The Towering Dream of Dubai...

[bridgit]

"We're seeing the beginning of an Arab renaissance, and I find it very hopeful," said Nasser Saidi, a former Lebanese minister and the chief economist of the Dubai International Financial Center.

But a darker undercurrent pervades the success of Dubai. Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers toil with few rights and sometimes just above subsistence. Unrest has mounted; last month, laborers rioted near the site of Burj Dubai, planned as the world's tallest skyscraper, where a new floor is added every week. The Islamic piety visible in the rest of the Persian Gulf has receded behind a rollicking nightlife of bars, clubs and prostitution so rampant it is assumed to have official sanction. The city has a history as a shipping hub for contraband, including illegal drugs and nuclear weapons components. Rumors of money-laundering are laced through the real estate speculation that has sometimes driven prices to double in six months. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/29/AR2006042901457.html?nav=rss_email/components

[sam sarrha]

1. you missed, its the Hub of the Slave trade, Sex and child slave trade

Slavery, particularly sex slavery and children for sex.. is booming around the world,..

[bridgit]

2. oh, i'm sure it's in there somewhere...

x(

[CJCRANE]

3. Sounds like

a real life version of Mos Eisley in Star Wars.

Now if I can just find a ship that can do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs...

[bridgit]

4. ^_^

:thumbsup: :-)