Fascinating place, no?

I'm simultaneously captivated and repelled by the mountains of money being spent there. Having completed construction of the first of the three 'Palm Islands'...


http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/palm_islands/images/palm_jumeirah.jpg



and with work on the the 300 artificial islands (with purchase prices of between 6.2 and 32.7 million dollars) that make up 'The World' expected to complete in 2008...

http://jheer.org/blog/archives/Dubai_500_500.jpg



work on the Burj Dubai, scheduled to be the world's tallest building, has recently reached level 116, with the height currently standing at 406.5 m (1,335 ft).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/439295159_262aaca1f9.jpg


See here (http://necromanc.blogspot.com/2006/02/dubai-projects.html) for more incredible ongoing and future projects. Be sure to check out the Hydropolis (a $500/night underwater hotel, assembled entirely in Germany) and the tasty-looking Ski Dome.

From the Burj Dubai website:

http://www.burjdubai.com/

The goal of Burj Dubai is not simply to be the world’s highest building. It’s to embody the world’s highest aspirations.

Burj Dubai looks different depending on where you’re standing. For those living nearby, it is a shining accomplishment – tangible proof of Dubai’s central role in a growing world. For those standing in other global capitals, it is a shining symbol – an icon of the new Middle East: prosperous, dynamic, and successful.

In fact, Burj Dubai is both. It is a fact – an unprecedented example of international cooperation – and a symbol – a beacon of progress for the entire world.

It is not by chance that it is being built in Dubai. In less than thirty years, this city has transformed itself from a regional center to a global one. This success was not based on oil reserves, but on reserves of human talent, ingenuity and initiative.

A vision this bold requires visionaries. Creating the centerpiece for a new world capital attracted the world's most esteemed designers, developers and builders. One of them is the tower's architect, Adrian Smith.

As a consulting design partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill - the global leader in creating supertall structures - Adrian Smith has had a hand in several of the world's tallest buildings. With Burj Dubai, he - and the world - will surpass them all.

So, what do you think? Is the amount of money being spent here obscene? Do these projects, which represent the leading edge of man's ability on the architectural front, make the world a better place? Is this a vision of what the Middle East can be?

Discuss.

USA and the rest of the world will soon has a much feared opponent...Saudi Arabia

Big article in National Geographic a few months ago on the waterborn artificial isthmus in Dubai. Interesting. But not an option in hurricane/typhoon areas, I wouldn't think.
I wonder when we will build underwater?

There's no such thing as real mermen, Genji.

There's no such thing as real mermen, Genji.That's a good thing. I don't like guys with scales, unless it's related to..:m:

Heh.

Fascinating place, no?

I'm simultaneously captivated and repelled by the mountains of money being spent there.

Me too. Its awesome to think of the possibilities of imagination and yet depraved to spend so much money on architecture. I'm torn, its beautiful and decadent.

i think it is great, in some way's it is some kind of gift to humanity. even if 99.9% of the population (future ones too) will never physically see it. i would assume you could'nt just walk up to it in bermuda shorts wothout being interrogated.

it beat's cocaine, hookers and gaudy palaces though.

I'm not torn. This money should be spent on the people; or on suitable social gains elsewhere. What a bloody monstrosity.

I stopped at Dubai airport on way to/back from India. It looks to be a very modern architecturely defined place.

I'm not torn. This money should be spent on the people; or on suitable social gains elsewhere. What a bloody monstrosity.

Hmm bet you never spend any money on art, cinema, Christmas decorations and other such cultural hangovers. Give it all to charity, I bet.:p

I spend a modicum on those things; but not $32.7 million dollars. My evil paymasters in Jerusalem simply won't front the cash.

This is a ridiculous example of overweening capitalism. Appalling.

I spend a modicum on those things; but not $32.7 million dollars. My evil paymasters in Jerusalem simply won't front the cash.

This is a ridiculous example of overweening capitalism. Appalling.

You haven't seen the amount of money women spend on cosmetics then.:D

I've seen; it is not encouraging. Natural beauty is best. Within reason of course.

It's all the vile, distasteful, fake glitz and shimmer of Las Vegas and Beverly Hills on steroids.

It makes me want to retch.

Not even because of the vulgar display of wealth gained in the parasitic capitalist system, and, what's more, wealth that was gained in the foul oil trade business.
Put aside, also the destruction of natural barrier reefs to build it.
All that aside - even if it did not cost a dime, and ever worker willingly volunteered time, it is still foul.

I prefer natural beauty. and this is about as far as you can get from it.
This is the Pamela Anderson/Paris Hilton version of architecture and landscaping.
It disgusts me on every level.

So, no... I'm not torn at all.

Dubai is disgusting city, the water there is horrible. And yes they spend money on useless junk like those man-made islands.

It perpetuates the romanticisation of wealth and glamour and capitalist monetary noise making. It's a deliberate attempt on the psyche of the bourgeousie and the proliteriat to get them clamouring and yammering for this "experience" this bought "specialness" that 'they, too, could have...if only they climbed a little harder'. Artificial islands, I ask you.

Wait, what was that about Pamela Anderson again? I mean, come on, let's not get crazy here.

Yes, Pamela Anderson and Dubai.

It's fake.
It's trash.
It's plastic.
It's pathetic.

The only worth it has is superficial (and I don't even think THAT is pretty).
It is an attempt to escape nature, life and reality by living in a sugar coated, world on a constant high.
It's Prozac, Valium, Viagra and Silicone.
It's the American fucking dream.

Yes, Pamela Anderson and Dubai.

It's fake.
It's trash.
It's plastic.
It's pathetic.

The only worth it has is superficial (and I don't even think THAT is pretty).
It is an attempt to escape nature, life and reality by living in a sugar coated, world on a constant high.
It's Prozac, Valium, Viagra and Silicone.
It's the American fucking dream. I don't know why u hate it so much, when its both an architectural and psychological feat. Waste of money? probably yes, but what else is money used for if not waste. You should know by now that rich people literaly live in Paradise city, any place as far away from reality and peasants as possible. I like the Palm Island, its amazing we can occassionaly go out on the limb and do somethings like.

Like I said, the waste of money isn't even the point.

I don't know why u hate it so much, when its both an architectural and psychological feat. Waste of money? probably yes, but what else is money used for if not waste. You should know by now that rich people literaly live in Paradise city, any place as far away from reality and peasants as possible. I like the Palm Island, its amazing we can occassionaly go out on the limb and do somethings like.

It's atrocious and it promotes an atrocious ethic, to say nothing of the actual money wastage.

It's an amazing feat to create islands when and where we want them and to build taller and taller buildings. We're getting better at it, too.

It is fairly pointless, on a global scale. To the developers, it's their retirement and then some. To the people who buy these places, it's keeping up with the Joneses and something to discuss at social gatherings. I'd say that the money will do some good. If you think about the amount of worker migrants who have gone to the UAE and are involved in the booming construction trade, then money is being moved around that part of the world quite well. They probably send money home to relatives, wives, family and so on, and the money is spent in their community.

The kind of people who have shitrakes of money to spend usually feel guilt-tripped or socially responsible to give money to charity, often to be seen giving money to charity, even if it's only to make themselves feel good.

Without the real estate, the islands, the glitz and the glam, I doubt any of these incredibly wealthy people would hand over any money. Without the construction, a lot of migrant workers would have less or no work, and I doubt money would spread as well to poor families throughout Africa the Middle East and Asia. Even if it isn't intentional, charitable effects are probably being seen more than if the construction didn't happen.

http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07141/dubai.jpg

the following are proposed projects.

http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07141/projects.jpg

pretty soulless city among empty people.

Wow... the difference between '91 and '05 is ridiculous. Where do they get all that money?

Wow... the difference between '91 and '05 is ridiculous. Where do they get all that money?

black gold, where else. good, while it lasts.

I wonder when we will build underwater?

Google for Hydropolis Hotel in Dubai

http://www.hydropolis.com/main_entry_select.png

I've been informed that the building is done mostly by migrant workers from India. UAE does not give citizenship to foreigners, so those workers (who now make up a considerable portion of the population) live with no rights in awful conditions.

I've also been told that UAE has exhausted its oil reserves and is now servicing oil companies. The opportunities in finance and banking are great there.

That city is a great feat! Yes, it's all for artistic value and not much more, but consider that humans have been creating objects of plain artistic value ever since stone age. The architectural achievements in Dubai are a cool contribution to human civilization. If they can afford to do it, then why not? The money for the building projects comes from the citizens' pockets and it is the natives who live and work in the beautiful residential complexes. It's a great tourist attraction as well as a place where ex-patriots like to stay to make money and relax. American and Russian elite chill there all the time.

Switzerland makes most money from Finance, so why not Dubai? It is catching on. Ghana is setting up a free money zone too. No questions asked, hoping to collect money from the African despots.

The problem with such massive and complex structures is that, if money runs out, due to a short term world financial hickup, they will abandon the place because it takes a lot of workers to maintain those.

It is like those scifi movies, where they show these advanced technical civilizations waging wars and taking on slaves (like stargate) but never show the foundation of the technology products where they need highly educated people to produce these stuff.

Without a support structure, the society will crumble. Until then, enjoy while it lasts....

I spend a modicum on those things; but not $32.7 million dollars. My evil paymasters in Jerusalem simply won't front the cash.

This is a ridiculous example of overweening capitalism. Appalling.

Is 32.7 the real number? Seems impossibly low.

Your movie going to 32.7 million is is like what 32.7 million to military budgets imo.

Dubai is disgusting city, the water there is horrible. And yes they spend money on useless junk like those man-made islands.

Have you been there? I have, and it's fucking amazing. Very peaceful actualy. If I had the dough, I'd move there in a New York minute!

~String

You don't want to know about the numbers of lives lost to make such locations prosper in regards to the oil industry.

according to some people on this board it's only the americans that suffer from corporate greed, it's only america that walks on the backs of the poor.
objective indeed.

Have you been there? I have, and it's fucking amazing. Very peaceful actualy. If I had the dough, I'd move there in a New York minute!

~String

never been there...but they disgust me.

My grandparents live there. They took me to the Ice Bar. It was FREAKING AWESOME. Exemplary architecture and very innovative.

Like I said, the waste of money isn't even the point.

So you don't like people making aesthetic improvements to their environment or you just don't like their taste?

I remember reading a quote from a Roman Senator visiting the Great Pyramids and lamenting what a colossal waste of time, energy and money building them were. But who could imagine a world without those monuments. Dubai is building a legacy.

I remember reading a quote from a Roman Senator visiting the Great Pyramids and lamenting what a colossal waste of time, energy and money building them were. But who could imagine a world without those monuments. Dubai is building a legacy.

I don't get why people criticize other people for building something artistic and beautiful. People have always starved and lived in horrible conditions-- if we forwent all artistic expression out of some passion for the redistribution of wealth (and wealth has always been the patron of the arts), then there'd be nothing worth remembering. The old world is loaded with fulsome expenditures which people respect as historic and vital to our culture, but when modern society does the same thing we get lots of annoying caterwauling about that smack of proletariat utilitarianism.

Societies rise and fall, but it's the art that are remembered.

~String

I'm not sure about the Islands, with global warming and islands in the pacific sinking under the rising water, maybe a waste of money. But I really like the mega structure / super sky scraper they are building. ITS HUGE. Anyway, what is money anyway? It's not going to feed the starving because its not edible. It simply a manner in which to motivate people to work.

So I say keep building Dubai!

Also, Dubai needs to remake itself in order to be relevant in a oil-less world. They are literally building their future.

Looks like a good location for a few pounds of antimatter.

Saw on the net: (http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/94/art_20_Reasons_Not_Move_to_Dubai.html)

August 2007

Living in Dubai is not wonderful and glamorous, as many would have you believe. Forget about what you’ve read, seen, and heard; those shiny buildings and manmade islands are all just smoke and mirrors. There are so many things wrong with this place that I have decided to compile a list, a must read if you are considering a potential move to Dubai.

1. There is no standard address system making mail-to-the door delivery impossible. In fact, it makes anything nearly impossible. The taxi driver, here for only two days, and having learned English from old Beatles albums has no clue where your house is. He won’t tell you that of course, he’ll just keep calling and saying, “Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah.” When you purchase something that requires delivery they do not have an address line, but a box where you are expected to draw a map. Not able to draw a map? Explain like this: I live on the street after the airport road, but before the roundabout. Go past the mosque and make a U-turn.

2. The government blocks all web sites that it deems “offensive” to the “religious, moral, and cultural values” of the UAE. That’s hard to swallow for a freedom loving American, but I get it. I do not understand, however, why all VOIP access and related web sites are blocked. I guess the government also takes offense to people inexpensively contacting their families back home. You’re welcome to call using the analog service provided by the government-owned telephone monopoly, but it will cost you a whole lot more. So much so, in fact, your frequency of calls will be greatly diminished if you can afford them at all. The government says VOIP is blocked for security reasons, yet even the residents of communist China and North Korea have access to these inexpensive calls.

3. It is really hot outside. Not Florida in July hot; Hot as if you were locked in a car in Florida in July with sufficient humidity to make it feel as though you are drowning. Hot as in 120 degrees with nearly 100% humidity. Do not look to the wind for relief. This is the equivalent of pointing a hairdryer on full blast directly at your face. Pour fine moon dust-like sand over your head as you do this and you get the picture.

4. There are too few trees, plants, and grass – or living things aside from us crazy humans, for that matter. Ever see a bird pant? I have. In my opinion, human beings were not meant to live in such a place. If we were, there would be sufficient water and shade. The only greenery around are the roadside gardens planted by the government, who waters the hell out of them in the middle of the day. Thanks a lot! Didn’t you say we should cut down on our water consumption because you are unable to keep up with the demand? I have an idea: let’s all move someplace where it’s not 120 degrees outside.

5. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided. This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee. Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching anything either. Oh yeah. It’s 120 degrees in there too.

6. This country encourages businesses to hire people from other poor countries to come here and work. They have them sign contracts that are a decade long and then take their passports. Even though taking passports is supposedly illegal, the government knows it happens and does nothing to enforce the law. These poor people are promised a certain pay, but the companies neglect to tell them they will be deducting their cost of living from their paychecks, leaving them virtually penniless – that is, if they choose to pay them. Companies hold back paychecks for months at a time. When the workers strike as a result, they are jailed. Protesting is illegal, you see (apparently this law IS enforced).

These people will never make enough to buy a ticket home and even if they do, they do not have their passports. They live crammed in portables with tons of others, in highly unsanitary conditions. The kicker: they are building hotels that cost more to stay in for one night than they will make in an entire year. Things are so bad that a number of laborers are willing to throw themselves in front of cars because their death would bring their family affluence in the form of diya, blood money paid to the victim’s family as mandated by the government.

7. Things are not cheaper here. I’m sick of people saying that. I read the letters to the editor page of the paper and people say to those who complain about the cost of living rising here, “Well, it’s cheaper than your home country or you wouldn’t be here.” The only thing cheaper here is labor. Yes, you can have a maid – but a bag of washed lettuce will cost you almost $10.

8. There are traffic cameras everywhere. I consider this cheating. Where are the damn cops? I drove around this city for weeks before I ever even saw a cop. Trust me, they need traffic cops here. People drive like idiots. It’s perfectly okay to turn left from the far right lane, but speeding even just a couple of kilometers over will get you fined. These cameras are placed strategically as you come down hills, or just as the speed limit changes. Before you know it…BAM! Fined. Forget to pay the bill and your car will be impounded..

9. The clothing some of these women wear makes no sense to me. I understand that as part of your religion you are required to dress in a particular way, but a black robe over your jeans and turtleneck and cover your head when it is 120 degrees outside? In the gym some women wear five layers of clothing…sweatpants and t-shits over sweaters with headscarves. Yet the men’s clothing makes absolute sense: white, airy, and nothing underneath but their skivvies.

10. People stare at you. I am sick of being stared at. I’m stared at by men who have never seen a fair-skinned blue-eyed woman before, or who have and think we are all prostitutes so it’s okay to stare. They stare at me when I am fully covered or with my husband, and even follow me around. It’s beyond creepy and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The staring is not limited to men, either. I’m stared at angrily by female prostitutes who think I am running in on their territory by having a few drinks with my husband at the bar.

11. Prostitutes? Oh hell yes, there are prostitutes. Tons of them. So, let me get this straight, I can’t look at a naked picture of a person on the Internet in the privacy of my home, but it is okay to go out in public and buy a few for the night?

12. Alcohol can only be sold in hotels and a handful of private clubs. A person must own a liquor license to consume in the privacy of their own home. To obtain a liquor license you must get signed approval from your boss, prove a certain level of salary that determines how much you are allowed to buy, and then submit several mug shots (aka passport photos) for approval. Pay the fee and the additional 30% tax on every purchase and you may drink at home. Then again, you can just pick up a few bottles in the airport duty free on your way in to the country, but two is the max. Why not just drive out to Ajman where it’s a free-for-all and load up the SUV? It’s easy enough, but crossing the Emirates with alcohol is illegal – particularly in the dry emirate of Sharjah, which just happens to lie between Dubai and Ajman. Go figure.

13. Not only do you have to get your boss’s approval to obtain a liquor license, but you must also get the company’s approval to rent property, have a telephone, or get satellite TV.

14. Back to the craziness on the roads: If I see one more kid standing up and waving to me out the back window while flying down the road at 160 kph…whatever happened to seatbelts?

15. When is the weekend again? Let me get this straight: the weekend used to be Thursday and Friday, but no one took off all of Thursday, just a half day really. Now the government says Friday and Saturday are the weekend, but some people only take off Friday, others still take a half day on Thursday, but some might just take a half day on Saturday instead. Anyway you slice it, Sundays are workdays and little business can be accomplished Thursday through Saturday.

16. There are few satellite television operators:. The movie channels play movies that are old and outdated. Many of them went straight to video back in the States. Every sitcom that failed in the US has been purchased and is played here. Old episodes of Knight Rider are advertised like it is the coolest thing since sliced bread. The TV commercials are repeated so often that I am determined NOT to buy anything I see advertised on television here just for thee principle of it. When I say repeated often, I mean every commercial break - sometimes more than once.

17. The roads are horribly designed. Driving ten minutes out of the way to make a U-turn is not uncommon. People are not able to give directions most of the time (remember reason #1), and the maps are little help because most have few road names on them, if any. Where is interchange four? You just have to hope you got on the freeway in the right place and start counting because they are not numbered. Miss it and you’ll likely end up on the other side of town before you are able to turn around and go back.

18. Taxi drivers are dangerous and smell. Taxi drivers work very hard here to earn a living because travel by taxi is still relatively inexpensive, even though the cost of living is not (see reason #7). Because of this you may have a driver who has had little sleep or the opportunity to shower for several days. Many of these drivers have just as much difficulty finding their way around as you do, but add to this a third-world country driving style and extreme exhaustion and, well, remember to buckle up for safety.

19. Speeding is an Emirati sport and Emirates Road is just an extension of the Dubai Autodrome. I know I keep mentioning the roads, but really, much of this city’s issues are encompassed by the erratic and irrational behavior displayed on its streets. Visions of flashing lights on even flashier, limo-tinted SUVs haunt me as I merge on to the highway. Local nationals are somehow able to get the sun-protecting dark window tint denied to us lowly expats and use it to hide their faces as they tailgate you incessantly at unbelievably high speeds, their lights flickering on and off and horn blaring repeatedly. It doesn’t matter that you can’t get over, or if doing so would be particularly dangerous, they will run you off the road to get in front of you. Don’t even think about giving someone the finger; the offense could land you in jail. Tailgating is, unbelievably, legal.

20. Dubai is far from environmentally friendly. Ever wonder how much damage those manmade islands are doing to the delicate ocean ecosystem? Coral reefs, sea grasses, and oyster beds that were once part of protected marine lands lie choked under a barrage of dredged up sea sand. Consider the waste that occurs from erecting buildings on top of these sand monsters and from the people that occupy them coupled with the lack of an effective recycling program and you have an environmental disaster on your hands. Add to this more gas guzzling SUVs than fuel-efficient cars on the road and the need for 24-hour powerful air-conditioning and its evident that the environment is not high on the priority list of the UAE.

So while I’m sure there are benefits to living in Dubai, tax breaks, multi-cultural environments, and beautiful buildings aside, reconsider your plans to move here if any of the above mentioned reasons strikes a chord within you. Dubai is a city caught in an identity crisis. Struggling somewhere between its desire to be a playground for the rich and its adherence to traditional Islamic roots, rests a city that lacks sufficient infrastructure to support its delusions of grandeur. Visit if you must, but leave quickly before you are sucked into its calamitous void.

Looks like a good location for a few pounds of antimatter.

A friend of mine's father runs a University in UAE. He gets $5 million for 3 years work.
So nice for him.
His wife and family refuse to move to UAE though so he is all alone. But my friend visited her dad on vacation. She said she made friends with some European chick while she was there. Tall blond blue eyes. Anyway, she said they were walking together (this new friend has lived in UAE for over 10 years) and laborers (guys probably from Pakistan - her words) would reach under their robes and start jerking off - all while following behind and staring. She got freaked out and told this girl so much.
The girl was like: "??? what's the matter?"
Kirsty (my friend): "Those guys!"
The girl: "Who?"
Kirsty: Those guys are staring at us!
The girl (and I quote) "OH, those, I think of them as the Arabs think of them."
Kirsty: What do you mean?
The girl: Just think of them as dogs and they won't bother you all all.
Kirsty: :bugeye:

Great Place the Islamic Middle East, God I can not wait for oil to be replaced and the whole place to return to dust without Western and Eastern $$$.
Michael

...

Hate to say it but many Pakis who work in the ME are like that, Muslim being the perfect example.

Hate to say it but many Euros who live in the ME are like that, Christians being the perfect example.

Tell your friend to turn around, look them in the eye and say "Allah is watching you" sternly. :D

Looks like a good location for a few pounds of antimatter.
I thought the same thing when I first saw the thing. But after a bit of thought...

Given the fact that there is so much starvation, genocide, and generally miserable living conditions for a huge portion of the worlds population, and so incredibly much money hoarded by the worlds rich (individuals and corporations) that even a fraction of it could alleviate the majority of the issues, the tiny bit of self-interest, arrogance, and hypocricy represented by this little thing is negligible.

It's only redeeming feature in my opinion is that it looks cool. Otherwise...

"Looks like a good location for a few pounds of antimatter."

Tell your friend to turn around, look them in the eye and say "Allah is watching you" sternly. :DHaa! That would have been funny. She was actually looking for work there but said that the Bedouins habitat was screwed and there is no money for that - which is what she wanted to research (ecology). So she went to Greece with her father as part of her vacation and back to New Zealand.

Her actual words were "touching themselves" I translated into guy lingo :)

I thought the same thing when I first saw the thing. But after a bit of thought...

Given the fact that there is so much starvation, genocide, and generally miserable living conditions for a huge portion of the worlds population, and so incredibly much money hoarded by the worlds rich (individuals and corporations) that even a fraction of it could alleviate the majority of the issues, the tiny bit of self-interest, arrogance, and hypocricy represented by this little thing is negligible.I don't think people can eat money - can they?

Hate to say it but many Pakis who work in the ME are like that, Muslim being the perfect example.

Pakis? It’s not just the Pakis is it? I’ve seen that attitude from nearly all Desi’s (Freshies) from Pathans, Arabs, Turks, Somalis etc. (Freshies) – I see it a lot in Muslims from Muslim countries (Freshies). Sadly a lot of them don’t know anything (or simply ignore) what Islam says about modesty and they clearly don't know how to treat a woman. (generalisation)

Muslims born in the West are embarrassed with how Muslim immigrants react when they see women, especially white women. And regarding Muslim, he is okay, he doesn’t hassle girls like those idiots.

I'd rather they spend the money on buildings than on war.

me too :)

Or even better - on research :D

me too :)

Or even better - on research :D

you mean like research on better more effective nuclear weapons and vacuum bombs that can take everything out instantly?

I was thinking stem cells actually ....

I don't think people can eat money - can they?
Not directly, no. But, like matter can be converted into energy (and vice versa) I regularly convert money into food. There's more than enough money floating around out there that could be converted into food, shelter, health care, etc.

There's also more than enough food out there - which is the whole point. Money is just one tool.

There's also more than enough food out there - which is the whole point. Money is just one tool.
Yes. But the point (I thought) was that the cost of this little man-made bauble was a drop in the ocean compared to what's available in sheer resources to deal with the world's biggest problems.

I know money isn't the answer. The problem is human greed and stupidity.

The problem is human greed and stupidity.Too bad isn't it :(

Dubai is the finest city in the world.

Beautiful city, would love to visit it. Now if only the WHOLE mideast was like that!

I have to have trees. I mean serious forests of trees. Too much sand does my mind in. It's almost depressingly void of life IMO. I like to see a LOT of green, have a temperate climate and maybe an occasional day of cold and snow and during spring to smell the flowers and woods.

Perhaps, move back to 10,500 BC - you will see the area as tropical with lush green vegetation and rain....or move forward to another 22,000 years, you may see the same

I have been meaning to try out my new time machine for awhile .... :)

I have been meaning to try out my new time machine for awhile .... :)

well than can you meet me in the Past and tell him not to eat to listen to my Parents telling me what to eat? tell me that in the Past, Please.

well than can you meet me in the Past and tell him not to eat to listen to my Parents telling me what to eat? tell me that in the Past, Please.what was that? Tell you to listen to your parents or not to listen to them?

OK

Done.

what was that? Tell you to listen to your parents or not to listen to them?

OK

Done.

no...tell me to listen to my parents in everything except food. Dont make them force me eat food.

oh crap - sorry mate, did just the opposite :p

oh crap - sorry mate, did just the opposite :p

very very :mad::mad:

How do they expect to pay for the upkeep once their main source of money disappears(oil)?

They'll think of something

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22470574-462,00.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/24/ccdubai124.xml

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/09/10/dubai-china-india-markets-equity-cx_po_0910markets20.html

How do they expect to pay for the upkeep once their main source of money disappears(oil)?

By lending money at 30% to the African muslims......as is happening now.

They'll think of something

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22470574-462,00.html

That's not good. Not good at all.

It's never good for a country to become dependent on another country especially financially. All that means is when 1 country falls they both do.

Or, its in the interest of both parties to keep the other one going.

Or, its in the interest of both parties to keep the other one going.

True.

But humans don't like to play, someone is going to want to become the leader.

By lending money at 30% to the African muslims......as is happening now.

I hadn't heard that, do you have a link?

I thought it was mostly Saudi money?

By lending money at 30% to the African muslims......as is happening now.30%!?!? Shit. And I thought the IMF was bad - 30%...???
Do you have a link?

Have you been there? I have, and it's fucking amazing. Very peaceful actualy. If I had the dough, I'd move there in a New York minute!

~String
I've had the pleasure to visit Dubai twice and it is indeed a surreal place. They're literally building themselves a synthetic paradise out of the desolate desert abyss. I've promised my wife more than once that we'll return on a second honeymoon. Who knows how big it will be when that happens.

http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07141/dubai.jpg

Bloody hell thats unbelievable.

Yeah amazingly all the hard work is been done on the backs of under paid asian workers who themselves would never ever have the chance to set foot into these buildings.once they are complete.
The contractors who employ these workers are ruthless slave drivers while The local arabs sit in their air conditioned tents drinking tea watching these poor souls build these structures in the scorching heat!!!
Wonderful ain't it!!!