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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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 Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:16 am Post subject: |
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Dear 007,
Can we here in the USA import some of that democracy and prosperity, too?
Please, pretty please?
Who's exporting them?
Regards,
John |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:35 am Post subject: |
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| I was pleased to see an Al Maktoum princess competing for the UAE in Taekwondo.. She didn't win, but she performed quite well and that should be a source of pride for Emirati women. I was surprised to see her long hair hanging out of the back of her protective helmet, and when the sparring bout was over, she took off the helmet and revealed her entire head uncovered. A bold move indeed for a woman from the Gulf. |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:27 am Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear 007,
Can we here in the USA import some of that democracy and prosperity, too?
Please, pretty please?
Who's exporting them?
Regards,
John |
Well, democracy and prosperity are made in EU, assembled in China, and exported to USA! 
| Teta Mia wrote: |
| I was surprised to see her long hair hanging out of the back of her protective helmet, and when the sparring bout was over, she took off the helmet and revealed her entire head uncovered.. |
Well, I see no surprise at all, if you want to see the real surprise of UAE women go to Oxford street in London and you will see the un-seeable!
| Tete Mia wrote: |
| A bold move indeed for a woman from the Gulf. |
Well, for Uncle Bandar and Uncle Khalifa, her move is a black move! |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject: re |
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Well, if the above was true, why did this Moroccan scholar leave Morocco for Canada?
Morocco is full of corruption, unemployment and poverty, and it seems there is no real economic progress at all! |
Many of the Moroccans who move to Canada are highly educated (they need many 'points' to gain admission) and move, mostly for better education opps. for their children.
However, there are Moroccans moving back these last couple of years, with the economic situation improving in Morocco.
Per capita income is increasing, and unlike the U.S., there is a rising middle class in Morocco. Dire poverty is now rare.
In a recent visit to Tunisia, another Maghreb country, it was evident that most Tunisians were doing pretty well, and although the announced per capita income is pretty low, everyone knows, in Tunisia, that declared income and other sources of revenue are two different things.
Certainly, compared to my extended visit to Morocco in 1996, Tunisia looked like a well run, orderly country, and no abject poverty was seen. I only got so far as Sousse, with the Promenade matching the best that Nice (South of France) has to offer. The bourgeois enclaves of Carthage and Sidi Bou Said on the outskirts of Tunis (the capital) look like parts of Monte Carlo, with the magnificent villas and spectacular vistas.
Yes, there are democracy issues in Tunisia as well, but overall the country is not doing badly, and many trade connections with France are helping.
One problem, though, is that with increasing labor costs, they (Tunisia) can no longer be competitive in the labor market for cheap production of textiles, for example. It will be strange when countries like Tunisia and Morocco will have to outsource to Asia.
One has to remember that around 20 years ago, Portugal had many 'sweat shops' producing cheap goods. Morocco and Tunisia seem to be following the same route.
Ghost |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject: re |
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The best hopes for Bahrain rested on the slim shoulders of elegant looking Yusuf Jamal, the female, who is originally from Ethiopia.
In the women`t 1500 she may have made a tactical error in sprinting too early in the women`s 1500 race. She started sprinting 500m from the line, and by the time the finishing straight came, she had no legs left, and went from first place to second, and then two Ukrainian girls passed her for the silver and the bronze, and even young Dobriskey from the UK passed her.
Poor Jamal - Bahrain was expecting her to win the gold and she finished 5th. One can only hope that her funding and Bahraini sponsors continue to support her.
Of course, you have to realize that the top Bahraini athletes almost never train in Bahrain. Especially for Ramzi and Jamal, they spend as little time as possible in Manama. They have an arrangement with the federation to train at high altitude centres in Morocco (Ramzi) and Ethiopia (Jamal). Bahrain gives the athletes a salary for representing the country, but good performances are expected.
In the women`s 5000 Turkey had two former Ethiopian women competing for them. Abeylegesse won silver for Turkey, and was followed by another former Ethiopian, A. Bekele (no relation to Kenenise) in 7th place.
Would it be possible in class to discuss the ease with which some Gulf nations (but not Saudi) recruit athletes from East African and Maghreb countries, or would it be wiser not to discuss that topic?
Ghost |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:50 pm Post subject: Re: Do not interfere with internal politics! |
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| ghost wrote: |
Would it be possible in class to discuss the ease with which some Gulf nations (but not Saudi) recruit athletes from East African and Maghreb countries, or would it be wiser not to discuss that topic?
Ghost |
Well, if you do this in the magic kingdom, you will be fired and deported in the first available flight!
One clause of your contract says: "You abide by the laws and regulations of the magic kingdom, and do not involve yourself, directly or indirectly, with any political activity or interfere with internal/external politics of the magic kingdom"! |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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Dear ghost,
Whenever you have even the slightest doubt about whether a topic would be "safe", NEVER bring it up in class.
Regards,
John |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject: re |
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Dear ghost,
Whenever you have even the slightest doubt about whether a topic would be "safe", NEVER bring it up in class.
Regards,
John |
Sounds like good advice. In Korea, when I mentioned to the Korean teachers of EFL that the Korean Ministry of Education might have to recruit EFL teachers from the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Malaysia, they (the Korean teachers) did not approve of this and complained.
In Korea - zillions of won are spent on recruiting `native English speakers` from Anglo countries only, but the Koreans still do not realize that just because you recruit an Anglo, that does not mean effective learning will take place.
I tried to convince the Koreans that you did not have to be a `native English speaker` in order for kids in Korea to learn English, but my arguments fell on deaf ears in the majority of cases.
In China, ironically, EFL teachers from non Anglo countries are recruited, to fill the need for that vast populace. In China, they will never be able to recruit enough native speakers to fill the need.
Ghost |
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Gulezar
Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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Rumor has it that there are more English learners in China, than English speakers in the USA. I can't give you the source, so please don't quote me.
Now that you are a guest of the sheiks, remember that Bedouin hospitality goes both ways. Hospitality is extended, but don't insult your host. "Three days" goes by rather quickly. I've met Al "Machtoom" and "Al Sabah" students in Saudi, so don't assume that those neat borderlines mean much of anything when it comes down to who's got "wasta" or connections in your class. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:36 am Post subject: |
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| Athletics - and sports generally is very much a minority interest in KSA. And in Ramadan there seems to be absolutely zero sporting activity. Unless you count the Formula One driving on the public highways just before sunset to get to Iftar. |
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ghost
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:55 am Post subject: re |
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Even short bike rides to the Mall are a deathwish according to the vets here.
Some guys have expensive motorbikes which they are only able to use once a week (Friday mornings) because of the traffic danger!
My bags were lost for 3 days after arrival from Montreal - London - Dammam. Finally got here, but calling the airport was ineffective during Ramadan.
How do you folks cope with this heat (40 degrees +)? Even a jog at 8pm is like a marathon because of the heat?
Ghost |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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News flash: calling the airport (or any other public entity for that matter) is always ineffective, whether it is Ramadan or not. Get a good, reliable, English-speaking taxi driver to take you to the airport, then hang around and make a gentle nuisance of yourself. Just keep hanging out, drinking tea and making polite requests until they want to get rid of you so badly that they will actually look for your bags.
Glad to hear you made it, even if your bags didn't  |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:21 am Post subject: |
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The weather stars to cool down - quite soon. Sensible thing is not to be here in the summer. Some cynics might say that the sensible thing is not to be haer at all.
NO I WILL NOT CORRECT MY TYPOS. What I need is treatment for retinopathy !
Last edited by scot47 on Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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sheikh radlinrol
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 1222
Location: Spain
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| The weather stars to cool down - quite soon. Sensible thing is not to be here in the summer. Some cynics might say that the sensible thing is not to be haer at all. |
''stars'' to cool down is understandable but ''haer''? Uncle Scot will tell us it's neither ''haer'' nor ''thaer''. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| And the treatment prescribed for retinopathy by my ophthalmologist ? Extract of Bilberry. Maybe I should learn how to use a spellchecker too ! |
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