Open Thread

14 Comments

1. 

   rba on February 21, 2006 at 6:14 pm

   Saw the AG with his smily-face on bragging about the “3 guys from Ohio” bust.  Couldn’t resist the urge to write it up here.  Like I wrote, you have to read the indictment to get a full grasp of the situation.  Reminds me of the “Brooklyn Blow Torch” case.

   • 

     shirlstars on February 21, 2006 at 7:07 pm

     Boo said it was time to walk the dog, so I think I really do need to be walked. . .woof, woof!

2. 

   idredit on February 21, 2006 at 6:30 pm

   with only a canoe and a paddle.

   MSNBC is reporting  Bush said of the UAE 6 port takeover  “This is a private transaction” and he’ll veto any legislation attempting to stop it. Explain that one.

   Meanwhile Scottie McCellan claimed the DoD was part of the approval process. But Rummy and Joint Chiefs Pace said they only heard of it over the weekend. Hmmm.

   Thinkprogress asks how come Rumsfeld and Pace were not consulted?

   Rumsfeld is a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment. According to the Treasury Department ‘the sale was unanimously approved’ on February 13. So, if Rummy just heard of it, was absent from the meeting review process, how come it was unanimously approved? Strange doings. Guess, only those present do count as unanimous.

   If China’s Unocal oil deal was squashed, how about this one?

   One thing certain, this deal resonates BIG, in bushland. On far right talk radio it is being said we’re now encircled since a China company operates the Panama Canal. These are bush’s roots who already feel he’s letting them down on immigration and porous borders. Talk about a lame quail.. erm duck.

   Can’t wait to see his next polling numbers. Can you?

   • 

     Oui on February 21, 2006 at 6:36 pm

     .
     Would one be suspicious of a ports deal secured by the UAE, when this serie orders was signed with Boeing recently?

     George W. Bush said:
     “I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company, I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, ‘We’ll treat you fairly.'”

     Governor Jeb Bush Has Faith In President’s Ports Sale Decision

     CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Local10TV) Feb. 21 — Gov. Jeb Bush said he has faith in his brother’s administration over its decision to allow an Arab-owned company to operate major U.S. ports, including in Miami.

     Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to take over a British company that has been running six U.S. ports.

     Several South Florida Congress members and politicians believe the deal should be closely examined.

     U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she has no specific concerns about the company, although the fact that UAE was where a number of the Sept. 11 hijackers were being harbored warrants further examination.

     ≈ Cross-posted from my diary —
     Al Qaeda Buys Control Six US Port Facilities ¶ Chertoff Hands Over the Keys ≈

     “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

     ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

     • 

       idredit on February 21, 2006 at 7:09 pm

       A nice back-door deal this UAE sale?  Looks like it.

       FDL’s ReddHedd reports on the cronies involved via NYDailyNews. See the post
         “Screw the Security Concerns, There’s Profit for My Cronies to Consider”

       So how are they connected?  Here’s the road map.

       One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World – giving it control of Manhattan’s cruise ship terminal and Newark’s container port.

       Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush’s cabinet.

       The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World’s European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

       And it looks like the Bush Administration bypassed the legally mandated longer review process for port control “when the company is owned by a foreign government and the purchase “could result in control of a person engaged in interstate commerce in the U.S. that could affect the national security of the U.S.”

       Dubya’s cronies laughing all the way to the bank?

       Blind Trust Frist is saying, Not so fast.

     • 

       sbj on February 21, 2006 at 7:34 pm

       The aircraft deals with Boeing certainly must be a significant factor in all this.

       Good catch.

3. 

   Oui on February 21, 2006 at 6:33 pm

   .

   Frontal21-Satire  
   Toll! War on Vogelgrippe

   
   Author Werner Martin Doyé

   “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

4. 

   roseeriter on February 21, 2006 at 6:40 pm

   Big Time on the port sale. There was a white house reporter who said they would not speak to Lou Dobbs because he won’t ‘shut up’ about it. OOh Rove is being a meanie. I sure hope Lou stands up to them. I have never been a Dobbs fan but I am rah rahing him tonite!!

   Cafferty was pretty good too tonite. I even sent him an email, telling him to dig into the cronieism that has to be part of this foolishness.

   • 

     sjct on February 21, 2006 at 7:08 pm

     almost. I fired them last year and haven’t gone back on my pledge. I made an exception on Tweety last night because I wanted to see what Hackett had to say for himself. I always liked what Dobbs had to say in defense of US workers but he’s an America-First, let-the-rest-of-the-world-starve isolationist basically.

5. 

   janinsanfran on February 21, 2006 at 6:59 pm

   This group held a mixed academics and activists conference in Austin this weekend. If interested, I’ve written up some of  panel highlights and probably more interesting some musings on how academic history can respond to our scary realities.

6. 

   Street Kid on February 21, 2006 at 7:46 pm

   Another Medicare D(isaster) diary, now, the cost of the sales pitch is questioned.

7. 

   sbj on February 21, 2006 at 7:56 pm

   More serious erosion of Democracy. Link here.

   courtesy of C & L where I found the link.

8. 

   deano on February 21, 2006 at 8:21 pm

   Europe’s Far Right.

   The Guardian has an article up outlining Europe’s Far Right. (Link)

9. 

   Renee in Ohio on February 22, 2006 at 4:57 pm

   “When I think of what you’ve made of it the phrase ‘pig’s ear’ comes irresistibly to my mind.”
   –Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

   Sadly, the same words now come irresistibly to mind when I think of the upcoming “primaries” that are to be held on May 2.

   See Howard-Empowered People for more, if you’re interested.