Blocked!

The University of Connecticut has notified the Dubai Education Council (DEC) that it has halted plans to establish a satellite campus in Dubai following pressure from pro-Israel politicians and interest groups in protest of the UAE's 'human rights record' and policy towards Israel.

Political science professor Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah condemned the move, saying there was no place for politics in academic decisions.

"It's obvious that the ignorance (about Arabs) that prevails among the American public has crept into academics," he said.

Read the full article here.

Also read "UAE need not sit through an inquisition".

So this puts a damper into the American Higher Education's plans to take 12 universities to Dubai as they suggested they could. In case you don't know, that's how I ended up at BU in the first place. Business talks between the Family and the AHE revealed that I hadn't applied to BU and I still have a sneaky suspicion that a little leaning one way resulted in me going to BU and not NYU. Not that I'm complaining mind you (NYU rankings notwithstanding).

But still, this would explain all the shifty-eyed-ness on the part of the AHE during negotiations.