Stereotyping right-wing thinking
There is no room on a peaceful and free planet for racial hatred in any of its ugly forms (‘After ‘Charlie’, an opening for Le Pen,’ Gulf News, January 25). The writer of this story, Philip Stevens, is justified in his warnings. However, his automatic interpretation of the political right as anti-Muslim gets my dander up. Most Europeans have little understanding of the historical significance in the evolution of society of the American experience. Our revolution was fought against the mildest of tyrannies and for the most meagre taxation among the nations of the 18th century world. That revolution was founded on what journalists tersely call ‘austerity’. Stevens somehow seems to associate those of us devoted to small government with racism. He is not alone in that error. The founders understood that a minimalist government among an ambitious property-seeking citizenry was a historic novelty only dreamed of by every enlightened previous generation.
My European fellows must understand that the wealth and spirit necessary to overcome the basest natures of humanity are supplied most liberally among people dedicated to liberty. The victories in the World Wars of the last century stand as indisputable proof of that. In the truly free market, malignant ideas are easily recognised and tend to pass on. Nazis still exist, but we see them plainly and relegate them to insignificance. Maybe racism will always exist, but it is never the indicator of conservative politics claimed by modern journalists.
From Mr Glen Risley
Houston, US
Connecting trains
One doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel in order to solve the traffic woes faced by motorists in Dubai and Sharjah (‘Dubai traffic snarls frustrate motorists,’ Gulf News, January 26). What is needed is a two-lane Metro stretching from Abu Dhabi right up to Ras Al Khaimah, passing through Jebel Ali, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and right up to Ras Al Khaimah with another branch separating from Dubai and going to Fujairah and Khor Fakkan. If this is done, the motorists passing from the Northern emirates and wishing to go to Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi will not pass through Sharjah and Dubai and thereby not straining the city traffic. From Mr Graeme Thorpe
Dubai
Varying prices
The simplest and most efficient solution would be road pricing. Introduce more Salik toll gates that become operational only during peak hours. Create variable Salik toll fees so that peak hours cost more than off-peak hours.
From Mr Durteger
Dubai
Website comment
Stop rubbernecking!
Please make it cheaper to obtain bike licenses, make trains accessible from all emirates and change school timings. I think that school from 9am to 3pm with limited breaks would help this problem. We need to ensure that school areas have better networks of roads. Also, ensuring that school buses do not change lanes and stay in the slow lane.
Police officers should monitor all rubbernecking. I hope this will help ease our life of travelling in the UAE. When there is an accident on the opposite side of the road, drivers will watch the accident and cause traffic jams unnecessarily. I prefer road dividers that are made to stop viewing the other side of the road.
From Mr James Dean
Sharjah
Website comment
Traffic relief efforts
In my opinion, the best solution is to provide public transportation as an alternative solution to ease the traffic congestion. For instance, if direct bus services are available from Sharjah to Jebel Ali at 15 minutes intervals, then a minimum 50 per cent of the traffic will be reduced because every day there are thousands of cars with one person going to Jebel Ali. If 50 people can go on a bus, it will reduce traffic and stress of the drivers as well as become more economical. Likewise, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) can introduce direct bus services for long distances - this will give immediate relief to traffic congestion.
From Mr Venkat
Dubai
Website comment
Decrease rent
Instead of increasing the annual registration fees or setting a minimum income limit to buy a car, the authorities should do something to stop the uncontrolled increase in rents over the next few years. A drop in rents will enable middleclass people to shift back into the city of Dubai. Introducing toll gates on Al Ittihad Road and the Airport Tunnel has made no difference to the traffic condition. Administrators have to devise a plan to stop the hike in rents and build new roads to solve this issue.
From Mr Albert Abraham
Dubai
Website comment
City living
Well, someone should look into the cost of living in Dubai and consider the number of middleclass workers that work in Dubai and live in Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain or somewhere on the outskirts of Dubai where cost of rent is cheaper. I think these commuters are among the ones that cause Dubai road congestion. If these workers will be given a chance to live closer to their workplace, then this issue might be reduced significantly.
From Mr Andre
Dubai
Website comment
Valuing money
I strongly agree with Andre. I was born and raised in Dubai, and I have seen the days when people used to stay near their work places, so there was no question of traffic. I used to leave home only 15 to 20 minutes before and reach on time. People are staying far away and spending so much time driving due to accidents that happen because of increasing frustrations. Please think of the lives that we have lost in the past years since the increase in rents. Where are we going to take this money? We will not take it with us. Has money become more valuable than human lives?
From Ms Lubna
Dubai
Website comment
Looking for solutions
I appreciate what Farhan Bokhari has said in this article, but I feel that more needs to be done in terms of finding a remedy for what is not being done in the right way (‘Pakistan’s democracy is living on borrowed time,’ Gulf News, January 25). A lot of people spend a lot of time understanding and highlighting the problems. When are we going to start finding and implementing solutions for these problems? Being a Pakistani, I try to focus more on thinking about what can be the solution to the existing problems rather than finding new problems within the system. I feel people like me are left alone when we face people trying to accuse and pointing fingers at each other. I sincerely hope things get better in my country, and I believe this is only possible by joining hands and working together as a nation. May God guide us on the right path.
From Mr Mohammad Raza
Dubai
Website comment
Trying to survive
The fuel crisis is one of many problems the people in Pakistan are facing - even with a civilian rule existing in the country. The challenges of the government are undoubtedly leading to instability across the nation, mainly due to the increasing threat of insurgency and heavy military spending to combat with anti-social elements across its border with neighbouring Afghanistan.
It has been proven that the civilian government has limitations in taking decisions in the interest of the public, as the army still has a strong say in several of its key issues. While national security is one of the critical areas that require a lot of attention, the continuing terrorist attacks are signalling that its initiatives have not been able to reach a consensus among the public.
Whatever peace process the country has initiated so far needs a definite backing of the general public. The recent Peshawar incident has proven that security has not been strong enough to safeguard the interests of the people who have been continuously losing their confidence in the government they elected. Their very basic concern is for mere survival.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Strengthening ties
Your story about Barack Obama in India being received with a hug by Narendra Modi was a good read (‘Modi-Obama ‘walk-the-talk’, Gulf News, January 26). In his welcoming address in the press conference, Modi welcomed President Obama for honouring his invitation. The two leaders expressed their happiness about their talks on bilateral, climate change defence and economic aspects. With the US President Obama’s visit to India, both countries will have a good relationship in all aspects including the fight on global terror threats. Obama is the first US President attending the Republic day celebrations and this is laudable. Obama’s visit will make Indo-US ties stronger.
From Mr K. Ragavan.
Bengaluru, India
Cleaning up the board
It is definitely a landmark knockout verdict by the Supreme Court in India. Kudos to the Supreme Court judges for its much awaited verdict pronouncing Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President in exile.
Barring Narayanaswami Srinivasan from contesting the board elections until he clears himself of commercial interests in the game was a welcome move. More than this, it is heartening that the Supreme Court has forced the BCCI to come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, which they have been dodging for long. Though past leaders claimed that they were keen to weed out cronies and clean the board, all of them were party in bringing in rule 6.2.4 of the BCCI constitution, mainly to accommodate Srinivasan of Chennai Super Kings. Now all of them talk like saints. Anyway, we are happy that the Supreme Court, like in the case of many scams, have taken steps to clean the board and we hope to see better administration by players of the past and improve the game of Cricket.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
Dubai
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