DO BLOOMBERG'S BUSINESS INTERESTS IN THE MIDEAST DRIVE HIS SUPPORT FOR THE CORDOBA MOSQUE?

Mondo Frazier at Big Journalism asks if Michael Bloomberg's business aspirations in the middle east have what to do with his strident support for the Cordoba mosque, which reminds me of Rupert Murdoch's own business deals with Saudi prince bin Talal. The answers could be found in the plans his company has for the UAE, according to the following press item from his offices:

On October 2, 2009, The Dubai Chronicle reported Chairman and President of Bloomberg LP Peter T. Grauer met with UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at Maktoum’s Emirate office. According to the Dubai Chronicle, Grauer gave a presentation of Bloomberg future expansion plans in the ‘area of business information’ in the United Emirates, North Africa, and India. Grauer stated the UAE was a great place to expand, the UAE’s “logistic facilities” the ‘biggest incentive for investors and companies to expand their businesses in the country and the region beyond’.

“Particularly since the meltdown of the western capitalist system, there has been an increasingly large focus on the virtues of Islamic finance. Today, there is no one single provider of information that caters to the Islamic finance market. So by Bloomberg being here, we are in the process of building out an Islamic finance product. We are very confident that we can build a product that meets the needs of the market right now.”

–Max Linnington, Regional Head of Bloomberg Middle East and South Asia on the company’s plan to build a Bloomberg hub in Dubai at the Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC), October 29, 2009

Read more at the link for further details. I don't know if Bloomberg is going to run again for mayor, but I do know he has gone out of control with his biz-based greed. He may not have thought about this, but by supporting the mosque construction as much as he has, he's drawn himself into the spotlight along with it.

Update: see also this editorial from the Wash. Examiner.

Update 2: Bloomberg may even be attacking the politicians opposing the mosque, as this Hot Air topic tells. Frankly, with the way he's behaving lately, I don't want to have anything to do with his businesses ever again. That means no wasting time on Bloomberg news sites, nor his official company. Others turned off by his behavior would do well to consider avoiding his businesses too.