What is Digg?122 Comments
- SillyRabbits, on 10/20/2008, -9/+63One day, that sure is going to be one pretty ghost town...
- switchmullet, on 10/20/2008, -9/+61thats what she said
- inactive, on 10/20/2008, -3/+34but does dubai know how to use it?
- SillyRabbits, on 10/20/2008, -1/+31The problem is that UAE main industry isn't oil (oil is only about 10% GDP). It's tourism, which is 30% of the GDP. It's not good to have an economy so heavily based on tourism - especially when the only attraction is Dubai. A number of stories are indicating that Dubai is already in significant trouble. Many companies are there simply because it's a trendy place to do business. And many that invested heavily there, like financials, are the exact ones that are having huge difficulties right now. As companies begin scaling back, Dubai is one of the first places they are pulling out of. To make it worse, the GDP of UAE is too small to really prop up the growth of Dubai if outside investment dollars leave. I suspect there are a lot of nervous developers in Dubai right now.
- Aliwalla, on 10/20/2008, -2/+2810,000 years from now Dubai is going to be the coolest jungle ruin ever.
- Vazelos, on 10/20/2008, -10/+31There is something fishy about the whole Dubai story. They say that oil will become obsolete one day and they want to build something for the future but how do you maintain all this when you don't have any oil revenue? Tourism alone will not do it. The rest of the area is sand, there is nothing there. Unless sand becomes the next energy source, Dubai is not sustainable without oil revenues.
- Daxx22, on 10/20/2008, -4/+22They really seem to have alot of compensation issues over there...
- Paktu, on 10/20/2008, -0/+16I am an American living in Dubai. The economy is more stable than you think- it's based more heavily on trade than it is on tourism. However, public (government) debt is about 105% of GDP due to all these projects. Even America's "massive" $10 trillion debt is only about 40% of US GDP, if I remember correctly.
We'll just have to see what happens... - maximilen, on 10/20/2008, -5/+21No... The rest of the Mid-East will be (when they run out of oil)... That's why UAE/Dubai is smart and building their future on tourism and business, not oil... :)
- MaxVivian, on 10/20/2008, -9/+24Ah, Dubai. Such amazing architecture. I feel fairly confident saying tourism isn't going to sustain them after the oil dries up. Sorry, I don't feel like vacationing anywhere that I can get tossed in jail for having unmarried sex.
- ankeshk, on 10/20/2008, -3/+18Dubai doesn't need bigger airports. It needs wider roads. Have you seen the traffic there? Its crazy!
- Changa, on 10/20/2008, -6/+20Good luck, I think people will avoid the place due to fundamentalism.
Who want's to do prision time for having a poppy seed stuck to the bottom of your shoe? - Paktu, on 10/20/2008, -0/+12Sheikh Zayed Road is already 6 lanes minimum and as wide as 9 lanes in each direction in some places. We don't need roads here, we need mass transit and higher density.
- Dumbledorito, on 10/20/2008, -3/+14It's easy to build like that when your imported labor force has all the rights and compensation due to your average group of medieval serfs.
- abominax, on 10/20/2008, -2/+13Most advanced society on earth? I think you may want to do a bit of research on Dubai and re-evaluate that statement. I guess honor killings, domestic slavery, child prostitution and the ever popular state sanctioned rape don't make the the Travel Channel's list of things to tell tourists.
- bubut, on 10/20/2008, -1/+12I believe the word you are looking for is "have". That money could _have_ went to the poor.
- jwolcott, on 10/20/2008, -1/+11I believe the word you are looking for is "gone". That money could have _gone_ to the poor.
- hartley, on 10/20/2008, -1/+10No they are protecting their future by not taxing corporations who do business there. The tourism is an afterthought.
- Hetman, on 10/20/2008, -3/+12Dubai does do it bigger. Unfortunately it does not do it sluttier or drunker though. Or it might be a nice place to visit.
- kingmanic, on 10/20/2008, -2/+10Tourism isn't a guaranteed revenue stream. Recessions, local turmoil and various other things will slow or stop tourism dollars flowing. When the oil is gone from the area there will be a dramatic decline in visitors. the visitors to Dubai are the wealthy middle eastern oil related elites and westerners who may be in the area for work and rarely westerners in the area for play. If the oil dries up two segments of it's visitors dries up as well. A recession would hurt them systemically as well as both middle eastern and western tourists will avoid unnecessary expenditures like the lavish Dubai hotels.
- phathead, on 10/20/2008, -0/+8Sure there was no slave labor involved?
http://digg.com/world_news/Inside_Dubai_s_labour_c ... - Daxx22, on 10/20/2008, -0/+8How about a spec of canibis on the bottom of your shoe?
- thepeacemaker, on 10/20/2008, -1/+9Unmarried sex is not a problem. Just don't do it on the friggin' beach!!!
- wsuvtx, on 10/20/2008, -1/+8It is still stuck in the middle of the desert.
- jwolcott, on 10/20/2008, -0/+7It could have also gone towards your education, especially in English.
- akshay626, on 10/20/2008, -0/+6Southern California isn't a Desert, it is mostly Chaparral.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaparral
Las Vegas is a desert, except Las Vegas > Dubai - borez, on 10/20/2008, -0/+6Somebody please build a comfortable airport so when I get delayed ( which happens a lot ) I can actually get my head down for a couple of hours in something with seats that aren't designed by sadists and aren't made out of the most brutally hard plastic the world has to offer, within an environment that doesn't resemble the shopping equivalent of Disney World under the worlds brightest ***** sun lamp.
Thx - mightycbu, on 10/20/2008, -0/+6it has gone to the poor: thousands of slave laborers have jobs here :p
- sockpuppets, on 10/20/2008, -5/+11وهذا ما قلته.
- solid12345, on 10/20/2008, -0/+5Well at least those all make for interesting kodak moments.
- dfsjdkflasjk, on 10/20/2008, -0/+5She's busy in Dallas
- inactive, on 10/20/2008, -0/+5Yeah.. Umm.. I like Detroit's better. I know, I know, no hard feelings though okay?
- zerton, on 10/20/2008, -0/+5Oh look! No people.
- thepeacemaker, on 10/20/2008, -0/+5If you've ever been there, you'll swear they can fuel the entire world's energy needs with the sun's heat that they get. The place is awesome to visit but hot as hell for most of the year. Once solar panels become common place they'll be fine.
- inactive, on 10/20/2008, -0/+4It's making ***** loads of money too (Dubai)
- xino, on 10/20/2008, -0/+4A good way to remember that dessert is a food is that people often like a second piece of dessert so you could think of it as the 2 s referring to the 2 pieces of dessert.
- Seishi, on 10/20/2008, -0/+4DeSSert is made with Sugar and Spice.
DeSert is made of Sand. - Sfenton, on 10/20/2008, -0/+4This would make an awesome game.
Crysis 3 - jn1167, on 10/20/2008, -1/+5Easy to do when they have us bent over the barrel.......
- maximilen, on 10/20/2008, -1/+5Yes business comes first. I'm not saying it will be the best place in the world, but at least they'll have something when the rest of the countries go back to riding camels.
- primepie, on 10/20/2008, -3/+7Lacks originality. Just like everything else in Dubai. Oh and the weather is 44C (~110 F) most of the time with 100% humidity. That sounds like fun. Yay!
- kinseyincanada, on 10/20/2008, -0/+4how the ***** did this turn into a 360/PS3 fanboy war?
- bubut, on 10/20/2008, -3/+7in before smug liberal unamerican (your flag) mac users start calling everyone rednecks who don't share their beliefs.
Generalizations are fun! - Cheirdal, on 10/20/2008, -1/+5Dubai has a bubble economy that is going to crash incredibly hard in the next 1-5 years. A lot of the money they have gotten is from rich foreigners buying houses they don't live in for millions of dollars. The housing market there is going to eventually face a steep drop in prices. That coupled with the dropping crude oil prices will really slam the city hard. I kind of like the guy that's behind Dubai's boom and I appreciate what he's tried to do but I think it was too much too fast.
- zerton, on 10/20/2008, -3/+6My favorite terminals will always be Saarinens
http://flickr.com/photos/allwaysny/443088170/sizes ...
at JFK
http://flickr.com/photos/59303791@N00/162370394/si ...
dulles - inactive, on 10/20/2008, -0/+3I think you are grossly grossly underestimating their energy needs for air conditioning alone, let alone lighting and basic electricity.
- marshallpeck, on 10/20/2008, -0/+3Yikes, bad grammar on Gizmodo's part.
- Hetman, on 10/20/2008, -2/+5In before some bigot mentions rednecks. Oh wait nevermind.
- gabbagabba, on 10/20/2008, -0/+3I guess all the slave labour is paying off
- theOster, on 10/20/2008, -0/+3unless it looks like a Jersey mall...
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