editor Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I found this interesting article in The Times of London. So many people are obsessed with every little thing going on in Dubai today, it's worth reading.There's actually a lot more than seven interesting facts in the article. Sub-facts that I found interesting:Dubai is going to open its first subway in 2009. The slogan is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban909 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I found this interesting article in The Times of London. So many people are obsessed with every little thing going on in Dubai today, it's worth reading.There's actually a lot more than seven interesting facts in the article. Sub-facts that I found interesting:[*]Dubai is going to open its first subway in 2009. The slogan is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_oneal Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Bridge Collapse in Dubai Marinahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7085597.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Another neat fact: Dubai has more slaves per capita than any other city. Look for the bubble to burst when you uses slaves to build your faux-city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 This thread should probably have been titled, "7 Little Cared About Dubai Facts". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Let me expound on Coog's statements.Dubai has "guest workers" - They are foreign workers from India, Philippines, etc. that come to Dubai to do manual work. They serve as Dubai's cheap labor, as our illegal immigrants serve as our cheap labor.Some employers can be very abusive to the guest workers, so there are some human rights concerns about the treatment and legal rights of the workers.Another neat fact: Dubai has more slaves per capita than any other city. Look for the bubble to burst when you uses slaves to build your faux-city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Let me expound on Coog's statements.Dubai has "guest workers" - They are foreign workers from India, Philippines, etc. that come to Dubai to do manual work. They serve as Dubai's cheap labor, as our illegal immigrants serve as our cheap labor.Some employers can be very abusive to the guest workers, so there are some human rights concerns about the treatment and legal rights of the workers.I thought he meant camel jockeys. They do horrible things to little boys in UAE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddleman Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 They now have little machine on the camels' backs instead of little boys. The machine has a motor that turns a whip. The owners of the camels then race next to the track in their Land Rovers (or whatever vehicle) to watch the race and machine. Good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Fact #1 - It is a running joke that the rush hour.... starts at midnight and ends at 11.59pm.Fact #3 - The biggest discomfort in summer is not the heat but the humidity. Paradoxically, summer is the easiest time for visitors....to catch a cold. Nonresidents are easy to spot as they cough and sneeze their way between the muggy streets and the bone-dry air-conditioned buildings and malls. Hey, this sounds familiar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingman Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Something horrible and sad http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/world/mi...amp;oref=slogin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted November 10, 2007 Author Share Posted November 10, 2007 They now have little machine on the camels' backs instead of little boys. The machine has a motor that turns a whip. The owners of the camels then race next to the track in their Land Rovers (or whatever vehicle) to watch the race and machine. Good for them.Seriously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Seriously?I think since 2002-2004 they have. I've heard that Dubai's ruler was one of the largest holders of child slaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Something horrible and sad http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/world/mi...amp;oref=slogin It seems like the pressure from the West to lower anti-homosexual laws and feelings will transform Dubai - Dubai wants to appear Westernized and cultured, and I bet it will reform this aspect at least to a "Singapore" (Yes, Singapore does not like homosexuality) level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 I work with the O&G types downtown. There seems to be two schools of thought as far as Dubai (and China) go from people who have wokred there. Some just love them and think the USA should abdicated to all things to them. Then there are the ones who see them for what they are: opportunistic money chasers.Both Dubai, and espeically China (with the Olympics) are all about keeping up appearances. The Arab mantra will always be the Arab mantra, no matter how slick the presentation. And China will never let go of control over their people. Color me unimpressed with both, no matter how many skyscrapers they build with their slaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 I have a book about China called China Road...The reason why the sweatshop workers do not rebel is because they feel that they are making good wages (rural farm wages tend to be much less than sweatshop wages).Coog said: "Some just love them and think the USA should abdicated to all things to them. Then there are the ones who see them for what they are: opportunistic money chasers."Why not take the middle ground? The author of China Road does this... On one hand, he likes the determination of the Chinese to become a superpower and to finally end vicious history cycles, but on the other hand he dislikes the political realities of China and the corrupt effects of the government. See, the current "Communist" government is similar to various Chinese dynasties. The dynasties often came into power promising reform, became corrupt and autocratic, and collapsed.Now, Coog, that does not mean that democracy reformers have a good track record in China. The Chinese feel weary of that because the movements were either crushed or lead to the collapse of the government.To call the people who are not rural (Rural Chinese make up most of China, though) and not sweatshop laborers "slaves" is SOMEWHAT pushing it; the author of China Road refers to the Chinese government as having transformed the "birdcage" into an "aviary" - people cannot get into politics, but they may pursue any desire to make money.The author is angered by events such as the suppression of the Uighurs and the AIDS crisis in one of the Chinese provinces.By the way, the analogy regarding Chinese sweatshops also applies to the Dubai "guest workers" - they feel like they make better money in the UAE than they make at home (India, Philippines, etc.), so why should they stop working? Doesn't this apply to illegal immigrants in the United States?On one hand, we could pull the Gulf States (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar) closer to the West. On the other hand, they need to discard outdated and un-Western concepts (extreme anti-Homosexuality, citizenship laws, etc.) and improve human rights records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 And the 8th one. The biggest one in the world, in fact, and it will be large enough to give the famed fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas an inferiority complex.At 825 feet long, the unnamed fountain will be 25% larger than the Bellagio fountain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 See the benefit of high oil prices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voice of University Oaks Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 The ninth little-known Dubai fact: The trendy Jumeirah Beach bars and clubs are expensive and overrated. If you come to Dubai, ignore the entertainment advice found in Time Out Dubai and find a good watering hole in Deira or Bur Dubai. For me, it's the Old Vic at the Ramada. By the way: I like the "Middle East HAIFer" tag, but can we get one just for Dubai? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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