Sunday, June 14, 2009

Help Wanted



The Dragon is looking for a few special people to provide assistance with improving the service here at Muscat Confidential.

Applications should be sent to undercover.dragon (at) gmail (dot) com

Kudos: – Huge
Anonymity: 100% Guaranteed*
Salary: – er… well.. nil, to be honest

Positions Available

Oman Court Reporter
Omani newspapers don’t really report anything about what goes on in the courts, either civil or criminal, even though in theory it's public information. I’m looking for Omanis, preferably with some legal training, who already visit the courts regularly, are relatively fluent in English and Arabic, and can provide highlights of cases being heard before the courts on a bi-weekly basis.

Guest Columnists: ‘Ask an Omani’
Muscat Confidential would like to start a weekly “Ask an Omani” column. You should be fluent in English, and preferably be witty, articulate and intelligent. You will be able to concisely answer occasional questions from our readers on mysteries of Omani daily life, traditions, wasta, religion, culture, politics, history, tribes, etc.

Blog Post translators
Muscat Confidential is published in English. I’m looking for at least 2 volunteers to simply translate the posts into Arabic, so we can have an Arabic mirror version of Muscat Confidential.

Construction Contractors - Informants
Times are hard, and a lot of Expats are waiting to be laid off from the domestic construction industry. I’m looking for people who are currently working in the various construction contractors and who would like to send me info on how schedules and payments are going, who’s paying you – and who isn’t. I’ll also make sure the information we publish can’t be used to identify you.

Chamber of Commerce Researcher
Limited liability companies in Oman have to document who owns them in the official company register. Unfortunately, the register is only available in hard copy at the Omani Chamber of Commerce, and its in Arabic. I’m looking for someone who regularly visits the OCC and can get background information on who is behind various companies.

General Information Providers
Just been laid off? Shafted by the Omani Indian Mafia? Finally in a position to tell someone what you know is really going on? Have access to lots of good stories but your insane and small minded Editor won’t let you run with that great story? Tired of being a reporter when what you want is to be a real journalist? Why not join the ranks of Muscat Confidential’s extensive network of ‘little helpers’! The Dragon can’t be everywhere, but you can. Send me an email to the address above. Confidentiality assured*



*Disclaimer
I’ll admit it. If I find myself detained without charge by Internal Security and hooked up to electrodes and/or being water boarded up in the basement cells of the Dark Castle, I must admit… I’ll crack. In real life – unlike the movies – everybody turns out to be eager to cooperate when under that sort of pressure, trust me. I know I’ll be no exception. So apologies in advance.

10 comments:

  1. One important bit of news you guys might have missed out on is the fact the Somali pirates are now operating from Omani waters (according to Nato). An opportunity for the Omani Navy to prove themselves maybe?

    heres the full story:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8098365.stm

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  2. Hi UD....you should maybe also add a local Property Sleuth to your team who can give everyone the latest and greatest gossip on the Muscat markets ups and downs.

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  3. UD, nice steps to turn your conglomerate into a sprawling empire. Why don't you just have a homepage pointing to different blogs, wherein each 'blog' would be actually a column that you want. And to get those pages, just gather existing bloggers under your wing!

    P.S. Heard you're preferring Indians! =D


    -FK

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  4. I agree with FK,,, you need to figure out how to organize this whole thing. Its a great idea though.

    I can offer to help out in the "ask an Omani" section since my blog is already around that subject area.

    Reality

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  5. Hey Dragon, your humor- at its lowest ebb- has made the Oman Forum. Check it out. Abd

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  6. I did the same in my Arabic blog, and now i have more than 6 informers getting me news. They Are mostly from Unis or schools

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  7. Well Dragon- looks like you passed the OmanForum 'trial.' But try to keep your humor one step above Letterman's. OK. Abd

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  8. Naval air base to tackle piracy
    http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/02/02/stories/2009020250210600.htm

    In its bid to tackle the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, India is to set up a naval air base in Muscat, and the Omanese authorities are believed to have cleared India’s proposal in this regard.

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  9. "Omanese"...are they victims of interbreeding?

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  10. DA- If people of Ja-pan can be Ja-pan-ese why can't people of O-man be O-man-ese? Abd

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If you wish to post anonymously, please pick a nickname by selecting the Name/URL option, or at least sign off your comment with one! I will delete comments I find objectionable or needlessly inflammatory. Sorry for the word verification.... OMG the spam has gotten BAD these past 12 months... trying to avoid making one log in...