[GOPJ]

Some 2,500 of these laborers hired by one of many firms working for Emaar downed tools for two days earlier this year and demonstrated in protest at poor working conditions and delays in the payment of salaries.

He said the average wages of the south Asian laborers, who work in summer in temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), are "probably in the range of a couple of hundred US dollars a month" for a shift of "eight to 10 hours" a day, six days a week. "They can get overtime if they like," Sang said.

More "fruits" of the Muslim tree...

[A CA Guy]

[alice_in_bubbaland]

It's not just buildings, they're also into building pretty fancy islands too!

[Redcloak]

I heard that they've going to have a lottery to decide who gets to fly the first plane into the building.

[Centurion2000]

We'll say it (will be) more than 700 meters (2,296 feet) and more than 160 stories

A parachute and a running start off the roof looks to be a new thrill ride for muzzies when it's finished.

[presidio9]

Cool, the ragheads blow up our skyscrapers and we respond by building the lame Freedom Tower. Meanwhile they are busy creating a building with real balls. And this ignores the fact that skyscrapers make sense in Manhattan, which has the most expensive real estate in the world, but not in Dubai, petroleum-less desert.

[burzum]

Good grief people! Dubai is actually trying to separate itself from the rest of the Middle East by building great public buildings, golf courses, ski resorts, etc., instead of palaces and madrases. Yet we complain!

I say: more power to them! The sooner more countries like Dubai start investing their oil profits in an intelligent way the better. Buildings like this help the West because they show the people in the Middle East that there is a better way, even in the Middle East.

[dfwgator]

What's the over/under on how long until a plane flies into it?