A sombre tone set and New Year's Eve cancelled in Dubai

In response to the recent, dramatic escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza (read this excellent on-the-ground account by Ashraf Khalil and Rushdi Abou Alouf reporting for the LA Times), Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed has ordered that New Year's Eve celebrations be cancelled in Dubai in solidarity with the Palestinians (read about it here on The National and IHT). I love the way the leaders there can just do that. And while I pity the hotel managers, events coordinators and PRs who will be tearing their hair out as they call off glitzy parties, cancel just-flown-in DJs, tell the Beckhams they'll have to have a quiet night in with the Cruises at their Atlantis suite on The Palm (perhaps they can invite Shakira over?), and pray those 200 dozen oysters haven't been shucked yet (because in Dubai every hotel has a huge glamorous party - or three), the sombre tone the Sheikh wants to set will probably be welcomed by most Emiratis, much of the large Arab population, and the substantial number of Palestinians living in the UAE. Many would have been feeling guilty about celebrating tonight; I was feeling sorry for those who had to work. The Palestinian conflict is another thing I've been mulling over and, being in Australia, feeling a little helpless about. If I was in the UAE everybody would be discussing the crisis endlessly, on a daily basis, throughout the day. I worked in education in the UAE for many years, and I know from experience that the students would have been raising money for Red Crescent to send medical supplies, food, clothes, and so on. In Australia, everybody is focused on the holidays and the cricket, shark attacks, Paris Hilton, and best fireworks-viewing spots dominate the media. Nobody has reported yet on Israel posting video footage of their air strikes on YouTube. Air strikes in which over 370 Palestinians have been killed, including 40 children, and another 1,720 people have been wounded. I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty sick. Here, it seems as if for Australia the rest of the world doesn't exist. As much as I love my country, it's a reminder of why I don't live here. I want to know what's going on. I want to feel part of the global community. And that its problems are also mine.

Pictured? In keeping with the tone, an acacia blossoming after the rain last month in Alice Springs, an image of hope from the road.