respondents identified the work-life balance as their biggest concern over the next six months, ahead of the economy (15%), job security (11%), children's education and welfare (9%), parents' welfare and happiness (8%), debt (6%), health (5%), global warming (4%), war (3%), terrorism (3%), political stability (3%), crime (1%) and immigration (1%). After covering essential living expenses, UAE respondents use their extra cash in the following ways: putting it into savings (58%), new clothes (33%), paying off credit cards and loans (30%) holidays (28%), new technology (27%), home improvements (25%), investments in stocks (24%), out-of-home entertainment (23%) and in a retirement fund (9%), while 8% of people said they had no extra money. Questions addressed spending preferences once essential living expenses were covered, the biggest and second-biggest concerns over the next six months and the primary concern in the event of a downturn in the local economy.
Biasan
Pasir-pasir di jalanan jiwa
sepanjang lebuhraya minda
telah lama menjadi ketulan emas
sinarnya mewah mengubah lanskap
dari warna kontang gurun sejarah
ke wajah-wajah kosmopolitan semasa
Debu-debu berterbangan jauh
menguak peralihan musim kehidupan
suasana membentuk perspektif jinak
ruang fikir mengorak imaginasi liar
masih hayat terkurung meniti memori
dalam rindu musafir menghirup perubahan
Imej-imej dari struktur menerojah langit
pecah bersilauan memecah setiap ilusi
antara gerak hitam putih emirati
terkedu mengukur saujana jejak realiti
masih superfisial mempertahan tradisi
kelabu berkabut di mamah globalisasi
Hari-hari beredar deras ke masa depan
jurang material merentas wawasan perdana
bersama ganas kren-kren menguak terus
sempadan kemanusiaan sejagat
melakar untung rugi peradaban
sebagai nota kaki biasan pembangunan!RM380 Billion Lost Through Graft Over 20 years
Malaysiakini reports that RM380b lost through graft over 20 years, Parliament told.Reading it makes me spin for a while. I am boiling in exasperation in this simmering summer heat while my brain is crunching the amount. At loss to digest how much of rakyat funds have been squandered all these years by those robbers, whoever they are. Crime does pay for some people, especially those who walk in corridors of power.
Lim Kit Siang told Parliament that international investments and finances services giant Morgan Stanley had in 2004 estimated that as much as US$100 billion (then RM380 billion) had been squandered through corruption over the past two decades.
(That is about the same amount of the current value of all my employer's ongoing projects.)
The estimated figure may be less than the actual amount that had slipped if we calculate other wastages from other syok sendiri projects, events, ceremonies etc. Name other 'legal' channels of robbing like wang ehsan, subsidies to IPPs, tolls, bailouts, APs, etc and we may get the real picture of our nation's wealth. We are rich indeed.
RM380 billion or more will be lost forever. Nobody is answerable while ACA is still stuck with old way of doing things. Nothing will change as long as ACA is only answerable to the PM, not parliament.
Those robbers are enjoying their loots and some perhaps are still enjoying their days as ministers and leaders of our beloved nation.
Di Persimpangan Usia
sehangat siang meratah emosi
mengimbau usang perjalanan hari
telah hangus rentetan mimpi
sebagai abu di pelantar realiti
bersama musim yang terkurung
dalam kelam istana terapung
masih gagah semangat mengharung
lorong-lorong sepi ke kampung
lorong-lorong sepi ke kampung
langkah yang terhenti
di persimpangan akal mencari
arah kembara dalam diri
di sini bukan destinasi
di sana bukan destini
menafsir kabus seribu ilusi
menterjemah kabut suasana
dibalikan serakan fatamorgana
malam jua merangkai memori
malam jua merangkai memori
kesamaran merantai persepsi
masih hati mahu berlari
biar jasad kelenguhan kaki
jatuh bangun sebagai kebiasaan
jangan pandang ke belakang
jangan pandang ke belakang
kerana sisa kehidupan di depan
segalanya serba memungkinkan!To promote growth tomorrow, we must preserve resources today
Reconciling global economic growth, especially in developing countries, with the intensifying constraints on global supplies of energy, food, land, and water is the great question of our time. Commodity prices are soaring worldwide, not only for headline items like food and energy, but for metals, arable land, fresh water, and other crucial inputs to growth, because increased demand is pushing up against limited global supplies. Worldwide economic growth is already slowing under the pressures of $135-per-barrel oil and grain prices that have more than doubled in the past year.A new global growth strategy is needed to maintain global economic progress. The basic issue is that the world economy is now so large that it is hitting against limits never before experienced. There are 6.7 billion people, and the population continues to rise by around 75 million per year, notably in the world’s poorest countries. Annual output per person, adjusted for price levels in different parts of the world, averages around $10,000, implying total output of around $67 trillion.
There is, of course, an enormous gap between rich countries, at roughly $40,000 per person, and the poorest, at $1,000 per person or less. But many poor countries, most famously China and India, have achieved extraordinary economic growth in recent years by harnessing cutting-edge technologies. As a result, the world economy has been growing at around 5 per cent per year in recent years. At that rate, the world economy would double in size in 14 years.
This is possible, however, only if the key growth inputs remain in ample supply, and if human-made climate change is counteracted. If the supply of vital inputs is constrained or the climate destabilised, prices will rise sharply, industrial production and consumer spending will fall, and world economic growth will slow, perhaps sharply.Many free-market ideologues ridicule the idea that natural resource constraints will now cause a significant slowdown in global growth. They say that fears of “running out of resources,” notably food and energy, have been with us for 200 years, and we never succumbed. Indeed, output has continued to rise much faster than population.
This view has some truth. Better technologies have allowed the world economy to continue to grow despite tough resource constraints in the past. But simplistic free-market optimism is misplaced for at least four reasons.First, history has already shown how resource constraints can hinder global economic growth. After the upwards jump in energy prices in 1973, annual global growth fell from roughly 5 per cent between 1960 and 1973 to around 3 per cent between 1973 and 1989.
Second, the world economy is vastly larger than in the past, so that demand for key commodities and energy inputs is also vastly larger.Third, we have already used up many of the low-cost options that were once available. Low-cost oil is rapidly being depleted. The same is true for ground water. Land is also increasingly scarce.Finally, our past technological triumphs did not actually conserve natural resources, but instead enabled humanity to mine and use these resources at a lower overall cost, thereby hastening their depletion.
Looking ahead, the world economy will need to introduce alternative technologies that conserve energy, water, and land, or that enable us to use new forms of renewable energy (such as solar and wind power) at much lower cost than today. Many such technologies exist, and even better technologies can be developed. One key problem is that the alternative technologies are often more expensive than the resource-depleting technologies now in use.
For example, farmers around the world could reduce their water use dramatically by switching from conventional irrigation to drip irrigation, which uses a series of tubes to deliver water directly to each plant while preserving or raising crop yields. Yet the investment in drip irrigation is generally more expensive than less-efficient irrigation methods. Poor farmers may lack the capital to invest in it, or may lack the incentive to do so if water is taken directly from publicly available sources or if the government is subsidising its use.
Similar examples abound. With greater investments, it will be possible to raise farm yields, lower energy use to heat and cool buildings, achieve greater fuel efficiency for cars, and more. With new investments in research and development, still further improvements in technologies can be achieved. Yet investments in new resource-saving technologies are not being made at a sufficient scale, because market signals don’t give the right incentives, and because governments are not yet co-operating adequately to develop and spread their use.
If we continue on our current course – leaving fate to the markets, and leaving governments to compete with each other over scarce oil and food – global growth will slow under the pressures of resource constraints. But if the world co-operates on the research, development, demonstration, and diffusion of resource-saving technologies and renewable energy sources, we will be able to continue to achieve rapid economic progress.
A good place to start would be the climate-change negotiations, now underway. The rich world should commit to financing a massive program of technology development – renewable energy, fuel-efficient cars, and green buildings – and to a program of technology transfer to developing countries. Such a commitment would also give crucial confidence to poor countries that climate-change control will not become a barrier to long-term economic development.
Jeffrey Sachs is Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Single in the city: A husband should not be needed for a woman to receive care
‘Excuse me? Excuse me,” I said to the group of female and male nurses sitting sipping tea and coffee at one of the desks in the hospital.
One of them looked up, glanced at me, and ignored me.
“Hey, excuse me, it is an emergency!”
I said a bit more loudly.Nothing.
A man came up next to me and with one clearing of his throat, got a nurse to immediately come to his aid.
I waited until he asked his questions and left, and then I tried to get the attention of the same nurse.
“One minute,” she told me and disappeared into the back.
One minute passed, two minutes, and then five minutes.“Please, I just need to know which room my friend is recovering in,” I said.
Nothing. No one came to my aid. Such a simple request was turning into a great nuisance.
That is when I wished I had a “husband” who could stand by my side and demand service and people would respond. Despite what people like to think or say, it is still a man’s world — particularly in this part of the world.
The minute I raised my voice a bit and tried to sound firm, I got the “evil-eye” from everyone. I could have sworn that one of the male nurses mumbled something under his breath.
Finally, a doctor passed by and I apologised to him for disturbing him over such an easy yet apparently tedious matter, and asked him how to find out where people recovering from a simple operation are put up.
He looked at the same nurse who had been ignoring me and told her to assist me and to actually “take me” to the patient.
The nurse didn’t look pleased.
This reminded me of a similar incident where being a single woman was a disadvantage. It actually happened twice to me, and also to several other single female friends of mine, when trying to get a table at a restaurant.
Just a few days ago I went to a restaurant in one of the fancy hotels here to try to get a table for me and my friends, who were coming from Dubai.
“Reservations?” the hostess asked me.
“No, but could I make a reservation now as my friends will be arriving soon from Dubai?” I asked sweetly.
“No free table,” she said, adding: “We are fully booked.”
The restaurant was completely empty, except for the staff and waiters, and just maybe, around one of its corners, I may have seen a couple sitting at one of the tables.
“We can go in now and then leave before the dinner rush?” I suggested. This was about 6pm.
She snapped at me and said: “No, sorry.”I left and my friends and I ate at another restaurant in the same hotel. This time the host was a man. I’m not sure if that is what made a difference, but I noticed that sometimes women are more aggressive to each other and less helpful. Interestingly enough, the following week I ended up with a male friend of mine at the same restaurant with the same rude hostess.
Same situation, and same day of the week. We had no reservation and the rest of the group was arriving a bit later.
“Reservations?” the hostess asked.
Déjà vu.
“No, we would like a table for four,” said my friend.
“OK, this way,” she said with a big smile and showed us a table near a window.
It wasn’t enough that her mannerisms were different, but the fact that she was so attentive and helpful made me wonder if it was a gender thing after all or the simple fact that single women are not taken seriously.
I polled a few of my single male friends to find out if they had ever experienced the same problems, and they all told me that they never faced the same difficulties as single women in getting tables, services, and their questions answered.
Perhaps it is the way we single women ask for things? I know I have caught myself hesitating and probably sounding unsure of myself when the person I faced was unfriendly.
I certainly felt that single women are treated worse in the Middle East when I heard the following story. My friend Leila recently went to hospital for a simple medical procedure requiring general anaesthesia. She told me that after the medical team had prepared everything and she was dozing off, “everyone just left.”
“I just felt very alone and vulnerable,” she said. She believes that if she had a partner, then that experience would have been easier on her.
I have tested this theory out, and there is a sort of security blanket effect that comes out of having a male colleague, partner, friend, tagging along with you in public.
Growing up in the Gulf, a “mahram” — a male family member that accompanies a woman as her guardian — was “expected” to be with me as a single woman during visits to Islamic or official institutions.
Even though that has changed a lot, there are still some remnants of that tradition. I know for sure that it has affected me, as I find that I do walk more confidently if my brother or father is by my side.
Rym Ghazal
bara nafas yang melebar rindu
merentas saujana perbatasan waktu
berlabuh esok di senja kelabu
hayat pun diam tersipu
terkedu merenung seribu kilauan
pecah imbasan foto-foto perjalanan
yang kian pasrah memanjang
nun jauh ke belakang
wajah bertopeng dalam cermin
masih berhias di pelamin
pakaian robek dan usang
jasad kering dan gersang
tahun-tahun yang terperangkap
hari-hari berlalu pun merentap
setiap saat di bingkai kaca
kehidupan monotonous tanpa warna
itulah kita, imej-imej semasa
melantun dari hitam putih kacamata
anak kecil yang sayu menatap
cahaya dari gerhana lanskap
sedang perjuangan belum selesai
semangat semakin longlai
lalu apakah yang masih tinggal
dengan kail sejengkal?
He is a living legend. I read his book, "Long Walk To Freedom" and was inspired by his struggles as well as sacrifices. He turns 90 on July 18.
Mandela served as his country's first democratically elected president from 1994 to 1999. In recent years he has campaigned on behalf of HIV and AIDS awareness and has long called the battle against AIDS a basic human right.
In 1964, a court sentenced Mandela to life in prison for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. He spent the first 18 years at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town, South Africa, and later spent time at Pollsmoor prison and Victor Verster Prison, closer to the mainland.
While in prison, Mandela became recognized as the most significant black leader in South Africa and he became a potent symbol of resistance in the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.
South African President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela in February 1990 after 27 years in prison. The African National Congress elected Mandela president the following year.
Media image
When you are constantly bombarded by media images that glorify all that is young, regardless of context, meaning or value, you get what I call "Youth-fatigue".
This syndrome hits, for example, when you read about a fashion model that makes millions of dollars by splashing her face on magazine covers while bragging that she was born in 1991!Give me a break!
While risking sounding like a United Nations devotee, I must say that pure genetic luck shouldn't give her millions while millions live on less than a dollar per day! In short, I think someone out there is making tonnes of money by seducing us all into fighting a losing battle against age.
Mothers can't compete with their teenage daughters, the same way fathers can't compete with their teenage sons.
No cream, operation or hair-replacement technique will make the trick! It is the law of nature that each generation must give way, let go and move over for the new ones to go ahead. Age is not a bad thing, after all.
It is simply inevitable; like death and taxes! Alfred Hitchcock was asked once how he felt when he reached 70.
His answer was: "I am not 70 - I am 35 twice!"
One of them looked up, glanced at me, and ignored me.
“Hey, excuse me, it is an emergency!”
I said a bit more loudly.Nothing.
A man came up next to me and with one clearing of his throat, got a nurse to immediately come to his aid.
I waited until he asked his questions and left, and then I tried to get the attention of the same nurse.
“One minute,” she told me and disappeared into the back.
One minute passed, two minutes, and then five minutes.“Please, I just need to know which room my friend is recovering in,” I said.
Nothing. No one came to my aid. Such a simple request was turning into a great nuisance.
That is when I wished I had a “husband” who could stand by my side and demand service and people would respond. Despite what people like to think or say, it is still a man’s world — particularly in this part of the world.
The minute I raised my voice a bit and tried to sound firm, I got the “evil-eye” from everyone. I could have sworn that one of the male nurses mumbled something under his breath.
Finally, a doctor passed by and I apologised to him for disturbing him over such an easy yet apparently tedious matter, and asked him how to find out where people recovering from a simple operation are put up.
He looked at the same nurse who had been ignoring me and told her to assist me and to actually “take me” to the patient.
The nurse didn’t look pleased.
This reminded me of a similar incident where being a single woman was a disadvantage. It actually happened twice to me, and also to several other single female friends of mine, when trying to get a table at a restaurant.
Just a few days ago I went to a restaurant in one of the fancy hotels here to try to get a table for me and my friends, who were coming from Dubai.
“Reservations?” the hostess asked me.
“No, but could I make a reservation now as my friends will be arriving soon from Dubai?” I asked sweetly.
“No free table,” she said, adding: “We are fully booked.”
The restaurant was completely empty, except for the staff and waiters, and just maybe, around one of its corners, I may have seen a couple sitting at one of the tables.
“We can go in now and then leave before the dinner rush?” I suggested. This was about 6pm.
She snapped at me and said: “No, sorry.”I left and my friends and I ate at another restaurant in the same hotel. This time the host was a man. I’m not sure if that is what made a difference, but I noticed that sometimes women are more aggressive to each other and less helpful. Interestingly enough, the following week I ended up with a male friend of mine at the same restaurant with the same rude hostess.
Same situation, and same day of the week. We had no reservation and the rest of the group was arriving a bit later.
“Reservations?” the hostess asked.
Déjà vu.
“No, we would like a table for four,” said my friend.
“OK, this way,” she said with a big smile and showed us a table near a window.
It wasn’t enough that her mannerisms were different, but the fact that she was so attentive and helpful made me wonder if it was a gender thing after all or the simple fact that single women are not taken seriously.
I polled a few of my single male friends to find out if they had ever experienced the same problems, and they all told me that they never faced the same difficulties as single women in getting tables, services, and their questions answered.
Perhaps it is the way we single women ask for things? I know I have caught myself hesitating and probably sounding unsure of myself when the person I faced was unfriendly.
I certainly felt that single women are treated worse in the Middle East when I heard the following story. My friend Leila recently went to hospital for a simple medical procedure requiring general anaesthesia. She told me that after the medical team had prepared everything and she was dozing off, “everyone just left.”
“I just felt very alone and vulnerable,” she said. She believes that if she had a partner, then that experience would have been easier on her.
I have tested this theory out, and there is a sort of security blanket effect that comes out of having a male colleague, partner, friend, tagging along with you in public.
Growing up in the Gulf, a “mahram” — a male family member that accompanies a woman as her guardian — was “expected” to be with me as a single woman during visits to Islamic or official institutions.
Even though that has changed a lot, there are still some remnants of that tradition. I know for sure that it has affected me, as I find that I do walk more confidently if my brother or father is by my side.
Rym Ghazal
Imbasan
bara nafas yang melebar rindu
merentas saujana perbatasan waktu
berlabuh esok di senja kelabu
hayat pun diam tersipu
terkedu merenung seribu kilauan
pecah imbasan foto-foto perjalanan
yang kian pasrah memanjang
nun jauh ke belakang
wajah bertopeng dalam cermin
masih berhias di pelamin
pakaian robek dan usang
jasad kering dan gersang
tahun-tahun yang terperangkap
hari-hari berlalu pun merentap
setiap saat di bingkai kaca
kehidupan monotonous tanpa warna
itulah kita, imej-imej semasa
melantun dari hitam putih kacamata
anak kecil yang sayu menatap
cahaya dari gerhana lanskap
sedang perjuangan belum selesai
semangat semakin longlai
lalu apakah yang masih tinggal
dengan kail sejengkal?
Rainbow Sheikh's 'Power Wagon'
Think it looks like a 1950s Dodge? Well, look again.
Desert and oil. These two things sum up the emirate of Abu Dhabi perhaps better than any other feature about it.
Back in 1994, His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan, also known as the 'Rainbow Sheikh', due to the fact that he once bought a fleet of Mercedes every colour of the rainbow as a wedding present, decided that he would like to celebrate the desert, by building a very special Bedouin caravan.
He had already constructed several others, including a bizarre spherical creation which is said to be a 1:1,000,000 replica of the world, only with wheels.
However, on this occasion the Rainbow Sheikh chose to honour the pioneers of the oil boom - and show his passion for classic dune-bashing four wheel drives - by building the most incredible replica of a 1950s Dodge Power Wagon, only eight times the size of the real thing.
Built over a period of months, the scale of the construction was limited only by the size of the wheels that the Sheikh could get, which apparently were used on a machine for transporting oil rigs.
The truck is built around a metal frame more reminiscent of static plant, rather than anything mobile. This is emphasised by a flight of stairs leading up to the 'front door' somewhere below the cab, which on our visit was locked, sadly.
However, we have it on good authority that the machine houses just about everything needed for comfortable living, including four large, air conditioned bedrooms (The air-con units are visable behind the false radiator grille) as well as a living room, bathrooms and even a patio in the pick-up bed.
The first thing you notice about the monster is how accurate it is. Every last detail follow that exactly of an early model Dodge. The steering links are in place and there are brakes.
Even more surprisingly (given that this is a caravan) there is an engine, which can apparently be used to propel the truck short distances.
Best of all, you can this see truck alongside the Sheikh's various other creations, several real Power Wagons, a Kenworth 851 and 100-odd cars, including the rainbow Mercedes for free, as His Highness has generously opened his collection to the public.
A VIP's wife extra luggage still stuck in Dubai
Of course, it is never a secret under OSA that our VVIPs and VIPs (ministers and other politicians, some businessmen) including their spouses, families, or even friends are given special treatment by Malaysian embassies abroad.
Allegations or charges of improprieties in the way VIP wives are treated by Malaysian missions are not totally incorrect. I have seen myself in few places the way our diplomats had treated these VIPs with great care, including sometimes willingly carried their bags or drove them around for sight-seeing. It could be due to the great respect or obligedly under instruction or for some future investments.
A month ago, Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) raised this issue at the Dewan Rakyat regarding certain VIP's wife, who allegedly went on luxury shopping sprees, with her large purchases transported back home at the expense of the Malaysian High Commission in London and national carrier MAS.
He further alleged that the overseas missions apparently were required to go overboard in ‘helping’ Cabinet Ministers and their wives. He was in government before working in an important ministry under an important man, therefore he should know better, if not was given the same bloody treatment.
In defence, all relevant parties immediately claimed this allegation was untrue.
However, the same shit story has emerged from Dubai as we speak.
Apparently, the same named VIP's wife still has some extra luggage from her recent shopping sprees, while on promoting some Islamic missions or something like that, stuck somewhere in Dubai. The quantity is not that small to begin with.
I hope any of PR MPs can raise this matter during supplementary question in the current sitting. I can expect to see there will be similar efficiency and speed of the investigation into this matter with some ready answers.
Then again, this is a trivial matter when there is a bigger issue like C4 bomb ticking and haunting some VIPs and yes, the whole nation especially the top leaders are still in the state of denial!
Note :
Someone wrote this one in a blog....
One day She went to Dubai to attend a sort of exhibitions. At the Dubai airport at Mas counter, on homeward bound, she checked in her luggages which were in exess. The counter asked her to pay but she refused; insisting that being a VIP's wife she should not be charged. My friend was happened to be there witnessing the whole episode. He felt so horrified and ashamed of the whole thing.
If you have not read, Malaysian taxis are among the worst in the world, claims a survey by a local magazine. Readers of The Expat magazine, which has a monthly circulation of 6,000 copies, gave the Malaysian taxi service a big thumbs down when compared with services in 22 other countries.
The paper gave them a voice that hopefully should reduce the deafening roar against them.
“I work a 12-hour shift every day, starting at 5.30 in the morning to 7pm in the evening,” said a taxi driver. “Often there’s hardly any time for even a cup of tea. From the time I put my foot on the pedal, there’s little time for rest. The pressure to make the minimum amount is high with 6,500 taxis plying on the roads of Dubai.
“We only step out of the taxi for a quick meal or a cup of tea. We breathe air-conditioned air for 12 hours, we get no exercise of any kind and when we finally get home - if you can call it one - we just flop on the bed (there’s little room for anything else as three others share the small room). We get up for our first real meal of the day, chat a bit and then hit the sack.
“It’s the same every day, day in and day out seven days a week. We cope with salary cuts, grumpy passengers and traffic jams. We have no-pay annual leave and an annual ticket is just a dream. You report in late or someone complains and our income is cut. Our side of the story does not matter. This is not living. This is existence,” he said.
And he’s been driving us around since 1992. Time we gave these drivers a break.
Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis They go to Bur Dubai, Karama, Old Pakistani Consulate, Oud Metha Road, Al Rigga Road, Al Muteena Road and Al Qusais.
Indian businessmen Great to pick up during business hours as they take business routes. After 5pm, they head back to the aforementioned locations.
Asians The Chinese live in large congregations, either at International City or in various areas around BurJuman Centre.
Filipinos Usually residing in Satwa, Jebel Ali or Al Muteena in Deira. Always take short rides
Emiratis A rarity
Saudis Singles usually stay at hotels in Deira near Al Rigga or Muraqabbat Roads. Saudi families make great customers as they tend to travel to major shopping malls such as Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall
Arabs Risky pick ups. They get upset fast and go to Sharjah a lot
Eastern Europeans Usually stay in Sharjah or Ajman, which means running into traffic.
Westerners Preferred customers. They usually go to new Dubai, from Jumeirah onwards.
Allegations or charges of improprieties in the way VIP wives are treated by Malaysian missions are not totally incorrect. I have seen myself in few places the way our diplomats had treated these VIPs with great care, including sometimes willingly carried their bags or drove them around for sight-seeing. It could be due to the great respect or obligedly under instruction or for some future investments.
A month ago, Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) raised this issue at the Dewan Rakyat regarding certain VIP's wife, who allegedly went on luxury shopping sprees, with her large purchases transported back home at the expense of the Malaysian High Commission in London and national carrier MAS.
He further alleged that the overseas missions apparently were required to go overboard in ‘helping’ Cabinet Ministers and their wives. He was in government before working in an important ministry under an important man, therefore he should know better, if not was given the same bloody treatment.
In defence, all relevant parties immediately claimed this allegation was untrue.
However, the same shit story has emerged from Dubai as we speak.
Apparently, the same named VIP's wife still has some extra luggage from her recent shopping sprees, while on promoting some Islamic missions or something like that, stuck somewhere in Dubai. The quantity is not that small to begin with.
I hope any of PR MPs can raise this matter during supplementary question in the current sitting. I can expect to see there will be similar efficiency and speed of the investigation into this matter with some ready answers.
Then again, this is a trivial matter when there is a bigger issue like C4 bomb ticking and haunting some VIPs and yes, the whole nation especially the top leaders are still in the state of denial!
Note :
Someone wrote this one in a blog....
One day She went to Dubai to attend a sort of exhibitions. At the Dubai airport at Mas counter, on homeward bound, she checked in her luggages which were in exess. The counter asked her to pay but she refused; insisting that being a VIP's wife she should not be charged. My friend was happened to be there witnessing the whole episode. He felt so horrified and ashamed of the whole thing.
Nothing to do with the entry. This Photo taken from Dubai's International Islamic Fashion Week last May.
Taxi, taxi!
If you have not read, Malaysian taxis are among the worst in the world, claims a survey by a local magazine. Readers of The Expat magazine, which has a monthly circulation of 6,000 copies, gave the Malaysian taxi service a big thumbs down when compared with services in 22 other countries.I have little experience on Malaysian taxis or even in the UAE.
However, for some sometime now taxi drivers in both countries have been getting the stick from all quarters for their rude behaviour, ‘refusal’ to pick up passengers, bad road courtesy, and so on. But there’s two sides to every story.
A local newspaper here told the other side story while another splashed report on cabbies ways of profiling their potential passengers.
These guys have no place to go tell theirs while their passengers use whatever means to tell their allegedly horror stories. Not that these cabbies would for fear of losing their job.
There are an estimated 5,000 taxi units (with about 8,000 drivers working in shifts) in Dubai, a city with 1.4 million residents and thousands of tourists flying in each day.
The paper gave them a voice that hopefully should reduce the deafening roar against them.“I work a 12-hour shift every day, starting at 5.30 in the morning to 7pm in the evening,” said a taxi driver. “Often there’s hardly any time for even a cup of tea. From the time I put my foot on the pedal, there’s little time for rest. The pressure to make the minimum amount is high with 6,500 taxis plying on the roads of Dubai.
“We only step out of the taxi for a quick meal or a cup of tea. We breathe air-conditioned air for 12 hours, we get no exercise of any kind and when we finally get home - if you can call it one - we just flop on the bed (there’s little room for anything else as three others share the small room). We get up for our first real meal of the day, chat a bit and then hit the sack.
“It’s the same every day, day in and day out seven days a week. We cope with salary cuts, grumpy passengers and traffic jams. We have no-pay annual leave and an annual ticket is just a dream. You report in late or someone complains and our income is cut. Our side of the story does not matter. This is not living. This is existence,” he said.
And he’s been driving us around since 1992. Time we gave these drivers a break.
One tabloid reports that many cabbies use rudimentary racial profiling – the practice of judging people by their racial or ethnic characteristics – to guess which part of town a potential passenger is heading for. If you are familiar with Dubai, this would make you laugh.
How cabbies racially profile Dubai’s passengers
Africans They usually head for Deira, Baniyas Square (popularly known as Al Nasr Square), Naif Souq, Frij Al Murar, Hamdan Colony and Al Baraha.
Africans They usually head for Deira, Baniyas Square (popularly known as Al Nasr Square), Naif Souq, Frij Al Murar, Hamdan Colony and Al Baraha.
Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis They go to Bur Dubai, Karama, Old Pakistani Consulate, Oud Metha Road, Al Rigga Road, Al Muteena Road and Al Qusais.
Indian businessmen Great to pick up during business hours as they take business routes. After 5pm, they head back to the aforementioned locations.
Asians The Chinese live in large congregations, either at International City or in various areas around BurJuman Centre.
Filipinos Usually residing in Satwa, Jebel Ali or Al Muteena in Deira. Always take short rides
Emiratis A rarity
Saudis Singles usually stay at hotels in Deira near Al Rigga or Muraqabbat Roads. Saudi families make great customers as they tend to travel to major shopping malls such as Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall
Arabs Risky pick ups. They get upset fast and go to Sharjah a lot
Eastern Europeans Usually stay in Sharjah or Ajman, which means running into traffic.
Westerners Preferred customers. They usually go to new Dubai, from Jumeirah onwards.
That's not yet about Abu Dhabi's taxis (which about 4,000 new taxis are still without drivers)
8
Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela
He is a living legend. I read his book, "Long Walk To Freedom" and was inspired by his struggles as well as sacrifices. He turns 90 on July 18.Mandela served as his country's first democratically elected president from 1994 to 1999. In recent years he has campaigned on behalf of HIV and AIDS awareness and has long called the battle against AIDS a basic human right.
In 1964, a court sentenced Mandela to life in prison for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. He spent the first 18 years at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town, South Africa, and later spent time at Pollsmoor prison and Victor Verster Prison, closer to the mainland.
While in prison, Mandela became recognized as the most significant black leader in South Africa and he became a potent symbol of resistance in the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.
South African President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela in February 1990 after 27 years in prison. The African National Congress elected Mandela president the following year.
But Age is ... wishful thinking!
A lot of ink has been spilled on the topic of age and how to deal with it. I tend to believe that when people were living in caves, during the stone-age, they never worried whether they look their age or not.
No man ever came back home, from a rough day of hunting with primitive means, to be asked by his wife: "Honey, does this dress make me look fat?"
Things changed during the Middle Ages, I guess, especially for the aristocrats. Having all this time on their hands, the nobility class invented make-up.
Obviously, they couldn't get enough of it on their faces. Restraint was not exactly an adopted policy in anything during those wild times.
Oscar Wilde noted that too many ladies in London remained 35 for a very long time! Today you would be lucky if you hear a lady admitting that magic number in the first place!
The desire to stay, look and feel young is deep rooted more than ever in our collective psyche (whatever that is); it is becoming a major, burning obsession that is almost taking over our lives.
We live in a culture that is simply obsessed by youth, for purely commercial reasons, I must say. Entire industries, from movies to cosmetics to pharmaceuticals, are making billions of dollars simply by whipping up fear among consumers. Fear from looking, feeling or getting old.
In the US, people have been trained, many years ago, to avoid mentioning the word "old" altogether.
The question about age thus becomes, how "young" are you? Prompting surreal answers such as: "I am 80 years young!"
If we are not obsessed with looking young, how could we tolerate a TV title such as: Nip -Tuck?
An ad agency in Lebanon is using the image of flat tummies of young female models to advertise a certain flat screen TV brand. Do I really need the endorsement of a young female, albeit with a flat stomach, to pick an appliance that happens to have a flat design?
No man ever came back home, from a rough day of hunting with primitive means, to be asked by his wife: "Honey, does this dress make me look fat?"
Things changed during the Middle Ages, I guess, especially for the aristocrats. Having all this time on their hands, the nobility class invented make-up.
Obviously, they couldn't get enough of it on their faces. Restraint was not exactly an adopted policy in anything during those wild times.
Oscar Wilde noted that too many ladies in London remained 35 for a very long time! Today you would be lucky if you hear a lady admitting that magic number in the first place!
The desire to stay, look and feel young is deep rooted more than ever in our collective psyche (whatever that is); it is becoming a major, burning obsession that is almost taking over our lives.
We live in a culture that is simply obsessed by youth, for purely commercial reasons, I must say. Entire industries, from movies to cosmetics to pharmaceuticals, are making billions of dollars simply by whipping up fear among consumers. Fear from looking, feeling or getting old.
In the US, people have been trained, many years ago, to avoid mentioning the word "old" altogether.
The question about age thus becomes, how "young" are you? Prompting surreal answers such as: "I am 80 years young!"
If we are not obsessed with looking young, how could we tolerate a TV title such as: Nip -Tuck?
An ad agency in Lebanon is using the image of flat tummies of young female models to advertise a certain flat screen TV brand. Do I really need the endorsement of a young female, albeit with a flat stomach, to pick an appliance that happens to have a flat design?
Media image
When you are constantly bombarded by media images that glorify all that is young, regardless of context, meaning or value, you get what I call "Youth-fatigue".
This syndrome hits, for example, when you read about a fashion model that makes millions of dollars by splashing her face on magazine covers while bragging that she was born in 1991!Give me a break!
While risking sounding like a United Nations devotee, I must say that pure genetic luck shouldn't give her millions while millions live on less than a dollar per day! In short, I think someone out there is making tonnes of money by seducing us all into fighting a losing battle against age.
Mothers can't compete with their teenage daughters, the same way fathers can't compete with their teenage sons.
No cream, operation or hair-replacement technique will make the trick! It is the law of nature that each generation must give way, let go and move over for the new ones to go ahead. Age is not a bad thing, after all.
It is simply inevitable; like death and taxes! Alfred Hitchcock was asked once how he felt when he reached 70.
His answer was: "I am not 70 - I am 35 twice!"
'I know' out of habit
One of our leaders used to say "I don't know' as his defence on certain issues that related to his family's involvement in political or business matters under his watch.Another leader who is now in his retirement always says, "I know' for his defence when he is under attacks for his previous life as a leader of the nation.
Read this story of 'I Know' syndrome.
He was an adorable young man - diligent, obedient and well mannered. He had good habits and was honest to the core. Best of all, professionalism was his greatest asset.
I would like to call him TK.
During my active career days, my office had put him under my charge for training purpose. It was because of the unusual combination of his qualities that he had endeared himself to all the colleagues in a very short period. He had become a virtual darling of everyone at work.
The only problem with TK was that he had developed the habit of using 'I know' as a prop to his speech. Whether you are talking to him alone or in a group, he would very frequently interject with his famous 'I know'.
Ask him anything and he would respond with 'I know' with the speed of lightening. It seemed that there was no subject or issue on earth about which TK did not 'know'.
His 'I know' would roll out of him mechanically and effortlessly. It dawned on me that because of this reflex response the only thing that he did not 'know' about was when he would blurt the two words.
As it happened, for quite some time, nobody in the office noticed the excessive and repeated replay of the two words by him. This was because TK's good image had eclipsed the adverse impact that was being created by his penchant for using those two words:'I know'.
But gradually, people started noticing the 'I know' syndrome. It became increasingly irksome and jarring to many ears. This was certainly another thing TK did 'not know' - that by his own habit, slowly yet steadily, his image was taking a severe beating.
During staff meetings when the boss spoke, everybody listened attentively. So would TK. But sometimes he would suddenly blurt out, 'I know'. That would turn all eyes towards him because of the unwarranted interruption.
And we would find young TK's tongue in between his teeth in an expression of being apologetic. It was perhaps because of his boyish looks that TK was silently granted reprieve by all without being told explicitly.
But we all know that old habits die hard. So we did not notice any changes in his behaviour despite realisation by him of the irritating factor. By now, all those who had adored him all this time were feeling disappointed, rather annoyed.
Interestingly, while TK was getting compliments for accomplishing the tasks assigned to him to the satisfaction of his seniors, his 'I know' was becoming unbearable. But there was little they could do about it. So was the case with TK who, too, 'did not know' how to get rid of his 'I know' syndrome.
During one meeting addressed by the boss, a discussion was in progress on the merits and demerits of the old elevators with collapsible doors vis-a-vis today's virtually airtight ones. There had been a mishap a day earlier.
At one stage, the boss observed, 'You never know when the lift might get stuck...'
'I know', interjected TK even before the boss could complete the sentence.
The boss gave him a nasty look. TK lowered his eyes, mumbling, 'Sorry'.
Like others, I was also fed up with the 24 x 6 (excluding one weekly off day) replay of 'I know'. Back in our room, I made TK sit by my side.
I was quite agitated that moment. Yet, very politely, I told him, 'TK, do you know that you have become a wretched pain in the neck of everybody here?'
Instant came the reply, 'I know'. This time, all those present had a hearty laugh. The 'all knowing' young man reached for his ear. He vowed before us to shed the habit at the earliest.
I told him, 'It may not be possible because we know old habits die hard.'
'I know', responded TK with the speed of lightening as he looked at us with a gaping mouth and eyes wide open.
Lalit Raizada
Sheikh Mohammed visits Camp DavidCAMP
President George W Bush, left, walks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, upon his arrival at Camp David yesterday. AP
DAVID, Maryland
President George W Bush hosted Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, for a stay at the Camp David presidential retreat. Mr Bush welcomed Sheikh Mohammed to the rustic wooded retreat in the Maryland mountains yesterday, a return favour for the US president’s stay in Abu Dhabi in January. During that visit, Mr Bush travelled to Sheikh Mohammed’s desert property, where he raises horses and prize falcons.
Sheikh Mohammed’s stay at the Maryland property puts him in an elite class of world leaders who have been awarded visits to locales prized by Mr Bush, including the presidential retreat and his own ranch in Central Texas. As Sheikh Mohammed’s helicopter landed on a large hilltop meadow at Camp David yesterday, the flag of the United Arab Emirates was hoisted alongside the American flag.
Mr Bush greeted Sheikh Mohammed at the white-topped helicopter’s steps and they walked down a double phalanx of Marines and Navy sailors. After chatting and posing for cameras, the two leaders climbed into a golf cart and Mr Bush squired his guest off for a tour of the grounds. They were having a picnic dinner of fried chicken, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, potato salad and slaw.
Their official meetings – all private and closed to any media coverage – were scheduled for this morning, followed by a lunch of hamburgers, french fries, onion rings and ice cream. Sheikh Mohammed was expected to leave Camp David this afternoon.
Why Do We Love Our Prime Minister So Much?
Five minutes that changed an elderly UAE citizen's life
Ras Al Khaimah: The elderly handicapped man at first did not recognise the person who greeted him and sat beside him in front of his home in the remote area of Wadi Al Qoor."Do you know me, I am Mohammad Bin Rashid," said the visitor and as the elderly man looked closely at his face, he realised the visitor was special.
"You are most welcome Abu Rashid," said Mohammad Salem Khamis Al Ka'abi, who said he is 100 years old. "It is an honour to have you," said the Emirati.
The special visitor that day was His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
A five-minute conversation that day changed the life of the centenarian.
Shaikh Mohammad presented Al Ka'abi with a new villa and ordered complete maintenance of the old man's house and the home of his orphaned grandsons."It was an unforgettable moment," said Al Ka'abi, who has three sons and a daughter. Four other sons have died, three if them in road accidents.
"Give me an order father, whatever you want, just name it, said Shaikh Mohammad," said Al Ka'abi. "I just hope for a long and happy life," replied Al Ka'abi.
Shaikh Mohammad looked around and saw the old man's house had cracks on the walls. "Here we will build for you a very comfortable home," Shaikh Mohammad reportedly told him.
Al Ka'abi told Shaikh Mohammad that his house was given to him by Shaikh Rashid and he decided never to leave it even though the house deteriorated due to lack of maintenance over the years.
"We owe the Al Maktoum family many favours as they provided me and my family with housing all our lives," said Al Ka'abi.Shaikh Mohammad also ordered that the house be fully furnished.
When Shaikh Mohammad learnt that five grandsons of Al Ka'abi who lived in a similar dilapidated house nearby, he ordered that it also be renovated, furnished and equipped. Their father had died in a road accident.
"The contractors worked day and night. They never stopped, never took a rest, till the entire work was completed," said Al Ka'abi. "The contractors repeatedly invited me to have a look at their work, but I refused and never entered the new house till they handed me the keys," he said.
Al Ka'abi's wife Aliba said Shaikh Mohammad greeted her, calling her his aunt. "God has created this man to look after his people. We never imagined we would see him in this remote area," she said. "This man has honoured us in a way real fathers and mothers would be honoured."
Neither Al Ka'abi nor Aliba know the number of bedrooms they have in their new home, but they think it has six or seven bedrooms. "The house was prepared, furnished and equipped in a way which makes our life comfortable," said Al Ka'abi. "Foodstuff, vegetables, fruits, and even tissue boxes were in the house, as if Shaikh Mohammad was telling us to just live a comfortable life."
Neither Al Ka'abi nor Aliba know the number of bedrooms they have in their new home, but they think it has six or seven bedrooms. "The house was prepared, furnished and equipped in a way which makes our life comfortable," said Al Ka'abi. "Foodstuff, vegetables, fruits, and even tissue boxes were in the house, as if Shaikh Mohammad was telling us to just live a comfortable life."
Each room has two split air-conditioning unit and has spacious majlis, an independent huge water tanker with a large pump, he said. "Words fail to express our thanks and gratitude to the generosity of Shaikh Mohammad," said Al Ka'abi.
"Shaikh Mohammad can fulfil anyone's dreams. It just requires only meeting him once, and he looks you in the eye and then looks around you. He can easily find out what you wanted without your asking for it," he said.
One of Al Ka'abi's sons, Saeed, said he was in Abu Dhabi when he got a call that Shaikh Mohammad was visiting his father. "I never expected that it was him, even after I was informed. It was a dream visit," he said.
Al Ka'abi said his homes will never be sold. "Not even for billions of dirhams," he said. "My children after me know this that the houses granted to us by the Al Maktoum family will never be for sale."
Malaysia Brand Vs Other Brands
Najib maybe talking about RPK's SD to Musa
Najib said at the opening of the International Conference on Meeting of Minds: Developing the Malaysia Master Brand:
“To effectively position Malaysia in this globalised arena, we must be characterised by a unified core of competence and unique selling proposition that fits all levels of economy and society.”
More Here
Someone wrote regarding branding destination:
Destination branding is no enviable task, as I found out during the past week when I went through hundreds of websites, brochures, articles and a couple of books. More so for a nation as varied as the United Arab Emirates, where identifying a unique characteristic which can generate a positive emotional response from a person is only a part of the task; but also involves addressing issues like the volatility of the middle-east and cultural sensibilities.
Nations has increasingly resorted to the “We have everything” or a “We are different” angle which did nothing more than to get fairly easy approvals from governments and other decision-making bodies. Among Uniquely Singapore, Incredible India, Enchanting Finland, Wonderful Greece, Magical Kenya, Dynamic Korea, Naturally Nepal, Uruguay Natural, Wow Philippines, which one will actually generate a positive human response from a citizen or a tourist is debatable.
Others have resorted to their regional significance – Tanzania claiming to be ‘Authentic Africa’ while Rwanda urges you to ‘Discover a new African Dawn’ (featuring a Gorilla naming ceremony!) and Zambia reckons you can Experience the Real Africa’, Samoa is ‘The treasured island of the South Pacific’, Grenada is the ‘Spice of the Caribbean’ while Dominica is ‘The Nature Island of
the Caribbean’, Malta is the ‘Heart of the Mediterranean’ while Croatia is ‘The Mediterranean as it once was’.
Still more get philosophical and poetic- Macedonia is the ‘Cradle of Culture, land of nature’, Maldives claims to be ‘The sunny side of life’, Nicaragua is ‘A country with heart’(Sorry Dubai), Cayman Islands is ‘Close to home, Far from expected’, Niue Islands is ‘Undiscovered Unspoiled Unbelievable’, Thailand offers you ‘Happiness on Earth’, Vietnam is ‘The Hidden Charm’ while Panama takes up the clichéd ‘The road less travelled’ tag.
Others can simply be mistaken with products like mineral water, television or even shoes - like Seychelles claiming to be ‘As pure as it gets’ (or sometimes a little less) while New Zealand is ‘100% Pure’, South Africa says ‘It is possible’, Hungary has a ‘Talent for entertaining’.
Only a few has managed to stand out and make an impact– either due to their long-term vision or with the help of a bit of creativity shown while making their identities, executing campaigns and ensuring some level of consistency. Malaysia's ‘Truly Asia’, despite its obvious simplicity has proved to be a winner. Alaksa, which has a predictable tagline,
‘Beyond your dreams, Within your reach’ came up with an excellent Alaska B4UDIE campaign to boost tourism revenue. Ethiopia’s questionable ‘13 months of sunshine’ may not have prompted a huge tourist influx, but is nevertheless unique, but has not been marketed well. Latvias ‘Land that Sings’ is delightful, Cyprus’ ‘The golden apple’ is intriguing, Ireland’s ‘Your own Ireland’ works well combined with its identity, Jamaica’s ‘One Love’ is representative of the nations fun-filled outlook.
Australia emerges the winner of the pack with excitement always present in its identity and campaigns that generate discussion, not to mention the popularity of the destination itself. Poland used a plumber and a nurse to inject some fresh lease of life into the tourism industry. Bahamas has a unique and contemporary logo, but it is doubtful whether it portrays a national identity as well as Spain’s does.
Britain, one of the first countries to take destination branding seriously did not create much excitement in terms of creativity. ‘Visit Britain’ promised to be as boring as the country was perceived to be, while the pretentious ‘UK OK’ was typically unimaginative. And in case if you were wondering who was behind Saudi Arabia’s innovative tourism strategy, you are welcome to the lovingly named ‘Supreme commission for Tourism’.
Truly Asia is a good brand for tourism and has been successful in promoting Malaysia as a destination especially in this part of the world. However, comparing to Dubai which only 'emerged' recently on the world map, Malaysia still has lots to learn.
As reported by Gulfnews recently:
Today, Dubai is the most talked about city in the world; conversations about development and rapid prosperity are never complete without mentioning something exotic and dynamically different about this place. People all over the world are fascinated when sharing their encounters, responding to the outflow of promotions on just about everything that's happening in the land of Dubai.
The conversations often describe iconic achievement in great detail, describing either a world-class hotel that looks like a ship and how magnificent it appears on the waterfront, or talking about the rapid construction of the world's tallest tower that has now surpassed the CN Tower of Toronto. The global masses are also fascinated when referring to the cluster of man-made islands that have taken the shape of trees and atlas in the ocean, where people inhabit exotic villas, walk glittering streets and visit shops where gold overflows in jewellery that dazzles the mind.
But all over the world, what all this phraseology often very seriously lacks is the clear mention of names and the exact brand name identities attached to each project, as most have no recollection as to how to differentiate or even address these icons. Most cannot appreciate generic name brand like "World" to describe the cluster of islands, nor can they explain the "South American" region to tell others that they want to live in "Brazil, Dubai".
Similar difficulty exists with tree shaped islands as there is at least one Palm housing project in almost every city of the world. The name of the Burj Al Arab hotel is rarely used, and if referred to as "Burj", it is easily confused with Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower. With so many other Burj name brands, the grandeur of the name is lost as the meaning becomes watered down.
These massive undertakings should not be branded as such and not in a way that does not set them apart from hundreds of similar, generic, mundane words that detract from their aura. Not to mention the translation difficulties, where Arabic names and meanings lead to confusion in foreign markets, resulting in unintentional abbreviation that only adds to the confusion.
Study findings
In a recent select study of the Dubai Brand Name-Identity Profile, conducted by ABC Namebank, Toronto - New York, the most significant observation was that there is a strong awareness of the number of Dubai's projects around the globe, but a serious lack of clear brand name identity recognition.
With some another 1,000 projects on the ground ranging from series of magnificent towers to highly complex, highly focused range of entire cities under development there's a lot to be said about the current nature of name-identity and brand positioning of such iconic structures.
In Dubai and also all over the GCC, the first generation of the branding wave is almost over, where massive colourful campaigns were created to boost the image and visibility at the local level with all the tools of traditional advertising deployed resulting in some hugely successful projects.
Now it's time for the second wave, as now, the focus is to attract more global customers, the issue of highly efficient global brand name identities for the global populace has moved to the forefront. With hundreds of similar Arabic-based name identities in the region, most of the current names in the UAE or GCC of the billion dollar projects will not become exclusive icons, rather they will stay trapped in intense global competition from other similar or identical marks.
A quick search of Google will instantly prove this serious dilemma in a few seconds.
The rules of global name branding demand the full application of the laws of corporate nomenclature. This highly specialised subject is often sacrificed over short-lived logo driven promotion. If great projects were not related to their names for whatever reason, their iconic value would become a serious marketing blunder, leaving the global customer with obscure, nameless structures that they won't bother to remember.
What can businesses and developers do, and should they change now or not at all?
This is a serious question and demands a highly qualified independent name-identity audit to ensure that from now on going forward only the globally acceptable and globally workable name identities should be adopted especially for any project that has any potential to get world's attention.
While Dubai's success has set the best examples it is important to note that because of its success some 100 plus cities around the world are already trying to adopt the same Dubai's blueprints, which will further intensify the competition to seek attention of global customers.
Therefore, global marketing of image and international naming are two essential components for the entire GCC and the leaders must tackle them head-on and with full force, confidence and knowledge of global name-identities.Another Sodomy Report Againts Anwar
Aide alleges sodomy: Report lodged
Jun 28, 08 11:03pm
A police report has been lodged against PKR
MCPXde facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for allegedly sodomosing one of his aides - the second time that such an accusation had been made in over 10 years.
The report was lodged by the 23-year-old victim at the Jalan Travers police station at 6pm.
KL police chief DCP Muhammad Sabtu Osman confirmed that the report had been made.The man has been sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a medical examination.
It is learnt that Anwar met with a number of party leaders at an emergency meeting late tonight.
At 11.15pm, PKR sent out an SMS message stating that the police had detained Anwar's special aide Saiful Bahari this afternoon and forced him to lodge a police report about being sodomised by his boss.It added that the police are expected to arrest Anwar soon.
Meanwhile, Anwar is expected to comment on this latest crisis at a pre-arranged press conference tomorrow.
The press conference is scheduled to be held after a meeting between Anwar and all PKR members of parliament and state assemblypersons.
'A very serious situation'
Party sources said that Anwar was chairing a party supreme council meeting at a hotel in Shah Alam when he received an SMS at about 9pm on Saturday night about the police report lodged against him.
He apparently then told the party leaders that his aide Saiful had been missing for two days."He then received another SMS at about 9.30pm and his faced changed dramatically after reading that SMS," said a party insider.
"He did not reveal the details of the SMS but merely said that the situation was very serious," added the insider.
Anwar is said to have left the supreme council meeting to meet his lawyers until about 11pm.The council however continued their meeting without Anwar.Party leaders are saying that they have to be prepared for any eventuality.
DAP's veteran leader Lim Kit Siang wrote in his blog that he had spoken to Anwar over the phone and that the PKR leader was expecting the worst.Watch out for government attacksAnwar himself issued a press statement at about 1.40am, saying that the report lodged against him was a complete fabrication.
"I believe we are witnessing a repeat of the methods used against me in 1998 when false allegations were made under duress," he said.
"This is clearly a desperate attempt by the Barisan Nasional regime to arrest the movement of the Malaysian people towards freedom, democracy and justice."
He said that the police report against him was organised by interested parties to attack him in retaliation for evidence he had recently obtained implicating Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail in misconduct including fabrication of evidence in the cases launched against him in 1998-1999.
"This vile attack will not prevent me from releasing this dossier to the public," Anwar added.Anwar urged Malaysians to stand against the repressive forces that "will be unleashed by the government in the coming days and weeks".
"We expect the media, the judiciary and the police force to all come under the direct and unchecked control of the executive," he said.
Accused of sodomy in 1997
Meanwhile at about 1am about 400 people had gathered outside the hotel in Shah Alam to ensure that nothing happened to Anwar.
The party leaders and Anwar's lawyer SN Nair also held a press conference at the Shah Alam hotel at about 1.30am where they distributed Anwar's press statement. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, was sacked from the government in 1997 for allegedly being involved in sodomy and abuse of power.
In 1999, he was sentenced in a highly controversial trial to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for alleged homosexual acts.
However in 2004, the Federal Court - the country's highest court - reversed the second conviction and he was released.
Anwar has always maintained that the charges were a government hatched political conspiracy against him, a move denied by the government.
Jun 28, 08 11:03pm
A police report has been lodged against PKR
MCPXde facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for allegedly sodomosing one of his aides - the second time that such an accusation had been made in over 10 years.
The report was lodged by the 23-year-old victim at the Jalan Travers police station at 6pm.
KL police chief DCP Muhammad Sabtu Osman confirmed that the report had been made.The man has been sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a medical examination.
It is learnt that Anwar met with a number of party leaders at an emergency meeting late tonight.
At 11.15pm, PKR sent out an SMS message stating that the police had detained Anwar's special aide Saiful Bahari this afternoon and forced him to lodge a police report about being sodomised by his boss.It added that the police are expected to arrest Anwar soon.
Meanwhile, Anwar is expected to comment on this latest crisis at a pre-arranged press conference tomorrow.
The press conference is scheduled to be held after a meeting between Anwar and all PKR members of parliament and state assemblypersons.
'A very serious situation'
Party sources said that Anwar was chairing a party supreme council meeting at a hotel in Shah Alam when he received an SMS at about 9pm on Saturday night about the police report lodged against him.
He apparently then told the party leaders that his aide Saiful had been missing for two days."He then received another SMS at about 9.30pm and his faced changed dramatically after reading that SMS," said a party insider.
"He did not reveal the details of the SMS but merely said that the situation was very serious," added the insider.
Anwar is said to have left the supreme council meeting to meet his lawyers until about 11pm.The council however continued their meeting without Anwar.Party leaders are saying that they have to be prepared for any eventuality.
DAP's veteran leader Lim Kit Siang wrote in his blog that he had spoken to Anwar over the phone and that the PKR leader was expecting the worst.Watch out for government attacksAnwar himself issued a press statement at about 1.40am, saying that the report lodged against him was a complete fabrication.
"I believe we are witnessing a repeat of the methods used against me in 1998 when false allegations were made under duress," he said.
"This is clearly a desperate attempt by the Barisan Nasional regime to arrest the movement of the Malaysian people towards freedom, democracy and justice."
He said that the police report against him was organised by interested parties to attack him in retaliation for evidence he had recently obtained implicating Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail in misconduct including fabrication of evidence in the cases launched against him in 1998-1999.
"This vile attack will not prevent me from releasing this dossier to the public," Anwar added.Anwar urged Malaysians to stand against the repressive forces that "will be unleashed by the government in the coming days and weeks".
"We expect the media, the judiciary and the police force to all come under the direct and unchecked control of the executive," he said.
Accused of sodomy in 1997
Meanwhile at about 1am about 400 people had gathered outside the hotel in Shah Alam to ensure that nothing happened to Anwar.
The party leaders and Anwar's lawyer SN Nair also held a press conference at the Shah Alam hotel at about 1.30am where they distributed Anwar's press statement. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, was sacked from the government in 1997 for allegedly being involved in sodomy and abuse of power.
In 1999, he was sentenced in a highly controversial trial to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for alleged homosexual acts.
However in 2004, the Federal Court - the country's highest court - reversed the second conviction and he was released.
Anwar has always maintained that the charges were a government hatched political conspiracy against him, a move denied by the government.
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