Foreign Policy Mag: "Dubai's Troubles Have Just Begun" ... Yikes.

I think these are not just nay-sayers. I'm concerned that denying these kinds of things will only add to the problems here.

Ravi Zacharias on "Maintaining a Christian Worldview in the Classroom"

Good stuff from Ravi Z. And maybe this is helpful for people in other intellectually restrictive environments as well.

Halloween Wear... Only in America

Only in America... Halloween is just around the corner in Amreica.  Actually, I think this might fit my dog but I would never treat my dog like that :)  You'd think PETA would picket against these kind of things. (just kidding).

Great Quote: C.S. Lewis on the Law and the Need to Be "Born Again"

The very activities for which we were created are, while we
live on earth, variously impeded: by evil in ourselves or in
others. Not to practice them is to abandon our humanity. To
practice them spontaneously and delightfully is not yet
possible. This situation creates the category of duty, the
whole specifically moral realm.
   It exists to be transcended. Here is the paradox of
Christianity. As practical imperatives for here and now, the
two great commandments have to be translated "Behave as if you
loved God and man." For no man can love because he is told to.
Yet obedience on this practical level is not really obedience
at all. And if a man really loved God and man, once again this
would hardly be obedience; for if he did, he would be unable to
help it. Thus the command really says to us, "Ye must be born
again." Till then, we have duty, morality, the Law. A
schoolmaster, as St. Paul says, is to bring us to Christ. We
must expect no more of it than of a schoolmaster; we must allow
it no less.
   ... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on
         Prayer

UN to Fund "Safeguarding" of UAE Cultural Practices

Here's our country's UN dues at work...

Cultural Practices to be Assisted by U.N.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The United Nations launched an initiative in the United Arab Emirates to prevent the death of age-old cultural practices, a press release reported.

Thursday, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage listed 76 traditions from around the world on the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Included were the tango, religious processions and fertility dances.

...The practices in need of urgent safeguarding are eligible for funding to ensure their survival.

Among these are Latvian female drone singing, a collective fishing rite in Mali, three Mongolian practices and a Belarus Christmas ritual.

Do you think Abu Dhabi really needs UNESCO funding to help with this?  (See this chart on the value of various sovereign wealth funds in the world... guess whose is at the top and valued at 50% more than #2)

And what are the cultural practices that are going to be "safeguarded"?

I'm in favor of preserving heritage for future generations to learn from them.  I'm not sure this is the best way to do it.

Two Interesting Articles About the UAE

New York Times: The Possibility of a Nuclear Iran Alarms Arabs

The head of a prominent research center in Dubai said that it might even be better if the West — or Israel — staged a military strike on Iran, rather than letting it emerge as a nuclear power. That kind of talk from Arabs was nearly unheard of before the revelation of the second enrichment plant, and while still rare, it reflects growing alarm.

“Israel can start the attack but they can’t sustain it; the United States can start it and sustain it,” said Abdulaziz Sager, a Saudi businessman and former diplomat who is chairman of the Gulf Research Center in the United Arab Emirates. “The region can live with a limited retaliation from Iran better than living with a permanent nuclear deterrent. I favor getting the job done now instead of living the rest of my life with a nuclear hegemony in the region that Iran would like to impose.”

Another article here. I won't quote it...see for yourself.