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| Wow! Wow! Wow! Tom took this photo from the 124th-floor observation deck of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, with a total of 163 stories in Dubai on this date in 2013. |
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Today’s photos are from May 31, 2013, from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Many more photos are available in this post. Please click here for more details.
As we sit here in lockdown in Mumbai, India, since March 24, 2020, for a total of 69 days and nights, we’re dependent upon both online and TV news broadcasts to keep us informed of world affairs. There are a few English-speaking newscasts here in Mumbai that supplement with news we read and videos we watch online.
Yes, we know about the unreliability of news as being precise and accurate in its representation, with sensationalism being the primary objective to attract more readers and viewers. But, this is all we have to go by at this point, like many of you in lockdown scenarios throughout the world.
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The most intentionally crooked skyscraper in Abu Dhabi, Capital Gate, was built at a full 18-degree angle. Oh.
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Although we must admit, at times, we may post a somewhat sensationalized headline to our stories to attract more readers, the content of our stories is definitively truthful and concise. (Oh, yes, the media claim to do the same thing!).
That’s one of the reasons we feel our readers have stayed with us for so long. We tell it like it is, although being upfront and vulnerable at times may prove to be a little revealing and embarrassing.
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| One of the entrances to the Emirates Palace Hotel. |
We wish the media felt the same way. But they don’t. And as we remain in lockdown in Mumbai for these 69 days and nights, we try to decipher from the available media what is truth and what is an exaggeration or possibly untrue in its entirety.
There’s no doubt in our minds what is happening in many cities in the US right now; the rioting, the violence, the ravaging of businesses, the thievery, and the resulting risk to life and limb.
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| We were looking up as we stood in the main foyer of the Emirates Palace Hotel. |
We won’t get into a political stance here, as we’ve promised in the past. For us, the reality remains: we’re worried about our family members and friends and the state of our country.
Many cities in our former home state of Minnesota and Tom’s birthplace of Minneapolis is in ruins right now and becoming worse each day. And for many of our readers in the US, their cities are being ravaged by this seeming uncontrollable situation.
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| Happy to sit in the air-conditioned comfort of the Emirates Palace Hotel. |
Adding to our concern, cable TV in the hotel has been down today since early this morning. With skeleton staff during the lockdown, it could be days until we can watch the news on the TV, which we do each morning upon awakening.
Instead, this morning we listened to US news videos on my phone before and during breakfast, horrified by what we were hearing and seeing. Gee…isn’t Covid-19 enough?
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| This looks similar to an ATM, but it’s a gold dispensing machine, not an ATM. |
Of course, many exaggerations and untruths are flying around Facebook, Twitter, and other media right now, many of which are scare tactics only inspiring more disharmony and hysteria.
In a time when harmony and collective caring for neighborhoods and fellow human beings can be highly instrumental in reducing the risks for Covid-19, the nation is on its knees in disharmony with elements of civil war.
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| In Dubai, our final stop on Palm island, the renowned Atlantis, The Palm Hotel & Resort, doesn’t allow tourists to visit except when dining or as a booked guest. |
May we all pray for our health, safety, and freedom, as a nation, as a world, and as an individual. God speed
Photo from one year ago today, May 31, 2019:
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| A portion of the Twelve Bens mountains. For more photos from Connemara, Ireland, please click here. |