Money laundered or well spent?

I have never been to Dubai. It is sure, as I am told and as I read, an obscenely rice emirate. But does that warrant expenses like the luxury Palm Jumeirah project? It is being developed along the beachfront districts of Dubai and is a huge man-made, palm-shaped island. Take a look at it for yourself. I think it is such a futile architectural exercise! Just imagine the poor fellow who has to visit somebody in the sprig above his - he'll have to take a long detour via the branch rather than take the shortest route. But then they have desert-beating and gas-guzzling SUVs to do that. The island is coming up at a cost of $ 14 billion! It may be of interest to know that, according to UN's WFP, it takes just $ 0.19 to feed a child a day and that 20,000 children die of hunger each day. Also, with the money being spent on the island, we can choose to feed 52,63,15,789 children! Even Dubai has its fair share of problems that it needs to tackle - the social security of the labour force tops that list! Where do we draw lines on what is acceptable and what is not in such a context? Even India has, I am sure, such hideously expensive luxury projects.