Avernus Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 http://rense.com/1.imagesH/dubaisky1.jpg http://rense.com/1.imagesH/dubaisky2.jpg http://rense.com/1.imagesH/dubaisky3.jpg ....wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 i only looked at the 1st one and at 818m it is around double the height of what the World Trade Center was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 A client/associate (and friend / ex-employer) of mine is an architect and has more and more business opportunity in Dubai. I can only assume in the coming years that he'll have me working on a project there. I'm not sure if I'm wildly excited about it or rather nervous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Is it sad that the first thing I think of with buildings that tall is about who and when a terrorist is going to target it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Is it sad that the first thing I think of with buildings that tall is about who and when a terrorist is going to target it? +1 My second thought was I helped finance those buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 +1 My second thought was I helped finance those buildings. Ya, but doesn't it just put a smile on your face when you think of what they will do once we switch to a new source of energy?? And it will happen...eventually... They literally have nothing else BUT oil... they are sooo F' ed ! You think our economy is in the crapper now, geez... just picture what theirs' will be. Then again, it could have unexpected negative consequences as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I really thought this thread was going to be about this: Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down By ROBERT F. WORTH Published: February 11, 2009 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai’s fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage. Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to leave this Persian Gulf city — or worse. “I’m really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here,” said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. “If I can’t pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors’ prison.” With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield. The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town. No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy. Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis. Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai’s Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher. “At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst,” said Simon Williams, HSBC bank’s chief economist in Dubai. “And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors.” Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai’s six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody’s Investor’s Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai’s most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai’s roads, usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear. Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has long played rebellious younger brother to oil-rich and more conservative Abu Dhabi. Dubai officials, swallowing their pride, have made clear that they would be open to a bailout, but so far Abu Dhabi has offered assistance only to its own banks. “Why is Abu Dhabi allowing its neighbor to have its international reputation trashed, when it could bail out Dubai’s banks and restore confidence?” said Christopher M. Davidson, who predicted the current crisis in “Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success,” a book published last year. “Perhaps the plan is to centralize the U.A.E.” under Abu Dhabi’s control, he mused, in a move that would sharply curtail Dubai’s independence and perhaps change its signature freewheeling style. For many foreigners, Dubai had seemed at first to be a refuge, relatively insulated from the panic that began hitting the rest of the world last autumn. The Persian Gulf is cushioned by vast oil and gas wealth, and some who lost jobs in New York and London began applying here. But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi or nearby Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and had built its reputation on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city’s trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out. “Is it going to get better? They tell you that, but I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Sofia, who still hopes to find a job before her time runs out. “People are really panicking quickly.” Hamza Thiab, a 27-year-old Iraqi who moved here from Baghdad in 2005, lost his job with an engineering firm six weeks ago. He has until the end of February to find a job, or he must leave. “I’ve been looking for a new job for three months, and I’ve only had two interviews,” he said. “Before, you used to open up the papers here and see dozens of jobs. The minimum for a civil engineer with four years’ experience used to be 15,000 dirhams a month. Now, the maximum you’ll get is 8,000,” or about $2,000. Mr. Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them. “Before, so many of us were living a good life here,” Mr. Thiab said. “Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 as weigie has state, dubai not doung so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxfactor Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Is it sad that the first thing I think of with buildings that tall is about who and when a terrorist is going to target it? You are not alone on that thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Runt Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ya, but doesn't it just put a smile on your face when you think of what they will do once we switch to a new source of energy?? And it will happen...eventually... They literally have nothing else BUT oil... they are sooo F' ed ! You think our economy is in the crapper now, geez... just picture what theirs' will be. Then again, it could have unexpected negative consequences as well. I've read some articles about Dubai and the way they're building things over there and I got the sense that they know their oil won't be their claim to fame forever and they wanted to have created this amazing place when they had the cash to do so. Sounded to me like they won't be nearly as f'd as you might think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've read some articles about Dubai and the way they're building things over there and I got the sense that they know their oil won't be their claim to fame forever and they wanted to have created this amazing place when they had the cash to do so. Sounded to me like they won't be nearly as f'd as you might think. May be, but I was actually talking in more general terms of several middle eastern countries. Some, I guess similar to Dubai, have at least tried to diversify their GNP, but many have not. It sure does seem like an awful lot of buildings and high rises be built with not much more than oil to support them though. All I'm saying is that it is gonna be a whole new world when their general public isn't supplemented my oil anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Are all those pictures real? The one with the clouds has Photoshop written all over it. If that one is real, no way I'd go to the top of that thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaumont Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well, the Arabs pretty much own London ... so they have that going for them ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Maybe Tiger Woods will donate his $3 million per year appearance fee to help US based workers pay off there debts and avoid jail time???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I read the title as Dubya is out of control and thought, "oh jeez, not another" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffraff Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Both Dubai and Moscow are currently having these Pivoting Skyscrapers built. Anyone up for some Jenga? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Both Dubai and Moscow are currently having these Pivoting Skyscrapers built. Anyone up for some Jenga? Um....if the whole thing is constantly shifting around, each floor independently, I take it the elevators are part of the concrete core? And if everything's moving, how do the car elevators work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 May be, but I was actually talking in more general terms of several middle eastern countries. Some, I guess similar to Dubai, have at least tried to diversify their GNP, but many have not. It sure does seem like an awful lot of buildings and high rises be built with not much more than oil to support them though. All I'm saying is that it is gonna be a whole new world when their general public isn't supplemented my oil anymore. Dubai does not have any oil. That is why they are the "Las Vegas" of the Persian Gulf. They get oil-rich foreign investors to build their infrastructure for them . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 By all means, sign me up to live/work half a mile in the sky, atop a structure with a huge bull's eye on it. Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Tower of Babel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 (edited) Um....if the whole thing is constantly shifting around, each floor independently, I take it the elevators are part of the concrete core? And if everything's moving, how do the car elevators work? I don't know what you mean by car elevator, but it's clear that the elevator system would run in the center of the building... edit: I finally made it to the picture about cars being on each floor.....and I have no idea how the core will be able to make this happen without a line forming if more than one person was to leave or arrive at the same time... and Moscow should learn from Dubai as they are in big trouble with people not buying or renting anything in the city..... it's turning out to be a hugh financial disaster.... Edited August 29, 2009 by Avernus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 By all means, sign me up to live/work half a mile in the sky, atop a structure with a huge bull's eye on it. Good times. Really? Uhmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Tower of Babel My first thought also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramhock Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 (edited) Is it sad that the first thing I think of with buildings that tall is about who and when a terrorist is going to target it? It will be harder to hit a moving target, though. Edited August 30, 2009 by Ramhock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macro_grp02 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 These buildings are just amazing I always wanted to get to these places but I just don't have the time. From an architect's perspective, the design and ingenuity to build such as a building is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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