Hong Kong Phooey

Some time around the early 1400s it slowly dawned on the budding powers of Europe that pretty soon the Mediterranean Sea would be too small to be peacefully shared by everyone who could sail a ship. Before long Europeans would have to start boldly going where nobody had gone before - beyond the Pillars of Hercules into the seemingly limitless great ocean. Spurred on by the noblest of motives such as what would happen if one's rivals swindled foreign natives out of their riches, or even worse, converted them to a corrupt faith, efforts quickly focussed on making sure that these things didn't happen - by getting out there to do it first, naturally. After all it was the duty of every righteous man to protect the world's innocents from his greedy and godless neighbours. Monument to Prince Henry the Navigator and the Age of Discovery (1400-1700), Lisbon For some time, observers had noticed exasperating differences brewing between the cousins who headed the great houses of Europe...

While we try to make all business meetings productive, some turn out to be a waste of time and just occasionally they become an exercise in complete self-sabotage. I still flinch when recalling the latter during my first visit to Abu Dhabi in 2014. The venue itself could not have been more promising; Abu Dhabi's world renowned 7-star Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental hotel with its cool, cavernous lobby, a classical pianist gently practicing his foreplay on the ivories and herbal teas to welcome all those who crossed the threshold. We had been summoned by the most respected of Saudi clients to solve a contractual wrangle which had escalated via increasingly irritated emails. The Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi;  quite possibly the only place to buy Snickers bars from a solid gold vending machine. On the other hand, The Palace's $1 Million Deal will help you to spend US$1m in 7 days with a private jet, chauffeur-driven car and personal butler. (NB: it is not clear ...