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I can only imagine that Dubai will one day be seen as a punctuation mark on the architectural follies of the past half century. This off-the-shelf city state has been built on laundering the profits of oil, drugs, arms and western aid.

Mohammed Al-Maktoum's failing has been his belief that megalomania is best when done big. He built a giant port and a giant airport, a giant stock exchange, giant finance sector and giant shopping mall. Dubai is a monument to big-must-be-beautiful.
[u]

Read the full story here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... ntBox=true

Does this guy know that there is a recession going on all over the world. He doesn't say that the economic turmoil has an impact on Dubai, as it is having everywhere else. And did he begin by saying the first time he saw Dubai was from the airplane while flying over? Is that the closest he has been to Dubai? Another expert on Dubai who appears to have learned everything he knows from being outside of Dubai.

If he wants to do good reporting, come to Dubai, meet with people who can provide information and see Dubai, and possibility some of his predictions would fall short if he experienced Dubai first hand.

Crystal balls and tarot cards must be very popular.

DPS wrote:
I can only imagine that Dubai will one day be seen as a punctuation mark on the architectural follies of the past half century. This off-the-shelf city state has been built on laundering the profits of oil, drugs, arms and western aid.

Mohammed Al-Maktoum's failing has been his belief that megalomania is best when done big. He built a giant port and a giant airport, a giant stock exchange, giant finance sector and giant shopping mall. Dubai is a monument to big-must-be-beautiful.
[u]

Read the full story here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... ntBox=true

Different opinion than mine, but an enjoyable article if you put on the sarcastic hat for a moment.
I'll give an example, a truly tickling one in my case. RLMAO

[quote:]
"Just as visitors to the Middle East see half-built, mostly abandoned concrete housing blocks and barracks littering the landscape of Syria and Jordan, so the towers of Dubai will become casualties not of human greed but of architectural folly. Their lifts and services, expensive to maintain, will collapse. Their colossal facades will shed glass. Sand will drift round their trunkless legs. Animals will inhabit their basements." [end quote]

If this would be the case, I know one little mutant cat that already inhabits one of them towers

There is a reason why there are so many doom and gloom articles about Dubai. Its because the official versions or PR Releases cover the other extreme, i.e. deny there are any problems and insist its boom time as usual. Throughout the world, retailers have been trying to attract consumers by price reductions. Here, everyone from schools to car dealers are trying to increase prices by pretending all is fine....

LMAO..
Very entertaining, I must say..

"Rivals such as Dohar, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain - especially as they are now bailing out Dubai - may welcome its swift return to the desert ecology"

Doha + Qatar = Dohar..

Simon Jenkins seems to be enjoying the hardship suffered by Dubai...

God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Like others do on optimism....

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

Any coincidence that most of the Dubai bashing media is based out of UK?

DPS wrote:Any coincidence that most of the Dubai bashing media is based out of UK?

Probably because the majority of posts on DF about the negative talk are linked to UK newspaper agencies.

Maybe find a few Australian or American ones? Or from Europe, plenty left. All opinion editorial articles, as independant agencies don't view news from one side.

Those are mostly all Op-Ed articles.

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

The one with the worst social life, tucked far away beyond the new library.

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

The one with the worst social life, tucked far away beyond the new library.

Lol. The Notorius SOE. Glad that you made it to shore.

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

The one with the worst social life, tucked far away beyond the new library.

Lol. The Notorius SOE. Glad that you made it to shore.

Yeah, scarred me for life. I don't even practice engineering now. I became a driver.

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

The one with the worst social life, tucked far away beyond the new library.

Lol. The Notorius SOE. Glad that you made it to shore.

Yeah, scarred me for life. I don't even practice engineering now. I became a driver.

why...but you're probably getting paid less than your engingeering job I suppose...

gtmash wrote:
Yeah, scarred me for life. I don't even practice engineering now. I became a driver.

funny dude...,

i too drive ...

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:

gtmash wrote:

Snow wrote:God, some people love to pig out on pessimism.

Interesting and original line. You learn that at AUS?

I see you not a big fan of AUS. Have I met you before?

Maybe. I was there till '07.

Me till August 2006...which school?

The one with the worst social life, tucked far away beyond the new library.

Lol. The Notorius SOE. Glad that you made it to shore.

Yeah, scarred me for life. I don't even practice engineering now. I became a driver.

why...but you're probably getting paid less than your engingeering job I suppose...

People like me and Sharfraz, we are simple happy people.

DPS wrote:I can only imagine that Dubai will one day be seen as a punctuation mark on the architectural follies of the past half century. This off-the-shelf city state has been built on laundering the profits of oil, drugs, arms and western aid.

Mohammed Al-Maktoum's failing has been his belief that megalomania is best when done big. He built a giant port and a giant airport, a giant stock exchange, giant finance sector and giant shopping mall. Dubai is a monument to big-must-be-beautiful.
[u]

He's pretty much repeating the Germaine Greer Dubai article (which was full of holes). Funny, that was also in the Guardian.

Jenkins needs to learn a bit of history. Sheikh Rashid initiated port Rashid (1972) and Jebel Ali (1979), Dubai Airport (1960). Sheikh Mohammed didn't become Crown Prince until 1995 and ruler of Dubai until 2006.

Dubai has been a trading center for over 100 years and a Guardian target for bulls**t for only a couple of years.

People like me and Sharfraz, we are simple happy people...

I'm not getting what you mean by that.

Snow wrote:People like me and Sharfraz, we are simple happy people...

I'm not getting what you mean by that.

if i may ask what is recession..

will you understand now...

we're simple...

Recession...happy simple. Are you a gigolo?

is that what you ask ... or looking out....

there was a post about that before...a few members even replied and gave their contacts...go figure...

sharfraz wrote:is that what you ask ... or looking out....

there was a post about that before...a few members even replied and gave their contacts...go figure...

What if they get calls from men now?

Simon Jenkins is getting a real roasting in some of the comments. I left my opinion yesterday.

Del wrote:Simon Jenkins is getting a real roasting in some of the comments. I left my opinion yesterday.

eh...

what were the comments and your opinion!!!


is it related to this post?

Simon Jenkins may have a point. How many of you people posting here
actually really feel that you are Dubaiites? I bet not the majority. You have to renew your residence visas every three years, dont you? You hope, Inshallah, you will have it renewed again in three years....or
maybe not. Depends, isnt it? Maybe greener pastures bekon, and then you will have left. Or maybe, the economic recession deepens still further,
or even worse, the Islamists begin to have thier way. Dubai is a fun city,
but its definitely all glitter and tinsel. It does not appear to have a human soul, just a hollowness, which could go either way.

zonker wrote:Simon Jenkins may have a point. How many of you people posting here
actually really feel that you are Dubaiites? I bet not the majority. You have to renew your residence visas every three years, dont you? You hope, Inshallah, you will have it renewed again in three years....or
maybe not. Depends, isnt it? Maybe greener pastures bekon, and then you will have left. Or maybe, the economic recession deepens still further,
or even worse, the Islamists begin to have thier way. Dubai is a fun city,
but its definitely all glitter and tinsel. It does not appear to have a human soul, just a hollowness, which could go either way.

Good for you and Canada

sharfraz wrote:

Del wrote:Simon Jenkins is getting a real roasting in some of the comments. I left my opinion yesterday.

eh...

what were the comments and your opinion!!!


is it related to this post?

You find the comments if you click on Comments.

Mine started with: Loss-of-face is a big thing among the Arabs. Therefore Abu Dhabi will not allow Dubai to be consumed by dunes with wild animals inhabiting its buildings, as per Simon's wishes.