Guardian UK: In Dubai, they still don't get it

[marmar]

In Dubai, they still don't get it
The emirate sees itself as a modern financial centre, yet reverts to authoritarianism and censorship in the face of bad press


It began with a caricature of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, floundering in a sea of debt. At the Sunday Times, they probably thought nothing of it: far less flattering images of politicians appear day after day in the world's press. But in Dubai it proved too much for the authorities, and the paper was duly banned from sale in the once-gilded emirate.

A few days later, Jim McLean wrote an article in its sister publication, the Times, headed: "Confidence will never return in Dubai." As the headline suggests, it was highly critical. The article said Dubai World's failure to honour its obligations had shaken the international investment community's faith in Sheikh Mohammed. "The international financial community, and I know this to be the case in London, won't do business with Dubai again," one expert on Gulf economics was quoted as saying.

"Experienced analysts no longer trust the government's statistics, claiming they do not fully reflect the amount Dubai owes its foreign creditors," McLean continued, adding: "Sheikh Mohammed cast himself as Dubai's chief executive, and if this were a company he would be on his way."

This article was blanked out on the orders of the censors in copies of the Times available in Dubai. Local papers have also had problems covering the emirate's financial crisis. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/09/dubai-crisis-sunday-times-censorship

[Demeter]

1. And This Is Different From Everywhere Else How?

Denial is the primary human disease, I've concluded, which leads to all others, including poverty, greed, environmental degradation, AIDS, and swine flu.

[closeupready]

4. Exactly.

This really is not surprising to anyone who knows anything about human beings.

[Fearless]

6. +1

[wolfgangmo]

2. Riiiiiiiiiight.

So how is this different from the corporate US press?

Answer: it's not.

[BR_Parkway]

5. They get censored - we get Tiger, Tiger, Tiger

only the means are different, the end results are the same

[CrunchMaster]

3. Dubai sucks n/t