Back January 3rd

Hello Nightline listeners.

We are taking a week off for the Christmas and New Year period.

We will be back broadcasting live on the 3rd of January.

In the mean time take a look at the podcast and have a listen to some of your favorite interviews.

Happy New Year from Natasha and James at Nightline

www.buildsafeuae.com

What happens when the construction industry of the UAE, all stakeholders, start talking and sharing safety concerns and issues? www.buildsafeuae.com Michael Cully and Craig Streak join me for a conversation about this not for profit organization.

Plan your weekend with Claire

What to do in Dubai with Claire Fenner.

www.easylivingdubai.com

Dubai's New Year's Resolutions

we polled the listeners about resolutions and this is what we got!

1 do new things
2. volunteer
3. exercise
4.get married
5. keep a diary
6. survive
7. return
8. stop speeding
9. stop bad parking
10. stop being materialist
11. be a millionaire
12. learn arabic
13. work less
14. stop gossip
15 be me

Ahmed bin Shabib

The Shelter.ae is the new new reality of the middle east and Dubai! What the UAE is all about is enabling content to find its place. Ahmed bin Shabib co-founder of brownbag, browbook and the Shelter walks us through the issues and challenges.

Lilybakes.com

Bekky Britton goes from outdoor education to being a food designer! What a story. www.lilybakes.com

Eritrea, we need to care.

Professor Dan Connell of Simmons College Boston walks us through why we should care about Eritrea.

Small change=Big change

Shereen Qutob joined me for a conversation about her contribution to the FREE ebook, The Inconvenience of Change. Get your copy of the book from www.withoutpants.com.

Matt Cheuvront brought this project to life and it is all about sharing for change! Watch the video!

The Drama Scene

Ferne Reynolds Lategan, www.dramascenedubai.com, joins me for a talk about how she is bringing drama education to the youth of the UAE.

Shufflegazine.com talking technology

Magnus Nystedt, editor of www.shufflegazine.com, talks to us about the must have gadgets. http://shuffle.to/radio for the details.

Horrible Histories on stage

A conversation with Philip Compton executive producer of Birmingham Stage Company's Horrible Histories stage show.

Horrible Histories World Wars

We're proud to present a world premiere of HORRIBLE HISTORIES live on stage!

Using actors and amazing 3D special effects, these two astounding shows - Frightful First World War and Woeful Second World War are guaranteed to thrill you and your children. Historical figures and events will come alive on stage and hover at your fingertips. Written by Terry Deary - the world's best selling non-fiction writer for children - this ground-breaking theatrical presentation will leave you gasping!

FRIGHTFUL FIRST WORLD WAR
The show tells the story of 13 year old Angelica Taylor who is sucked into the Horrible Histories website. There she discovers how the war started, how troops were treated, the conditions in the trenches, what the soldiers ate, the weapons they faced, the fearsome courts-martial, the sinking of the Lusitania, the infamous ghost stories, world war songs and experience what it was like to go over the top. You'll leave the theatre in no doubt why this was called the Great War.

WOEFUL SECOND WORLD WAR - BLITZED BRITS
From the brutal Blitz to the soggy shelters, the show tells the story of two Coventry children, Alf and Sally, who get evacuated to darkest Wales, escaping damp shelters and nightly bombings only to suffer rotten rations, scary schools and even scarier new parents. It's packed with facts and there are ground-breaking 3D Bogglevision effects to witness the bombing of Coventry. Discover everything you need to know about surviving battling Britain!j

www.socialcirclesdubai.com

www.socialcirclesdubai.com

I was joined in studio by Rachel, Tamara and Rami for a look at a new social networking tool in Dubai. Social circles not only connects people online, for free, but allows them to make their own subgroup of members.

Social Circles Dubai

Welcome to Social Circles Dubai! A new group here in Dubai intended to help you make new friends and have a bit of fun.

If you're new to this site, the idea behind Social Circles Dubai is simple, we want to have a laugh and expand our circles (and yours) professionally and personally because it's not what you know but who you know - and who knows you - that changes your life. For the better, ideally. So sign up, personalise your page, stick your photos and vids up, banter on a chat group, share your music, do a bit of blogging, and get involved in the great groups that people have started.

We organise events as often as we have time for (our pesky day jobs get in the way sometimes but, sigh, gotta pay the rent) so come along and meet us. Come on your own, with friends, colleagues, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands or wives. Heck, bring your Mum and Dad if you want, we're good with mums and dads. Better still, start your own group on this site and arrange your own events that we can come to.

Heroes of the United Arab Emirates

www.heroesoftheuae.ae

02-634-7117

Ms. Razan Al Mubarak, MD of the Emirates Wildlife Society, and Ms. Kaltham Al Koheij, regional head of corporate sustainability for HSBC, joined me for a conversation about
motivating our youth to be environmentally literate.

Introducing Heroes Of the UAE

It's only in times of crisis that heroes emerge. The UAE has the highest per capita ecological footprint on earth. It faces an impending energy crisis and the impacts of climate change. This will affect every single one of us, unless we seize the opportunity to become a hero and make a difference.

That was the insight and the starting point for the Heroes Of The UAE campaign, jointly developed by The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) and The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi; and is endorsed by the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment & Water, MASDAR, and the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority. Through a major blitz of press, outdoor and radio advertising in early 2009, we are alerting the UAE to the fact that drastic action must be taken now to drastically curb our energy consumption, avert dangerous shortages and become a great deal more energy conscious. But while it makes it clear that this a very real problem that must be seriously addressed by everyone from governments to individuals, it also points out that straightforward, practical, successful solutions are readily available.

The campaign is centred around the www.heroesoftheuae.ae website, where people can find out everything they need to know about the causes of the problem and also find out what they can do to help solve it.

Principal features of the website include an animated sequence that explains the present energy and environment situation in simple, graphic terms, along with a long list of energy saving tips, a calculator that enables households to establish exactly how and where they can make real savings on their consumption, and a unique pledge facility which enables households to positively state their intention to make a difference.

For the sake of the planet, the UAE and our children, we need this campaign. More importantly, we need everyone - including you - to act on it.

Dubai Youth Speak Out

Six Dubai students, aged 11 and 12, from Repton School, JESS and Dubai College talk about ambition, health and solving global problems. Maybe we really do need to listen to our youth today to solve the problems we have created!

Keren Bobker's Investing 101

Keren Bobker joins us for a lesson in personal investing.

Dubai Animal Rescue Center

www.darcuae.com

info@darcuae.com

DARC has 92 creatures living in the home of Aisha, the founder, in Barsha 3.

Learn how you can help.

A week of activities from Easy Living Dubai

Claire Fenner of www.easylivingdubai.com joins me to help plan your week!

The Lipton Tea Institute

I was joined on the phone by Dr. Jane Rycroft of the Lipton Tea Institute for a conversation about tea research!

http://www.lipton.com/en_en/Lipton_Institute_of_Tea-1,10.aspx

5th UAE Benchmark Banking Study By ETHOS consultancy

We were joined in studio by Ryan McMaster and Joshua Beckwith, from Ethos Consultancy for a recap of the banking benchmark study.


http://www.ethos.ae/products/customer-service-benchmarking-studies.aspx

Bank Benchmarking Study

2009 marks the 5th anniversary of this study. The Bank Benchmarking Study (BBS) offers an insight into the performances of retail banks operating in the UAE with regards to response time and service quality that retail banks deliver through all channels.

Carried out by trained and experienced researchers and shoppers who focus on real scenarios whereby a prospective customer approaches a retail bank via three channels: branch, call center or website. These channels are then evaluated on key differentiators that define customer experience at a bank and include interpersonal performance, response time, service quality and satisfactory outcome.

Approximately 40,000 responses are analysed each year. 1,500 visits cover the 29 banks included in the study, with 80 different criteria being measured. Each year Ethos announces and awards the category winners, which include: Best Bank Overall, Best Islamic Bank, Best International Bank, Best New Bank, Best Call Centre Performance and Best Website Response Performance.

Dubai Terry Fox Run For Cancer Research

I was joined in studio by the organizers of the Dubai Terry Fox Run, coming up December 11th. We spoke about why this run is important for cancer research funding in the UAE and were joined on the phone, from Canada, by Judith Fox-Adler sister of the late Terry Fox and director of the Terry Fox Foundation.

Information: www.clubforcanadian-dubai.com www.terryfoxrun.org

Masarat Daud's 8Day Academy

Masarat Daud, Peter Kotikalapdui and kristina Nysell join us for a conversation about the 8 Day Academy.

The education system has failed all of us. There is a huge disconnect between what we study and the real world.

(Masarat Daud, TEDxDubai 10.10.09)

Idea worth spreading:

One of the first female university graduates from her village in Rajasthan, Masarat wanted to bring education to the girls in her village using a method she calls “functional education”… So, she created the 8-Day Academy!

In exactly a week, she showed her first class (70 women who had never seen a computer) how to use computers, to speak in public, to be leaders... When she came back a few months later the women had computerized schools throughout the village, they were speaking across town and sharing their new found knowledge with others…

Call to action:

Create your own 8-Day Academy. All you need is 8 days to change the world!

UAE's Social Services Sector

Dr. Kennon Rider an associate professor and director of the Family Community Services undergraduate program at Michigan State University Dubai joins us for a conversation about the need to educate and train for the social services sector.

Rider, Kennon, Ph.D., CFLE.
kennonrider@gmail.com

Associate Professor, Family & Child Ecology - MSU Dubai. Will coordinate the Family Community Services Bachelor degree and be responsible for teaching, recruiting, and advising students. Dr. Rider is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist, having received his MS in Family Relations and his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. He has previously taught at Zayed University in Dubai.

The UAE's 1st Cloned Camel.

Dr. Wanni of the Camel Reproduction Center in Dubai talks about the 1st cloned camel Injaz.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/first-camel-cloned-in-uae-1.63935First camel cloned in UAE

Birth of Injaz marks world breakthrough for scientists working in Dubai project.

• By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
• Published: 23:06 April 13, 2009

• Injaz, a cloned female camel, was born at the Camel Reproduction Centre on April 8 after an uncomplicated gestation of 378 days. She was created from cumulus cells harvested from the ovary of an adult female camel.
• Image Credit: Supplied Picture

Dubai: The world's first cloned camel has been born in Dubai.

The female calf, called Injaz (meaning achievement), was produced at the Camel Reproduction Centre (CRC) last Wednesday.

The team at the CRC, headed by Dr Lulu Skidmore and Dr Ali Redha, said Injaz was created from cumulus cells harvested from the ovary of a female adult camel, which were grown in culture before being frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Dr Lulu Skidmore, Scientific Director of the CRC, told Gulf News: "We are all very excited at the birth of Injaz as she is the result of great skill and teamwork of everyone at the Camel Reproduction Centre. This significant breakthrough gives a means of preserving the valuable genetics of our elite racing and milk producing camels in the future."

The team said the camel was born after an uncomplicated gestation period of 378 days. Injaz currently weighs 30kg. The DNA of Injaz's cells and that of the original ovarian cells have been tested using microsatellite DNA analysis at the Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory in Dubai, and have been found to be identical, thereby proving that Injaz is indeed a clone of the original female camel.

The news comes a year after the centre announced the birth of identical twin camel calves Zahi and Bahi. The male twins were created using a technique called embryo micro-manipulation.

The CRC, which was established in 1989, not only breeds camels but carries out genetic studies on old and new-world camelids. Rama the 'Cama" was born just over a decade ago as the world's first viable hybrid between a camel and a guanaco, related to the llama.

Cloning is the process of producing genetically-identical individuals. Cloning occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually.

The world's first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell was Dolly the Sheep, who was produced on July 5, 1996, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dolly's birth was heralded as one of the most significant breakthroughs. Dolly went on to gain worldwide fame before being put down in 2003 after a veterinary examination showed she had a progressive lung disease.

Is this the way forward in organ transplants? Is there enough awareness behind cloning and genetic sciences? Would you seek cloning?

UAE Action Adventure Film

Micahel-Ryan Fletchall of www.experiencemediastudios.com joined us on the phone to talk about a new and exciting film project in the UAE.

Experience Media Studios is a next-generation global media and entertainment company positioned to be the future worldwide studio leader, and a driving force behind Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates media industry. The company specializes in movie and television show investments, development, creation, management, licensing and distribution across all current and emerging media and platforms. The core team of experienced and dedicated innovative international media executives and filmmakers oversee eight balanced vertically integrated divisions within the organization.

Alia Yunis' 'The Night Counter'

Alia Yunis joined us on the phone, www.aliayunis.com,to talk about her debut smash hit book 'The Night Counter'.

The Book
Audio Read an Excerpt Reading Group Guide

An enchanting debut that asks, Which stories would you tell, if you only had nine days left to tell them?

Fatima Abdullah has been alive 85 long years, and she knows when her time will come. In fact, it should come just nine days from tonight, the 992nd nightly visit of the beautiful and immortal Scheherazade.

Each night, Fatima has told Scheherazade her life stories, all the while knowing that on the 1001st night, her storytelling will end forever. But between tonight and night 1001, Fatima has a few loose ends to tie up. She must find a wife for her openly gay grandson, teach Arabic (and birth control) to her 17-year-old great-granddaughter, make amends with her estranged husband, and decide which of her troublesome children should inherit her family's home in Lebanon--a house she herself has not seen in nearly 70 years. All this while under the surveillance of two bumbling FBI agents eager to uncover Al Qaeda in L.A.

In a debut that charms and bewitches, Alia Yunis unravels four generations of Abdullah family secrets with a great sense of comic timing and a deft touch of magical realism. Touching on the histories of both the United States and the Middle East over the last one hundred years, this is the heart-warming story of a family just as crazy as yours.

Dubai's Oil Baron

Charlie Sinclair of WASP Oil Field Services was crowned the 2009 oil baron by his peers. Charlie joins us for a conversation about the oil industry and his road to becoming the oil baron.

http://www.eyeofdubai.com/v1/news/newsdetail-36742.htm

Charlie Sinclair, managing director of WASP Oilfield Services, celebrated success at the Oil Barons Ball last night as he was awarded the prestigious 2009 title of Oil Baron. Mr. Sinclair was crowned with a bespoke Stetson at the eagerly anticipated event for his outstanding achievements and continuing contributions to the Middle East energy sector.

More than 2,000 of the industry’s key influencers attended the Media City Amphitheatre to witness the crowning and entertainment extravaganza celebrating 50 years of Motown magic, tribute band the Four Tops were flown in from London’s West End to entertain guests.

Mr. Sinclair arrived in style for his crowning in an open toped Jaguar, as the guests danced the night away to a Motown show second to none.

The silent auction was a major success, raising money for Sharjah based charity, Friends of Cancer Patients, which helps to ease the strain on cancer patients and their families as well funding research and education. Generous guests placed bids on a series of donated items, including a luxury holiday in Thailand and Sri Lanka, jewellery, golf clubs and a retro Jukebox to name but a few.

WASP Oilfield Services Ltd. was founded in Dubai by Charlie and his business partner in 2007 and provides state-of-the-art commissioning services including assembly, dis-assembly and pressure testing for downhole tubular products. It is a totally bespoke concept in the Middle East and one that can save the energy sector precious money and time. Sinclair brings a wealth of experience to the new enterprise, having worked with Baker Oil tools for 32 years, which took him across the Middle East, North America, West Africa and Europe.

The Ball, now in its seventh year, is the largest gala event of its kind in Europe and the Middle East and has quickly become one of the social events of the year. The award was founded and is organised by Reflex Publishing, responsible for leading energy industry publications Pipeline magazine and Future Fuels & Energies.

Mr. Sinclair, said: “Being crowned this year’s Oil Baron is one of the highlights of my career to date. Receiving such recognition from my peers and colleagues is particularly satisfying but it would not have been possible without the support and commitment of my colleagues.

“2009 has been a year marked with great achievements for WASP Oilfield Services and I am confident the next 12 months will bring even greater success.”

Eileen Michael, Managing Director for Reflex Publishing, said: “The event was a fantastic success and Charlie fully deserves his Oil Baron title. Those who voted for him have described Charlie as a “Real Oilfield Character and the perfect Oil Baron for 2009”. Tonight has been a fantastic success and we are very grateful to all the generous guests who have helped to raise so much money for FOCP.

“This past year has been challenging for the industry but we feel the turnout last night shows there is plenty to be positive about going forward.”