We've always wondered if the big shots get folks dialing the wrong number, and if so, do people realize it? If you accidentally call Bill Clinton's cell phone, is his voicemail set up so that it lets you know his identity or is it just the robot lady repeating the phone number you called? What if you have one digit different than him and folks keep calling you? That'd be fun for about two days.
Anyway, you guys wanna head over to theUnited Arab Emirates
It's hard to talk about the UAE (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة) today without talking about oil. When the pearl industry died out during the Great Depression (due to economic decline and the advent of the cultured pearl), there wasn't a whole lot going for the region.
The disparate sheikdoms were allied to the British with treaties, who intervened to settle disputes between them. When oil was found in the early 60's, unification efforts quickly followed. However, it still took about 10 years to get everything in order for a union. And, right about the time their treaties with the British expired and they each became fully independent. Today they are seven monarchies overseen by a government they elect, though this president and prime minister are "essentially hereditary."
When you compare the UAE to other Arab states, it's fairly liberal but that tends to happen when you have gobs and gobs of cash flowing in. People want to be able to do what they want with their money and when your GDP per capita is above even theUnited States
You may not be able to drink as openly as in other cultures, but far more so than inSaudi Arabia or Iran Dubai
For all the glitz and glamor ofDubai and Abu Dhabi Northern Africa are more than happy to have those jobs. One could argue that human rights often lag behind economic development (as was the case with western economies), and that with the maturation of their society, the UAE will come to grant further protections to non-citizens, but such a statement in no way alleviates the fact that economic slavery is currently pervasive in the UAE.
Well, let's head on over to the home of the tallest building in the world, an interesting large-scale experiment in Islamic finance, and very, very cheap gas.
Anyway, you guys wanna head over to the
It's hard to talk about the UAE (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة) today without talking about oil. When the pearl industry died out during the Great Depression (due to economic decline and the advent of the cultured pearl), there wasn't a whole lot going for the region.
The disparate sheikdoms were allied to the British with treaties, who intervened to settle disputes between them. When oil was found in the early 60's, unification efforts quickly followed. However, it still took about 10 years to get everything in order for a union. And, right about the time their treaties with the British expired and they each became fully independent. Today they are seven monarchies overseen by a government they elect, though this president and prime minister are "essentially hereditary."
When you compare the UAE to other Arab states, it's fairly liberal but that tends to happen when you have gobs and gobs of cash flowing in. People want to be able to do what they want with their money and when your GDP per capita is above even the
Yup. Those are man made islands in the shape of palm trees and the world. G.L.A.M!
You may not be able to drink as openly as in other cultures, but far more so than in
Abu Dhabi at night.
For all the glitz and glamor of
Well, let's head on over to the home of the tallest building in the world, an interesting large-scale experiment in Islamic finance, and very, very cheap gas.
It should start playing automatically. But there is a tuner thingy on the top of the page that is pretty impossible to miss.
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