As the Sheikh Mohammed bid for LFC gathers momentum so to do the articles in the various media outlets about him.
As a keen horse racing fan, I knew a fair bit about him, but I have to say not as much as I thought. Through his Goldolphin empire, he always seemed to uphold the traditions of racing. sure he had millions to spend but somehow he always seemed to be an hounourable sort of bloke. however, the more I read about him, the more unsure I am about him. I knew he loved his camel racing but didn't realise he used kids as jockeys, and only stopped this practice after a US lawsuit was issued, accusing the state of the enslavement of 30,000 kids. It was filed by the parents of 6 kids based on international anti slavery and anti child labour laws.
Then there is the alledged treatment of Asian workers in Dubai. Whilst his thoroughbred horses live a life of luxury, immigrant workers are treated like slaves earning peanuts or face the threat of deportation.
Also anyone holding an Israeli passport is refused entry to the country.
Its always difficult to judge who is a fit person to run LFC. Some argue as long as the money there, who cares. All mega rich businessmen will have plenty of unsavouary claims against them. Thats true whatever their nationality. Also we in Britian judge others by our standards, when often different values apply overseas.
Personally, I do care about the man behind our money, thats why I was so opposed to Shinawatra. i'm not saying I'm against Sheikh Mohammed but I do have concerns. I realise that this is a somewhat idealistic position to hold. To find an investor not only willing & able to pour the cash in to LFC that we need, but also be some sort of paragon of virtue is asking a lot.
I was originally very happy about the Sheikh but I do have some concerns now but overall unless I read of more unsavoury business practices, I still think he could be the man for LFC.
Thoughts please.
As a keen horse racing fan, I knew a fair bit about him, but I have to say not as much as I thought. Through his Goldolphin empire, he always seemed to uphold the traditions of racing. sure he had millions to spend but somehow he always seemed to be an hounourable sort of bloke. however, the more I read about him, the more unsure I am about him. I knew he loved his camel racing but didn't realise he used kids as jockeys, and only stopped this practice after a US lawsuit was issued, accusing the state of the enslavement of 30,000 kids. It was filed by the parents of 6 kids based on international anti slavery and anti child labour laws.
Then there is the alledged treatment of Asian workers in Dubai. Whilst his thoroughbred horses live a life of luxury, immigrant workers are treated like slaves earning peanuts or face the threat of deportation.
Also anyone holding an Israeli passport is refused entry to the country.
Its always difficult to judge who is a fit person to run LFC. Some argue as long as the money there, who cares. All mega rich businessmen will have plenty of unsavouary claims against them. Thats true whatever their nationality. Also we in Britian judge others by our standards, when often different values apply overseas.
Personally, I do care about the man behind our money, thats why I was so opposed to Shinawatra. i'm not saying I'm against Sheikh Mohammed but I do have concerns. I realise that this is a somewhat idealistic position to hold. To find an investor not only willing & able to pour the cash in to LFC that we need, but also be some sort of paragon of virtue is asking a lot.
I was originally very happy about the Sheikh but I do have some concerns now but overall unless I read of more unsavoury business practices, I still think he could be the man for LFC.
Thoughts please.
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