Dear Senator
.
Regarding the Port Authority sale, I am so livid that I'm at a complete loss for words.
Pres. Bush has the audacity to repeatedly come before the American citizens with his bizarre reasons why we must eavesdrop for the sake of security. Then he turns right around and consents to turning over authority of our major ports to those who are not our friends. Letting the fox guard the hen house comes to mind!
.
On behalf of your constituents, please tell me that you are vehemntly against this MINDLESS decision. WHO in the the world thought this was an acceptable idea? Why was it kept quiet until it was a done deal?
.
Please try to do everything in your power to turn this matter around!
.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Port Authority
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unjonharley
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Port Authority
I'm the contraptioneer your mother warned you about.
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unjonharley
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Kinetic IV
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Obviously few have read the news wires about the secret White House back door deal regarding the port situation. Drudge had it on the top of his page earlier....it changed my opinion of the deal...providing it's true.
K-IV
~~~~
Thank you for over 7 years of eplaya memories. I have asked Emily Sparkle to delete my account and I am gone. Goodbye and Goodluck to all of you! I will miss you!
~~~~
Thank you for over 7 years of eplaya memories. I have asked Emily Sparkle to delete my account and I am gone. Goodbye and Goodluck to all of you! I will miss you!
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DVD Burner
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Apollonaris Zeus
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Big Problem, Dubai Deal or Not
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: February 23, 2006
"...The administration's core problem at the ports, most experts agree, is how long it has taken for the federal government to set and enforce new security standards — and to provide the technology to look inside millions of containers that flow through them.
Only 4 percent or 5 percent of those containers are inspected. There is virtually no standard for how containers are sealed, or for certifying the identities of thousands of drivers who enter and leave the ports to pick them up. If a nuclear weapon is put inside a container — the real fear here — "it will probably happen when some truck driver is paid off to take a long lunch, before he even gets near a terminal," said Mr. Flynn, the ports security expert..."
This is not a racial reaction, but one against a country of which most of the 9/11 terrorist came from!!!
AIIZ
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: February 23, 2006
"...The administration's core problem at the ports, most experts agree, is how long it has taken for the federal government to set and enforce new security standards — and to provide the technology to look inside millions of containers that flow through them.
Only 4 percent or 5 percent of those containers are inspected. There is virtually no standard for how containers are sealed, or for certifying the identities of thousands of drivers who enter and leave the ports to pick them up. If a nuclear weapon is put inside a container — the real fear here — "it will probably happen when some truck driver is paid off to take a long lunch, before he even gets near a terminal," said Mr. Flynn, the ports security expert..."
This is not a racial reaction, but one against a country of which most of the 9/11 terrorist came from!!!
AIIZ
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DVD Burner
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Apollonaris Zeus
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"A pint of old Port and a devilled biscuit can hurt no man." President GW Bush- the real port authority!
Port --- from Portugal's upper Douro Valley; shipped from Porto, see map, brandy is added to partially fermented grape juice, stopping fermentation and producing a strong sweet wine that is then matured for years!
The information below comes from a variety of sources and has been arranged in an order that I hope is informative. The sources are from: Port, an Introduction to its History and Delights by Wyndham Fletcher, Sotheby Parke Bernet 1978; Sandeman which is imported by the Seagram Wines Co., New York, N.Y.; and Imediata - Comunicações e Multimédia, SA. Photo credits to Imediata, LineOne UK., Good Cooking, Inc. and Port, an Introduction to its History and Delights by Wyndham Fletcher
(Mapblast Suplied Map)
Port, the famous sweet fortified wine of the Douro River Valley in Portugal, has long been the classic way to end a meal and celebrate an evening. Port is a sweet red wine with about 20% alcohol (as opposed to table wine which is usually about 13%) and rather low acidity and tannin. Ideally a good Port should have a rich spicy flavor and in spite of its 20% alcohol, taste very smooth.
The Port vineyard zone of the Douro River Valley, was officially demarcated by the Portuguese in the 18th Century. It covers just over 1,000 square miles, with less than 15% of that area being planted in vines. Winters in the Douro are cold, wet and often snowy, while the summer season sees temperatures in excess of 100øF. The hardy vines of the Tinta Francisca, Mourisco, Tinto Cao, Tinta Roriz, Alvarelhao, Bastardo, Tourriga Nacional, and Tinta Barroca grapes endure this harsh environment to produce wines of great richness and intensity.
The recommended and authorized Red Grape varieties used in making Port include Bastardo, Donzelinho Tinto, Mourisco, Tinto Cao, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francessa, Touriga Nacional, Cornifesto, Malvasia Preta, Mourisco de Semente, Periquita, Rufete, Samarrinho, Tinta Amerela, Tinta da Barca, Tinto Barroco and Touriga Brasileira.
Port is created in a unique way that captures the fruit and flavor of the ripe grapes in wines that possess extraordinary longevity. During fermentation, prior to reaching the point where all of the natural grape sugars have been converted into alcohol, high-proof brandy is added to the vats to stop the fermentation. This leaves a wine with great depth of color and a high natural sweetness.
(Cockburn's Port House)
After fermentation is complete, the wines are transported to "lodges" where they rest in large oak casks called "pipes."
Vintage Ports are very grapey. This grapiness comes from the practice of bottling these wines after they have spent 2 years in barrel. Vintage Ports are to be held in the bottle for a long time, ten years considered being just a start while truly great vintages can require 20 years and more to reach optimum maturity. They keep their grapey flavor and, through bottle aging, develop bottle bouquet, a special quality found only in bottle aged wines. It can take many years for vintage Ports to become smooth if they have some tannin when they are bottled.
Ruby Ports are generally young wines that have had the chance to assimilate the brandy which was added during fermentation, but have not lost their youthful ruby-red color. Fruity on the nose and with the vitality of young wines, they tend to be very fresh in the mouth. They are an average of 2 years old.
Tawny Ports are aged a long time in wooden barrels, spending 3 or 4 years in casks. They tend to lose most of their fruit and the normal deep red color becomes more of an amber hue (which gives the wine its name) and acquire a nutty character. They should be very smooth when bottled. These may be wines whose bouquet has some trace of the young wines, but also many of the characteristics of Dated Ports or Ports with an indication of age, or "Ports of the Vintage".
Wood Ports represent the finest of Ports. They have been exclusively aged in barrel and not in bottle like Vintage Port.
White Ports: there are several styles of White Port, namely those associated with different degrees of sweetness and the manner by which they are made. In addition to the traditional styles, there are those with a very floral and highly complex nose and a minimum alcohol content of 16.5% (Light Dry White Port), of interest to those who are looking for a less alcoholic Port.
(Terraced Vineyards)
"Vintage Ports" are wines of superior quality, produced in exceptionally good years from select areas within the region. Made from wines produced in a single year, they are kept in wood for two to three years before they are bottled. Presenting outstanding flavor characteristics, they must be very full-bodied and deep in color when they are declared (two years after they are made). Aging in bottle endows them with the smoothness and elegance that gradually takes over from their initial astringency. As they age, their bouquet becomes balanced, complex and highly distinctive. Vintage Ports that have spent some years in bottle are associated, on the nose, with toasted aromas (chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cigar boxes, etc.) and with spices (cinnamon, pepper) and occasionally, fruits.
"L.B.V.(Late Bottled Vintage)" are also wines from a single year. They appear in years of excellent quality and are aged longer in wood than in the case with Vintage Port. They are bottled between the fourth and sixth year after they are made. Red in color, their flavor characteristics endow them with elegance and distinction. Full-bodied, smooth and with a more or less fruity bouquet, they may develop to a certain degree depending on how long they are kept in wood. Usually these wines are less astringent and full-bodied than Vintage Ports of the same year, yet equally harmonious; their smoothness and elegance varies according to the individual style of the producer.
"Crusted Port" Not a vintage, crusted port matures in the bottle. It is a young blended wine which will be ready to drink in 3 years at a reasonable price.
In terms of sweetness, Port Wine can be very sweet, sweet, semi-dry, dry or extra dry. It is the winemaker who determines just how sweet a Port Wine will be according to when he interrupts the fermentation.
(Pumping over)
"Dated Ports" are wines from a single year that age in wood for several years and can only be sold after they have attained 7 years of age. While aged in wood, their young, fruity and fresh aromas develop through oxidation to create a bouquet marked by the aroma of dried fruit, the distinct and pleasant hint of ethyl acetate and aromas of toasting, wood and spices. As they age they acquire an increased smoothness and their bouquet becomes more harmonious and complex. They become golden in color, with greenish tints in very old wines. Port Wines with an "Indication of Age" are similar in style to Dated Ports but, unlike the latter, are blended from wines of different years. The age that is given on the label expresses the nature of the wine as regards the characteristics that are conferred on it through aging in wood. Thus, a "10 years of age" wine has the color, aroma and typical taste of a wine that has aged in wood for 10 years. The authorized age indicators are: 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and more than 40 years. As with Dated Ports, their bouquet is characteristic of the oxidation process: dry fruits, toasting, spices and the characteristic hint of ethyl acetate that is more marked in older wines. In the mouth they are smooth and harmonious and their bouquet lingers greatly in the mouth.
(Railroad Trestle in the Douro)
Glossary of some Port Terms:
bullet Baumé - the density scale used to determine the degree of sweetness of musts and sweet wines.
bullet Benefício - the Portuguese expression used to describe the adding of grape brandy to fermenting wine.
bullet Bouquet - the set of aromas that characterize a wine and that develop especially during fermentation and aging.
bullet Crushing - action of smashing the grapes to release their juice.
bullet Destemming - removing the stems from the grapes .
bullet Draw off - to drain the juice from the tanks in which the wine is made, leaving the pomace behind.
bullet Fortified wine - a special type of wine where, not excluding other situations duly defined in European Union legislation, the natural fermentation of the must produced by grapes is interrupted by adding grape brandy, as in the case of Port Wine.
bullet Lot - the wine that is obtained by blending two or more wines.
bullet Maceration - the prolonged contact of the must with the solid grape matter with a view to extracting the compounds that are responsible for giving it its color and aromas.
bullet Must - unfermented grape juice.
bullet Must fermenting - grape juice in which the alcohol it contains is fermenting.
bullet Pomace - the solid matter from the crushed grapes that is impregnated with wine after the wine has been drawn off from the tanks in which it made or the dry matter that remains after the wet pomace has been pressed.
bullet Pumping over - the procedure that consists of pumping the fermenting must from the bottom of the tank and pouring it in at the top of the same tank so as to air the must and encourage the extraction of the compounds responsible for giving it its color and to make it more homogeneous.
bullet Racking from the lees - the process of transferring wine from one cask to another for purposes of separating it from the deposit it throws (lees) and airing it.
bullet Treading - crushing the grapes by foot.
Port --- from Portugal's upper Douro Valley; shipped from Porto, see map, brandy is added to partially fermented grape juice, stopping fermentation and producing a strong sweet wine that is then matured for years!
The information below comes from a variety of sources and has been arranged in an order that I hope is informative. The sources are from: Port, an Introduction to its History and Delights by Wyndham Fletcher, Sotheby Parke Bernet 1978; Sandeman which is imported by the Seagram Wines Co., New York, N.Y.; and Imediata - Comunicações e Multimédia, SA. Photo credits to Imediata, LineOne UK., Good Cooking, Inc. and Port, an Introduction to its History and Delights by Wyndham Fletcher
(Mapblast Suplied Map)
Port, the famous sweet fortified wine of the Douro River Valley in Portugal, has long been the classic way to end a meal and celebrate an evening. Port is a sweet red wine with about 20% alcohol (as opposed to table wine which is usually about 13%) and rather low acidity and tannin. Ideally a good Port should have a rich spicy flavor and in spite of its 20% alcohol, taste very smooth.
The Port vineyard zone of the Douro River Valley, was officially demarcated by the Portuguese in the 18th Century. It covers just over 1,000 square miles, with less than 15% of that area being planted in vines. Winters in the Douro are cold, wet and often snowy, while the summer season sees temperatures in excess of 100øF. The hardy vines of the Tinta Francisca, Mourisco, Tinto Cao, Tinta Roriz, Alvarelhao, Bastardo, Tourriga Nacional, and Tinta Barroca grapes endure this harsh environment to produce wines of great richness and intensity.
The recommended and authorized Red Grape varieties used in making Port include Bastardo, Donzelinho Tinto, Mourisco, Tinto Cao, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francessa, Touriga Nacional, Cornifesto, Malvasia Preta, Mourisco de Semente, Periquita, Rufete, Samarrinho, Tinta Amerela, Tinta da Barca, Tinto Barroco and Touriga Brasileira.
Port is created in a unique way that captures the fruit and flavor of the ripe grapes in wines that possess extraordinary longevity. During fermentation, prior to reaching the point where all of the natural grape sugars have been converted into alcohol, high-proof brandy is added to the vats to stop the fermentation. This leaves a wine with great depth of color and a high natural sweetness.
(Cockburn's Port House)
After fermentation is complete, the wines are transported to "lodges" where they rest in large oak casks called "pipes."
Vintage Ports are very grapey. This grapiness comes from the practice of bottling these wines after they have spent 2 years in barrel. Vintage Ports are to be held in the bottle for a long time, ten years considered being just a start while truly great vintages can require 20 years and more to reach optimum maturity. They keep their grapey flavor and, through bottle aging, develop bottle bouquet, a special quality found only in bottle aged wines. It can take many years for vintage Ports to become smooth if they have some tannin when they are bottled.
Ruby Ports are generally young wines that have had the chance to assimilate the brandy which was added during fermentation, but have not lost their youthful ruby-red color. Fruity on the nose and with the vitality of young wines, they tend to be very fresh in the mouth. They are an average of 2 years old.
Tawny Ports are aged a long time in wooden barrels, spending 3 or 4 years in casks. They tend to lose most of their fruit and the normal deep red color becomes more of an amber hue (which gives the wine its name) and acquire a nutty character. They should be very smooth when bottled. These may be wines whose bouquet has some trace of the young wines, but also many of the characteristics of Dated Ports or Ports with an indication of age, or "Ports of the Vintage".
Wood Ports represent the finest of Ports. They have been exclusively aged in barrel and not in bottle like Vintage Port.
White Ports: there are several styles of White Port, namely those associated with different degrees of sweetness and the manner by which they are made. In addition to the traditional styles, there are those with a very floral and highly complex nose and a minimum alcohol content of 16.5% (Light Dry White Port), of interest to those who are looking for a less alcoholic Port.
(Terraced Vineyards)
"Vintage Ports" are wines of superior quality, produced in exceptionally good years from select areas within the region. Made from wines produced in a single year, they are kept in wood for two to three years before they are bottled. Presenting outstanding flavor characteristics, they must be very full-bodied and deep in color when they are declared (two years after they are made). Aging in bottle endows them with the smoothness and elegance that gradually takes over from their initial astringency. As they age, their bouquet becomes balanced, complex and highly distinctive. Vintage Ports that have spent some years in bottle are associated, on the nose, with toasted aromas (chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cigar boxes, etc.) and with spices (cinnamon, pepper) and occasionally, fruits.
"L.B.V.(Late Bottled Vintage)" are also wines from a single year. They appear in years of excellent quality and are aged longer in wood than in the case with Vintage Port. They are bottled between the fourth and sixth year after they are made. Red in color, their flavor characteristics endow them with elegance and distinction. Full-bodied, smooth and with a more or less fruity bouquet, they may develop to a certain degree depending on how long they are kept in wood. Usually these wines are less astringent and full-bodied than Vintage Ports of the same year, yet equally harmonious; their smoothness and elegance varies according to the individual style of the producer.
"Crusted Port" Not a vintage, crusted port matures in the bottle. It is a young blended wine which will be ready to drink in 3 years at a reasonable price.
In terms of sweetness, Port Wine can be very sweet, sweet, semi-dry, dry or extra dry. It is the winemaker who determines just how sweet a Port Wine will be according to when he interrupts the fermentation.
(Pumping over)
"Dated Ports" are wines from a single year that age in wood for several years and can only be sold after they have attained 7 years of age. While aged in wood, their young, fruity and fresh aromas develop through oxidation to create a bouquet marked by the aroma of dried fruit, the distinct and pleasant hint of ethyl acetate and aromas of toasting, wood and spices. As they age they acquire an increased smoothness and their bouquet becomes more harmonious and complex. They become golden in color, with greenish tints in very old wines. Port Wines with an "Indication of Age" are similar in style to Dated Ports but, unlike the latter, are blended from wines of different years. The age that is given on the label expresses the nature of the wine as regards the characteristics that are conferred on it through aging in wood. Thus, a "10 years of age" wine has the color, aroma and typical taste of a wine that has aged in wood for 10 years. The authorized age indicators are: 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and more than 40 years. As with Dated Ports, their bouquet is characteristic of the oxidation process: dry fruits, toasting, spices and the characteristic hint of ethyl acetate that is more marked in older wines. In the mouth they are smooth and harmonious and their bouquet lingers greatly in the mouth.
(Railroad Trestle in the Douro)
Glossary of some Port Terms:
bullet Baumé - the density scale used to determine the degree of sweetness of musts and sweet wines.
bullet Benefício - the Portuguese expression used to describe the adding of grape brandy to fermenting wine.
bullet Bouquet - the set of aromas that characterize a wine and that develop especially during fermentation and aging.
bullet Crushing - action of smashing the grapes to release their juice.
bullet Destemming - removing the stems from the grapes .
bullet Draw off - to drain the juice from the tanks in which the wine is made, leaving the pomace behind.
bullet Fortified wine - a special type of wine where, not excluding other situations duly defined in European Union legislation, the natural fermentation of the must produced by grapes is interrupted by adding grape brandy, as in the case of Port Wine.
bullet Lot - the wine that is obtained by blending two or more wines.
bullet Maceration - the prolonged contact of the must with the solid grape matter with a view to extracting the compounds that are responsible for giving it its color and aromas.
bullet Must - unfermented grape juice.
bullet Must fermenting - grape juice in which the alcohol it contains is fermenting.
bullet Pomace - the solid matter from the crushed grapes that is impregnated with wine after the wine has been drawn off from the tanks in which it made or the dry matter that remains after the wet pomace has been pressed.
bullet Pumping over - the procedure that consists of pumping the fermenting must from the bottom of the tank and pouring it in at the top of the same tank so as to air the must and encourage the extraction of the compounds responsible for giving it its color and to make it more homogeneous.
bullet Racking from the lees - the process of transferring wine from one cask to another for purposes of separating it from the deposit it throws (lees) and airing it.
bullet Treading - crushing the grapes by foot.
Leave it to a Burner to turn any discussion to booze. 
Serially, I was very concerned about it, too. It seems, after further investigation, that it isn't as bad as it sounds, and that the Saudis are on our side in the war on terror, but still I certainly have my misgivings. Aparently, we could have taken Bin Laudin out back in '98 or so, but he was hunting at the time with some members of the Saudi royal family, and we didn't want to risk the "collateral damage".
That being said, I sure 'n the hell hope someone's minding the store on this one. It actually got demos & repubs working together, which is a minor miracle in it's own right.
Serially, I was very concerned about it, too. It seems, after further investigation, that it isn't as bad as it sounds, and that the Saudis are on our side in the war on terror, but still I certainly have my misgivings. Aparently, we could have taken Bin Laudin out back in '98 or so, but he was hunting at the time with some members of the Saudi royal family, and we didn't want to risk the "collateral damage".
That being said, I sure 'n the hell hope someone's minding the store on this one. It actually got demos & repubs working together, which is a minor miracle in it's own right.
"All the great villainies of history have been perpetrated by sober men, and chiefly by teetotalers"
H.L.Mencken
H.L.Mencken
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Apollonaris Zeus
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- Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 11:17 am
The Saudi's reasoning for joining the war on terrorism is different then our. They only wish to save their monarchy. Like the Mob they have their hands in everything. They get a "royalty" from all generated income by any Saudi. They have their hands covered with blood since many of them financially support the 9/11 terrorist. They have a barbaric country in which women have no equal rights and slavery exists. They are Wahebist bent on imposing their religion upon the world. America only supports them because we need their oil, otherwise who the fuck cares about that whole region!Magikal wrote: ...the Saudis are on our side in the war on terror, but still I certainly have my misgivings. Aparently, we could have taken Bin Laudin out back in '98 or so, but he was hunting at the time with some members of the Saudi royal family.
Yes, because its too politically sensitive to allow the demos to use this against the Repubs.Magikal wrote: It actually got demos & repubs working together, which is a minor miracle in it's own right.
I love Ports after a good meal. Since everyone at a dinner party always bring wines- I bring the port!
AIIZ
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diane o'thirst
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The problem with that argument is it's not the Saudis. It's the United Arab Emirates — a bunch of principalities, basically.
I don't care. Ports should be under one authority and that is the home country's. Haven't they heard a thing? Our jobs are being outsourced to a faretheewell and now THIS!
This just makes my "No, this is fucking WRONG!!!" light go on, in bold outlined caps, bright red neon with lots of underlining and big red arrows all around pointing to it. Straight up arrogance on the part of the White House, to the point of insanity. Nixon never had it this good!
I don't care. Ports should be under one authority and that is the home country's. Haven't they heard a thing? Our jobs are being outsourced to a faretheewell and now THIS!
This just makes my "No, this is fucking WRONG!!!" light go on, in bold outlined caps, bright red neon with lots of underlining and big red arrows all around pointing to it. Straight up arrogance on the part of the White House, to the point of insanity. Nixon never had it this good!
[url=http://tinyurl.com/245sagf][img]http://tinyurl.com/2bbr28j/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/23753ws][img]http://tinyurl.com/2auqebj/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/m4y82q][img]http://tinyurl.com/l56rdn/.gif[/img][/url]
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Apollonaris Zeus
- Posts: 3716
- Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 11:17 am
the poverty of answers
why does the uae want the ports? aren't there other money-making opportunities out there for them to exploit? why does the administration care so much that uae gets those ports that they are willing to go against publicized political opposition to defend the deal? it's not as if they are trying to keep the resale value up on behalf of a US company.
but of course, it really doesn't matter where the company headquarters or corporate charter are. the investors can be from anywhere.
what does it mean to be patriotic in a global economy united by cross-pollenated investment markets? if the business of america is business, and business is now global, what's a patriot to do?
isn't the important thing here that the administration has demonstrated it has the guts to do go ahead and do anything it wants? shock and awe, indeed!
they will do anything they want to. that's the message. and they are watching us. that's the other message. and they love us. and so does god.
anyhoo, it's a good deal. we advance the psychological notion that uae is on the same level as britain in terms of our government's trust, and thus obstensibly cement relations with a valuable ally in the war on terror, and we only have to give up six ports in major cities in the busy and oldest part of our nation to a nation with a high number of known ties to terrorists. i don't see how anything could go wrong!
in fact, nothing will go wrong. except that, after years and years of nothing going wrong, people might start to question the need for all the surveillance and such.
for now, however, we are in a dangerous time. i must, therefore, agree that it is highly important to monitor all electronic communications, including boards like this, for any and all signs of terrorist chatter.
also, this is not the right time to question the authorities concerning dealings with other nations and other such things we ought not to worry our pretty little heads about. they know better than we do because they have better information which can't be shared.
everything they do is right. get used to it. you don't actually have a choice.
and why have you people stopped making funny jokes about this important matter? i like them much better than the dark portents of imagined disaster floating around this thread (and most especially in my silly submission)!
Buy and Sell : The Marginal Utility
but of course, it really doesn't matter where the company headquarters or corporate charter are. the investors can be from anywhere.
what does it mean to be patriotic in a global economy united by cross-pollenated investment markets? if the business of america is business, and business is now global, what's a patriot to do?
isn't the important thing here that the administration has demonstrated it has the guts to do go ahead and do anything it wants? shock and awe, indeed!
they will do anything they want to. that's the message. and they are watching us. that's the other message. and they love us. and so does god.
anyhoo, it's a good deal. we advance the psychological notion that uae is on the same level as britain in terms of our government's trust, and thus obstensibly cement relations with a valuable ally in the war on terror, and we only have to give up six ports in major cities in the busy and oldest part of our nation to a nation with a high number of known ties to terrorists. i don't see how anything could go wrong!
in fact, nothing will go wrong. except that, after years and years of nothing going wrong, people might start to question the need for all the surveillance and such.
for now, however, we are in a dangerous time. i must, therefore, agree that it is highly important to monitor all electronic communications, including boards like this, for any and all signs of terrorist chatter.
also, this is not the right time to question the authorities concerning dealings with other nations and other such things we ought not to worry our pretty little heads about. they know better than we do because they have better information which can't be shared.
everything they do is right. get used to it. you don't actually have a choice.
and why have you people stopped making funny jokes about this important matter? i like them much better than the dark portents of imagined disaster floating around this thread (and most especially in my silly submission)!
Buy and Sell : The Marginal Utility
The ports would remain under the authority of the various 'Port Authorities'--hence their name. Port security would, as always, be provided by the Coast Guard.
Administration of 24 terminals would be under the province of Dubai Ports Worldwide, a business partially owned by the government of the UAE.
Dubai Ports Worldwide already manages several terminals in the US.
Just some food for thought.
One could almost ask oneself why the situation has been framed in the manner that's been all over the media...
Administration of 24 terminals would be under the province of Dubai Ports Worldwide, a business partially owned by the government of the UAE.
Dubai Ports Worldwide already manages several terminals in the US.
Just some food for thought.
One could almost ask oneself why the situation has been framed in the manner that's been all over the media...
"Life is like a box of razor blades. Sharp, shiny, and good for removing unwanted body hair"
why's everybody always picking on bush?
i think that one may be easier to answer than why the administration is doing everything it can to help the deal go through.lurker wrote: One could almost ask oneself why the situation has been framed in the manner that's been all over the media...
the media is framing it so as to highlight the juxtaposition of our government's attitude toward spying on citizens with its attitude toward large, foreign corporations (and Arab ones, at that).
the deal is probably not a big threat to national security. but then, the great majority of us are no threat to national security either. yet, it's been argued that it's okay to give government agents greater access in watching our movements and conversations on the logic that "if you have nothing to hide, why would you care". so, if the company buying the ports has nothing to hide, why does it need to be exempted from rules that most other companies have to follow?
as i said, you gotta hand it to this administration. they are strong. they will do whatever they want to do. they make no apologies for their beliefs or positions. and they don't care about consistency. bush can talk of compassionate conservatism and being against nation-building and then launch into the biggest nation-building enterprise ever and use it to justify slashing as many environmental and social programs as he can.
i say it's brilliant.
the deal will go through. no one wants to oppose bush in any serious way, least of all people in his own party. they know the results. one way or another, they will pay for that opposition.
of course, nothing about this deal affects my actual life in the least. so....why get excited, eh? we may as well be talking about the soaps!
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diane o'thirst
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MoveOn.org is getting together a petition to Congress. They're only 30% to their goal of 250,000 signatures. Here's where you can read and sign the petition:
http://www.moveon.org/pac/ports/
http://www.moveon.org/pac/ports/
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Ugly Dougly
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the other hand that feeds you
on the other hand....
in light of the complicated reality of highly varied cultures that do business together, the administration is saying: in spite of the fears we have of some Arabs and Muslims, we trust you, the uae, to be our allies. now the deal is open to public scrutiny. if there are changes to the deal, or if it is stopped, it will not be the administration's choice, but it will still be america's.
the controversy demonstrates something about our system - some may push boundaries to get things done, but there is always a system of checks and balances that will scrutinize what is done. even under an aggressive leadership, the concerns of the citizenry are expressed and often addressed.
whether they planned it this way is anyone's guess. as is what will happen with the deal. it seems the reasonable course is to impose the same rules on the buying company as are imposed in the majority of similar cases. if the company doesn't like that, they don't have to buy.
as for the british company that is selling, its just the way things go if they have to sell lower to a company that is willing to play by the same rules as everyone else. sadly, that's just how business works. some don't make as much as they hope to.
the issue shouldn't be who owns the enterprise, but whether or not they are held to the same standards and expectations of others in the same industry.
that's a kind of boring solution though.
in light of the complicated reality of highly varied cultures that do business together, the administration is saying: in spite of the fears we have of some Arabs and Muslims, we trust you, the uae, to be our allies. now the deal is open to public scrutiny. if there are changes to the deal, or if it is stopped, it will not be the administration's choice, but it will still be america's.
the controversy demonstrates something about our system - some may push boundaries to get things done, but there is always a system of checks and balances that will scrutinize what is done. even under an aggressive leadership, the concerns of the citizenry are expressed and often addressed.
whether they planned it this way is anyone's guess. as is what will happen with the deal. it seems the reasonable course is to impose the same rules on the buying company as are imposed in the majority of similar cases. if the company doesn't like that, they don't have to buy.
as for the british company that is selling, its just the way things go if they have to sell lower to a company that is willing to play by the same rules as everyone else. sadly, that's just how business works. some don't make as much as they hope to.
the issue shouldn't be who owns the enterprise, but whether or not they are held to the same standards and expectations of others in the same industry.
that's a kind of boring solution though.
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DVD Burner
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diane o'thirst
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Just to head off any "racist" accusations, I don't like a British company controlling our ports either. I don't like anyone except OURSELVES to operate or control our own ports.
To me, there's no question about it. Our economy is on the skids, there are qualified people here that need the work; nationalism and security aside, we don't need to outsource. It's inexcuseable.
I'm all for world trade. The Dalai Lama said that we should undertake a worldwide Age of Dialog. Let's trade our goods and knowledge, let's collaborate on progressive causes like medicine, science and agriculture, but draw the line there. And especially when it comes to our ports of entry. THAT should unquestionably come under American oversight, and no-one else.
To me, there's no question about it. Our economy is on the skids, there are qualified people here that need the work; nationalism and security aside, we don't need to outsource. It's inexcuseable.
I'm all for world trade. The Dalai Lama said that we should undertake a worldwide Age of Dialog. Let's trade our goods and knowledge, let's collaborate on progressive causes like medicine, science and agriculture, but draw the line there. And especially when it comes to our ports of entry. THAT should unquestionably come under American oversight, and no-one else.
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worth reading
Check out this out.
http://counterterror.typepad.com/the_co ... _dete.html
It makes ya think, doesn't it?
http://counterterror.typepad.com/the_co ... _dete.html
It makes ya think, doesn't it?
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diane o'thirst
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.To me, there's no question about it. Our economy is on the skids, there are qualified people here that need the work; nationalism and security aside, we don't need to outsource. It's inexcuseable
Well, I don't think the economy is on the skids, but that's besides the point.
The people working the port and terminals will be the same people who've always worked them--American longshoremen, stevedores and teamsters. The jobs aren't changing, the ownership of the company is. Nothing is being outsourced.
Of course, if everyone get's fired and DPW suddenly brings out legions of muhjadeen to man the terminals we might have a problem...
And 'control' is the wrong word. WE will control our ports, DPW will operate some terminals in those ports.
This is what I meant about how this is being framed 'control our ports'. Actual control of our ports was never an issue. Nor was symbolic control--the ports are controlled by the various Port Authorities and security is provided, as always, by the Coast Guard.
No matter how many times this is pointed out, the issue is quickly spun back to being about the 'control' of our 'ports'
"Life is like a box of razor blades. Sharp, shiny, and good for removing unwanted body hair"
ruling rules rule
the spin also keeps meandering away from the issue of what the new owners have been specially excepted from having to do. i read of this quite a while ago, when the issue was just becoming news. it has to do with where records are kept and US government access to the inner workings of the company.
sadly, i don't pay much attention to the media when i can find just about anything else to do (including this). i need help! but so far, no one is talking about those exemptions in this thread except me. i'm just trying to spin it back to that.
as for the info offered in the referenced blogs, it was interesting. from it, i saw this vision...
inspiring teacher goes to underprivileged school. seeming loser teenagers slowly warm to the teacher, but progress is limited. first the teacher has to gain the trust and allegiance of the baddest one of the bunch. once the baddest one comes around, everyone blossoms and suddenly the seeming losers are actually brilliant, vibrant, creative and loving souls.
it works in the movies!
is it possible the bush administration is just trying to buddy up to the bad boys in order to collaspe the extremes back toward the middle? maybe they're looking for more leverage in the form of ports. remember nixon's detente? now everything comes from china. give a little, get a lot. isn't that the american dream?
and so forth.
i'm just wondering about those exemptions! was i dreaming? are they not important?
sadly, i don't pay much attention to the media when i can find just about anything else to do (including this). i need help! but so far, no one is talking about those exemptions in this thread except me. i'm just trying to spin it back to that.
as for the info offered in the referenced blogs, it was interesting. from it, i saw this vision...
inspiring teacher goes to underprivileged school. seeming loser teenagers slowly warm to the teacher, but progress is limited. first the teacher has to gain the trust and allegiance of the baddest one of the bunch. once the baddest one comes around, everyone blossoms and suddenly the seeming losers are actually brilliant, vibrant, creative and loving souls.
it works in the movies!
is it possible the bush administration is just trying to buddy up to the bad boys in order to collaspe the extremes back toward the middle? maybe they're looking for more leverage in the form of ports. remember nixon's detente? now everything comes from china. give a little, get a lot. isn't that the american dream?
and so forth.
i'm just wondering about those exemptions! was i dreaming? are they not important?
I like the Port Authority because it's free for me (as a student) and convenient living in Oakland. Definitely agree with Kenny though, rail commute is the way to go. I wish the T would serve other areas than the South Hills. I think it would alleviate a lot of traffic if expanded to the North Hills, east suburbs and even the airport. :idea:
