Time has an article (in the new issue, likely) about the Gulf: "The Lessons of Dubai".

Labels: Dubai, economy, Time

So by now have you heard of "PIGS" - as in (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain)?

Now Schott's Vocab tells us about a new acronym for the possible dominoes if Greece should fall - "STUPID" - as in (Spain, Turkey, UK, Portugal, Italy, Dubai).

Labels: Dubai, economy, NY Times, recession, wordplay

From the father-in-law comes a story from the New Yorker about Dubai's Burj Khalifa: "Castle in the Air".

Labels: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, New Yorker

I love reading Dubai's Gulf News when they talk about abandoned cars. The story is never about Dubai, you see, it's always about Abu Dhabi - even though Dubai was hit harder by the recession than Abu Dhabi was. It's almost as if Dubai cracks down on journalists more ...

Look, here's another article: "Abandoned cars waste parking space".

I like how it's not "how sad, I wonder where all the people went" and it's more "those cars are taking up parking spots that I need."

So Dubai.

Er, I mean, Abu Dhabi.

Labels: abandoned cars, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Gulf News

So did you see this one the other day? "Hamas Official Murdered in Dubai Hotel".

Yeah, apparently the Israeli Mossad assassinated Mahmoud al Madbouh, a leader and founder of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas.

It looks like the dude was electrocuted with household objects in his hotel room, and the perps were out of the country before his body was even discovered.

Crazy, crazy story if it's true - that's fairly risky for Mossad to kill someone in an Arab country.

Labels: assassination, Dubai, Hamas

From the father-in-law, from the Boston Globe: "O camel! my camel!".

Wow, this Chris Wright guy sounds like us a few years ago: he's an American in Dubai, we were Americans in Dubai. He's driving amidst the SUVs in a Toyota Yaris, we were driving around in a Toyota Echo. He's a real writer for the Globe and ... I was writing a silly website.

Anyway, for more on Nabati poetry, check out the always fun website for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

Labels: camel, Dubai, poetry

Hmm: "Victoria Beckham offered £25m to design ‘fashion hotel’ for Dubai".


Really, should she be allowed to design anything fashion related?

I mean, I don't know anything about fashion, but I've seen Barbie dolls more realistic than she.

And should Dubai be throwing around that kind of money ($40 million) these days? I think they'd both benefit if they just gave her a sandwich.

UPDATE: " Dubai denies inviting Victoria Beckham to design luxury hotel" - not only did they deny it, but the Director General of the Dubai Media Office used the opportunity to threaten publishers of false news with legal action - to "enhance media credibility".

Labels: bad idea, Dubai, hotel, Posh Spice

So big news from Dubai this morning is that Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, is reworking the workings of Dubai: "Dubai's Crown Prince Reorganizes Government".

Sheikh Hamdan, who goes by the handle "Fazza3", is still second in command to his father, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, the guy who got them into this mess, which the Wall Street Journal estimates at more than $80 billion.

Dang.

Labels: Dubai, economy, Fazza3

Waaay back in 2007 (remember the Aughts, kiddos?) I talked about Frenchman Alain Robert (known, much to Marvel Comics' chagrin, as "Spiderman") when he climbed the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority tower with his bare hands (see Spiderman in Abu Dhabi).

Well now it looks like to climb Dubai's Burj Khalifa: "French 'spiderman' eyes Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower: report".

Oh, I'm sure they'll love that.

Labels: Alain Robert, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, Marvel Comics

Hmm, so does this mean they'll rename the "Burj Khalifa" back to the "Burj Dubai"?

"Abu Dhabi's Dubai Aid Shrinks to $5 Bln".

Labels: Abu Dhabi, Burj Khalifa, Dubai

"Move The U.N. To Dubai"?

Why the hell not?

I've heard crazier ideas - like building a tower 1/2 mile tall ...

Labels: Dubai, UN

... no, this has nothing to do with the Burj Dubai Khalifa, they paid good money to rename that building. This is actually about Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan - brother of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi. And littl brother just got away with torture!

I swear I linked to the video here before, but I can't seem to find it, so here's a link (warning, it is messed up - you probably do not want to watch it. Seriousy. Don't watch it, just read a description - it'll astound you).

Anyway, yeah, he got off scot free, but the dudes who shot the video? Jail time (in absentia) and a fine.

The whole saga: "Sheik Acquitted in Abu Dhabi Torture Case".

Labels: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, literally salt on wounds, torture, torture with electric cattle prods, torture with lighter fluid and testicles, torture with Mercedes SUV, torture with planks wth nails

Oh. My. God.

"14 visitors trapped in Burj Khalifa elevator".

Labels: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, elevator, fail

I don't even know what to say about this article ... "Woman raped in Dubai charged for having illegal sex".

Labels: court, Dubai, justice

Yesterday the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, opened in Dubai. If you paid any attention to any media in the last twenty-four hours you saw something about it.

Back in my time in Dubai (Dubai photo gallery) I took a few photos of the mid-construction Burj. Here's one of my favorites:


Here's a rendering of what it would look like complete (obviously I've been home for a year and a half and don't have a good shot of the final tower):


When I returned home to Maine, I always wondered how the Burj would look in a city I'm familiar with. Drop the world's tallest building in Portland, you know?

Somewhere around then my father reminded me that the WGME Tower in Raymond was the world's tallest architectural structure back when he was a kid. How my grandfather used to eat lunch and watch the Navajo construction workers on the tip top (1,624 feet in the air) and how he was amazed and a little scared - heights are not the friend of the Edwards men.

So I got thinking - what if the world's tallest building was in Raymond, how would it stack up?

The Burj is 2,717 feet, so a thousand feet taller than the WGME tower. I didn't have any good photos of the tower (how does one get a good shot of an antenna?) but I did have a few shots of Portland and Boston, Mass.

So this is what it'd look like to plunk the Burj Khalifa in the middle of New England:

A good sight taller than the Pru

Towering over Portland's Back Bay

Labels: Boston, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, Portland

Wha?!

Breaking news from the AP: "Dubai renames world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa".

That's as in Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan the ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates.

Huh.

After the bailout I guess moving it the 75 miles down the street was just too difficult ....

Labels: Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Uh-oh. Hadn't heard this before - the Detroit, um ... pants ... bomber spent time in Dubai: "Abdulmutallab Spent 2 1/2 Months in Dubai".

According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was studying in a master's degree program at the Dubai campus of the University of Wollongong of New South Wales, Australia.

Imagine if he'd been at AUD in the MBA program a few years ago ...

Labels: Dubai, terror, Wall Street Journal

Dubai made the cover of BusinessWeek this week, and it's not wholly negative: "Why Dubai Matters".


So hey, that's something.

Labels: BusinessWeek, Dubai

Finally! An article about Dubai in the Wall Street Journal that's not about their crushing debt!

"Dubai Faces Higher Terrorism Threat In 2010".

Oh crap.

Labels: 2010, Dubai, terror, Wall Street Journal