Turkmeniscam: How Washington Lobbyists Fought to Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship
This is the first book I read on the train so far. It educated me just a we bit on how lobbying works with regard to those country’s that always seem to have dictators lopping off its’ citizens heads yet still traveling to the US for a Photo-op with the President and managing to always get some positive spin in the MSM despite its’ sordid reputation for human rights.
(there is a nice little nugget in it about Mike Scanlon and Rehoboth Beach)
In essence the lobbying firms in Washington DC are really PR firms shaping a message for a country (that typically has ENERGY resources) that wants to present istelf in a positive light to the United States in order to get ahold of our earmark money.
After you read it, then when you see articles like this:
Jail time dropped for sex-on-the-beach tourists:
The case revealed a fault line between Dubai’s expatriate majority and the city’s conservative Arab, Muslim minority.
Public displays of affection are illegal in Dubai — a city that has worked hard to cultivate an image as a party hot spot for Western tourists and businesses in the Middle East but has a conservative legal code based on Islamic laws and tribal rules.
You will know to wait for a positive story about the country to come out around the corner. So keep an eye out for some positive spin on Dubai in the next few days. If you see it, read it carefully, most likely that is a lobbying firm pushing out a puff piece to counter negative press. Especially Dubai, a real powerhouse considering who one of their biggest supporters is.
Yes that Dubai! Wait, you mean this country that has that ever expanding tourist industry? That has built this:
So you have to ask yourself if this country is building stuff like this and has recently been in the MSM for trying to buy our ports on the sly, how could it happen? How can a country like this polish up it’s reputation as a country that throws people in jail for kissing in public…
Does anyone remember when this thing came out. We were all aga-ga over this wonderful man made creation.
“These projects are a positive thing for the country” since they have propelled Dubai to world fame, said environmentalist Ibrahim al-Zu’bi.
Hmmmm, reading that article now makes me wonder now who is pushing this bit of “news”
Now, what to do if you are Dubai and you are trying to spitshine your image of throwing couples in jail that are showing PDA. Simple….
And then there is the question of whether we want a secretary of state who is compromised, in advance, by her husband’s dealings with repressive regimes in Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and governments about which we know nothing. These foreign leaders have paid the Clinton family millions of dollars directly and through their library and/or foundation – funds they can and have used as personal income. How do we know that she can conduct foreign policy independently even if it means biting those who have fed her and her husband?
TAAAAAAAA-DAAAAAAAAA
Hire a former President. Pay him, oh I don’t know, something like $10 million and presto you magically get money from the US government and other forms of business capital to build lovely man made islands and appear to be a mystical land of Eden that supports vacationers from around the world. Then, the citizens of the US don’t get all pissy and upset, call their Congressman or Senators and ask why the FUCK ARE YOU BUYING SAND FROM DUBAI FOR MY BEACH EROSION. WHY AREN’T YOU BUYING IT FROM KUWAIT!!!
So remember all of these countries with dictators that hold elections and get 99% of the vote are emerging democracies that need our help. Just don’t kiss your wife in public when you go there. You may lose your life. Other than that (insert any foreign accent here) welcome to our lovely country brotha!
Read the book. Then anytime you hear positive news about a small country that has energy reserves think twice about the source…