Readers say American airlines should blame themselves for their inability to compete. Paul Sancya / AP
Readers say American airlines should blame themselves for their inability to compete. Paul Sancya / AP
Readers say American airlines should blame themselves for their inability to compete. Paul Sancya / AP
Readers say American airlines should blame themselves for their inability to compete. Paul Sancya / AP

Americans don’t want to compete fairly in the skies


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  • Arabic

In regard to Delta reignites open skies dispute on Emirates code share (September 11), the United States airlines are acting like babies.

As an American, I am ashamed of our carriers. They can’t win on service so they have resorted to whining to the government.

Steve Kranz, Al Ain

I have no sympathy for the US carriers. It's their own fault they can't compete. Josh Taylor, Dubai

Addiction is not easily defeated

I refer to your story, Research to find if Emiratis are prone to drug dependency (September 14).

Anyone who has been in western countries has seen a steady rise in drug abuse among young people. The reasons – including high levels of disposable income, social factors affecting relationships and a general need to jump from one thrill to another – are not genetic.

Children are endlessly stimulated through electronic means and told they must be positive and happy when some aspects of life are not. Theirs is a world that is rapidly changing and some cannot keep up with the pace.

This is a product of our time and, I am afraid, not a factor that can be reversed.

Baroness Susan Greenfield spoke at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature this year on the effects of gaming on the minds of the young. The hours many people are spending on these games releases dopamine into the brain and gives periods of euphoria that need to be sustained.

Before gaming, the same dopamine could be released into the brain via drugs such as LSD, the forerunner of many of today’s synthetic drugs. Her research on the effects of screens on young minds is very sobering.

Years of drug education in the West have changed nothing and the number of qualified professionals here is too few to make a dent in this growing issue.

The problem cannot be foisted on to schools. How many teachers can identify the products they would be advising students not to use or recognise the symptoms associated with each one of them?

One of the most difficult issues relates to the secrecy surrounding abuse. Only the abusers themselves can ask for help. If using controlled substances provides temporary euphoria and they need to sustain it, they are not likely to be resilient enough to give it up.

Judith Finnemore, Al Ain

Our buildings need attention

Thank you for the story Sick buildings are leading to sick UAE office workers, doctors say (September 13).

I didn’t know such a syndrome existed. It goes a long way to explain some of the things I’ve been experiencing, such as feeling unwell in certain indoor spaces and instantly recovering after I’ve stepped outside.

Samia Iftekhar, Abu Dhabi

You haven’t been to London if you complain about buildings in the UAE. Most central London offices are like prisons with not enough daylight.

Linda Lo, UK

More care should be taken with our living environment. Ivana Jesic, Egypt

Who is making music for dogs?

Congratulations on your insightful editorial (Music for cats, but will it push paws?, September 13) about the growing trend towards musical recording intended for our feline friends.

However, I wonder why there has been no groundswell, so far, or interest in recordings for dogs.

Certainly dogs are better qualified than cats in musical manners, as anyone who has ever heard a canine announce his angst at 3am will testify.

Name withheld by request

Doubts persist over dashcams

In reply to your editorial, Would dashcams make our roads safer? (September 13), the answer is no.

It is illegal to take photographs of people without their permission. The person with the dashcam could land in jail. Chris Reid, Dubai

I would approach this with caution. They say it’s OK to share with police, but what if the person committing the offence – for example, allowing children to jump around the car – contacts the police first and reports you for videoing or taking photos?

Who would the police believe?

Tanya Milbourne, Dubai

I think it’s a good idea. It will make people more account­able.

Name withheld by request

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

Strait of Hormuz

Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.

The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.

Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

RACE CARD

4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.

UAE%20Warriors%2045%20Results
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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

LIST OF INVITEES

Shergo Kurdi (am) 
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris