To all the Haters...
OK... So I'm in the most interesting place the world, going to clubs, beaches, hotels, restaurants, sitting in LA-like traffic, going to malls that have full on decor that match the themes, (like Persia, China, Egypt, Tunis, etc.)
Dubai...Wow.
I'm disappointed with all the people that told me I would hate it. Why on earth would I hate the most "together" Arab country I've ever seen? The street signs are respected, the roads are well kept (believe it or not they actually have LANDSCAPING on the medians here! did you get that King Abdallah? LANDSCAPING! it makes your country prettier... try it sometime), They don't burn garbage here; they actually have trucks that pick it up, the food is amazing, the service in restaurants is top notch, the nightlife is addictive and to top it all off you can actually get a great cup of coffee in a cafe made of ice! Ice!
Please Haters, shut the fuck up. This place has infrastructure, technology, a real skyline, jobs, nice beaches and clubs with scantily clad...uhhh... And most importantly: hope... And that's a first for me (in the Arab world, at least). Stop hating and book a ticket to Dubai before we find a way to fuck it all up... I'm serious.
In nubile wonderment,
Tarik
Saturday, March 29, 2008
I'm disappointed
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46 comments:
Dubai is the middle eastern Las Vegas .I'm surprised you managed to tolerate the weather over there.
wow ur name is really moataz? that is awesome.
"This place has infrastructure, technology, a real skyline, jobs, nice beaches and clubs..."
And about as much soul as a motel bathroom.
Sorry, but I hate Dubai because I'm human...
hahaha!!! souls are for kids... I like cocktails and science better...
just kidding- you're kinda right- but oh well. I stand my ground. have a drink and relax, will ya?
Well, I don't really hate Dubai... in the same way I don't hate malls – they're necessary when you want something. But if I have to spend more than three hours in either, my spirit starts to ebb away...
Living in the Middle East, Dubai is basically where you have to go when you need stuff: books, CDs, decent clothes, etc. Please, just don't ever make me live there....
shopping malls get boring very quickly. its good to go there once a while though. the skyscrapers are quite a site themselves. But the weather isn't very welcoming at all.
If you have money to spare its a good place to go.
Honest question: Is Dubai's native culture easily seen and experience, or is it hidden behind western materialism?
I ask because I'm planning on visiting (and possibly moving) there. But I'd like to somehow feel that I'm experiencing another country and culture -- not going to another part of the U.S.
If there's materialisms, it must be due to Western influence? I forgot that only westerners like stuff.
I don't think anyone has ever failed to be impressed by Dubai's skyline and infrastructure. Alot of people are just disappointed at the crass commercialism, the rampant prostitution and drug trade, and the fact that the city was built off the sweat and toil of immigrant slave workers.
I'm not a hater either, but those are the facts.
"Is Dubai's native culture easily seen..."
Seriously, and I'm not meaning to be crass, but there is so little of it, it barely registers as a flicker on the cultural richter scale... skyscrapers, malls and five-star (and utterly anemic) entertainment have become the native culture.
Rebuilt wind-towers and the occasional bit of falconry is all you've got....
That said, for a year or so, on the right salary, it could be fine. But I want to get the hell out after I've done what I came to do....
Ah, Dubai! What a small price to pay for landscaping and shopping malls.
Women sold as sex slaves, migrant workers that built the place yet have no human rights let alone worker rights, and a colonial system of employment and wage scale that is based on racism, bigotry, and what kind of passport you hold.
Basically capitalism on crack, oh I forgot, and the place that is the current economic headquarters of war and occupation.
I cant wait for the day people go to Dubai, not to fill their pockets with blood money, but to help create a world with out injustice and intense greed.
Imagine what we could do with the kind of wealth this great region holds: feed people, build homes, bring stability and peace to the Middle East.
So, who are the real haters of peace and justice?
Dubia is the shithole of the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars could be spent anywhere and it will look shiny. But what is Dubai? It is a glorified disneyland for consumerism, for materialism, for decadence, waste and empire. It's not even a matter of "soul" but of purpose and extravagance. If you, Tarik, are so empty as to judge a place by its poverty/wealth, then you are the one who needs to shut the fuck up.
Dubia is composed of 200,000 local people who (generally speaking) believe that having the luck to be born on top of a cash machine makes them superior to the rest of the world. Who believe that money is righteousness, who are disgusted by the idea that they are equal to the poor. And then, on top of those people, you have an entire industry of empire that has come to exploit the stupidity of Dubia. Who take advantage of the greed, and emptiness of the local authorities. And in the process they create a tornado of mental disease. In a bid for power, this scum allow the Americans to use their shit country as a military base. They trade and diplomatically support the USA and Israel, while they would rather shit on Palestinians or other Arabs than talk to them or understand their problems. This country that you so stupidly love because you can find a fucking mixed drink is one of the leading countries that allows the USA to attack Iraq, defends the Israeli occupation, reinforces American threats to Iran. Any piece of shit land could have the same skyline if it was willing to allow itself and it's wealth to become a centerpiece of empire. Dubia is a country that is utterly unrepentant in buying its position as empire's whorehouse.
And when you ask people why they do that, why they allow themselves to support the USA and Israel against their own people in palestine, iraq, iran, egypt, syria... all the poor and suffering arabs, they will answer "what can we do? we are just a little country..." or "they will say they are against it, but look at what it has made them into..." Eat shit, i say. I hope they get bombed to shit when the USA attacks Iran.
And Dubia is perfect because there were so few people there, and the people were there were so willing to use their resources in the service of empire. SO fuck off Tarik, you piece of shit. If all you do is look at the nightlife and the fucking mixed drinks and that is how you decide whether some place is great or now, then you are human garbage. When is see Dubia, all I see is a massive wasted opportunity. All that wealth could have been used to help people, to build strength for the Arabs against empire, to alleviate poverty and war, rather than to defend violence, consumerism and imperialism. It is an epic homage to selfishness and greed. (and on the backs of slavery, I might add, as mohammad said above)
If you like that, that is proof you are an empty shell of a man. A total slime of a human.
Let me just add, who rules Dubai? What do you think would happen to the shithole place if they decided to act against the USA and Israel? What would happen to them if they decided to expell the American military or support the Palestinians or Iraqis or any poor, exploited or colonized people? Obviously, they would be closed down in less than a week! They would be destroyed instantly. Because they serve a purpose to the empire. They have nothing on their own.
I know this has been mentioned, but it bears repeating.
In order to enjoy all this grossly rampant consumerism, all you have to do is overlook the fact that it was all built by slave labor.
Wow. The "haters" are right. This comment thread is WAY better than the original, entirely flaky post. Money and fun and wasting time and living off of the pain and hard work of others, eventually, sooner or later, leaves a person completely empty and completely shallow. Good luck with that!
What they said.
And can we please once-and-for-all stop with the corny-ass talk about "haters"? It's like when people diss being "P.C." -- 99.9% of the time an excuse for obnoxious, retarded, selfish behavior.
And as a phrase it's just barely less played out than "tha bomb"...
ya shabab,
Imagine what we could do with the kind of wealth this great region holds: feed people, build homes, bring stability and peace to the Middle East.
Because, as we all know, that is what Arab culture is REALLY all about, right? :D
I just love the way Arabs blame all their self-created problems on the US. That's REALLY the way to go about the whole "evolution" thing, isn't it? How long will it take Arabs to figure out as long as they have Israel and the US to point a finger at, Arab societies aren't ever going to move forward? Is it that hard to understand? And even if the US and Israel disappeared tomorrow, every problem in the Arab world would instantly become somebody else's fault. Accusing other people of causing your own difficulties is a very hard habit to break, both on a personal level and on a societal level.
Everyone who has ever solved a problem they had by blaming somebody else for it, raise your hand. Nobody, right? Not one person here has ever made something better in their own life by whining and complaining how terrible somebody else is, have they?
It's like when people diss being "P.C." -- 99.9% of the time an excuse for obnoxious, retarded, selfish behavior.
Oh, you are so PC now, aren't you "Saladin"? lol. I'd hate to see you when you told people how you REALLY felt.
well I'm in no way defending Dubai and yes all what has been mentioned above is true. But this is a middle eastern Las Vegas, so no surprise there.
"Everyone who has ever solved a problem they had by blaming somebody else for it, raise your hand. Nobody, right? Not one person here has ever made something better in their own life by whining and complaining how terrible somebody else is, have they?"
Then what are YOU doing around here? Because I saw a lot of introspection in these comments EXCEPT when I got to yours. Then I saw a lot of finger pointing and self righteousness. Way to make your point, bro. The only thing you EVER DO is "whine and complain how terrible somebody else is."
Then what are YOU doing around here? Because I saw a lot of introspection in these comments EXCEPT when I got to yours. Then I saw a lot of finger pointing and self righteousness.
Why does it not surprise me that it didn't seem at all unusual to you for so many people to be pissing and moaning about Dubai and at the same time bringing the evil west (US and Israel of course!) into the picture, Safiyyah?
Way to make your point, bro. The only thing you EVER DO is "whine and complain how terrible somebody else is."
No, the only thing I ever do here is get in people's faces for doing that. The whole fucking "war on terror" is caused by Arabs blaming other people for their own problems. I wouldn't even have ever READ an Arab blog if it wasn't for that little cultural phenomenon.
But you aren't part of Arab culture, Safiyyah. You are a westerner. At least when you rant about the US you are ranting about your own society. So maybe you can be a good influence here after all. In a strange self-loathing kind of way.
Las Vegas is a big union town and the people can vote there, be represented in govt, and can have the opportunity to apply to be a citizen, if they are not one.
All the immigrant skilled and unskilled workers(Palestinians, Indians, etc) that built and dedicated their lives to working in Dubai and the rest of the Gulf economies for the majority do not get the right to be citizens or permanent residents, let alone the right to basic democracy.
For me this is a big difference that we cant ignore anymore.
Dubai, Do Buy,
Lost and Plagued bitch,
blinded by the lights in Las Dubaigas
Oh What a tangled dishdasha we weave,
Too busy with the wiswas up the sleeve,
See, I call it the gift and curse,
when the waters rises on the world
why we shifting the earth?
Oceanic Colonialism
and Hopes of Frantic Colloquial-isms,
The guilt lies between the lies and the boats,
Too busy keeping eyes on the gold,
But everything that glitter ain't shit,
in the grave like the slaves that you're raised with,
See the illest things in the souls of indians that build your dreams,
serve you like the philipines, children dying in Philistine.
The oil barrel that has touched the sky,
Arab Jarab, Haram Alaikum what a rusted pie,
Camel rotting in the core of the desert,
I used to love her till she became a whore for the pleasure.
I still got love for ya though, Jumeira Beach Hamoor burgers are competing with the Sand Dune Power Clash.
Peace
N!
www.illuminarcy.blogspot.com
ya shabab 11:04 -- its not just foreign laborers who are denied basic democratic rights in dubai.
the UAE ranks just about last in the democracy index for MENA. even the locals have no representation.
and media is hideously stifled. every morning, all the media outlets received a fax from the govt about what they can cover that day. break the rules, you go to prison (not exaggerating, it has happened to several of my friends).
if you don't mind the lack of soul, dubai is a nice place to live -- as long as you don't complain.
not sure if someone mentioned this already but you do know that dubai was built with slave labor right
I hate Dubai because it was built on the exploitation and abuse of cheap labor. I also hate Dubai because its leader is a deviant and misogynist who enslaved children to be camel jockeys.
Tarik,
When did you become an anarcho-yuppie?
ha ha
Great post... very provocative.
Narcy,
Thanks for that.
your welcome will-
anytime- I'll now actively try harder to piss the knuckleheads of...
tongue in cheek anyone?
fuckers.
yeah, anyone who disagrees with you must be a "fucker." Why don't you pick up your toys and go home?
And PC, thanks for granting me the right to talk about my own society. Your approval is all I hope for in this world.
In a follow-up to my IM conversation with Tarik…
I'm just as empathetic as the next person to the “fakeness” and “hypocrisy” that is Dubai. I concur that the labor laws need major help, that prostitution should be quelled, that the native populace needs to be preserved and not overwhelmed by foreigners capitalizing on their society, and that the essence of the Arab soul/culture needs restoration as it has been lost or diluted. I feel everyone on this. But sometimes- we just need to be realistic.
Tell me what society on this PLANET is Utopia? Where is there no discrimination against the underdog? Tell me what country doesn't exploit the people? Tell me where the rich aren't trying to maintain and expand their power? Tell me where “pure culture,” untainted by globalization, or even simply a homogeneous society with no intermixing, exists? Tell me where people are averse to and don't desire having "pretty things"?
I went to Dubai a few years back and was enchanted by the very notion of it b/c similar to Tarik, I felt a sense of hope AND LIFE that I had never witnessed in the other Arab countries I have been to. They have a robust economy, a highly developed infrastructure, a superb educational system, and career OPPORTUNITIES for people across the globe (including plenty of Arab women.)
None of this of course justifies the negatives of the State. Obviously, Dubai has issues and needs to work on them, just like any other place on the planet. We should never stop working on changing the wrongs of society. But sometimes, instead of bitching about what an Arab State should be-we need to be thankful that there does exist a place in the Arab world- fake or not- that is thriving and fruitful, and not just a dark abyss of hopelessness. (And please don't take this as my belief that all areas of the Arab world are, but the reality is- there are plenty.)
Sure, I can’t disagree that the lights of Dubai are like that of Vegas- but at least those lights are shining and doing so brightly…
--Kristel
I didn't say anything about your "rights" one way or another, Safiyyah. I merely pointed out that your constant bitching about your own culture may inadvertently set a good example for Arab readers of this blog.
Your approval is all I hope for in this world.
I suspect you'd be happy with just about anyone's approval, Safiyyah. It does seem you are an approval-seeker. But I'm not a psychologist. What does your therapist say about it?
PS-You know, if you become a born again Christian after having converted to Islam, the praise Jesus folks will approve the hell out of you. Maybe even more that the loving you got from the jihadis.
Yeah, the "jihadis" have been very loving. Lol. You are retarded.
Yeah, the "jihadis" have been very loving. Lol.
I bet! I'm sure they get a hard-on every time they see a white American woman wearing a hijab.
You are retarded.
Well, I'm not the one who converted to Islam after Muslims committed the most heinous attack on my country in its history, am I? If you'd been around in 1942 I bet you'd have moved to Japan and learned to speak Japanese, right?
PS-Still waiting for your DD-214 with your GT score on it. Genius.
You really don't know anything about Muslims. I don't have interactions with Muslim men. I'm sure you've read something about separation of the sexes in all of your "studies" into Islam. Well, it's true. I run in female circles.
I never read that you wanted my dd 214. I don't know, if I ever knew, what a GT score is. The only thing that I remember was that my ASVAB score was a 99 and my recruiter told me I could choose any MOS there was that females can do, and my DLAB (language aptitude) score was 148 and I could have any language I wanted. It's been several years since I was discharged. I don't know if I have my contract papers and I don't remember my test scores being on my dd 214, but I could be wrong, because I haven't looked at it in several years. All of this matters little, how does me saying it prove it, and do you really think I would release personal information to you?
In case you were wondering, my ASVAB score was the most perfect that any recruiter in the office had ever seen.
I was quite clearly retarded for being there, but not as far as my natural intelligence goes.
Sorry for the inconvenience of hijacking this thread. You can all resume normal complaining.
I don't have interactions with Muslim men.
So, you admit to being a lesbian?
I'm sure you've read something about separation of the sexes in all of your "studies" into Islam. Well, it's true.
No, it isn't. I hang out with female Muslims. I not only shake their hands, I hug them too! And sometimes, I even kiss them. I guess they must not be REAL Muslims, though, since they aren't like you.
I run in female circles.
That's not because you are a Muslim, it's because you are a lesbian.
I never read that you wanted my dd 214.
Yeah, I did. Last time you claimed you were a lot smarter than me, I asked you to e-mail me your DD-214 and offered to e-mail you mine. So you could prove it :)
Feel free to crop out the personal info.
I don't know, if I ever knew, what a GT score is.
Well, of course you did. That stands for "General Testing" score. It's the overall raw score, before being broken down by category.
The only thing that I remember was that my ASVAB score was a 99
That is your GT score. Would it surprise you to know my score is ~50 points higher than yours? :D
99 is only slightly above average. The "max" is 150. And I pretty much maxed the ASVAB.
and my recruiter told me I could choose any MOS there was that females can do
Either standards are lower now than when I was in the military, or you joined the Army. In the USMC a GT of 115 was required for avionics, and 120 was required for computer programming.
and my DLAB (language aptitude) score was 148 and I could have any language I wanted.
Oh, I see. You don't know what "GT" means, but you know what "DLAB" means, eh? lol.
It's been several years since I was discharged. I don't know if I have my contract papers and I don't remember my test scores being on my dd 214
Only your GT score is on your DD-214. That's the only score that really counts.
but I could be wrong, because I haven't looked at it in several years.
Well, you ARE wrong. Why don't you take a look? And then you can e-mail it to me :)
All of this matters little, how does me saying it prove it, and do you really think I would release personal information to you?
You consider your GT score to be "personal information"? Well, fine, but then I suggest you stop bragging about how smart you consider yourself to be, if you aren't willing to prove it...
PS-I put "max" in quotes because 150 is just an arbitrary number that was chosen as the theoretical maximum score. The ASVAB is a test that is designed so that it is impossible for anyone to get a perfect score. People do score higher than 150, once in a while. The only person I ever met who had a higher score than me, had a 158 GT. Any score over about 140 is pretty meaningless, though. Kinda like any IQ score over about 150 is impossible to quantify. At some point, all that can be said is that people are smarter than the test is capable of measuring.
A Google search on "GT Score". Just for you, Safiyyah!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=4Bm&q=GT+Score&btnG=Search
Heh... a 110 GT is minimum to be an officer in the Army! Takes a 120 in the Marines, and a personal recommendation from God. I guess you couldn't be an officer in either one, though, Safiyyah :(
I wonder how many times you have insulted military officers for being idiots?
I am sick and tired of people telling those of us that want a better world to stop complaining.
If you want to accept the world how it is then so be it.
But, don't expect people to stop demanding a Middle East without war and occupation just because you have given up on justice and just because you want to see free market colonial exploitation as progress.
My point is why dont the everyday people of Dubai whose blood and sweat create its prosperity have the same human rights as their brothers and sisters in Las Vegas?
And why cant we use the development in Dubai for something more then filling the back accounts of despot dictators?
And to Kristel, No I will not be thankful of a colonial monarchy that exploits people and profits from war. No amount of bright lights or money will make me and people like me ever to forget that.
Ya Shabab, I cannot dispute what you say. Again- I FEEL with all the points people have made against Dubai. I myself am in complete solidarity with these issues. I do GET IT. I am right there with you.
However- my point was, sometimes we need to just relax a little. Although I would never relish in a society which accepts the status quo, or be ok with not wanting a better, more equalized society- the truth is- we need to try to deviate from discourse that is entrenched with negativity. There's always something to complain about, especially in respect to what is going on in the Middle East. All this complaint and protest is RIGHTLY justified; without it, there could be no change. But sometimes I think we need to step BEYOND all the criticism, and simply let people- such as Tarik- find something that inspires and brings a sense of pride. Being inspired keeps the FAITH- and having FAITH is the TRUE catalyst for change.
Although there are atrocious things about Dubai, things as I’ve asserted need to change- there are also plenty of good things i.e. education, that no one can dispute.
The bottom line is- if an Arab finds something joyous from the Arab world- even if your sentiments are counter to this, don’t rain on his/her parade!
And the last thing- when you talk about those in Dubai not having the same rights as their brothers and sisters in Vegas- I would say that although on some level this is true- on another level it is not, especially if we tackle this from an ethical angle and analyze how "vegas society" is constructed.
Have a good day.
-Kristel
Leave it to Excentrik to open up the flood gates, and iiiiinnnn commmmmeee thhhe fiiiisshhhhiiiesss
Dubai produces the most garbage in the world per capita. I'm sure it's a nice city to play in, but will stand the test of time?
thats great! most garbage per capita? wow, that means more land for New-Palestine!!!
As much fun as I had in Dubai, i still have trouble calling it an Arab country. I had trouble finding anyone who spoke Arabic better than me and I'm not that good.
Nothing beats Iraq in the 70s. Nothing. From what I've heard it was Arab and 'together'.
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