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As Dubai aggressively pursues world Expo, fears arise over inflating real estate bubble
• DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, and you might spot an unusual banner: A flag placed by six climbers emblazoned with the logo of Dubai's bid to host a World's fair in 2020.
• In Dubai, the logo is also plastered on police cars, convenience store bags, storefronts, taxis, receipts, government buildings and even on new resident visa forms. Countdowns to Wednesday's decision of who will host Expo 2020 also appear on one of Dubai's main highways and in one of its main English-language daily newspaper.
• Dubai's rulers say their futuristic city of skyscrapers is ideal to host the event. But their well-oiled public-relations campaign belies a worry among many in the United Arab Emirates city that increased building and real-estate speculation driven by the event could put it on the cusp of another financial crisis.
• "People are betting on what's to come rather than what's really here," said Faris Mansour, director of Mubadala Pramerica Real Estate Investors. He spoke on a panel at a recent real estate conference during a discussion on whether Dubai was in recovery or not.
• While the World's fair no longer holds the popularity of other global events like the Olympics or World Cup, it remains a chance for millions of people from around the world to discuss and see the business of the future. Dubai is competing with Yekaterinburg in Russia, Izmir in Turkey and Sao Paulo to host Expo 2020.
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Convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah providing opportunities and challenges for US Jews
• FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- When life gives you Hanukkah on Thanksgiving, make a menurkey. Or a turkel.
• That's what students at suburban Detroit's Hillel Day School are doing -- creating paper-and-paint mashups of menorahs and turkeys, and the birds combined with dreidels.
• The recent class projects at the Farmington Hills school illustrate one way U.S. Jews are dealing with a rare quirk of the calendar on Thursday that overlaps Thanksgiving with the start of Hanukkah. The last time it happened was 1888 and the next is 79,043 years from now -- by one estimate widely shared in Jewish cir (Continued on page 30)
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