"Sheikh Mo, who fancies himself a prophet of modernization, likes to impress visitors with clever proverbs and heavy aphorisms. A favorite: "Anyone who does not attempt to change the future will stay a captive of the past."
Yet the future that he is building in Dubai -- to the applause of billionaires and transnational corporations everywhere -- looks like nothing so much as a nightmare of the past: Walt Disney meets Albert Speer on the shores of Araby."
Child slavery, indentured servants, slave workers, foreign whores, etc. What a wonderful place to live, if you have no conscience. A psychopath's paradise.
Child slavery, indentured servants, slave workers, foreign whores, etc. What a wonderful place to live, if you have no conscience. A psychopath's paradise.
I understand Dick Cheney owns some retirement property there....
(Not completely kidding. I seem to recall reading something about Cheney/Haliburton's connection with Dubai somewhere?...)
Mac, Thats exactly what I thought. I looked at that city and invisioned deserted crumbling buildings, after the oil is gone. Of course, by then it will probably be underwater.
Good lord. It's like something out of a '60's or '70's science fiction novel. Only one problem. It's in the Middle East....
ReplyDeleteOnly one problem. It's in the Middle East....
ReplyDeleteThere's always a catch.
You might find this article by Mike Davis relevant (don't miss the imagery in the first section of the narration):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tomdispatch.com/post/5807/mike_davis_on_a_paradise_built_on_oil
"Sheikh Mo, who fancies himself a prophet of modernization, likes to impress visitors with clever proverbs and heavy aphorisms. A favorite: "Anyone who does not attempt to change the future will stay a captive of the past."
Yet the future that he is building in Dubai -- to the applause of billionaires and transnational corporations everywhere -- looks like nothing so much as a nightmare of the past: Walt Disney meets Albert Speer on the shores of Araby."
For some reason the entire link did not appear in the post above. So just try Googling, "Does the road to the future end at Dubai" + "Mike Davis".
ReplyDeleteDubai: oil capitalism gone insane.
ReplyDeleteChild slavery, indentured servants, slave workers, foreign whores, etc. What a wonderful place to live, if you have no conscience. A psychopath's paradise.
Right. Like anyone whose income is within four orders of magnitude of ours would ever get past the front gate...
ReplyDeleteChild slavery, indentured servants, slave workers, foreign whores, etc. What a wonderful place to live, if you have no conscience. A psychopath's paradise.
ReplyDeleteI understand Dick Cheney owns some retirement property there....
(Not completely kidding. I seem to recall reading something about Cheney/Haliburton's connection with Dubai somewhere?...)
Dubai: oil capitalism gone insane.
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder what this place is gonna look like when the oil is gone.
Halliburton essentially moved their primary headquarters there last year, hence the Cheney connection.
ReplyDeleteMac,
ReplyDeleteThats exactly what I thought. I looked at that city and invisioned deserted crumbling buildings, after the oil is gone. Of course, by then it will probably be underwater.
Stan
I looked at that city and invisioned deserted crumbling buildings, after the oil is gone. Of course, by then it will probably be underwater.
ReplyDeleteWhat a setting for a science fiction novel! (Hmmm...)