Bastards!

Two things I need to get off my chest today. Cruelty to animals and Dubai driving.

I've read cruelty to animals stories in two papers today. Emirates Today has a feature on the increasing popularity of dog fights.

Highly organised, two different sets of rules - European and Asian, locally-bred dogs, prize money and huge bets.

Twenty-first century? We're back in the Dark Ages.

Then an awful story in Gulf News Saluki found in Abu Dhabi with jaw broken but still wagging his tail.

The poor animal was found with his jaw snapped, so badly disfigured that the person who found him thought he'd been shot. He was still trying to show he wasn't aggressive and wanted to be friendly by wagging his tail.

Sorry, but I have to include the photo to show just what sick, depraved bastards we have amongst us.


The vet, Dr Jonathan Hale, said the injury was about five days old and "he had been kicked out on the street". Dr Hale added that this was a 'particularly sad case' as the dog did not demonstrate any signs of violent behaviour when he was found. "There was no excuse for someone to injure him," he said. "I want to make people aware of these things, so we don't become accepting and blasé about it all. It won't change anything for this dog, but maybe it will help avoid something like this in the future." The dog had to be put down of course.

We need a complete change of attitude to animals, education from a young age, parental example...and we need to punish the sick bastards who do this. I mean draconian punishment. We need a deterrent to stop other sick bastards from doing it.

And for those who think I have my priorities wrong with so much inhumanity to people happening around the world, understand that people who carry out deliberate sadistic acts of cruelty on animals are one step from doing the same to people.

Moronic drivers.

The other thing that made my blood boil today is morons endangering other road users by their cretinous driving.

I drove from Dubai Marina into Knowledge Village, a distance of maybe six kilometres. At the beginning of the drive I was behind a car driving erratically. The blonde female driver was chatting on her mobile phone, which was much more important, obviously, than thinking about her driving.

At the Al Sufouh Road junction my filter light goes green, I go - and am nearly wiped out by a cretin doing an illegal U-turn into my path. It happens on this junction several times a week so I'm prepared and manage to miss him. When they sit at the lights there's a big sign next to them telling them that U-turns are not permitted. They can't miss it, so doing the illegal U-turn is obviously quite deliberate.

Stop at the next set of lights, they go green, I go - and am nearly wiped out by yet another cretin, this one jumping the red light to do a U-turn in my path, and he's talking on his mobile.

It's at this point that blondie I mentioned at the beginning comes past me - and she's still talking on her mobile.

By the way, ignore all the letters to the papers complaining about local and Asian drivers, these were all Caucasians.