UAE What a joke of a country
Are they trying to be provocative, or are they just a**holes, plain and simple?
Cat Le Huy, the television industry IT executive who was locked up in Dubai earlier this year by airport authorities on suspicion of drug smuggling, is to be released without charge. Le Huy, a German national known as "Diz" by colleagues at Endemol UK, was arrested on arrival in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when officials …
Its a shame it took as long as it did, but this is excellent news to everyone who knows Diz - his friends, family and people that have worked with him.
His release is by no small part down to the massive amount of work Radha Sterling has done to highlight his plight and all the people who contributed to the fund that was required for his legal representation.
Personally I will be hoovering out my suitcase and checking all my pockets for "dirt" before I fly through Dubai in April on the way to Oz.
...to dirty, oppressive and abusive regimes...Oh hang on... Saudi....
Just imagine the horrors that that country and its populace would witness if someone were to bring in (the evil, schizophrenia inducing) cannabis. The mind boggles! All those cheap snacks, and all that apathy and philosophising. Thank %god% they are so vigilant and alert to the _real_ source of the problems out there. Cannabis.
If they want to take such a hard line, then maybe the West should as well and start boycotting the region. Then see how long this attitude lasts as the main reason for this development is that they realized that oil will not last forever so they need another way to make money. And what better way can you have than to create a tourist trap to rip the money from the hands of westerners, as if you would need to rip.
If there was a boycott even for 6 months, it would be funny to see how quick those religious views would take a back seat to the glorious all powerful money.
Though shalt not have idols.
"Cat will not be deported and is free to enter the UAE or depart at his leisure. This is the best outcome we could have hoped for."
Surely the *best* result would have been him not being arrested and spending weeks in chokey in the first place? Or did he fancy doing some research for the next BB series?
I doubt 6 months of boycots on dubai would make a lot of difference considering a good part of the US national debit belongs to them.
Folks can quote as many buzzwords like 'regime', 'evil' and 'dictator' as they like, you the ones saying 'change your culture because we don't like you protecting it'.
From the tales I hear of the prohibition states in the US, dubai is showing a very similar attitude, set an example and let folks know about it.
There are still plenty of spots in the world where the example would be a head in a bucket, 4 years in prison is light in comparison.
As for the 'notorious prison', does a couple of stories a year justify the buzzword? I doubt it as I have never heard any reports on its conditions. I can vouch for I few folks I know who rate the detention cells about on par with a 2 star hotel though.
cheers
I agree with the idea of a boycott. Any country this retarded doesn't deserve to make any money form tourism, or anything else.
Mind you, I'm in two minds whether to visit the US at the moment for very similar reasons. Hell, I'm only in this country (UK) by accident of birth.
I reckon the world would be a better place, or at least European TV would be better, if all Endemol's execs got locked up somewhere nice for a few years.
There's a joke that goes around about a bloke called Bazalgette who was one of Endemol's founders. One of his ancestors saved London from being flooded by cr*p by building London's sewer network; now the current generation of Bazalgette family is flooding cr*p across most of Europe on the TV networks.
Who just forgets to take drugs out of your pockets when your flying ANYWHERE??? What a complete and utter tit!
Oh and good to here this dudes out. This is the reason that i do my absolute best not to fly through the middle east (well that and the fact that because I've been to Israel I'm banned from entering any arab country except Egypt, Jordan, Turkey & Morocco)...
"I doubt 6 months of boycots on dubai would make a lot of difference considering a good part of the US national debit belongs to them."
I suspect that, if the Muslim extremists get their way and start a real, shooting war between the West and the whole of Islam, the debts owed to Dubai would be write-offs.
And I wouldn't mind that, frankly.
Oh, and as a US-born American citizen, I would advise against coming the the USA as a tourist, at least as long as George "Dictatorship would be good, as long as I'm the dictator" Bush is in office. Personally, I vacation in Canada, and wear a maple leaf on my jacket.
... a few years back, the daughter of some British mayor spent the night in the cells at some US airport and then was summarily deported, apparently because she was caught in possession of an arabic-sounding name.
And some poor Brit who spent a week or two in a cell in South Africa after the Americans (wrongly) decided that he was a wanted US criminal, and having got a warrant for his arrest couldn't be arsed to check who'd they'd got.
Stupidity isn't limited to Arabic airports, as anyone wrongly on a US 'no-fly' list can attest. And a couple of hours getting through a British airport (and that's a reasonable minimum) doesn't help one's views on officialdom.
So certain non-white countries around the world have laws that you don't like! Big Deal. Grow-up and deal with it.
It's not like their punishments are some state secret. Anyone that plans to travel to some place should take a little time out to do some research.
Anyone that travels to the US should know that they are going to be finger printed, have their name checked against a no-fly list (that cannot be challenged or queried) and be subjected to the most ludicrous security-theatre by humourless morons that are armed to the teeth! ... and don't get me started on travel through Heathrow!
Oppressive regimes? Hmmm... Would that be a regime that has huge CCTV camera roll-out that can track you everywhere that you go along with ANPR; Facial recognition systems, proposed security checkpoints in stations and plans for (unworkable) National ID card plan... Oh yeah, and that wonderful Police force that is more interested in catching speeding motorists (making money) than they are in stopping criminals. Let's-go-to-war-with-Iraq-cos-we-don't-like-them.
Nope; for you bigots the the oppressive regime is the one with strong (well known) laws and punishments against drugs and alcohol.
You people won't be happy until every nations is just run by US/Western European/Canadian/Australian/NZ and according to their way, because everyone else is just wrong and barbaric.
sure, dubai looks like a western modern liberal city but that is just a facade. having been & lived in the middle east, i can tell you that dubai is not a place you want to live. not only do drugs flow freely in their many clubs and bars (it has a reputation for mind-boggling X), but it is one of the most racist places I have ever been to. they've let in thousands of indians and pakistanis, philipinos and other asians to build their city. but they treat them like slaves. it made me sick just hear about it, let alone to speak with these people. i can guarantee that you will rarely find this type of exploitation in any western country. these people have no rights and are completely ignored by the justice system there. how can you condone such a mentality. i know that i can't and for that reason, i will not go there again.
At least you signed your comments correctly ANONYMOUS COWARD, to afraid to stand up for what you state. I have no problems with punishments doled out by another country and that is not the issue. The problem is that they are more worried about someone being held for weeks with a over the counter medicine, or a few poppy seeds that fell off a bagel.
I did not state that the UK is better as you can be arrested and detained based on the books you read or download. In the US you can be sent to Gitmo and held indefinitly for this offence.
What I am stating is that the person should be given a fair trial which does not happen. When those 2 girls from the UK were busted trying to bring Cocaine back from somewhere in Africa they deserve what they get as they had it for trafficing.
You go into another country without knowing thier laws and get busted for carrying drugs then you should have known better. He did not actually have drugs on him and was treated as a second class citizen, that is the problem.
Why don't you do us all a favour ANONYMOUS COWARD and get yourself fixed so you cannot reproduce and bring more uneducated idiots into this world.
And I mean it just like that!
And in this case I am even willing to publish my name!
How many of you numpties have ever been anywhere in the middle and near east?
how many know or understand anything about the culture there!
just for info: I am a Kraut, or commonly also known as German (just for those who are not quite old enough to know, which seems to be the majority too, since a lot of the £$^%£" written sounds like that of clueless kids!
I have lived in the Saudi, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq amongst others. I have traveled to each and every near and middle eastern country! And I found that the people over there are in generally more friendly, more courteous, and far more accommodating when they see, that you are willing to adjust a little to their customs and traditions.
But when people come across arrogant and self-righteous they are hit hard.
I am not saying that all Europeans are all arrogant bastards (although I personally think many of the are!!!) but the moment something happens over there everybody cries fould, where over here, many people get treated poorly and unfair when they arrive in the country and it doesn't seem to worry anyone.
In many cases, I found the US, Ozz, NZ and Europe fare more oppressive than the Middle East....
And now: feel free to flame me
"At least you signed your comments correctly ANONYMOUS COWARD, to afraid to stand up for what you state" - By Jamie
Oh the irony!
I have to say that the above does seem the typical reaction of many Merkins, but am quite shocked to see it from us Brits. Everyone now seems to assume that any nation east of France is "out to get them". Whats scary is that these people could probably not even find it on a map!
And yes I have been there and actually quite liked the place. At least they are finding alternative sources of income once the oil runs out. Not quite sure what the US will do.... invade someone for theirs I guess.
Have some tolerance people!
oh dear oh dear....
having been to Dubai (not Dubia - learn to spell) 4 times now I can safely say that immigration there is considerably more friendly than when entering the US.
Also, calling the UAE a 'regime' is a sure fire sign of someone ignorant and uneducated. Pick up a book, read some history, learn the politics and something about the culture before you pass judgment in such a stupid fashion. The UAE and Dubai in particular has a health and education system that makes the UK look positively middle ages.
Besides, people are wrongly arrested the world over, but when its in a Middle East 'regime' (hint - read the sarcasm) it suddenly becomes headline news and the work of evil oppressors!
As for Groverider, the guy is obviously an idiot. What he deos in the way of recreational drug use is his own business, but if he is stupid enough to travel to a country with very strict drug laws without checking his pockets first he deserves all he gets. He should count himself lucky it wasn't Singapore or it would have been 15-20 years in prison.
First of all I am not Merkin(as you put it) or a Brit.
I am not talking about the people living in the country and have not made any statement about people living in a country, it is about the policies that the country abide by.
I am not talking about the harsh sentences if you break the law regarding that land which you decide to travel to.
It is about locking up someone and "forcing them to sign a document they cannot read or understand".
But if you want to go so far as run test on articles that people are carrying in case there is some remenants of drugs on it then all Americans could end up in jail due to the amount of drugs that can be found on most of the paper currency.
The Canadians that go there could be nailed for having high levels of THC in their system depending on where they live.
The issue is whether they are treated fairly, this is not the citizens but the government.
I do find it funny though how you talk about the way "Westerners" talk about the East, yet you have no issue doing it in reverse. Racism is racism regardless of the direction.
"And I found that the people over there are in generally more friendly, more courteous, and far more accommodating when they see, that you are willing to adjust a little to their customs and traditions."
Unless, for instance, you are a woman who thinks she has the right to fight off a rapist.
There are a few in prison because they failed, in this respect, to adjust a little.
---A Tosser.
Now, while I agree that the weekday traffic is horrible and it's a bit of a police state, and DXB airport is now so busy the check-in desks are swamped, and it's about 40% building site, and the local telco, Etisalat, is a thieving git (common to most regional telcos) it's not that bad.
Certainly the US and UK score almost as high on that International Police State Leaderboard list which was published last year. Pretty much every race, nationality and culture is represented. There's racism like anywhere else, but trying to pin it purely on nationals is disengenious.
The UAE's oil isn't running out very soon, but they are diversifying into shopping, tourism and money laundering. Not things that'll draw me and it seems that all the many malls all have the same shops.
The real-snow ski slope is genius though.
[Max]
.... only if you are from the middle east, or what they call western. everybody else (and especially asians) have no rights. they certainly will be courteous and are extremely well mannered to any white man who's got money to go there. if you're the poor indian construction worker, you can always go crawl under a rock and die for all they care. let's not forget the majority of middle eastern countries live by Wasta. nuff said.