Credit where credit is due
May 22, 2007
In the long run, this will do more for world peace than any military campaign or blowhard political speech: Dubai ruler in vast charitable gift.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum says there’s “a wide knowledge gap between us and the developed world in the West and in Asia” and that he wants to fight illiteracy – especially among Arab women – and create a “knowledge-based society”. [More details]
Al-Queda probably won’t like this guy – I hope his bodyguards are well-chosen.
Categories: Education
Well, so far, I like this guy for throwing a wrench into the whole Muslims are uncivilized and only wanna stone their women shtick.
Although this whole idea of fighting illiteracy among Arab women by throwing money at education opportunities smacks of communism. Hasn’t anyone told this guy that Marxism is an ideology that died the withering death in the last century? If they want good education, they should support private schools for the elite and more libertarian type school choice.
Neither will captains of capitalism. Let’s see who gets to him first. We’d like to think of those desert hinterlands as easy cultural pickings. This whole education thing could make it harder to swindle the yokels.
I saw a thing on TV about him a few weeks back. Some women at a mall were being interviewed and were gushing all over him for being a good guy.
How does creating a charity for Arab nations sound like communism?
Sounds like good stuff to me. Scholarship money, research programs and centers, leadership programs. Sounds more socialist than communist.
Marxism is still alive today, but has changed more to a system of socialism rather than communism. Which is what most Marxist Universities teach, socialism.
Websie, give your sarcasm detector a whack. Check the batteries.
He probably is. But wait until the press finds out he probably holds some opinions that (gasp!) wouldn’t be appreciated by American liberals!!!
Well, it’s only right. Things like this should be seen through our cultural filter. How else would we judge him?
Anywho, part two of the same interview I was speaking of started railing on him for building up Dubai up on the backs of imported cheap labor, with poor safety record. In 30 years he transformed the place.
And now, it seems there are some man-made islands being built out there in the straits that are supposed to resemble the countries of the world or some such thing. Many billionaires and millionaires have already purchased their own islands for their Dubai houses. Haliburton executives among them.
I see this as a pretty shrewd move. The rich don’t piss in their own pool—so he’s looking at sustaining the place with the help of these foreign island dwellers. The Others.
Wow – their own islands. I must admit to being unable to see the attraction of a vacation home where it gets to 120 degrees in the shade.
I think they gots the gas & oil to keep the A/C on in the mansions.
Of course, wait till they find out climate change IS for real and the islands are swamped.
It would be interesting to know if they accounted for sea level change or not.
Sorry, but sometimes it’s hard to distinguish sarcasm from serious talk. That’s why I’m a fan of emoticons
There is no serious talk. It’s a blog. By definition comments are wankery.
I particularly enjoy humorless people getting riled up over blog comments. Good grief. I’m not speaking about you in that sense though, since you didn’t actually let go with a stream of invectives, but instead asked for clarification.
That’s +karma-points that you can bank for later.
Well I think part of the reason why I read wayyyy too far into your comment was because there is a strong anti-socialist on this blog and for whatever reason thought you might have been taking a step down them roads.
I especially like watching a fundi go nuts over a joke about their pet topic.
One of the few Arab leaders who has figured out that Oil money is only temporary. I have actually met a few members of the semi royal family. All are well educated most with degree’s in engineering. Strangely enough the ones I met are very much pro american.
Why is it strange that Arab royalty should be pro-American, james? The Saudis, at least, just want to protect their substantial investments in the US. They are in the enviable position of having their cake (property in America) and eating it too (supporting Al-Qaeda).