July 18, 2010, filed under Dubaiism.
Earlier this evening, BBC World aired a much publicised documentary that immediately labels itself with calculated negativity in the title “Dubai Dashed Dreams.” Embedded above is the Arabic version. I will post the English feature as soon as it surfaces via legal sources.
I, for one, feel compelled to document my rant due to the unsettling [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 1:58 am, filed under Dubaiism and tagged abu dhabi, bbc, documentary, dubai, sheikh mohammed, uae.
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July 16, 2010, filed under Dubaiism.
Dubai: 2000’s. A bustling economy is poised for unchartered growth as the world watches a tiny city-state make its mark. The city quickly rises out of sands into global top ten lists: quality of life, business-friendliness, tax-freedom, autonomy, cultural tolerance, trade volume, GDP year-on-year growth, tourism destination, etc. The real-estate sector explodes with the [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 1:58 am, filed under Dubaiism and tagged abu dhabi, boom, bust, culture, dubai, future, harvard, khaleeji.
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February 9, 2010, filed under Dubaiism.
Barely 48 hours after my last post about Dubai’s baby steps towards transparency, comes the next manic debacle of what the Fast Company Magazine calls ‘The World’s Tallest FAIL!’
The observation deck on the Burj Khalifa’s 124th floor, which had been open for under a month, is now closed indefinitely and without prior notice, because of [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 10:31 pm, filed under Dubaiism and tagged burj khalifa, dubai, emaar, fail.
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, filed under Dubaiism.
In the last few months, Dubai’s has been the muse for newsprint running into millions of characters. Unlike the PR-loaded launch or acquisition news of years past, this global coverage has been less than flattering. But most important of all, it has opened a new set of questions perhaps not asked before.
The question of ‘transparency’ [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 4:42 am, filed under Dubaiism and tagged danish farhan, dubai, dubai press club, hamas, media office, mishaal gergawi, mishal gergawi, oil.
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January 4, 2010, filed under Dubaiism.
As history rises before our eyes, one realizes the Burj Dubai is not just an architectural or engineering marvel, but one of perseverance and unchartered grace. In inimitable Dubai-style, the greatest surprise was not its official height (828 metres) but Sheikh Mohammed’s decision to rename the marvel to Burj Khalifa.
There could be several explanations to [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 10:03 pm, filed under Dubaiism and tagged burj dubai, burj khalifa, dubai, inauguration, launch, photos.
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December 17, 2009, filed under Dubaiism.
No, that isn’t a typo — I did say Abu Dubai.
Sitting inside the city that has once again emerged in global press as soon-to-reduced-to-dust, it is certainly interesting to observe from close quarters. To begin with, there has been some muffled words about the ownership of Dubai World. This followed by the magnitude of the default [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 1:22 am, filed under Dubaiism and tagged abu dhabi, abu dubai, bail out, debt, dubai, dubai world, nakheel, sovereign.
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September 7, 2009, filed under Dubaiism.
Following up on my Metro series, I couldn’t help but repost entirely from Campaign Middle East’s blog. Just when you thought they couldn’t surprise you anymore. Here goes. The Dubai Metro’s decision to open only to VIPs on its much-vaunted launch date of 09/09/09 makes a mockery of the high-profile campaign proclaiming it ‘My City. My [...]
This entry was written by , posted on at 5:21 pm, filed under Dubaiism and tagged campaign, dubai, Metro, my city, My Metro, RTA.
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