Focus on drug addiction will help free users
Thank you to Colin Simpson for highlighting drug addiction in the UAE through Screen insight into the nightmare of drugs (April 13).
Publishing this article will certainly enable others to address the problem and to accept the reality of drug use.
This will ensure holistic treatment is provided to those ensnared by drugs; they need love, acceptance and fair treatment.
Though I am not an addict, I have worked with hard-core addicts and seen them released off their bondage and go mainstream.
Daniel Grimmer, Dubai
Racial definition is no laughing matter
I want to thank Anna Zacharias for writing A new generation of Emiratis speaks out about mixed parentage (April 6).
I have one Emirati parent. My Lebanese husband and I saw a picture on Facebook of a wristband inscribed "half-Emirati" that is now being sold in Dubai.
While I laughed, my husband said it was insulting to me, for the reasons Ms Zacharias has spelt out in the article.
I suppose I'm just used to it. But I agree that we have to widen our definitions, for the good of the country and its future.
Name withheld by request
Downloads can benefit creators
Various thoughts spring to mind regarding Brett Debritz's opinion article about online piracy, If the hottest trends in viewing are unavailable, who loses? (April 12).
For example, how can so-called "piracy" be theft when no one is deprived of their property?
The example of Game of Thrones is interesting, as the producers of that show have said that piracy can actually increase interest in the product, and generate extra revenue from downloaders who buy merchandise or recommend the show to new viewers.
It is also moot to claim that every download is a lost sale. This is akin to saying that if I try on a pair of shoes in a shop, but don't buy them, then that shop has lost a sale to which it was entitled.
And what about the expatriate who pays an annual fee for TV in his or her home country, but is pilloried for downloading the same programmes in the UAE?
Copyright of intellectual property is a relatively new concept, and copyright owners are constantly moving the goalposts to maintain their control over their products.
The article does come to an interesting conclusion: that if the providers are willing to rethink the pre-internet territorial holdbacks on releasing films and TV shows and offer them for download, then, eventually, the market will find its balance and everyone will be happy. I hope that is right.
Chris Moran, Abu Dhabi
Outreach needed to tackle trafficking
I would like to comment on the issue of human trafficking as raised in Maid gang-raped after her drink was spiked, court told (April 11)
There should be more active community outreach about this issue to educate people, especially those house-helpers who don't even understand the idea of human trafficking.
M Al Marzoqi, Abu Dhabi
Green incinerator a welcome project
I am writing in reference to US$850m Abu Dhabi incinerator to generate greener power (April 12).
It would be a nice thought that, one day, the landfills will be removed and all waste will be fed into this incinerator.
Peter Nixon, Abu Dhabi
Much ado over next to nothing
Hunger-strike threat over Goa Playboy club (April 10) caught my attention.
Rather than worry about this, the Indian government would do better to concentrate on removing corrupt and inept officials.
Too many bribes have to be paid to get the simplest task performed by civil servants.
One expatriate Indian friend of mine complained recently that his wife had to pay a bribe to an electricity board clerk before he would even accept payment for her bill.
Name withheld by request
Reem Island flats will meet a need
Reduced rents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have sadly become a thing of the past but 5,000 new Reem flats to open (April 14) is encouraging.
Let's hope that these new housing units offer some relief to residents in the capital.
Fatima Suhail, Dubai
