David Conn on Abu Dhabi and Human Rights

[Prestwich_Blue]

If there is any evidence to directly link Sheikh Mansour to it, let that be the article. Not some spurious bollocks about Khaldoon accompanying Sheikh Mohammed to discuss military cooperation and contracts.

That's a nonsensical position in many ways. Sheikh Mansour is part of the Abu Dhabi/UAE establishment. Of course he didn't beat or mistreat prisoners himself but he is part of the regime which does. You cannot deny that.

I've no problem with Abu Dhabi not being particularly democratic as I think that the Western model is not necessarily appropriate for all countries at a given point in time (if ever). But you of all people, one of the most politically aware posters on here, should be able to separate your love for City from justified criticism of human rights issues.

ADUG are very sensitive about bad press. Hopefully something like this will shock them into corrective action and doing the right thing. Surely that's something you should be supporting?

-- Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:15 pm --

Unfortunately such press only applies to the Muslim owner. All the others are running such perfect and honest business models.

Conn has been critical of a number of owners over their links or business models. He's being entirely consistent. It's hypocritical to praise him for exposing the Glazers' financial shenanigans and criticise him when he has a go at our owners.

I agree with most of your points PB - especially if people have been sent to prison just for asking to vote or defending those who did. David Conn has the right to write his article and we dont know if articles like will help the population of the UAE or not.

However, recent history is littered with disasters from attempts to impose Western values on the Middle East. Iraq is one of several such cases. There is a reason why these values are called Western although some Guardian readers may disagree. It would be no surprise if the Abu Dhabi Government are scared of the events in Egypt where rushing in to elections before political parties could get organised properly to represent the range of the populations interests is resulting in scores of deaths in the streets.

As others have said, there is no evidence that Sheikh Mansour or Khaldoon have done anything wrong at this point - and please don't give me a lecture about guilt by association.

Spot on Tim.

 

[S04]

Yup, horrible country UAE.
That´s why millions of their neighbours visit the country given any opportunity just to discover how horrible and disgustingly full of vice it is...

If any of you lads have worked there when the Saudis have their springbreak you know what I mean.

 

[cleavers]

I wonder if he'll now do an article on Barca's sponsor ?

 

[Rösler von Stretfordbömber]

Apologies if this point was made in the thread earlier (in a big rush ATM), but about David Conn: anyone who persistently glorifies the fans of FC Ushited and the "against modern football" movement has about zero moral authority to cast stones at anyone.

Maybe Conn doesn't get out and about the continent that much, but every time I see an AMF banner at a match somewhere in Europe it is in near proximity to Confederate flags, neo-nazi runes, and racist skinhead thugs. "Modern football" involving the cheering for people of different colour than these filth and all.

And about the bunch that supports FC Ushited nothing more needs to be said.

 

[Колобок]

just imagine what these BS sellers would write if our owners were Islamic fundamentalists themselves, like many regimes in Middle East. now it's that they have just fought a successful fight against turning their country into a box of crazed rabid cats, and they will still be slagged for this because they have sentenced several men to TEN FUCKING YEARS (or even less) in jail for treason.

 

[George Hannah]

I just think Mr Conn tucks into the City connection with rather too much relish. Almost as if all his other offerings were just the hors d'oeuvres to the main dish of cold revenge. Spite spread with hate and lashings of prejudice.

 

[BertTrautmann'sParachute]

I'd love to know what would happen in good old britain, if 94 senior people plotted to kick the queen out, and replace her (them) with some fundamentalist catholic (or even c of e) ruler with no democracy.

I don't imagine there would be any torture at all.......

I'm in!

 

[chorltonblue]

Conn is a turncoat anyway with a leftie hatred of our owners -you can see that clearly in his book Richer Than God. Trying to judge every country through a Western liberal democracy prism is a nonsense.

As for Conn, he should fuck off and go and support his beloved FC United.

So we can't judge Nazi Germany or anywhere bad because we live in a good country...?

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

Conn is a turncoat anyway with a leftie hatred of our owners -you can see that clearly in his book Richer Than God. Trying to judge every country through a Western liberal democracy prism is a nonsense.

As for Conn, he should fuck off and go and support his beloved FC United.

So we can't judge Nazi Germany or anywhere bad because we live in a good country...?

He can judge Abu Dhabi in the same way as he can judge half of the world as atrocities can occur anywhere, including Britain. It's just a matter of scale on what can be called on one hand, an atrocity, and on the other, a misjustice. But in the case of this article, Conn is engaged in a rant about Sheikh Mansour's ownership of City, a rant that covers about a quarter of the article and has no bearing on what is happening in Abu Dhabi.

I may be getting paranoid here, but I sense an agenda.

 

[bluesoup]

Why don't these guys just start writing about how united are potentially tax dodging registering the united empire in the Camen islands. Human rights? Where's our tax ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2