David Conn on Abu Dhabi and Human Rights

[brotherblue]

Being born and raised in the United Arab Emirates I would just like to say that no country in current time or perhaps even in history has ever had better Rulers than UAE

You just cannot have rulers like UAE, The UAE nationals are some of the most blessed people to have such great rulers, from sheikh zayed to his sons including our owner sheikh mansoor to the rest of the emirates like Dubai sharjah etc.

The benefits and life style that they have provided for their people is unmatched anywhere in the world, the things locals enjoy here are unbelieveable

Education, Health care, Housing, Marriage funds, Jobs and Job opportunities, Business loans and opportunities you name it!

If there indeed were 94 individuals who wanted to overthrow the government than they were probably the most deluded, stupid and completely mental coz there is notthing more a ruler can do than what the rulers here already are doing for their people

And not only their people but for people like me and my parents who moved here 37 years ago to be exact, and we benefited immensely from this country, it gave us soooo much we cant ever thank this country and its wise leadership enough

The peace, security, comfort, education, healthcare, job and business opportunities we got here are unbelievable.

I and my family have never been robbed or stolen from, Never any crimes commited against us, they have worked hard to keep us and our property safe while providing us plenty of opportunities to make a good living and live a peaceful life.

I cry everytime i think of Sheikh Zayed and our rulers here, I really do and im 30 years old!

And IF those people arrested for a great crime like over throwing the government and bringing the country to chaos and causing loss of life, property, bloodshed, instability and other calamities were tortured (which has not been proved) then so be it!

Its not like people in Guantanamo were not tortured or abu ghuraib n all the other secret prisons! what action has anyone taken for them!?

Our rulers and leaders have not committed ANY crime against humanity and not violated any human rights

the country has one of the best safety and security records worldwide
there are no murders and killings here, its UAE for God's sake!

Can I have a job working for the UAE tourist board alongside you?
I am gay - I trust that won't be a problem in such an enlightened country as the one you describe?

You can be gay as long as you dont do anything in public, who cares what you do in your privacy, atleast this aint US and you are not spied upon like u would be in the US!<br /><br />-- Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:30 pm --<br /><br />

Being born and raised in the United Arab Emirates I would just like to say that no country in current time or perhaps even in history has ever had better Rulers than UAE

You just cannot have rulers like UAE, The UAE nationals are some of the most blessed people to have such great rulers, from sheikh zayed to his sons including our owner sheikh mansoor to the rest of the emirates like Dubai sharjah etc.

The benefits and life style that they have provided for their people is unmatched anywhere in the world, the things locals enjoy here are unbelieveable

Education, Health care, Housing, Marriage funds, Jobs and Job opportunities, Business loans and opportunities you name it!

If there indeed were 94 individuals who wanted to overthrow the government than they were probably the most deluded, stupid and completely mental coz there is notthing more a ruler can do than what the rulers here already are doing for their people

And not only their people but for people like me and my parents who moved here 37 years ago to be exact, and we benefited immensely from this country, it gave us soooo much we cant ever thank this country and its wise leadership enough

The peace, security, comfort, education, healthcare, job and business opportunities we got here are unbelievable.

I and my family have never been robbed or stolen from, Never any crimes commited against us, they have worked hard to keep us and our property safe while providing us plenty of opportunities to make a good living and live a peaceful life.

I cry everytime i think of Sheikh Zayed and our rulers here, I really do and im 30 years old!

And IF those people arrested for a great crime like over throwing the government and bringing the country to chaos and causing loss of life, property, bloodshed, instability and other calamities were tortured (which has not been proved) then so be it!

Its not like people in Guantanamo were not tortured or abu ghuraib n all the other secret prisons! what action has anyone taken for them!?

Our rulers and leaders have not committed ANY crime against humanity and not violated any human rights

the country has one of the best safety and security records worldwide
there are no murders and killings here, its UAE for God's sake!

Having been on holiday to Abu Dhabi it is one one of the safest places I have ever visited, the locals seem to have a lifestyle that is beyond the dreams of 95% of UK people. If there are extremist nutters that wish to impose some hard line Islamist state on the UAE then I applaud the UAE rulers for protecting their people.

The scenes we witness in Syria and Egypt show that what sheikh mansour offers the people of the UAE is safety and security as well as a gilded lifestyle. I simply find it incredulous that Conn and Amnesty international seek to highlight something that in the grander scheme of what is going on in the world is very trivial. This is nothing more than a cheap shot at our club and a means by which they use our club to promote their own agenda's as well as to try and destabilise what is happening at City. Disgraceful journalism.

THIS^

Thank you sir

 

[laserblue]

Seeing as Abu Dhabi's neighbour Qatar has evoked similar human rights concerns I look forward to reading Conn's article on Qatar's exploitation of Barcelona, PSG and Malaga for their own self promotional ends.

 

[emiratblu]

It's difficult to believe Conn is a City fan. The article focuses on City only despite Etisalats sponsorship of Barcelona, Emirates sponsorship of Arsenal and historically Chelsea, Emirates global sponsorship of nearly all sports and Bernie's F1 deal with Abu Dhabi.
When this bias is added to the focus on Abu Dhabi only, ignoring alleged human rights breaches in US, UK, Russia Qatar, etc, who all own well known football clubs, you just have to ask the question what is driving this? The whole thing stinks.

 

[George Hannah]

It's difficult to believe Conn is a City fan. The article focuses on City only despite Etisalats sponsorship of Barcelona, Emirates sponsorship of Arsenal and historically Chelsea, Emirates global sponsorship of nearly all sports and Bernie's F1 deal with Abu Dhabi.
When this bias is added to the focus on Abu Dhabi only, ignoring alleged human rights breaches in US, UK, Russia Qatar, etc, who all own well known football clubs, you just have to ask the question what is driving this? The whole thing stinks.

This is the point on which Conn's defenders remain steadfastly silent. Not surprising really since there is no defence, the man is filled with hatred of our club. To contrast him with Shindler is a joke - they are replicas.

 

[bluelol]

If this is what is in today’s news paper then it will be something different tomorrow something like where is Shrek going. It’s not going to matter what 95% of public think, I have a problem getting around some of the things that our government are getting up too. Oh and keep politics out of sport, they don’t go together.

 

[George Hannah]

If this is what is in today’s news paper then it will be something different tomorrow something like where is Shrek going. It’s not going to matter what 95% of public think, I have a problem getting around some of the things what our government are getting up too. Oh and keep politics out of sport, they don’t go together.

This farrago of hate has now made the BBC TV news. Well done Conn, the Red Badge of Courage for you.

 

[Blueranger]

Right, apologies in advance for the long response.

I agree that each fan should be made aware of the regimes supported by football clubs in this country, and then make their own moral judgement.

Imagine if your club was owned by foreign nationals who lived and operated in countries where the following enviroments exsisted.

. A country who up until 1964 legalised the seperation of people based on skin colour.
. A country who still operate death sentences for people convicted of various crimes.
. A country which has operated rendition, exporting people for torture outside of its borders.
. A country where you can be detained without appeal or due process, but on suspicion, Quantanamo Bay.
. A country with a constitution which allows people to own semi automatic weapons and then murder innocent children whilst at school.

Thankfully the issues raised above could never happen in a civilised western democracy!!!!!!!!

 

[pace89]

The article, like Conn, is naive and poorly informed. It provides no context and doesn’t challenge the spurious claim that City are deliberately being used to distract attention from human rights abuses. It contains the assumption that Sheik Mansour and Khaldoon are, somehow, apologists for human rights abuses which is a bit like saying a junior minister and senior civil servant in the last Government who had nothing to do with security policy were directly complicit in unlawful rendition.

One of the reasons that Spain transferred from fascist dictatorship to democracy after Franco died was because of Spanish society’s exposure to social liberal values via tourism, sport and establishing economic relationships with western European nations. If the UAE is to improve its political and judicial record it will only manage it through the leadership of people like Sheik Mansour and Khaldoon who actually understand Western values.

I have little sympathy for Conn. He’s only prepared to support City on his terms which is pathetic. It’s like he’s pining for an age which never existed where football clubs were owned by mutuals and existed for the common good. Clubs have always been owned by dodgy businessman but in the past it was the local used car salesman not a Russian oligarch. Conn’s obsession with FC Rags sets him apart from any real City supporter. They’ve corrupted non-league football and are entirely artificial yet somehow they assume the moral high ground because they’re owned by the fans who are just bitter Rags. Conn’s article is also written to give the impression that the rags were set up two years before City – which of course is nonsense.

The Guardian’s football writing is massively pro -United and anti-City and has been since long before the takeover. David Conn’s recent pieces about City that haven’t been entirely critical though, and as a result have received huge amounts of abuse by Guardian readers, so this is designed to redress the balance. The Guardian is a London based media group that’s mostly interested in America and fucked off its Mancunian roots decades ago. No wonder it panders to north London rags.

I don’t agree with the argument that we shouldn’t care about human rights abuses. Human Rights watch and Amnesty are right to expose them where they happen. However, smearing City’s name simply because we’ve got the highest profile is a cynical manipulation which undermines the gravity of their own argument.

 

[TGR]

It's difficult to believe Conn is a City fan. The article focuses on City only despite Etisalats sponsorship of Barcelona, Emirates sponsorship of Arsenal and historically Chelsea, Emirates global sponsorship of nearly all sports and Bernie's F1 deal with Abu Dhabi.
When this bias is added to the focus on Abu Dhabi only, ignoring alleged human rights breaches in US, UK, Russia Qatar, etc, who all own well known football clubs, you just have to ask the question what is driving this? The whole thing stinks.

This is the point on which Conn's defenders remain steadfastly silent. Not surprising really since there is no defence, the man is filled with hatred of our club. To contrast him with Shindler is a joke - they are replicas.

Both Conn & Schindler use their alleged association with our football club only to promote and propogate themselves and for no other reason.

 

[ElanJo]

Right, apologies in advance for the long response.

I agree that each fan should be made aware of the regimes supported by football clubs in this country, and then make their own moral judgement.

Imagine if your club was owned by foreign nationals who lived and operated in countries where the following enviroments exsisted.

. A country who up until 1964 legalised the seperation of people based on skin colour.
. A country who still operate death sentences for people convicted of various crimes.
. A country which has operated rendition, exporting people for torture outside of its borders.
. A country where you can be detained without appeal or due process, but on suspicion, Quantanamo Bay.
. A country with a constitution which allows people to own semi automatic weapons and then murder innocent children whilst at school.

Thankfully the issues raised above could never happen in a civilised western democracy!!!!!!!!

No-one is allowed to murder children whilst at school - well, except for the President.