anjum: now tumbling

The bankruptcy of Dubai - in every sense

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:46:31 -0500

The bankruptcy of Dubai - in every sense:

Dubai is finally financially bankrupt – but it has been morally bankrupt all along. The idea that Dubai is an oasis of freedom on the Arabian peninsular is one of the great lies of our time. Yes, it has Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts and the Gucci styles, but beneath these accoutrements, there is a dictatorship built by slaves.

If you go there with your eyes open – as I did earlier this year – the truth is hidden in plain view. The tour-books and the bragging Emiratis will tell you the city was built by Sheikh Mohammed, the country’s hereditary ruler. It is untrue. The people who really built the city can be seen in long chain-gangs by the side of the road, or toiling all day at the top of the tallest buildings in the world, in heat that Westerners are told not to stay in for more than ten minutes. They were conned into coming, and trapped into staying.

In their home country – Bangladesh or the Philippines or India – these workers are told they can earn a fortune in Dubai if they pay a large upfront fee. When they arrive, their passports are taken from them, and they are told their wages are a tenth of the rate they were promised. They end up working in extremely dangerous conditions for years, just to pay back their initial debt. They are ringed-off in filthy tent-cities outside Dubai, where they sleep in weeping heat, next to open sewage. They have no way to go home. If they try to strike for better conditions, they are beaten by the police.

I met so many men in this position I stopped counting, just as the embassies were told to stop counting how many workers die in these conditions every year after they figured it topped more than 1000 among the Indians alone.

Human Rights Watch right calls this system “slavery.” Yet the Westerners who have flocked to Dubai brag that they “love” the city, because they don’t have to pay any taxes, and they have domestic slaves to do all the hard work. They train themselves not to see the pain.

(via azspot)

"You’re gonna charge $400 for that? Aren’t you from India? What’re you going to do with $400?!"

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:23:04 -0500

“You’re gonna charge $400 for that? Aren’t you from India? What’re you going to do with $400?!”

- (via clientsfromhell)

Clients From Hell

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:09:25 -0500

Clients From Hell:

holy awesome, there is a Clients From Hell tumblr!!

"It's like twitter. Except we charge people to use it."

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:08:44 -0500

"It's like twitter. Except we charge people to use it.":

mirza:

An interesting conversation between a logo designer and an obnoxious client. This deserves to be on Clients From Hell

hahaha this was so hilarious! i LOVE clients like these…

"Calvin: You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. Hobbes:..."

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:34:24 -0500

“Calvin: You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes: What mood is that?
Calvin: Last-minute panic.”

- Bill Watterson (via kari-shma)

ha! this is me.

(via dodecadist : cocknbull : bmckinney :...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:52:24 -0500

(via dodecadist : cocknbull : bmckinney : azspot : Jeff Parker : jacquelynn: asprettyasasong)

"Easily the most startling passage in “Going Rogue,” running more than two pages, collates extended..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:04:05 -0500

“Easily the most startling passage in “Going Rogue,” running more than two pages, collates extended excerpts from a prayerful letter Palin wrote to mark the birth of Trig, her child with Down syndrome. This missive’s understandable goal was to reassert Palin’s faith and trust in God. But Palin did not write her letter to God; she wrote the letter from God, assuming His role and voice herself and signing it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.” If I may say so — Oy!”

- Op-Ed Columnist - The Pit Bull in the China Shop - NYTimes.com

holy crap!

"Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. Real..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:09:49 -0500

“Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. Real business geniuses don’t pretend they know everything.”

- Real Business Geniuses Don’t Pretend To Know Everything - Bill Taylor - HarvardBusiness.org

Urban Grace Interiors: Paula Deen is trying to kill you love the...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:41:16 -0500

Urban Grace Interiors: Paula Deen is trying to kill you

love the title too :) (via robot-heart)

The 500 Most Influential Muslims - 2009

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:21:13 -0500

The 500 Most Influential Muslims - 2009

On the Seventh Day, the Lord Created Irony

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:56:00 -0500

Overheard in the Office on 10/27/09

Manager: Do you want to hear the rumors about layoffs and so on? Well, what I’ve been hearing is that things will be quiet for a while.

(flash of lightning followed by huge ominous boom of thunder)

Manager: No, I mean it!

Manhattan, New York

gatekeeper: (via sunlightandamocha)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:25:36 -0500

gatekeeper: (via sunlightandamocha)

(via juki) Yasmine, Ayesha, this is just like the photo we took!...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:21:16 -0500

(via juki)

Yasmine, Ayesha, this is just like the photo we took! not so much harry potter though.

fuckyeahgreysmcnatomy: Jackson: Dr. Yang, let me just tell you...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:03:20 -0500

fuckyeahgreysmcnatomy:

Jackson: Dr. Yang, let me just tell you that, that was incredibly hot in the OR yesterday. Very deeply hot. It was hot. You are hot.

6x08, Invest in Love

Thank God one of the Mercy West residents is hot. And this boy is HOT.

Girl Who Sneezes 12,000 Times a Day Leaves Doctors Baffled

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:58:47 -0500

Girl Who Sneezes 12,000 Times a Day Leaves Doctors Baffled:

robot-heart:

chuckmore:cameronr:leonardthegeorge

THIS IS MY MIGHTMARE!!!!!

What? I mean 12,000 times is a bit excessive, but who doesn’t love a good sneeze? Would you rather sneeze 12,000 times a day (roughly eight a minute? or something? math, heh…) or never sneeze again EVER? Tough call.

What, you would pick sneezing 12000 times a day over never again? that would seriously impact your ability to live a normal life, you know.

(via fuckyeahgreysmcnatomy) He certainly is dreamy. :)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:53:50 -0500

(via fuckyeahgreysmcnatomy)

He certainly is dreamy. :)

fuckyeahblackbeauties: controversie: thatmatthew: johnnyybravo:...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:49:11 -0500

fuckyeahblackbeauties: controversie: thatmatthew: johnnyybravo: iansnugwildlife: ozkrdiego: therealptt:

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (cover)

"Paying taxes is like going to the zoo. Admission is twenty bucks. You can’t walk in and go, “Here’s..."

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:26:14 -0500

“Paying taxes is like going to the zoo. Admission is twenty bucks. You can’t walk in and go, “Here’s $18.50. I don’t like zebras.””

- Jon Stewart, demolishing the rationale behind the Stupak Amendment. (via alcaniglia) (via absurdlakefront) (via apsies) (via think4yourself) (via asprettyasasong)

Most people keep their ducks in the bath… but this lot...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:45:44 -0500

Most people keep their ducks in the bath… but this lot aren’t made of rubber | Mail Online

OMG CUTENESS!

How to See the World: Art of Travel; European and World Backpacking; On $25 a Day or Less

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:42:24 -0500

How to See the World: Art of Travel; European and World Backpacking; On $25 a Day or Less