airport parking lot.

Quote :

"With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield. The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town. No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy. Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis. Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai’s Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?_r=1&em

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 12:07 PM. Reason : !]

2/12/2009 12:07:22 PM

damn - didn't 0EPII1 buy an investment property there?

2/12/2009 12:57:18 PM

All sorts of problems are come out in Dubai.

Here is an article about the feces beaches:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090210.wsewage10/BNStory/International/home

Quote :

"Dozens of sewage trucks, collecting human waste from Dubai's 1.3 million inhabitants empty their tanks directly into storm drains, like the one that leads to the sailing club. The drains are all connected, built to collect rainwater during Dubai's short wet season. According to truckers - mostly poor, South Asian workers - illegally dumping waste is a financial decision. In interviews, several explained they are paid by each truckload, to collect waste from the city's septic tanks. Many choose to flush trucks directly into storm drains to increase their earnings, avoiding lengthy line-ups at Dubai's only sewage treatment plant, a long drive away in the desert. "We are paid so poorly, we have no other choice," said one trucker, who did not want his name published because he feared being fined. Mr. Mutch spent several nights documenting the illegal dumping with his camera. He fired off letters to the municipality and to the departments of health, environment, and tourism with his photographic proof."

Quote :

"The pollution skirts the man-made Palm Island, where celebrities including David Beckham and Simon Cowell own million-dollar villas. Mr. Mutch first detected trouble on a walk on the beach last summer. "The stench was unbearable, and the water was a muddy brown. There was toilet paper in the sand," he recalled."

2/12/2009 1:09:22 PM

^ that's a shitty situation

2/12/2009 1:20:28 PM

I applaud Dubai's effort to shift oil into something else -- it shows a certain degree of foresight that a lot of other oil-rich folks seem to lack.

At the end of the day, though, I'm not sure a playground for the superwealthy was the way to go.

2/12/2009 3:15:35 PM

Quote :

"damn - didn't 0EPII1 buy an investment property there? "

That was my first thought when I read the article. I don't know if he bought it or not, but he defended the decision through a lot of criticism.

2/12/2009 4:05:28 PM

Dubai had to become something else because by 2016 its oil wells are dryer than an ocatgenarian's teat. its not some visionary city-state that wanted to craft a brave new world.

and the 99 quadrillion dollar question is why the Saudi's are never upfront about what they have left in the ground. if they have so much, why in buttfunk are they switching to NON-light sweet crude and doing silly shit like this:

http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=189080

(ok, maybe they're buying from India to avoid the bottom on prices from completely falling out in the near term)

crude has bottomed at $40/barrell for now, but we're still running out..

2/12/2009 5:07:13 PM

Quote :

"I applaud Dubai's effort to shift oil into something else -- it shows a certain degree of foresight that a lot of other oil-rich folks seem to lack."

I disagree. Dubai's behavior is sheer lunacy brought on by a public choice problem. The rulers of Dubai want to remain rulers in the future, after the oil runs out. As such, they are squandering the nation's wealth on quick get-rich-then schemes. If, instead, the Dubai government just gave every Dubai citizen their share of the wealth then they could all move to New York, which has a functional sewage system, buy U.S. securities, and live for generations to come off the proceeds. But, when the oil ran out, so would the rulers of Dubai, so that is not the course they have chosen to follow.

2/12/2009 5:25:43 PM

Quote :

"That was my first thought when I read the article. I don't know if he bought it or not, but he defended the decision through a lot of criticism."

And I told him it was a bad investment and a bubble waiting to pop many times in that thread.

2/12/2009 5:29:36 PM

Quote :

"There is a reason by the likes of Tiger Woods and Beckham (and many other celebrties and sports people) buy houses there. You can easily double your money in 4-5 years. And during that time, you could rent it out. So, you get more than 100% back in 4-5 years."

Quote :

" paid a substantial portion today. (i opted for the 7-year payment plan; from here on now, it is easy monthly payments) "

message_topic.aspx?topic=464001

I wish him the best, but something tells me this investment isn't going to pay off.

2/12/2009 5:58:19 PM

Yeah this is what I posted 2 years ago:

Quote :

"The bubble is about to burst in the Dubai real estate market. In 4-5 years those apartments will be worth less than they are now."

2/12/2009 6:13:56 PM

not really rocket science there

2/12/2009 6:31:28 PM

Quote :

"If, instead, the Dubai government just gave every Dubai citizen their share of the wealth then they could all move to New York, which has a functional sewage system, buy U.S. securities, and live for generations to come off the proceeds."

Wait wait wait, did you just suggest total wealth distribution?

You?

But at any rate, my praise was qualified plenty. I applauded that they were trying to invest in something that would be around when the oil ran out, not their specific choice or how they came to it.

And yeah, all these efforts are more a result of the leader's since of self-preservation than anything else. I can live with that. I'll take a money-soaked monarchy to the kinds of governments that generally come about otherwise in the region.

2/12/2009 6:56:23 PM

Another interesting look at the realities of where Dubai came from, what it is like now and where it may go in the future given the current global economy. Lots of words, but it's an interesting and informative narrative.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

4/14/2009 10:33:56 PM

DUBAI PWNT

STAY HOME

4/15/2009 12:33:06 AM

are they trying to sell them for cheap?

4/15/2009 12:59:02 AM

Quote :

"Dubai had to become something else because by 2016 its oil wells are dryer than an ocatgenarian's teat. its not some visionary city-state that wanted to craft a brave new world"

ummm what? lol. Abu Dhabi has the oil, dubai has/had trade, not oil.

4/15/2009 1:07:19 AM

^lol. he prolly has no idea what the uae is

[Edited on April 15, 2009 at 1:12 AM. Reason : .]

4/15/2009 1:11:51 AM

Quote :

"Although Dubai's economy was built on the back of the oil industry,[67] revenues from oil and natural gas currently account for less than 6% of the emirate's revenues.[8] It is estimated that Dubai produces 240,000 barrels of oil a day and substantial quantities of gas from offshore fields. The emirate's share in UAE's gas revenues is about 2%. Dubai's oil reserves have diminished significantly and are expected to be exhausted in 20 years.[68]"

is probably what he is referring to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai

4/15/2009 12:28:51 PM

IBT0EPII1

4/15/2009 12:42:10 PM

Someone emailed me that Independent article just a couple of days ago and I was going to post it here.

Even if only a quarter of the things in it are true, it still shows that even though Dubai might have advanced in material development, in terms of true human development and laws regarding human rights, they are on the level of some African countries.

All the oil-rich Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait) are basically similar when it comes to human rights.

4/15/2009 6:43:44 PM

So can I go get a couple cars or what?

4/15/2009 9:40:08 PM

Dubai is fucking EVIL.

WHAT'S UP, SLAVERY?!?

4/19/2009 1:30:26 AM

from Shadowrunner's

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

Quote :

"In every large city, gay people find a way to find each other – but Dubai has become the clearing-house for the region's homosexuals, a place where they can live in relative safety. Saleh, a lean private in the Saudi Arabian army, has come here for the Coldplay concert, and tells me Dubai is "great" for gays: "In Saudi, it's hard to be straight when you're young. The women are shut away so everyone has gay sex. But they only want to have sex with boys – 15- to 21-year-olds. I'm 27, so I'm too old now. I need to find real gays, so this is the best place. All Arab gays want to live in Dubai." "

lol... I'm sorry

...

by the by... I did read the entire article. I'm torn by my substantial need to fuel my own bigotry. That these people do not deserve this kind of extravagance. I wonder if that is the main reason behind my own and other's disgust. Because do we really care about the suffering of stupid westerners or the exploited poor people of the world?

[Edited on April 19, 2009 at 2:09 PM. Reason : .]

4/19/2009 1:41:51 PM

This was predictable.

4/19/2009 6:31:16 PM

Quote :

"The women are shut away so everyone has gay sex."

Oh man, talk about that plan backfiring. LOL

I think it's going to be trouble for Dubai that it seems like their entire economy is trying to focus on super luxurious tourism instead of more practical services for which they could get a lot more customers (including when the economy is down a bit as their wealthier patrons may just decide to downsize and get the 800 sq ft medium luxury apartment instead of the 2000 sq ft penthouse).

I dunno, once this stuff all recovers I might be eating crow as their country prospers greatly from their earlier investments.

4/20/2009 2:52:07 AM

Dubai is going to straight up COLLAPSE before too-too long. Right now it's just an obscene Mecca based on conspicuous consumption. It won't last forever.

4/22/2009 12:21:45 AM

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527891

The crisis has hit the emirate hard, but it is wrong to write it off

click to read

4/26/2009 2:51:11 PM

they have the tallest building, and the biggest pile of shit to build it on

but really folks, did they really think a booming economy would keep going forever?

remember these are the same people who thought we were stupid for thinking that

not that it makes the US any smarter, just hey pot, im kettle

4/27/2009 1:42:04 AM

http://www.chilloutatdubai.com/home.htm

more ideas like this are sure to help

[Edited on May 5, 2009 at 1:48 PM. Reason : ]

5/5/2009 1:47:47 PM

LOL

5/5/2009 2:40:05 PM

Quote :

"Pilot fish and parrot fish have colonised the man-made reef surrounding the islands."

haha i used to catch and eat parrot fish all the time growing up in Abu Dhabi. Pretty cool looking fish.

5/5/2009 5:43:26 PM

LOL @ the ice bar

5/18/2009 4:53:19 PM