Port Nonsense

[tw]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

I honestly don't think the scrapping of this deal really involved a fear of an Arab nation controlling major US ports. This was the spin the media put on it to whip up the public, but I really think this is all about kickbacks, behind-the-scenes deals, politics, and a lot of US businesses and contracts that we're not fully aware of.

There is a ‘line of thought’ that the Congress has slapped George Jr in the face in part due to what was discovered in a House Investigation of 520 pages entitled "Failure to Initiate". Discovered? Did they read his autobiography?

Meanwhile, don't think for one minute that this Port Nonsense is an isolated incident. From The Economist of 4 Mar 2006:

Patriotism said Samuel Johnson is the last refuge of a scoundrel. That may be unfair to the proper sort of patriot, but it would be an entirely valid comment about politicians today who make a fuss about foreign takeovers in their countries, in the name of "national interests". The truth is that they are defending their own interests and (often) those of their cronies [remember the big H which is one of few American companies who can do this job]. Recent weeks have seen American politicians attack the purchase of a port management firm by DP World from the United Arab Emirates ... the French prime minister ... hastily arranging a merger between a state-owned gas firm, Gaz de France, and another big utility, Suez, in order to see off an Italian bid for Suez ... the Spanish government trying to block a German firm's bid for Endesa, a Spanish utility; the Polish government hindering an Italian takeover of a German bank because it involves Polish subsidiaries; South Korean politicians yelling foul at an American-led attempt to buy KT&G, formerly the state-owned tobacco and ginseng monopoly; and the French and Luxembourg government both trying to discourage a takeover by the world's biggest steel firm, Mittal, for the Franco-Belgian-Luxembourgois Arcelor.

It did not start here. Remember when a Chinese company bid for Unocal. The uproar about selling off strategic interests was completely bogus. But Rush Limbaugh logic and fears prevailed. Meanwhile how does Lukoil - a Russian company - own so many American gasoline stations without hype and fear?

Using the logic of fear about Port Nonsense, then Singapore also cannot be trusted to operate American ports OR any port that ships containers to America. BTW, that is where the larger risk is. If we cannot trust someone to simply move containers from ships to trains and trucks, then we also cannot trust those actions in overseas ports where the danger really originates.

Unfortunately above is too logical to promote Port Nonsense fears. Instead, better to torture someone, have him lie to stop that torture, then use that lie to hype more Orange alerts about another Al Qaeda attack.

Its bull shit. Best thing we can do for terrorists is to accuse and fear our closest friends. This includes the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and ... did you hear of new restrictions George Jr wants to put on Canadians? Yes, even Canadians can no longer be trusted.