GITs enforce social club licensing in UAE

Zealous warriors of the still informal Aiur Defiant clan that we are, I and my three UAE-based StarCraft buddies wanted to start having regular LAN parties, complete with blue rock candy and green incense. Alas, we wasted much time wringing our hands in confusion, completely "at a loss over how to go about organising" ourselves, let alone "how to draft a constitution" [1].

Thankfully, we came to know of a benevolent body known as the Community Development Authority, which would be there to support us with these critical functions, and even ensure that we were "sustainable for many years" and wouldn't "get diluted or dissolved" [1]. Since we had no idea about how to use Google or our social networks to research the local network gaming scene, they would also ensure that we were "filling the social gaps, and not those that are already in abundance" instead of "supporting something that is already being saturated in terms of support" [1]. All we needed to do was register.

We would then even be able to "open a bank account, employ people, hold activities, or seek support externally" [1]. Okay, we were not sure we really needed facilities like those, as we were not planning on doing public ticketed and/or sponsored events like many of Dubai's performance art groups (which, by the way, must surely have been registered with the CDA in order to have gotten the requisite DTCM permissions all these years). But it appears that, regardless of scale or activity, any gathering of three or more persons qualifies as a group in urgent need of legal recognition [2]. Without which they can be fined up to AED 10,000 [1]. Okay, when they put it that way ...

Looking up the requirements, we saw that worry was unnecessary, as the process was simple and offered great value. Licensing costs a mere AED 2000. Every 2 years [3]. No problem, that's just ... AED 250 for each of us per year. Hey, it's better than the 10K fine. Also, they required basic documentation, just to get to know us better. You know, specifying "location details" and "proof of location availability", laying out a "2 year budget plan" and "financial plans", and identifying "board members" and "organizational structure" [3]. I'm sure 99% of the clubs in Dubai have those issues sorted out; after all, these requirements have been in place since 1995 [2], and this is the sort of law any reasonable person would look up when starting a Scrabble circle or such.

Yes, it's a bit of work, but at least we won't have to worry about getting slapped with a massive fine and/or a shutdown notice when the ever-vigilant Government Inspection Teams (GITs, incidentally) storm our basement clan lair in the middle of a tournament [2], or surprise us while on patrol at the next IGN convention [1]. Yup, I'm so glad those GITs are around to protect us from all the exploitative gamer clans that would surely take the hapless public to the cleaners in the absence of these regulations.

[1] http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/licence-for-all-dubai-social-clubs-a-must-1.1203467

[2] http://www.kabayanweekly.com/2013/05/25/filipino-leaders-warned-on-dubais-laws-on-orgs/

[3] http://www.cda.gov.ae/en/SocialRegulatoryAndLicensing/LicensingSocialClubs/Pages/default.aspx

Abdelkader Benchamma and Jessica Mein exhibition at GIVDE

Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde has another double-barreled exhibition this month, with works by Jessica Mein and Abdelkader Benchamma constituting the Chromophobia exhibition.

Mein employs an interesting use of perforation in her colorful works, resulting the emergence of complex textures on close-up viewing. Some of her equally colorful video work is on display as well. They appear to be microcosmic glimpses of a larger work extending beyond their frames.

Benchamma's portion of the exhibition, on the other hand, consists of monochrome etchings. The theme was difficult to figure out, but they often involve some object or activity suspended in the air over a seemingly real or staged (on a scaffolding frame) landscape.

Resuscitation Theatre stages One More Try by Saleh Karama

Abu Dhabi's experimental/contemporary theater group, Resuscitation Theatre, staged Emirati playwright Saleh Karama's play One More Try last Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre. The play, directed by Maggie Hannan, starred a tight cast of four, and ran ten short of an hour.

Khristene Astoriano as Baya, Sanoop Dinesh as the guard, Prabhath Dhevindra as Toufic

It was about the rather odd circumstances and encounters of a woman, Baya, who is in prison after killing her husband for cheating on her with her best friend, Betina. Betina later visits her and shares a cordial chat. Her lawyer, Toufic, is a conflicted and frustrated man, who seems to be trying to mess with her mind, which she variously deflects and reciprocates. The unnamed prison guard spends most of his time in the background, engrossed in closed circuit surveillance and interpretive dance.

Khristene Astoriano as Baya, Nancy Awar as Betina

Khristene Astoriano did a very commendable job playing Baya, her ample theater experience showing in her portrayal of this seemingly fatalistic character. I also liked Sanoop Dinesh's prison guard, well-choreographed and fluid as he was. Aside from a few lines sounding forced, it was an enjoyable experience in its genre, especially towards the end.

Sikka Score Vol 1 CD Launch at DUCTAC

Last Monday saw the launch of a compilation album of select works by the musical features of Sikka 2013. Since it was titled "Sikka Score Vol. 1", I'm guessing this is something that will happen again. I was hoping for something like this to eventually make it to production, as this year's Sikka featured a diverse selection of good local musicians. And it was really nice of many of the artists on the CD to come in and set up at the launch - held in a flattened Kilachand Theatre at DUCTAC - to perform for just a few minutes. It was a great evening, and an excellent showcase of some of the best Dubai (and Sharjah) has to offer in locally-made music, from classic guitar (Track 1, Valentin Spasov) to acoustic rock (Track 5, Harrison Rice) to beat-boxing (Track 8, Ray).

Track 9: Noush like Sploosh performed the moody "Lonely at Night", the music/art video of which was featured at Sikka in the video gallery.

Track 10: Sach Holden, supported here by Jeremiah and the Lucky Strikes, doing his folk rock piece. Ordinarily a solo artist with an acoustic leaning, his Sikka contribution was backed by an uncharacteristically large complement of collaborators from different genres.

Track 12: One of my new favorite local bands, Fables of Cantt, with their catchy synth rock sound.

Track 11: I'm always good for jazz, and Them had it going on. That's not bad grammar, by the way - the band is actually called "Them".

Track 13: One of the best (and most surprising) acts was Nada Dada's rendition of an original song about Sharjah in the style of a mid-20th jazz siren, here supported by Sikka music organizer Kamal Musallam. And it was not just the content; it was actually sung quite well, and in a very unique and pleasant genre of music. For someone who I thought was a visual/performance artist, she sure can hold a note.

Poeticians' launch of Nietzsche's Camel Must Die by Rewa Zeinati

After a few months away, The Poeticians returned to new old haunt Sublime last Sunday to launch Dubai-based Poetician Rewa Zeinati's book Nietzsche's Camel Must Die.

A couple of poets made their debuts, reading their own pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia to marriage, while relatively new Poeticians Lara Matossian-Roberts and Fiona Patterson entertained us with philosophical and comedic verse, respectively. We also got to witness theatrical readings by Jamal Iqbal, some of Zeina H. Beck's excellent poetic oration (and dark humor), and originals by Hind Shoufani and Dana Dajani that hit you right in the feels.

Rewa Zeinati

Zeinati and a number of other long-time Poeticians took turns reading out of the book that night. I did not have enough time to read all of it yet, but what I have read so far was enjoyable reading.

As would be expected from what is essentially a compilation of a poet's Facebook notes, the book consists of flourishing elaborations on thoughts about random incidents in daily life, and perspectives on then-current events and topics. It's not textbook verse, certainly; those who seek a more observational sort of poetry will appreciate of it.

The notes are formatted as informal commentary, and occasionally as letters, in language and structure that's easy to follow. They are not titled either, being listed by number/date instead. Some are a few lines long, while others run into a few pages. Since all the notes are dated, one can often see their context in a timeline; for example, the notes at the turn of a year about Christmas-related things. That and other nuances lend it an added authenticity.

There is no overarching theme, but Zeinati's home country, Lebanon, makes an appearance now and then, and so do feminist perspectives. There are alsp notes about family and childhood - hers or others'. Some of the notes read as stories, and some others as observations sans narrative. Some start as one and blend into the other.

The choice of topics indicates the kind of keen observation and analytical skill that can pick out absurdity from the otherwise mundane, and (usually) successfully develop some fact/news/encounter into a disquisition about something much bigger. Many of the notes would not be out of place as opening voice-overs for the acts in a biographical sitcom. There is also something for those who like playing with words. I look forward to finishing this book.

No such thing as a free way

So shortly after the addition of two gates and the return to charging it on taxi travel, the 24 AED (4 AED per crossing makes that 6 crossings) daily limit on Salik has been lifted.

According to the authorities, it does not affect "around 95 per cent of motorists". This, of course, can change with further expansion of the number of gates, or counting consecutive crossings of the two SZR gates as two separate crossings.

That aside, if "95 per cent" of people are unaffected, how does this fit into the RTA's goal of using Salik to "reduce congestion"? With Salik operational at nights and on weekends as well, this explanation is looking less and less credible.

Given that this is a tax-free country, money needs to come from somewhere for a good road system, which is generally what we have. As long as the money is going towards productive projects, like the very useful recent streamlining of Al Khail Road, I'm happy to pay a reasonable amount as a road toll. It's just really difficult to not roll your eyes when what is obviously a revenue stream is being repeatedly portrayed as a regulatory mechanism.

Snowden asylum woes

Seems to be that, despite Edward Snowden's legion well-wishers, he is running out of options for asylum. It's not surprising, though, because his revelation of a massive surveillance operation being secretly run by his country sticks him right between political Scylla and Charybdis.

American allies will not risk it, of course. But the problem now is that most enemies of America tend to be surveillance-oriented states themselves (to the degree to which their technological development level permits), and would not wish to make it look like anyone can get away with whistle-blowing of this humiliating magnitude. Even though their citizens' legal protections against surveillance are officially poor, the effectiveness of any surveillance - even that conducted in a totalitarian police state that does not pay so much as lip service to the concepts of privacy and probable cause - is greatly enhanced by making it discrete at a tactical level.

Thus, while the average private and privacy-protective citizen may support Snowden, getting officially-sanctioned asylum may prove a tough mission, unless he finds himself an unlikely combination of a state that's both opposed to the US and either has no broad surveillance program or has a thoroughly transparent one.