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Justin Bieber attacked onstage in Dubai

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Justin Bieber, a real person, has survived a hug/attack/tackle from a male fan who rushed him onstage at a concert in Dubai. The fan knocked over a piano in the process, but Bieber escaped without any harm. The singer took a three-minute break and returned to perform an encore, later tweeting: "Dubai. Nothing stops the show."

The resilient Bieber has so far survived a murder and castration plot, a fan stampede, several shirtless nights and heartbreak of losing his monkey.

And now, your daily dose of schadenfreude:

World’s tallest (and smelliest) building

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

There are lots of noteworthy facts about Dubai’s Burj Khalifa: it’s the tallest building in the world and the tallest free-standing structure in the world, and it contains an elevator that travels the longest distance in the world, to name a few. But despite all these impressive accomplishments, the Burj Khalifa has a major problem.

A poop problem.

In an interview with "Fresh Air’s" Terry Gross last month, author Kate Ascher discussed her recently published book on the skyscraper (via Boing Boing):

US blocks UN telecom treaty

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 22:39:00 +0000

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A disappointed American delegation led a Western snub of a U.N. telecommunications treaty Thursday after rivals, including Iran and China, won support for provisions interpreted as endorsing greater government control of the Internet.

The unraveling of the conference displayed the deep ideological divide at the 193-nation gathering in Dubai, where envoys grappled with the first revisions of global telecom codes since 1988 — years before the dawn of the Internet age.

A Western bloc led by a powerhouse U.S. delegation sought to stop any U.N. rules on cyberspace, fearing they could squeeze Web commerce and open the door for more restrictions and monitoring by authoritarian regimes that already impose wide-ranging clampdowns. The head of one tech industry group said it could "forever alter" the Web.

A rival group — including China, Russia, Gulf Arab states, African nations and others — favored U.N. backing for stronger government sway over Internet affairs and claimed the Western dominance of the Internet needed to be addressed.

The battles were over language that could influence perceptions of what the Internet means as a modern tool for business, communications and societies — and not directly about specific practical regulations.