Dubai and the emiratis are fucked. Also, from the point of view of a secular western individualist, they appear as monsters when you probe the depths of what has transpired but I might be biased.
For those who still (like I did - only a few years ago) think they are achieving something positive and are suspicious of the validity of severe judgment do yourself a favor and read the report "The Dark Side of Dubai" by Johann Hari on the Independent.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html
In fact, if you are simply interested about Arabs, Emirati culture or the developing world in general read it anyway. I promise you rewarding thrills.
Dubai by and large could (will) end up like any of the massive North Korean building projects that were never finished.
Another interesting article from the (surprise surprise) Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/05/middleeast.gender
Oh my!
To follow general events in Dubai (most of which are scary to horrific) here is your hub. It almost seems their economy is based on a huge bubble. Who could have known?
From Hari's relentless assault one almost comes to the conclusion that Dubai (and others) will in a decade or two end up as wastelands, ruins of failed projects that were fueled by megalomaniac ambition, gathering sand in the desert... Keep in mind the emirates are unable to even maintain their most basic infrastructure on their own. What happens when ALL of those who can, leave, or escape (as some like the French Herbe have done)? It is not hard to imagine.
Burj Dubai looming over the desert, surrounded by a city which grows darker by the day. Standing guard over polluted beaches and a dead sea. Beaten by the sands. Empty. Dark. Rusting.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/
