If we are all so bothered by the negative Dubai press, then maybe action as a group is in order. We all have our issues with one thing or another here, but the US media, including bloggers is beyond over the top. I think a little group action is in order no matter what our individual opinions are...just state them, and make yourvoice. There has been no coverage from the UAE, be it citizens, or present or past westerner that resided here.
Thanks to grapeshisha for the headsup and anyone else who referenced this that I have forgotten (Chilton possibly). Anyway, there are many links on all of our sites to what has been going on. A dialog seems to be starting here: http://www.radioopensource.org/dubai/ . It may be worth joining in just to voice the sandlands view from the other side of the world.
Nachhaltiger Ökotourismus in den VAE
3 days ago
Posts
7 comments:
I think John B Chilton has been the champion of the cause. And it's great that he's getting the recognition for it.
Even though there are number who are changing their minds and seeing the voice of reason, along with the minority objectives, overall we are small in number. 3 years ago, if Bush agreed with you, you'd win. I'm afraid that he has now lost that influence, for better or for worse.
The quality of the conversation at open source radio is underwhelming at least based on my brief visit.
The best I can about it is that more Americans will learn a bit about Dubai they didn't know before.
^^^ Agreed. It didn't strike me that the open radio source forum was all that! I think the discussioin we have here is going OK. My guess is that people will happen upon the UAEcommunity forum and get a taste of our views.
I also agree that despite the unfortunate nature of the current episode, it does if nothing else, shine a light on Dubai. People will eventually be able to see behind the smokescreen and mirrors and discover the real Dubai. Any American who ever sets foot in Dubai or even sees enough pictures will be blown away--and realize this is Singapore or Chicago and not some backwater den of terrorism.
The problem that is being faced is that hundreds , if not thousands are blogging about this every day, and mostly of an extreme view. The moderates are starting to provide some balanced opinion now that they have gone past the initial shock factor of "Terrorist Arabs in charge of our safety" theory. The US media are starting to come round as well, including the nyt, wp etc. But the small publications continue to promote radical synidcated content and provide some misinformed judgement spurred on by politicians eager to earn a few browny points.
While some Americans may learn a little more about Dubai and become less closed minded to a world outside of the US of A, some may become even more closed minded because of the power of the media.
We can continue to blog about this, but with some of the views that I am hearing daily, I have become indifferent to the journey, and more interested in a swift outcome, either way. For many in the anti-DPW camp, it is very black and white - "No, we don't want them here". And the funny thing is that this deal is all about money. DPW paid over the top for P&O and after the gruelling bidding war, now has to deal with this situation. The only reason why DPW are there is to make money, and they are being stopped doing just that. And what is funny is that the US ports aren't really the value in the deal, the Far East ones are the real diamond. The only benefit is having some cross atlantic operation.
Anyway, I just hope this resolves itself sooner. The amount of junk I have had to sift through recently is not good for the health.
If I can make it till 4 AM I may be doing a radio interview of sorts via skype with them !
i'll put in a good word or two...
Good on you SamS. Let us know how it goes.
I think a lot of us feel the same frustration as you, grapeshisha. We wish people would be more rational. But those who are likely to take the Dubai=Arab=terrorism_links are the same people who never bother to read or look more closely at an issue. Such people will remain close-minded and we need not even think we or anyone esle can enlighten them. But there are those, a minority of course, who do read and look beyond the screaming headlines. Some of these will discover Dubai--the real Dubai. Without this controversy they would not likely have noticed Dubai. In that sense, despite all of the negative rhetoric, Dubai can benefit.
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