1990, Dubai
2003, Dubai
2007, Dubai
Today, Dubai
I worry whether our democracy is durable enough to withstand the slow bleeding that is going on. You see it right here in Miami: we can't even get our mass transit figured out, and our elected officials are still permitting more development in wetlands edging the Everglades. We are having a crisis in Florida Bay and the Everglades, with a massive decline of wildlife, and the political appointee who is chair of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a land speculator trying to jam new development and rock mines outside the Urban Development Boundary.
James Speth wrote in a recent editorial, "George Bernard Shaw famously remarked that all progress depends on being unreasonable. It's time for a large amount of civic unreasonableness." What do we get, for being quiet?
Do you imagine for a single second, that the suppliers of oil to the United States believe they "owe" us anything, when opportunities for better return on their investment appear elsewhere, in emerging economies that are growing far more rapidly than ours?
The accumulated treasure of the United States is bleeding out; I hope you can see it in the photos of Dubai.
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11 comments:
eye's eyes are wide open. Is daylight in the swamp blinding... heads-in the-sand is refreshing.
http://swampstyle.blogspot.com/2008/02/do-buy-and-buy.html
Kind of hard watching Hank Paulson Treasury Secretary in the NY Times, trying to persuade Arabs in his Abu Dhabi audience to keep using the dollar as the reserve currency for oil transactions. Do you think Americans have a clue what is going on?
This photo history is very interesting. As they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words. I like the cranes in the last photo. Maybe this is where I sould go to retire:
The overall cost of living in Dubai is similar to that in most European countries, if you’re living in the style of the average western expatriate.
Utilities, such as electricity, water and gas, are subsidised to some extent by the region’s governments, which own the services
http://www.justlanded.com/english/Dubai/Tools/Just-Landed-Guide/Money/Cost-of-Living
Average major expenses for a couple with two children are shown below:
1. Housing: A villa can cost between 80,000 to 100,000 AED and an apartment between 50,000 to 80,000 AED per annum.
2. Schooling: High school costs about 40,000 AED per annum, while primary school costs between 20,000 to 28,000 AED per child.
3. Utilities: Electricity and water can cost 7,400 AED and a full time maid costs 12,000 AED per annum.
4. Car rental: cars can be leased for $600 per month which would mean an annual cost of $7,200.
5. Telephone: local calls are free. International calls probably amount to $1,000 per annum. Mobile, home and internet services are 12,000 AED per annum.
6. Insurance: car and household is approximately 3,000 AED per annum.
$100,000 AED is equivalent to $27,293.90 US dollars. Every $1,000 converts to $272.94
The price of gas in Dubai:
http://theschwartzfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-much-does-gas-cost-in-dubai.html
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
How much does Gas cost in Dubai?
Since we moved to Dubai, I have been asked many times about the cost of gas and while I knew it was cheaper, I did not know how much cheaper it was until I sat down and figured it out the other day. Apparently we buy gas by the imperial gallon rather than the US gallon, so having figured that out first was helpful as each Imperial gallon is equal to 1.2 US gallons.
So I did the math the other day and it looks like we pay $1.4678 USD per US gallon of gas here.
Not too bad considering the US national average is currently at about $2.97 USD per US gallon.
This is a pretty good site, an American living in Dubai writes about it:
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Making Rain
Welcome to the UAE, home of some of the tallest buildings in the world, the biggest number of Range Rovers on the roads and now...manufactured rain. Yep Rain.
Could it be that the rain I saw on the way to work the other day was in fact man made? Who knows, but according to this article - http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10211450.html - "Tuesday's thunderstorm in the western and southern parts of the emirates was a result of a cloud seeding (artificial rain) test conducted by the weather authorities."
"The storm produced intermittent rain in parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It was a surprising phenomenon in the late-spring month of May for the public and some weathermen.
An official of the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) on Wednesday confirmed the centre had carried out cloud seeding tests on clouds that came in from southern Saudi Arabia."
you talk about "Emerging Economies" that is what Seijas is doing, visiting "Emergin Economies." This is probably her next destination.
All the cranes remind me of the construction boom and bust in Miami. Dubai will not escape the collapse of the over-construction of high-end condos and offices. It may be two years behind us, but its day of reckoning coming.
Yes - their day is coming - climate change.
How ironic that their fortune will be made and lost on the same resource.
I don't know what Dade County pols have up their sleeves next. You should see the letter that my commissioner, Audrey Edmondson, sent me attempting to rationalize her vote as a move beyond narrow parochial interests in favor of a county-wide view.
DJ Orejon can you scan that and send it to us...I will look on line for it....or tell us what it said
Genius - just got a hold of a scanned copy of the letter and e-mailed it to you.
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