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Comment by b0rsuk | Hacker News Reader

I read about one of Arabic countries - I don't remember if it was the Emirates or Saudi Arabia, but one of the big names. The newspaper article claimed milkmen in that country walk into your house, take money lying on your fridge, leave the change, put milk into your fridge, walk out. You typically leave your house unlocked, the article claimed.

That's a problem the country doesn't have.

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I think it used to be like this in America too. The milkman would walk into your kitchen (via the back door, which was unlocked) and leave the milk in your fridge.

I live in an old house in a cooler climate and my place and most of my neighbors' have a special small two-way "cabinet" through the exterior wall in the back where the milkman used to leave your delivery, sort of like a mailbox built into your house.

Sweden used to have a very high trust rating until very recently, too.

If you watch some old movies, you can see very lax airport security.

How times change. How did we end up trust each other so little ? What happened ? Is it really inevitable ?

I don't think all change is progress. For example, some ancient Greek cities like Athens were more progressive on gay rights and sexuality.

I lived in the UAE a few years ago, and I wouldn’t really be surprised. When I had water delivered I just left money and the empty bottles on the doorstep and never had any issues.

One time I was at a coffee shop in a mall and there was a table next to me of ~8 people having a business meeting with laptops. Lunch time came, so they left all their stuff - laptops and all - and went for lunch. After an hour they came back and continued.

Petty crimes like this aren’t a thing in this country. If caught, a foreigner is just going to get jail time (which is most likely better than US county jail) and deportation.

I would not trust that rosy story for a second. In UAE you can get the death penalty for homosexuality, drug use or saying bad things about their religion.

"Under Emirati law, multiple crimes carry the death penalty, and the sole method of execution is firing squad. Current law theoretically allows the death penalty for treason, espionage, murder, successfully inciting the suicide of a person "afflicted with total lack of free will or reason", arson resulting in death, acts of indecent assault resulting in death, importing nuclear substances/wastes in the environment of the State, adultery, apostasy, blasphemy, perjury causing wrongful execution, rape, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, terrorism, sodomy, homosexuality, drug trafficking[1] and joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[2][3], although death sentences are frequently commuted to life sentences. Overseas nationals and UAE nationals have both been executed for crimes."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Unit...

What in gods name does the milkman have to do with the death penalty? The USA also has capital punishment, doesn't mean you can't leave your laptop at the café in some posh suburb.

Seems like that would be confirmation for the claim. I would expect that in a wealthy area with ridiculously harsh penalties for petty theft, you would have little to fear in terms of being a victim of those crimes.

I never said UAE is an utopia or even a fun place to live. I think there is merit to criticism of Islam that it doesn't distinguish between religious and secular, so it's a totalitarian state by default. I believe that the world of Islam did not have its Renaissance and Enlightenment. A radio anchor on my favorite station once half-joked that the greatest invention of Christianity is tolerance of Atheism. According to him no other revealed religion even tolerates atheists.

But I believe in giving credit where it's due. If petty crime is very rare in UAE, it's food for thought. World is not black and white and it's perfectly possible the world of Islam does some things better. It's worth a closer look. I believe in an eclectic approach where you take the best parts of things.

Oh boy would Amazon Key be laughingstock in such a country.

Well in Saudi Arabia, the consequence of being caught stealing would be having your hands cut off. That's certainly enough of a deterrent for most.

If it looks stupid, but works, it ain't stupid ? Hmmm.

Similar services still exist in America, though they're not as widespread as they once were. I think this is mostly because there aren't a lot of services that come to your home anymore other than package delivery.

As recently as three years ago I lived somewhere where the dry cleaner could go into your house and hang your dry cleaning on a doorknob and take your outgoing bag of laundry/dry cleaning. And if you live in an apartment/condo building of a certain level, very often the concierge will deliver packages and groceries into your home.

Most pet-sitters have this access, too.

Some garbage services are like that: they'll go to your backyard and carry the bins to their truck, then put the bins back. This sort of service is only available when a single firm hasn't bribed its way into a municipal monopoly.

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