It’s the City that Oil Built. It’s always the greatest show on earth when Dubai presents with none anywhere else to compare!
Dubai was first mentioned in 1095, and the earliest settlement known as Dubai town dates from 1799. Dubai was formally established in 1833 by Sheikh Maktoum bin Buti al Maktoum when he persuaded 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, living in what is now part of Saudi Arabia, to follow him to the Dubai Creek by the Al Abu Falasa clan of Bani Yas. It remained under clan control when the United Kingdom assumed the protection of Dubai in 1892. Its geographical location made it an important trading hub and by the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port.
In 1966, oil was discovered, expanding the city by 300% and bringing in international oil interests.
The modern emirate of Dubai was created after the UK left the area in 1971. At this time Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and four other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates.
Although Dubai’s economy was built on the oil industry, the emirate’s model of business drives its economy, with the effect that its main revenues are now from tourism, real estate, and financial services, similar to that of Western countries.
Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative mega construction projects and sports events. This increased attention has highlighted labour rights and human rights issues concerning its largeIndians, which made up half of its total population.
Dubai’s property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the worldwide economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2007–2010.
With that in hindsight, the show progresses on . . .
When talking about space, there are areas which are normally familiar to the man in the street. There are indeed also indefinite concepts in scientific terms as used by geometers and physicists which we may not know or understand. Suffice for me to touch on some personal thoughts relating to peace & harmony, privacy, friendship, love & emotion . . . and space in the physical living or playing fields.
Even then there are confines or boundaries beyond which we may never know, and of course, there is that spiritual aspect of things where grace sets in.
In January 2007 when my friend CC & his lovely wife Phyllis were travelling & sightseeing in New Delhi to Taj Mahal in Agra, India, they passed through the countryside where some grand new villas were under construction. He noticed a large poster with these words:
Till today he remembers it well and often reflect upon those memorable words, sharing them with his friends, architects, developers and his soccer-playing grandchildren. According to him, life is often preoccupied with time & space and with grace giving us lessons in various ways.
Lately, while watching his grandchildren playing soccer, realisation dawned on him of the need of an optimum playing field where space is paramount for level play with ease or difficulty of attack & defence. He recalled & visualised the “space” concept in terms of a restricted number of 11 players & one goal-keeper in each team and where in winning the game all available spaces must be covered & exploited. Success in life to him means preempting the right positioning in space. His grandchildren are fortunate to have a grandfather with wisdom to impart.
In further extension of my thought:
Space is taken to overcome all boundaries, inhibitions & restrictions to explore & conquer . . . turning all adversities to victories. Space however is timeless as opposed to our limited existence.
Grace is herewith defined as a divinely given talent or blessing, the free & unmerited favour of God. It’s got to flow from God to fill within us & then exert forth to the external. Grace is unseen, non-materialistic and unlimited flowing from God for our faith & asking. As goodness grows, blessings flow.
From the womb to the tomb, we need space to grow . . . to equip ourselves in our daily life to intern, specialise and then to fraternise. As is said, no man is an island. We are by nature gregarious and cannot live alone. We need company. We need partner and that is why God provided Adam with Eve. Within the limitless space of the Garden of Eden, freedom & choice were available except for the forbidden fruit. What happened next resulted in the pain & suffering of mankind.
Freedom to chose & choice to make are really no option whatsoever. Inevitably, man by his own doing destroy the space & environment in which he lives. By our own strength we are powerless and though “impossible” is the word not to be found in Napoleon Bonaparte’s dictionary, not all things are possible with man. Only with God all things are possible. With “space to grow” we need “God’d grace to flow”.
Give grace some space, for man is no master of space. It sours the souls of those greedy for space by intrusion & exploitation, thereby destroying both peace & harmony . . . as exemplified by the turmoils in the Middle East & the Arab world. Under the guise of democracy, everything has gone crazy. The need for regime change is a nagging & ragging righteousness with no resultant merit except unnecessary death, pain & suffering. Nobody ever wins in a war!
Make friends not enemies. The irony is you may have but one enemy, you’re bound to face him everywhere! Negotiation rather than confrontation as with diplomacy opposed to being artless or tactless or hypocrisy. Give space to sovereignty, for aggression will meet with further aggression. Let every sovereignty grow & progress. Encroach not upon its nest.
Let moderation & good sense prevail and senselessness be assailed. LET GO & LET GOD. Don’t ever push yourself too hard. As is said in Ecclesiastes 3:17: “God will bring to judgment both the righteous & the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.”
From the Virtual Fun Zone site came this amazing unbelievable story: “One Year Child Is Pregnant”! This news is indeed the most popular & shocking news on the web! It’s true. Believe it or not!
It is reported that a one year old child has been found pregnant in Saudi Arabia. Doctor says it’s a unique case for this world! Medical Science Report says : “When the mother of this child was pregnant, she had 2 foetuses inside her. But one of the foetus grew inside the other, this why this girl was born with the other foetus inside her womb.”
I am only guessing . . . this must be one in a million chance that such a natural phenomenon or freak occurred. Many questions come to mind:
Will the pregnancy be allowed to continue?
How will the little child mother cope?
If allowed to continue, will the foetus grow normally?
Whatever you may possess, you are but a custodian . . . for nothing really ever belong to anybody in terms of time & space . . . eternity! We are but passing ships that sail through the night. With each dawn, there’s the new port of call . . . everything is in transition – nothing of permanence.
But the land will be there for all times & throughout eternity. Many a great general in historical past, or like the Trojans or the Romans, ALL have come & gone. What’s sense is there to fight & dare . . . to invade & dominate ?
Let’s co-operate & share with one another for the benefits of all!
Paul Chong's Blog 