Indecent dressing Dear Sir, I would like to appreciate the voice raised by the British people to ban vulgar, revealing and short dresses worn by some women (“Ban mini-skirts in offices”. Page 18, Gulf Times, January 16). Indecent dressing completely “ruins” the environment, whether in an office or a shopping mall. I think similar efforts must be made in Qatar too in order to ban vulgar and short dresses worn by some women here. As Qatar is an Islamic country, revealing dresses must be frowned upon. Other nationals living in Qatar, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, should respect the culture and rules of the host country. Nowadays, indecent dressing is on the rise among women in Qatar. Women in England themselves (67%) have called for a ban on short dresses. Those wearing revealing dresses have no shame at all. If England, a non-Muslim country, can adopt this stand, why aren’t Muslim countries making efforts to stop this shameful practice in their respective countries? Nida Ajmal Doha (e-mail address supplied) Most powerful or most entertaining? Dear Sir, Every year Forbes issues its “Most Powerful People” list. However, as years go by, this list is becoming more of a joke than anything else. Somehow Forbes cannot accept the reality that there is no satisfactory definition or criteria to determine the most powerful person in the world. When Forbes uses the word “powerful” what exactly does it mean? The word “powerful” has many meanings such as having or capable of exerting power, having great power or force or potency or effect, displaying superhuman strength or power, among others. If we are to consider having the most powerful person in the world, he must be in a position to control and influence Biota (the super-domain that classifies all life) on the planet earth, as well as beyond it. The only person who is capable of doing this is Superman, but he is just a fictional character. US President Barack Obama holds the first place on Forbes list as the “Most Powerful Person” in the world. Forbes writes: “Obama remains the unquestioned commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest military and head of its sole economic and cultural superpower.” But is the US the supreme power in our world and times? Forbes forgets that the US federal debt remains at a record high. The US national debt stands at $16.4tn. China is the biggest owner of US Treasury bonds, over $1.14tn, and Japan the second, over $1.11tn. In addition, China has the world’s largest army. Also, the US can never be cultural superpower. Why not? Well, the US is a very young country: an apple pie is recognised as a cultural icon of the US! The US is at number 13 in the world for oil reserves and third for oil production. We may assume then that the Forbes list is for entertainment purposes only; they are not to be taken seriously. Ivan Simic ivansimic10@gmail.com