The Ignorant Investor

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Gulf investors, feeling scorched by what they see as an anti-Arab backlash in the U.S. Congress, will likely be wary of high-profile investments in the United States after the ports controversy with a Dubai company. In a possible early sign of trouble, free trade talks between the United States and the United Arab Emirates due to start Monday were postponed.

I'm crying, CRYING, for the Emir of Dubai and his family. The poor little guy, flush with cash and enjoying all the fruits of lording it over his subjects, feels humiliated because we don't think of him the way we think of, say, the Queen of England. That's totally unfair. I mean, the Queen of England always used to have family members off visiting the Taliban, and we didn't say a thing. What gives?

In any case, if the Emir no longer sees the U.S. as a good place to invest, he should invest elsewhere. The only consideration for a good businessman is what return he's going to get on his money. Sometimes, the things you want to buy aren't for sale. So you move onto something else. It's not personal. It's just business.