I hope this monument to opulence fails miserably and the developers lose their shirts.
There’s no way they won’t damage or destroy that reef.
The first big storm is going to destroy much of the sand island.
But, 10% are special protection zones! Won’t matter, they can’t survive if huge amounts of the non protected reef are destroyed.

Not to mention sea level rise will put it underwater quickly, it’s barely above current sea level in the plans.

Look at Mexico, dozens of comparatively tiny resorts not even on the reefs, but on land, and that reef is not 10% what it was in the mid 80’s. Building ON the reef is guaranteed to destroy it, as is tourism.

I hate when companies are allowed to build on natural wonders to exploit the beauty, they invariably destroy that beauty within decades. That entire reef/coastline should be off limits to construction so the two desert properties have an attraction. When the reefs die from sun tan lotion poisoning, bleaching, sand displacement, accidents with supply ships, the first major fuel spill, etc, that place will be a $5 billion waste, abandoned to the desert.

Remember the “islands of the world” project in Dubai? This sounds even less thought out than they were, more ecologically disastrous, needing more infrastructure to be built, requiring ships to bring fuel as there’s no nearby port to run pipelines from (guaranteeing oil spills). All for what? So billionaires can get off their yachts for a while in luxury?

Wiki-Significant changes in the maritime environment [of Dubai]. As a result of the dredging and redepositing of sand for the construction of the islands, the typically crystalline waters of the Persian Gulf at Dubai have become severely clouded with silt. Construction activity is damaging the marine habitat, burying coral reefs, oyster beds and subterranean fields of sea grass, threatening local marine species as well as other species dependent on them for food. Oyster beds have been covered in as much as two inches of sediment, while above the water, beaches are eroding with the disruption of natural currents.

That was a $12 billion project to exploit the pristine coast and beautiful waters that no longer exist, the islands themselves are sinking and eroding, most were evacuated or never used at all, the water is now mud colored, the reefs are gone. An unmitigated disaster. This sounds extremely similar.

Oppose this and similar projects.

Herodotus (book VII) recounts Xerxes sending a scout to spy on the Spartan expeditionary force holding Thermopylae. The scout, ignored by the Spartans, returns to Persian lines, and reports that the Spartans - badly outnumbered - where combing their hair.

I've never understood what that looked like. I may now.

@bcglorf

if I could just interject here,and I do not mean to interrupt ,but the origins of satan come from an older,persian religion:the Zoroastrian religion, one of the world's earliest, the supreme deity, Ormazd, created two entities: the chaotic and destructive spirit Ahriman and his beneficent twin brother, Spenta Mainyu,

and while Judaism doesn't have an actual "satan".There are few demon-like figures in Hebrew scripture, but the most famous one appears in the Book of Job. In that book, an "adversary" or "tempter" asks God whether the prosperous man Job would continue to praise God after losing everything. God takes up the challenge, and strips Job of his wealth and family, leaving the man wondering why such a horrible fate befell him.

the Christians took the Zoroastrian take on man's duality and ran with it,using "satan" which is Hebrew for "adversary".

I just thought you might be interested.
okay you two,carry on.

Wet Persian? Wet Pond? Don't get it.
Oh wait - the Persian needs to be taken to the Vet. Clever.

To be fair, 300 barely touched on the politics involved, but they did play fast and lose with history.
Spartan soldiers were free men, and the Persian army included many who were drafted. Maybe they technically weren't slaves, but for all intents and purposes they were, so the line makes sense, even if it may be misleading without background knowledge.
True enough, from what I was taught, the Spartans weren't so interested in democracy, they seemed to believe the strongest should rule, not the weaker masses.

All that said, the Persians were invaders, so NOT the good guys in any form no matter what advantages their culture may have had. If Canada invaded the U.S., would they be the good guys just because their political system and society aren't in the toilet?

Here another fun fact for the geniuses at this news desk. The Arabs got chess from the Persians who got it from India.

Why the flying FUCK would they have christian symbols on them!?

Since they mention it's based on a Google DB, I will go out on a limb and say it is probably quite euro-centric. A more fully-featured data set would most likely show much more movements in the Middle-East (Persian empire, Muslim golden age having preceded the Renaissance) and around China (because you don't get to be the largest economy in the world for 18 of the last 20 centuries by standing still and doing nothing).

Dude, get a clue-EVERYTHING in the news regarding Israel and Palestine is fucking propaganda-Left?? Right?? All idiots will regurgitate their programed scripts and your view on the matter is no-less full of shit, tinctured with half-truths, and most importantly you have no way of having enough REAL information on the sit-rep to make an informed decision-It's the fucking Jews and Persians mate, they've been cunts to one-another for fucking centuries.

In the current stage of the paradigm, WILDCARD!~We've learned how to refine crude into all-manner of covetous bi-products. This ain't yer granpappy's, whose-god-is best-argument any longer.

Hear, hear...A lonely voice of sanity, crying-out in a wilderness of the self-deluded...

I'd offer...Who gives a fiddler's fuck whose missile hit whose fight club incubator? Missiles found stacked neatly at two United Nations Relief and Works Agency school buildings to-date, and as far as that shit goes who is to say it wasn't the UN who brokered the bomb deal and sent the blue-helmet fucks to deliver 'em?

I have a suggestion: Israels' a big boy now (the 'dybbuk' have come a long way since 1947)... How about the rest of the world back the way back from The Never Ending Storyline of Real-Jew/Fake-Jew vs Persians (2700+ years and counting??) and let all interested parties duke it the fuck out? Oh and by all means, think of the children, consume more news-corp spin, and go out and get yourselves some solar-powered Vitamin D maybe??

I know...Let's identify and list 24/7-365 the names and addresses on news-tickers worldwide of the DAMAGED WHITE PEOPLE who manufactured the ordinance and continue to bank Hanover Phist on regional conflicts worldwide (while stealing $$ from the planet's wage-slaves) and eliminate ALL THOSE motherfuckers??


...'and the world, will be a better place'

@A10anis this is IS more complicated than simply the US's influence-The 'west' to a massive extent includes not only the U.S. but most of Europe, Canada, Russia, South America, and strong allies of all these-then you have the next wave of planetary ass-rape which will most-likely come from China and perhaps Persian cultures this next century, where a shitload of the remaining oil on the planet resides...Like underneath IRAN??

How Persians train for extreme rendition

I know very little about Syria beyond what is part of the major consensus narrative aka "history". But it's an interesting discussion to have, so my vote goes to "horrible idea", and here's why.

It's a civil war between bad guys on one side and bad guys on the other side, with civilians, as always, caught right in the middle of this meatgrinder. Foreign supporters of both sides keep adding fuel in the form of cash, weapons, training and personnel, all for their own geopolitical gains, of course. Nobody truly gives a fuck about the population, never has.

If any action is supposed to to be carried out for the benefit of the local population, the refugees and regional stability, I'd say two basic questions need to be answered first:

1) What's the situation?
2) What actions by exterior forces can improve this situation?

Judging by most articles these days, the modus operandi instead seems to be based on two entirely different questions: what actions would benefit our geopolitical/economical situation and what should this conflict's narrative look like to support our intentions.

If you look at all the major players involved, it seems clear to me to be a "stay-the-fuck-outta-this" situation.

US, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia + Emirates vs Syria, Russia and Iran. Egypt and Lebanon are "involved" on both sides -- Muslim Brotherhood and Lebanese Sunnis against Assad, General Sisi (neutral?) and Lebanese Shia pro Assad. Not to mention Al Qaeda against Assad and Hezbollah pro Assad.

Anytime the US finds itself on the same team as Al Qaeda, the situation needs to be reevaluated. And don't even get me started on those barbarians that cut off people's heads and eat their hearts in front of cameras.

And what's the primary geopolitical angle here? To cut the connection between Iran and the Lebanese Shia (Hezbollah)? I figure if they get isolated, they might lash out - violently. And those guys are much more capable than the rabble that makes up significant parts of the Syrian insurrection.

Once the Alawites and Shia in Syria get chopped up by those "rebels" after Assad was removed, things will get ugly real fast.

My suggestion: stop treating Iran like a pariah and start talking. Their regime might be a disaster, but the Persian people are well educated and much closer to our Western way of life than anyone else in that region. Get them, the Russians and the Chinese involved.

Then again, that's the White Man trying to solve the Brown Man's problems from the outside -- has that ever worked? Besides, it would reduce the threat of terrorism and war -- that's bad for business.

For folks saying that the 300 was historically inaccurate, our historical records for that 'event' come largely from Herodotus who, although is often called the first real historian, was pretty much about cool yarns in the first place. The whole Persian conflict reads like a very cool war novel and has to be taken with a grain of salt.

WTF?!? Was that Twilight chick leading the Persian navy? Why would they be so historically inaccurate in order to install a horrid actress?