The Problem With Totalitarians

They think they can get everything they want. Like getting Lou Dobbs to shut up: (Heck, I'd like to do that sometimes, but it's called free speech!)

Dubai Ports World has actually refused to grant CNN any more interviews from Washington or London, and it's refused to allow CNN to videotape its operations in the United Arab Emirates or Hong Kong, if we were to show you the video on this broadcast. This is not the first time that Dubai Ports World has tried to silence me. Last week a spokesman for the public relations firm that represents the company, Mark Dennis, declared, "CNN won't shut up Lou Dobbs."

One can extrapolate all the different ways this way of thinking could manifest itself in port operations, but one thing is clear: it's not the way we do business in America. At least for the next 45 days.