OK... I'm wrong on this one apparently... He seems to be the ruler of Dubai and the Dubai A1 GP is on hold. My bad. Scusi!
The ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, was not the founder. That was his nephew, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum. ow could you possibly have confused them? What's ridiculous is that they are postponing the Indonesian race, which isn't until 10 days from now, and not even in Dubai. Here they are cancelling everything, including the FatBoy Slim concert which was scheduled for tonight, and the Shopping Festival, a really big deal here, is also postponed. On the positive side I get a three-day weekend (thu-fri-sat,) though government employees get the whole of next week and then it's Eid. Funny how these guys always manage to snuff it at just the right time to give the gov't a two-week holiday. The official mourning period is 40 days: I just hope the beer store isn't closed that whole time!
Some things are more important than shopping festivals and concerts. He was a well respected leader and the mourning period is not only religious, but also fitting. Im sorry that your life has been "disrupted", but im sure you will get over it.
Oops. As sometimes happens, that post didn't some across as I meant it. I am not upset or "inconvenienced" by the cancellation of events in Dubai. I only meant to say that the cancellation of the A1 race over a week from now in another country is absurd, and the rest got tacked on as examples of things happening in Dubai proper.
Fair enough. But i still think that considering the ruling family is behind the A1 GP, its not too much to expect the event to be cancelled. In the west its enough to have a minutes silence, but different cultures veiw the situation differently.
