But Dave as Fox said (this is PPRUNE so I don't know who this Stu is
) if you want the fire you will have to put up with the smoke. If you want the tourists as Abu Dhabi and especially Dubai want, then you need to provide them access to alcohol. If you provide them access to alcohol don't be surprised if some over indulge. I will say again to those that obviously can't read that I don't condone for a moment the way these guys acted. I just worry about the precedent set by charging these guys with drinking without a license when they are not residents and so could never possess a license.
Dave I do agree with the lack of respect for local values here, as evidenced by the abundance of mini skirts and cleavage every time I visit the malls in Dubai. It's so disgusting I have to revisit at least weekly to confirm for myself this disgusting practice is continuing
But seriously it is a problem when you even see a local girl with the face fully covered but the Abaya open down the front revealing a spectacular lacy black bra number and some pretty impressive cleavage, at the local Starbucks
I think the UAE is confused itself on who it wants to be. It ideally wants to stay traditional in its culture and behaviour, but needs the foreign investment to help it diversify away from reliance on oil income, and with the foreign investment comes some of the problems from the West, ie. Drunkeness, crime etc. They either choose to shut the place off and become another Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, or take the bad with the good and try and make the best of it. If they do the latter then they need to at least get some consistency in their laws and realise that if you allow drinking you allow what comes from that drinking (to a reasonable degree, as has been pointed out absolute drunkeness is a crime everywhere not just here). The days of letting a man drink and then arresting him for having booze on his breath are gone. The days of defining drink driving as having any alcohol in someones system is gone, bring in .05.