We visited the Dubai Miracle Garden the other day (The wonderful bizarreness of Dubai Miracle Garden, January 16), and were pleasantly surprised.
My brother and his wife were so impressed that they said they plan to visit it every week.
Well done, Dubai. It's amazing that a desert has been turned into a colourful oasis.
Jasvanti Bhogaita, Dubai
Why save if you impoverish your life?
Thank you for the wonderful article NRI's prudent example (January 24).
I have never been to the UAE, but I can see that the same sort of issues exist in the United States. The real question is not how much you earn, but how do you want to live?
It's hard to save when you are trying to raise a family. And in the US, there is lots to tempt people to buy.
The only way to save is to separate oneself from society. But we have only one life to live, so perhaps it might be better to take advantage of it.
Radouane Rouchdi, US
Try to live within your means
The lesson one should learn from the story Man asks for pardon after 'borrowing' Dh500,000 from Abu Dhabi supermarket (January 13) is that you should live within your means.
If you want to start a project, get someone to invest in it, otherwise work with your own investment.
There is no viable future for something that was started with stolen money.
Jane Peralta, Dubai
Paris attackers had no excuse
Withreference to your article From orphans to radicalised killers (January 19), the French government paid for the education, housing and health care of these culprits, who did not work. This is why the definition of poverty in France is different from the one in some other parts of the world. There is no excuse for such crimes.
Cendrine Madec-Foss, France
Satire is a tool of social control
In the opinion article Harmony is not just a naive dream, it is achievable (January 23), Fatima Al Shamsi says "satire is only effective and necessary when it puts forth a true and intelligent point and isn't provocative just for the sake of provocation".
I think satire is a healthy way to express one's point of view. It has existed in Europe and other parts of the world for many centuries.
Is it any surprise that satire and irony have been regarded as very effective tools to enable a society to reflect upon itself? It provides insights into people's collective psyche. It was Plato who said that satire helps keep society's conscience alert.
Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi
Green energy needs big push
Robin Mills's analysis Renewables need not fear falling oil prices (January 5) is a tidy summary of statistics about oil fundamentals. However, it starts to get a bit wobbly with the statement: "So what do renewable energy developers have to do to stay competitive in a world of falling fossil fuel prices?
"Continuing to bring down costs is the obvious key, especially for less favourable locations such as offshore wind, low-wind locations, and less sunny regions."
My answer to the question is as follows: young engineers and researchers will hopefully provide some innovation that involves a quantum leap in new energy technology.
We can then move beyond the expensive and inefficient ones that we currently seem inextricably tethered to, without an escape route in sight.
Lawrence Coomber, Dubai
Garden a miracle in the desert
A reader praises Dubai for turning a stretch of the desert into a blooming garden. Other topics: saving, Paris attackers, satire, green energy
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