CSPAN guest Al Jazeera correspondent: anti-ports deal view is anti-Arab.

[CottonBear]

He is an Arab-American and host of "From Washington." Hafez Al-Mirazi is his name.

First caller said concern is that UAE supports Taliban and 2 of hijackers purportedly from UAE and the government is totalitarian and anti-israel.

Second caller mentions that David Sanborn, current UAE company VP, will be new US DOT Maritime administrator.

Host asking AlJAzeera guy about secret report story and how UAE co. will not have to keep copies of reports on file and will not have to have a US citizen oversee the operations.

edit: My take on this: Most of us against the UAE ports deal are not anti-Arab. We're anti BFEE, we're anti-totalitarian government, and we're anti-cronyism.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skidmore]

2. As long as * and Bin Laden keep their respective constituencies

whipped with fear and hatred, the potential for a threat exists. On a more basic level, NO OTHER NATION should own our ports or any other piece of our infrastructure. What is so hard to understand about that?

[CottonBear]

7. I agree with you 100%. n/t

[tjdee]

3. Has anyone mentioned that this country is government controlled?

Because that is the biggest "protesting this is anti-Arab" smokescreen. If this company was not run by the government, I wouldn't care.

[CottonBear]

4. CSPAN host said that the co. is gov't owned & that 2 9-11 hijackers UAE.

I couldn't believe it! He read a snippet of a news story about the UAe ports deal.

[doni_georgia]

5. Not anti-Arab, but I am anti-any government who supports slavery

and treats women like property. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and many other Arab nations have horrendous human rights records. I will not support any nation that treats women and children as property - period. Besides, I personally believe no foreign company should control any of our ports. I am sick to death of the selling of America.

[alarimer]

9. Me too

And that comapany is owned by the government. That, to me, is the biggest problem. A non-democratic goverment at that. Plus this is Bush crony capitalism all over again. The VP of that company being made chief of DOT? Fuck these people and their totalitarian friends.

[KharmaTrain]

6. You Might Not Be Anti-Arab, But 90% Of Repugnicans Are

He made an interesting observation. He'd been in this country for 21 years and had never experienced the anti-Arab sentiment in the past week that he saw in the wake of 9/11. He, like many others...including some of my fine friends here on DU...are missing the underlying game that's going on.

Arab bashing is the latest rage in the GOOP. Be it as an "Islamofascist" (I've never heard a Democrat use that misnomer) or "terrorist" or "insurgent"...it's now a buzzword in the Repugnican coven that now paints Arabs with a broad brush that was once used on Russian, Liberals and Minorities. You don't say it direct, you come up with buzzwords, talking points and phony issues that is directed strictly at the base and communicates to them that this regime is in agreement with their racist views.

Rove knows the best ticket this fall...the only one...is to scare his base into a frenzy and he's gonna pull all the strings and rile up all the phobias and hate he can to keep his votes in confusion and ignorance and then get them to show up at the polls like the did in 2002. We have entered some very dangerous waters here and the damage being done around the world by this regime for it's petty short-term goals will be one all Americans will be paying for for the rest of our lives.

[CottonBear]

8. Good point. The typical Moran may be anti-Arab and not able to understand

that the terror card is being played by the *-Cheney Administration once again.

[alarimer]

10. It's still a bad deal and needs to be stopped.

Our ports do not need to be run by another country, especially a totalitarian one that does not allow basic civil rights form women and condones slavery (you should see some of the camel jockeys- boys stolen from their families and basically enslaved.