UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree

[The Straight Story]

UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree

ABU DHABI (AFP) – Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.

It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars," said Hans Olbertz, general manager of Emirates Palace hotel, at its inauguration.

The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/lf_afp/uaehotelchristmasoffbeat

[valerief]

1. Need another pallet of US dollars, UAE? nt

[The Straight Story]

2. opulence, they has it (nt)

[AlabamaLibrul]

5. well played

end of transmission

[tomm2thumbs]

3. mine would be a little more understated

[alex cross]

4. "Asked if the tree might offend religious sensibilities

in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population is Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It's a very liberal country," he said."

But let's hope that a hand holding gay couple don't stop to gaze, it would be a shame to get blood all over it.

[hunter]

6. Uh, oh. They'd better be watching out for Jesus.

NO! NO! NO! IT IS NOT MY BIRTHDAY!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleansing_of_the_Temple

[gratuitous]

7. Son of a bitch!

Has Bill O'Reilly been informed of this latest casualty in the War on Christmas™? America does not have the most expensive Christmas tree ever! It's a travesty! An outrage! Baby Jesus weeps. To arms!

[damntexdem]

8. All this for a prophet? And not even Mohammed?

Oh, wait -- no, it's for the symbol of the UAE's (like the USA's) true religion: that of the Almighty Dollar.