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Dubai: Oops!

I have a suggestion for The New York Times. That it should initiate a new feature as part of its page 4 "Corrections" box, and that this should be devoted to the really big bloopers that became routine in Times coverage. The routine I have in mind was the future of Dubai.

In today's Times, Robert F. Worth tells the story of the disintegration of Dubai under the mild headline, "Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Once Booming Dubai Spirals Down." The is just the surface.

Dubai is actually a facade society, and now its facade is eroding. My God, it's not even Monaco which has a steady supply of cultured tax evaders who can easily visit Paris and Florence. Spiraling down, says the Times. I believe Dubai is over, and I would be surprised if its richer neighboring cousins are over, too. Finito! Kaput! Kaddish, if you'll pardon the expression.

Sir Winfried Franz Wilhen "Win" Bischoff, who is to step down as chairman of Citigroup having done such a magnificent job shepherding the gargantuan bank, was the source for a Wall Street Journal story on December 12, 2008, barely two months ago, proclaiming that "Citi Voices Upbeat View on Dubai." Bischoff went on to say that, "This is in line with our commitment to the (U.A.E.) market in general, and reflects our positive outlook on Dubai is particular." I commented on this wisdom on the day the story came out in the WSJ.

How much did Bischoff earn for his wisdom?