Greetings from Dubai, aka the belly of the capitalist beast, where apparently Post Malone performed last night alongside DJ Khaled in what was surely a noisy nightmare. The weather is a humid 80+ degrees, and the streets are packed with World Cup fans, with no shortage of Messi jerseys to be seen. The city is certainly a sight to behold, with skyscrapers that truly scrape the sky and a public transit system that’s both clean and efficient. And all it took to transform this region from a collection of fishing villages to a global icon was discovering oil, importing millions of migrant laborers for cheap, and completely dismantling the middle class.
Side Items
Black Tie Biden: Ol’ Strikebreaking Biden had his first state dinner with France’s Emmanuel Macron this weekend, where they went full Marie Antoinette and feasted on lobster while laughing at all the poor people struggling around them. The cognitive dissonance required to tell rail workers they don’t deserve paid sick days while getting all decked out in the finest fabrics is too much for me, but I imagine it helps that Joey B has been experiencing cognitive decline for years, so he might not even remember screwing over the railroad workers
I’m Gonna Steal a Mega Yacht: Apparently the Justice Department is considering seizing a luxury yacht that’s docked here in Dubai. The Madame Gu is owned by Andrei Skoch, a Russian steel magnate and lawmaker under sanctions, and with its six bedrooms and helipad, it’s ripe for the picking. Unrelated, I’m considering taking a long walk on the marina later to see if I can commandeer the yacht and sink it to the ocean floor. Switching into Dominic Toretto mode now
Stream “Farha” on Netflix: A Jordanian film has been released on Netflix, and it’s really angering people in Israel, which is generally an indication of its accuracy. The film centers on the experiences of a 14 year old girl who is locked in a storage room by her father during the events of the Nakba, the Arabic term for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of about 700,000 Palestinians
World Cup Recap/Knockout Stage Edition
The Netherlands proved once and for all that when the Americans say “Us against the world”, sometimes the world wins. The Oranje boys sent the USA home, winning 3-1 in a game that revealed the limitations of the American side. Now the US and all her fans have four long years to rue their missed opportunities and prepare for the 2026 World Cup, where they’ll surely bite off more than they can chew once again
Argentina sent the Australian Soccerroos back to the land down undah, with Messi scoring and leading his side to a 2-1 victory. Apologies to the Soccerroos, who fought valiantly, but you have to wake up extra early to beat the king
Tonight, England take on Senegal in what is arguably the match I’m most looking forward to. The African champions take on the ultimate imperialist colonizers, with the chance to upset millions of English fans. It could be a storybook ending, but I’m gonna assume England comes out on top, because I know that any team I support is destined to lose
The other match tonight pits defending World Cup champions France against their European neighbors Poland. I’ll assume that Poland haven’t discovered any new talent over the last few days, which leads me to believe that France will win handily. I predict a 4-1 French victory