I think this is a horrible idea and the ports should be under American control in light of terrorism and UAE's reputation for having Al-Qaeda in their country involved with 9/11. Sure, UAE and Dubai are well known for being the most western styled middle eastern country, but I'd feel more comfortable having an American or European company running major ports here.

Here's a link for more information: [URL="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3664484.html"]http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3664484.html[/URL]

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

i think you'll find the saudi royal family has 1 trillion dollars worth of shares in the biggest american companies which include, time warner, exxon mobile, citigroup, general electric....

Slowly but eventually american companies are bought out by chinese, russian and arabian oligarchs. That's what you get when you put your companies out in the open market.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=sono]i think you'll find the saudi royal family has 1 trillion dollars worth of shares in the biggest american companies which include, time warner, exxon mobile, citigroup, general electric....

Slowly but eventually american companies are bought out by chinese, russian and arabian oligarchs. That's what you get when you put your companies out in the open market.[/quote]

I think you're missing the point. The concern is that terrorists could sneak WMDs through one of these ports. Btw, the companies you mentioned aren't foreign controlled anyway.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=superdave]I think you're missing the point. The concern is that terrorists could sneak WMDs through one of these ports. Btw, the companies you mentioned aren't foreign controlled anyway.[/quote]

umm no. research these organizations. and what they do. they staff and inspect.

NY port authority, us customs us coast guard

there wont be a sudden influz of 70,000 dock workers from UAE not to mention that they will be staffed by unionized american workers

you reading too much into it.

half on manhatten is owned by holding companies outside the US

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=superdave]I think you're missing the point. The concern is that terrorists could sneak WMDs through one of these ports.[/quote]

[quote=thesightless]

you reading too much into it. [/quote]

what he said ^. terrorists sneaking WMDs through a port in new york is absurd.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=anonin]what he said ^. terrorists sneaking WMDs through a port in new york is absurd.[/quote]

[IMG]http://www.crazytees.com/thumbs/t_16220.jpg[/IMG]

so is terrorists hijacking airplanes and flying them into the WTC

but i'm sure you were being sarcastic

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=sammwalk][IMG]http://www.crazytees.com/thumbs/t_16220.jpg[/IMG]

so is terrorists hijacking airplanes and flying them into the WTC

but i'm sure you were being sarcastic[/quote]

ya rly! and i knew as soon as i typed that someone would come back and mention 9/11.

hijaking plans is one thing, sneaking in a nuclear weapon and delivering it to a target is another... think about that one for a second...

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

i've got a book you should read:

[IMG]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060571292.01.SCTHUMBZZZ.jpg[/IMG]

I've read this book by the well-qualified Flynn, who makes a very convincing case of the vulnerability of America mainly through its ports. Trust me, it's an easy read and very informative. Port security is extremely important and still easily bypassed simply because of the sheer volume of containers trafficking through the country,

Don't say it's impossible. Famous last words, IMO.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Sneaking WMDs through the ports has been a concern since 9/11. How can it be so absurd if both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are fighting to have the UAE company not manage the ports?

As mentioned, only a small perecentage of containers are actually inspected due to the large number of containers. Probably all the goods from China.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Hmmmmm.... sneaking a weapon in is absurd?

Do you know how small that weapon can be? Do you know how big ships are? Do you know that ships come into port every day and many times a day? Do you know that they arent searched for security purposes before leaving wherever they are coming in from? Don't you think it might be a fuck of a lot easier to sneak something into one of those than to coordinate the hijacking of 4 planes by 22 people and having them trained to pilot huge fucking airplanes with precision directly into the bullseye of their targets? (successfully I might remind you)

think about that for half a second

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

I have to say, under any set of facts, this seems like an awful idea.

Serious question to anyone that knows the answer: How/why did we settle upon this group? Was there a bidding process and they won?

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

the real problem exists at the port of call. not entry. the bombs will come from ports already controlled by them.

weird thing is, they didnt tell you that it isnt really a """new""" contract, just a renegotiated one when the takeover took hold.

i dunno, im indifferent, the ports will still be staffed by US workers, and policed by the same who have been. if they are gonna use a nuke, they really dont have to worry from their end. they could blow it as they arrive in port. if we want our ports truly secure we would have to police the ports where the ships come from.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=toasty]I have to say, under any set of facts, this seems like an awful idea.

Serious question to anyone that knows the answer: How/why did we settle upon this group? Was there a bidding process and they won?[/quote]

we didnt settle, the UAE company bought out a smaller firm via a stock takeover. therefore they inherited the existing contract.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[QUOTE=thesightless]we didnt settle, the UAE company bought out a smaller firm via a stock takeover. therefore they inherited the existing contract.[/QUOTE]

gotcha. That makes sense.

I dunno. This may end up being much ado about nothing -- but it certainly merits a closer look, I think.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=toasty]gotcha. That makes sense.

I dunno. This may end up being much ado about nothing -- but it certainly merits a closer look, I think.[/quote]

to me, it just seems like another oppurtunity for the democrats who are partisan to jump on a podium, and say ""look another thing the administration is doing wrong"" when all they have to do is propose a law today, run it through and make it illegal.

we cant back a free market economy, and vouch for capitalism and cry when someone we dont completely agree with buys out another company on our markets.

like said, the staff, police forces and customs agents arent changing, just the name on the conglomerate.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[QUOTE=thesightless]to me, it just seems like another oppurtunity for the democrats who are partisan to jump on a podium, and say ""look another thing the administration is doing wrong"" [/QUOTE]

The dems don't have a monopoly on questioning this move. Ridge came out earlier today calling for a more thorough investigation into the UAE company, and I gather that a number of republicans are looking for that as well. I think it is a legitimate point of inquiry, at least.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=toasty]The dems don't have a monopoly on questioning this move. Ridge came out earlier today calling for a more thorough investigation into the UAE company, and I gather that a number of republicans are looking for that as well. I think it is a legitimate point of inquiry, at least.[/quote]

yeah saw that after i posted.

one thought

""covering the republican asses for the next election and to show the right wingers we dont want foreigners involved.""

both sides kinda have BS cases unless the UAE company decides to go non union, restaff with middle eastern nationals and kick out the US coast guard, US customs, and local police forces........

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

In fact, Frist is calling for a stop to the deal:

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060221/ap_on_go_co/ports_security[/url]

You don't get too much more republican than Bill Frist. Not a partisan issue.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Bush is out of his freakin' mind with this one

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Both Republicans and Democrats are against this and want the deal reviewed or stopped. I don't really see partisan politics happening too much on this issue. Mostly it's Congress members of both parties working together because its such a bad idea on its face value.

I still haven't heard Bush's side of the story yet, but the UAE managing ports sounds bad no matter how you spin it. Anyone have a link or story about why Bush is ok with this move?

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

the thing ill say about this.

if microsoft is bought out tomorrow by the crown prince, does every single gov't computer need to be shut off

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

^^^^ Your earlier post makes perfect sense. You actually changed my mind about a topic. Port authorities will be the ones responsible for inspections of incoming containers. However your MS analogy is pretty bad. With that logic your saying we should go back and inspect every item shipped before the company take over.

As a side note though, every govt. computer running Microsoft OS SHOULD be shut down simply because of all the security holes. But even the govt. is somewhat aware of that. You may remember this from a while ago:

[URL="http://www.ladlass.com/ice/archives/008594.html"] [B][url=http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=16922][/B][SIZE=4]US Government warns against Internet Explorer[/url][/SIZE] [/URL]

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

oh plz. you got my point.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=miketpoto]Hmmmmm.... sneaking a weapon in is absurd?

Do you know how small that weapon can be? Do you know how big ships are? Do you know that ships come into port every day and many times a day? Do you know that they arent searched for security purposes before leaving wherever they are coming in from? Don't you think it might be a fuck of a lot easier to sneak something into one of those than to coordinate the hijacking of 4 planes by 22 people and having them trained to pilot huge fucking airplanes with precision directly into the bullseye of their targets? (successfully I might remind you)

think about that for half a second[/quote]

no one is sneaking in any weapons of mass destruction, dont let the bush co. tell you otherwise.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

dude...............

seriously, if they are going to try to get a WMD into our ports, there is nothing we can do to stop them, outside of patrolling every single port in the world. what these guys do is prevent it from getting off the boat and out of customs. all they have to do is put it on a ship, and blow the bomb, release the gas once they hit the pier.:what

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[QUOTE=anonin]no one is sneaking in any weapons of mass destruction, dont let the bush co. tell you otherwise.[/QUOTE]

As someone who watched september 11th happen first hand, saw the towers fall from midtown and felt the rumble of it all, I have to say I disagree somewhat.

A- Bush isnt trying to say that anyone is sneaking in WMD, his admin is the one that approved this.

B- If it happens it happens, oh well, but lets not roll out the red carpet annd make ourselves look even more like hypocritical jackasses...

C- I dont let the Bush administration tell me jack shit.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

oh , i let them tell me whatever they want to. then i laugh. usually a lot.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Well, this is interesting. Looks like Bush himself didn't know shit about the deal he's been defending until after it was approved:

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security[/url]

:roll:

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

^^ this shocks the conscience, in my opinion. Am I naive to think that Bush should have personally had some input into this? I mean, I realize that he isn't the guy that really makes all of the decisions and doesn't get into a lot of the day-to-day, but for him to not even be aware of something like this is stunning.

I dunno. Maybe it's just another straw laid on the broken back of a camel.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

bush is making so much money off this whole deal its not even funny.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

how ? and prove it.

because, and im sure toasty will back me here, all the federal level reps and cabinet members have thier entire investments sold off and put into a blind trust when they take office..... he doesnt own stock in these companies...

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=thesightless]how ? and prove it.

because, and im sure toasty will back me here, all the federal level reps and cabinet members have thier entire investments sold off and put into a blind trust when they take office..... he doesnt own stock in these companies...[/quote]

man ! i dont know!

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

And now -- Bob Dole has been hired by the UAE to help the deal go through. Anyone else notice that Republicans and rich Arab nations seem too cozy?

And Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary, even admitted that the administration should've consulted with Congress sooner about the port deal.

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/22/port.security/index.html"]http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/22/port.security/index.html[/URL]

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

seriously, someone tell me how the operation actually changed outside of the stock ownership of the parent corp? some news site i was on b4 said that no one has changed employment, it is still actually the same employees. so if its that bad, why havent we been bitching? im serious, why all of a sudden, all this over a stock transaction. NOTHING ELSE CHANGED

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

Well if stock ownership changes, so does the board, who makes policies. This does make a functional difference. Would you let an Arab company take over airport security? The only difference I see is that is a much larger threat. Homeland security my ass.

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

but if the employees are still the same american unions, and the same management, operating under the same restrictions, what happened? i know the board may change, but they still have to use american workers and deal with the autorities in the same manner they did a year ago. im not defending, im just wondering why all of a sudden this outrage is occuring. like i said, what happens if microsoft is bought out? does the government suddenly go to macs?

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]This Port story is horse shit and knee jerk politics. If we are going to stop the UAE from "running" these ports then we might as well get the Chinese, Japanese, and French etc... Companies that run ports all over the west coast out as well. Targeting a UAE base company right now would be bad. If they want to change the law and ban foreign companies from running the ports then fine. Go ahead. but targetting the UAE cause it's a muslim country is a mistake as it sends the wrong message. The UAE has helped the [/FONT][FONT=Arial]USA[/FONT][FONT=Arial] a lot in the [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Middle East[/FONT][FONT=Arial] and along with [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Kuwait[/FONT][FONT=Arial] allowed American forces to establish bases on their land, as well as round up terror cells. Hell the UAE should tell US companies and arm forces to get the fuck out of their ports and military bases as well. This is just how the world is: Governments regularly lease ports to companies that have the financial might and expertise to run them. Security is still run by federal agents of the home country and the port employees are all home based. Even if we were to tell the UAE company to fuck off we should still be worried as they run ports all over [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Europe[/FONT][FONT=Arial]. Why the hell would this company want to ruin its reputation (and 6 Billion dollar company investment) by helping some terrorist get in at one of their operated ports? If they were found helping assist some terrorist group that would be the end of them from a business perspective. This thing is getting silly, especially considering the Dems who are all against racial profiling at airports but are for racial profiling of Arab based companies. [/FONT][/COLOR]

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

[quote=deepdarkandtribal][COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]This Port story is horse shit and knee jerk politics. If we are going to stop the UAE from "running" these ports then we might as well get the Chinese, Japanese, and French etc... Companies that run ports all over the west coast out as well. Targeting a UAE base company right now would be bad. If they want to change the law and ban foreign companies from running the ports then fine. Go ahead. but targetting the UAE cause it's a muslim country is a mistake as it sends the wrong message. The UAE has helped the [/FONT][FONT=Arial]USA[/FONT][FONT=Arial] a lot in the [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Middle East[/FONT][FONT=Arial] and along with [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Kuwait[/FONT][FONT=Arial] allowed American forces to establish bases on their land, as well as round up terror cells. Hell the UAE should tell US companies and arm forces to get the fuck out of their ports and military bases as well. This is just how the world is: Governments regularly lease ports to companies that have the financial might and expertise to run them. Security is still run by federal agents of the home country and the port employees are all home based. Even if we were to tell the UAE company to fuck off we should still be worried as they run ports all over [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Europe[/FONT][FONT=Arial]. Why the hell would this company want to ruin its reputation (and 6 Billion dollar company investment) by helping some terrorist get in at one of their operated ports? If they were found helping assist some terrorist group that would be the end of them from a business perspective. This thing is getting silly, especially considering the Dems who are all against racial profiling at airports but are for racial profiling of Arab based companies. [/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]

thank you. good , insightful post. :Bingo:

this is racial profiling and nothing more imo. this whole deal is the equivalent to a cop pulling over a black guy because he was d.w.b (driving while black). People automatically think WMDs are going to pour in just because the company is from the UAE (muslim).

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

The more I read about this, the less concerned I am with it from a safety standpoint. It still strikes me as incredibly boneheaded, though...

Re: United Arab Emirates company to take over major U.S. ports

well, they say surround yourself with successful people and you'll be as well...

I swear Bush surrounded himself with dumbasses..

But agreed; shit was said when the British ran this company, but now everyone's fucking trying to be PC and/or afraid because the word 'Arab' is associated with running the company now...