Here's a splendid example of why the Arab world remains so utterly fucked-up

From the highly respected and world-famous Khaleej Times Online

Chocolate-coated eggs containing toys to be withdrawn from market
By Amira Agarib and Charles Buth Diu

24 July 2004


DUBAI - A brand of chocolate-coated coloured eggs containing toys are expected to be withdrawn from the markets in Dubai today by the Dubai Municipality as they were found containing within their cores toys ridiculing the Arabs.

As if stuff like robot camel jockeys and honor killings aren't ridiculous. And why not name the alleged brand?

A UAE child, who accompanied his mother to a supermarket, bought an egg-coated with chocolate from a popular brand. As he nipped on the egg with innocent delight, a tiny toy representing an AGCC man began to unfold.

Oooh...he's a po' li'l victim, isn't he? (BTW, "AGCC" stands for "Arab Gulf Countries Council"; just thought y'all would like to know that.)

The caricature figure, which was clad in the well-known Arab traditional attire, the Kandora, Ugal and Ghatra (head cover), was seated on an oil barrel holding a petrol-station hose with its gun pointed to his head.

Perhaps Arabs should stop wearing clothing that sounds like substances you'd rather not find in your underwear.

The manufacturers of this damaging evil-bearing chocolate egg had manufactured it in such an attractive design so as to entice the Arab child into believing that Arabs fed their minds with nothing but oil.

As opposed to the goofy crap they're generally stuffed with. If Arabs fed their minds with actual useful knowledge, the entire Middle East wouldn't be the oppressive third world shithole which it is today. (With the exception of Israel.)

And note the original article doesn't feature a picture, which I find curious.

The hidden evil and vicious messages were directed particularly to Arab children who have lately been targets of anti-Arab stratagems meant to brainwash them and distort the way they conceived their own identity.

As bloodthirsty, misogynistic animals.

This message of course was not understood by the little kid who asked his parents what the toy was.

So what's the real point of this article, then?

The issue was brought to the attention of the authorities who investigated the complaint. Dubai Municipality is expected to issue a statement today on the issue and will, according to sources take serious and drastic measures to remove the item from markets since it aims at marring the Arab character, dignity, culture and psyche.

Because their delightful, relevant and oh-so-worthwhile culture is incapable of withstanding any mockery whatsoever.

Khaleej Times interviewed an official in Dubai Municipality for his comments on the issue. He said that the food control section of the public health is the body which controlled and monitored food items sold in the emirate's markets.

He said that foodstuff specimens are subjected to lab tests in order to ascertain their compatibility with the civic body's rules and regulations regarding food safety, and  explained that Dubai Municipality couldn't test all chocolate-eggs samples and see their contents because  each egg contained a different toy. But when Dubai Municipality finds such violation it takes action against the companies which tried to market such items here.

Customs officials told Khaleej Times that they inspected  the entry of general commodities imported to UAE, but in regard to import of  foodstuffs, vaccines, medicines, drugs and agricultural products they worked closely with Dubai Municipality, the Ministry of Health  and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The officials commented that the customs department was not provided with the required specifications that can govern their work and that some commodities which were banned in other AGCC countries were allowed here, adding that commodities did enter the UAE from the same avenues and that is why inspection over them was a hard task.

Nice to see that bureaucracies are the same everywhere, including diseased, 7th Century cultures. See, underneath it all, we really are more similar than different.

In a reaction to the case in question, one outraged UAE citizen said: "The manufacturer of the toy had proved that their knowledge about the Arabs and AGCC nationals was limited to what is being fed to them by their local TV channels. They don't educate themselves to know more about Arabs before voicing out such ignorant and laughable comments. They should realise that oil and wealth are not the only things that Arabs have, Arabs have proved that they are intelligent and have the capacity to think and achieve economic development based on resources other than oil," he added.

Bwahahahaha!

Right. The manufacturer could not possibly have gotten that idea because of, let's say, riots over a bunch of cartoons or Salman Rushdie's knighthood.

I'd love to know precisely what great intelligence and economic development the alleged "outraged UAE citizen" was referring to. I call shenanigans; "Arab culture" is a brobingnagian oxymoron which is demonstrated by their actions on a daily basis.