i just heard on faux news that the united arab emirites has gotten

[catmother]

a contract with homeland security -- they will be overseeing 6 of our ports. anyone else know anything about this?

[thereismore]

1. Randi has been raging about this - she actually said we SOLD them

to UAE.

[onenote]

22. wrong

All that has happened is that a Ports World, a state owned company from the UAE, is purchasing a London-based port management company, Pensinsular Oriental Steam and Navigation. P&O currently has contracts to manage port operations in Baltimore, NY, NJ, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Miami.

So, this isn't a case of "outsourcing" as some claim, since the port management already is under contract to non-US company.

Whether it creates a security issue is an interesting question. I am troubled by the immediate assumption that it is, simply because the new owner is owned by an Arab country. Are all Arabs terror suspects? Are all Arab nations terror suspects? How broad a brush is too broad. Should our borders be closed entirely to anyone from any Arab country? What other Arab-owned businesses should be precluded from doing business in the US.

I'm not saying that there may be a security issue here, but it seems to be that the existance of such a risk is simply being assumed without any question. Seems sort of jingoistic to me.


onenote

[SteppingRazor]

28. Wrong? Randi? How shocking!

That was, of course, :sarcasm:

I'm often dismayed by the amount of misinformation on Randi's show. We've got the truth on our side, why do we need to resort to hyperbole and half-truths

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. er...yes.

Today Hillary Clinton and Menendez from New Jersey are pushing a bill that would block the sale.

[MadMaddie]

5. This is the perfect issue....

To show the * Cabal does not care about National Security!! They don't support American businesses.

When the repugs refuse to support Hillary and Mendendez's bill then it should be the issue heard around the country.

"The Repugs don't like National Security, they would rather sell it out"!

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Here's the thread on the subject, and yes, it would prove once

and for all which party is tougher on national security issues.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2115471

[Debau2005]

3. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2115471

[catmother]

4. has this country gone completely nuts?

:eyes:

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Yes, been in all the major papers for the last couple of days.

[catmother]

9. where the hell have i been? i just heard it about 15 minutes ago.

[catmother]

33. my husband just came home and i asked him if he knew about

it? he said he did -- he listens to right wing radio. he's been getting home late and falling asleep so he neglected to tell me about it. he is appalled.

[shain from kane]

8. They have so much money that the * administration

[MadMaddie]

11. Yea... and it's our Tax payer money...

that they are abusing.

When they are impeached...more crimanal charges should be filed for "misappropriation" of tax payer money. (I don't know the legal terms)

[onenote]

23. how are they abusing our tax money?

As I understand it, the only question is whehter to approve of continuing an existing conract for Port Management with a British company if that company is bought by a UAE-controlled company.

onenote

[shain from kane]

30. I lost the 2nd half of my message.

They have so much money that the * administration had to find something to sell to them.
Lenin said that the capitalist would gladly sell the rope to be used to hang him.

[catmother]

10. someone please tell me that i'm still sleeping -- that this is all a

bad dream.

[MadMaddie]

12. Haven't you heard...

We're in the "Twilight Zone 2006-The * Bush Cabal"

[catmother]

13. i got up in a good mood today and now i feel like crying. what

else are they going to get away with?:crazy:

[MadMaddie]

26. I feel that way too sometimes...

In my heart I feel that this country is coming to a confrontation, a confrontation that this country has never seen.....

My father has always said that there will be another "internal war" in this country and it will be based on class.

As the middleclass continues to get elliminated, sections of the population are being demonized, the administration screams "Fire in a crowded theater", more kids are coming home in body bags, the reimplementation of the draft (it is coming), the selling of our ports to dubious managers and countries, the attack on the victims of Katrina....the list goes on...and finally when * cabal turns on it's own base-they are slowly doing it but there is going to be a catalyst that occurs...perhaps that will be war on Iran....

...the country will remove the dictatorship....and it won't be pretty.

I think about when my Grandmother who is 83 born in 1923 grew up black in the 1930's-1960's, I think about how she and her brothers and sisters tolerated the Jim Crow,KKK and all of the other injustices that they endured....and the one consistent thing that they did was keep the faith and waited for their moment and to stand up to the Racist Government........

Keep the faith...Power to the People!!Hang in there catmother....
Our moment is coming...:pals:

[catmother]

39. yes. i'm 64 and i remember how black people were treated. i

was born and raised in new york -- we rode buses with black people (called colored back then) and worked with some -- only one black woman in my office -- the rest were back in the factory part of the business. i can only imagine what it was like in the south. then in the 60s things changed for the better -- but racism unfortunately is still out there.

a great example is our military. who enlists? the poor who can't get jobs. they go into the military to get a college degree or learn a trade -- instead they come back missing limbs or worse.

[chelsea0011]

14. What's next? GITMO is being sold to Cuba?

Although we may be on friendly terms with many Arab nations, I don't believe it is in a best and safest interest to sell our property to them, especially ports.

[catmother]

15. of course, it's not in our best interests. but what bushco wants

bucsco gets!!!!

[xiamiam]

16. THIS MUST BE STOPPED....nt...dont ask me how..dont ask me

why we never knew anything about this until yesterday...wtf...this is nuts...

[catmother]

19. i just posted that it got buried because of the cheney issue.

it was a great time for them to sneak it in.

[catmother]

17. it probably didn't get much attention because of the cheney

shooting. i guess the media thinks that's more important than national security. :wtf:

[montanacowboy]

20. This story came out on Sunday in the

Seattle P-I - it has been out all week long but just starting to get some attention....DUH

So much the easier for MIHOP now - the door is open with old Bushco's Arab buddies guarding the frickin hen house....

don't even try to get your head around this one

[catmother]

25. this should have been given priority in the media. it's certainly

more important than a alcohol impaired evil vice president shooting his friend.

[pauldp]

18. why not just let the Bin Laden Family run our ports?

:banghead:

[catmother]

21. good question.

:crazy:

[onenote]

24. is this one of those all Arabs are terror suspect posts?

Sort of sounds like it.

[catmother]

29. if you want to turn this into racism go ahead. i will not go down

that road. do you think syria or lebanon would hire an american company to protect their borders? i think not.:shrug:

[MadMaddie]

32. Catmother....you have pointed out something important...

What are other major countries doing to prevent terrorist attacks?

This administration has always wanted to set their own precedent? It's never occurred to them to look at what other countries are doing to protect themselves.

This administrations goal has always been to sell out America to the highest bidder and somehow make sure that they make money for their own personal coffers. Their other goal is to destroy the Constitutional rights of Americans.

There is no way Germany, Russia, China, Japan or Israel would turn over the management of their ports or any of the major industries that support the infrastructure of their country over to foreign companies. There is a reason they don't -it's national security suicide.

[catmother]

34. you're absolutely right. not to get off the subject. but an example

is universal health care. every other civilized country has it and it works for them. why not for us? has this country done any studies to see how other countries handle it. NO. maybe it's an ego thing "America knows best":sarcasm:

[MadMaddie]

38. You wanna know the reason...

Because if this country went to Universal Health Care the following would happen...

Frist and others like them would lose money in their hospitals..
The pharmaceutical industry would have to start capping the prices on medications...
Universal Health Care would literally save Medicaid and other programs like it....

The reason they don't want to do it is because it would succeed!!

[catmother]

40. exactly. my sister who also posts here lives in canada and has

explained here on the DU exactly how it works. she said the doctors do well -- they live in nice houses and drive nice cars -- but they don't make the kind of money that they make here in the states. in fact, she has a friend whose brother is a surgeon and he moved to this country to practice so he could become rich.

[pauldp]

31. No. Al Qaeda money has long been connected to Dubai banks.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/000670.php
UAE is also mentioned in the 911 Commission Report as being involved in facilitating the hijackers.

not to mention Dubai is where Le Figaro places a Bin Laden - CIA meeting prior to 911.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,584444,00.html

[shance]

27. How convenient! More "terrorist" attacks we can 'blame' on the Arabs

that the Neocons create, concoct and profit from.

[catmother]

35. i answered a similar post. i will not go down that road. if you

want to turn it into racism -- go ahead -- but i will not go there.

[Norquist Nemesis]

36. Faux's a little late on this one

It's been on CNN and MSNBC for the past two days at least.

The White House is saying no review allowed by Congress on decision.

[LittleClarkie]

37. How are they reacting on Faux?

I think both sides might agree on this one.

[catmother]

42. i haven't seen any discussion. it was just a quick reference.

[catmother]

41. can you believe bush is on tv right now talking about terrorism.

:puke:

[yurple]

43. Shocking, but shouldn't be

It's par for the course with these guys. They claim they want to protect us at any cost, and then pull something like this -- this when they are spying on US citizens in the name of national security! We can't let them get away with being the "national security" party anymore. It's a joke. Remember the 9-11 "report card"? Remember Katrina? Remember how we're even more of a target now that we've screwed up international relations? Hello??? It's time to pull out a page from the Karl Rove playbook: Go after them on their "strong" suit: national security. But we wouldn't be sliming someone on ungrounded facts. We would be doing the nation a favor by dismantling a huge fiction.

[NVMojo]

44. true, autorank posted it here last weekend