Master CraftsMon - Aired Monday, February 27, 2006 at about 11pm CST - Segment 2
Master CraftsMon - Aired Monday, February 27, 2006 at about 11pm CST
Segment 2
Eileen last week brought up the port acquisition by Dubai Ports World. Initially I thought it was a very stupid idea, but like everything else, it's the devil in the details. Things are not as they seem. The problem with the deal is that the symbols were wrong in the initial new releases. The words "take over the ports" were used instead of "lease space in the ports".
Have you been down south of town? There's a place called the Jockey Lot. It is a flea market, that is people come together to sell stuff. The Jockey Lot management makes it money by renting stalls in their facility. The people who rent the stalls do not control the security and they do not dictate who can and cannot come onto the property. The analogy of course is silly, because the Jockey Lot does not control one of our ports where a nuclear device might appear at some point in history. But there are similarities.
Here's what really happened. Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. of England was bought out by Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates. In short, P&O was taken over by DP World. P&O had leases on some terminals in 6 or maybe 21 ports in the U.S. Almost all the employees in the U.S. ports will be kept on. The Americans in our unions will unload the ships. The only new employees that COULD be slipped in by DP World are upper level management. Each of them has to pass through checks by our government. The containers coming into these terminals are checked by the Coast Guard and the Customs Service.
The problem so far is that the gains to be realized by the deal have not been examined too carefully. We are in a war with the Irreconcilables that will span 30 to 50 years. Along the way we will have to ally ourselves with scum bags. The UAE is far from being a country with people who can be called scum bags, but they have done some stupid things in the past that make people in this country assume that they ARE scum bags. They will not recognize Israel. They had two citizens who were among the 19 who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the downed craft in Pennsylvania. Banks in their country laundered money for the Irreconcilables. They have members of the royal family and in the government who back the Irreconcilables. During the Cartoon Jihad controversy the government came out with releases that oozed wounded pride. Just today we hear that they confiscated social studies books, because the books stated as fact that the conquest of India by Islam was one of the bloodiest pages in history, yet the book said that Israel was the only true democracy in the Middle East. All of these examples make you wonder about the UAE.
On the other hand, the U.S. Navy allows port leave in Dubai. The Navy docks their ships in the UAE. The UAE houses our U2's and Global Hawks. If the UAE was that big a threat, why are our most sensitive aircraft based there?
One of the major arguments against the deal is that the UAE could pass along security information to the Irreconcilables. Guess what? They already have the information. Plus, you must realize that it isn't the receiving port that counts. It's the sending port. DB World has been running ports that send stuff to us for years.
The UAE has been invaluable in our fight on the Irreconcilables. Prior to 9/11, the UAE was paying protection money to the Irreconcilables. By siding with us, they no longer have to do that. That hasn't stopped some citizens of the UAE from supporting the Irreconcilables, but the government has stopped doing so.
Again, we are in a war that spans 30-50 years. Along the way we have to have allies to help us. If we are to have the UAE on our side, we have to trust them enough so that they can betray our trust and reveal themselves as our enemies. Are you getting this? We HAVE to find out whether the UAE is on our side, because we have a nasty war to fight. If they are on the other side, then we need to know that... BUT there is a problem with this whole analysis.
DB World is one company in a country called United Arab Emirates. Just as it is insane to hold the Jutland Post responsible for the behavior of the country of Denmark, it is also insane to hold DB World responsible for the behavior of the UAE. Yes, I did mean to say it that way. How can you hold a company responsible for the actions of its government AND its other citizens? Got me.
Do I say that the DP World takeover is a risk free venture? Nope... It has some risks attached to it. I suggest that, if you have problems with this venture that you have the brakes on your car inspected tomorrow. As soon as you can. It's important... to YOU. The brakes on your car could go out tomorrow and kill you. If you have them inspected, you could save your own life. But wait... How do you know that the brake inspector knows what he is doing? How do you know that the new brakes he puts in will be of good quality? OoooOoo... There are SO MANY risks. The odds that the UAE will betray us is about the same as your brakes going out tomorrow.
Okay. What I am getting at is that we cannot live a risk free life. It is impossible. The UAE and DP World have shown themselves to date to be relatively loyal allies. They are not solid, but how could they be? They have enemies on their borders who could give them a hard time. The big deal with the UAE is that they are in the Strait of Hormuz. If the Iranians decide to cut off the oil in the Middle East, it is at the Strait of Hormuz they will strike. Ummm... You DID know that the Iranians are threatening to build an Islamic bomb like the Pakistanis. They threaten to close the exit to the Persian Gulf at the Strait of Hormuz, if we get in their face or attack their nuclear facilities. We need the UAE right now to offset the Iranians.
Thank God, the Bush people could get DP World to agree to a 45 day review period before Congress, so everyone could climb down from their high horse and move on. That compromise is not perfect, but it has all the earmarks of a good compromise, i.e. no one is satisfied with the compromise, but no one can think of a better one.
There is one other thing I find fascinating about this story. DP World is MUCH more efficient at transferring cargo from ships to truck trailers than P&O was. The unions HATE efficient companies who bring change. After all, evil corporations are out to screw the little guy whenever they can. And evil foreign corporations are the worst. DP World may eliminate some jobs, so the unions have pulled out all the stops to head off this deal. In addition, there is an American company that does what DP World does. They got outbid by DP World for P&O. They are suing to stop the deal. They couldn't compete in the market place, so they are using political means to get what they want. In short, things are NOT as they seem.
There is risk in this deal, but life is filled with risks. Either we take some risks so that in the future we don't have to depend on an untried ally or we do not. If some Americans die today, because DP World leased some of the terminals in some of our ports, then that's the way it goes. I shall pray for the families of the lost and advocate the punishment of the United Arab Emirates. If you feel that we will never have another terrorist attack, then you are deluded. We have to test the UAE. All of us in this country are on the front lines. If we forget that, I am quite certain that the terrorists will remind us. We need to know that the UAE is on our side... right now.
I do not denigrate the fears of the people who would prefer that all our ports were handled by Americans. Hmmm... If you absolutely have to have a riskless life, then I say "go for it", but don't get me involved. I live in a world where you just have to take some risks... sometimes.
Segment 2
Eileen last week brought up the port acquisition by Dubai Ports World. Initially I thought it was a very stupid idea, but like everything else, it's the devil in the details. Things are not as they seem. The problem with the deal is that the symbols were wrong in the initial new releases. The words "take over the ports" were used instead of "lease space in the ports".
Have you been down south of town? There's a place called the Jockey Lot. It is a flea market, that is people come together to sell stuff. The Jockey Lot management makes it money by renting stalls in their facility. The people who rent the stalls do not control the security and they do not dictate who can and cannot come onto the property. The analogy of course is silly, because the Jockey Lot does not control one of our ports where a nuclear device might appear at some point in history. But there are similarities.
Here's what really happened. Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. of England was bought out by Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates. In short, P&O was taken over by DP World. P&O had leases on some terminals in 6 or maybe 21 ports in the U.S. Almost all the employees in the U.S. ports will be kept on. The Americans in our unions will unload the ships. The only new employees that COULD be slipped in by DP World are upper level management. Each of them has to pass through checks by our government. The containers coming into these terminals are checked by the Coast Guard and the Customs Service.
The problem so far is that the gains to be realized by the deal have not been examined too carefully. We are in a war with the Irreconcilables that will span 30 to 50 years. Along the way we will have to ally ourselves with scum bags. The UAE is far from being a country with people who can be called scum bags, but they have done some stupid things in the past that make people in this country assume that they ARE scum bags. They will not recognize Israel. They had two citizens who were among the 19 who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the downed craft in Pennsylvania. Banks in their country laundered money for the Irreconcilables. They have members of the royal family and in the government who back the Irreconcilables. During the Cartoon Jihad controversy the government came out with releases that oozed wounded pride. Just today we hear that they confiscated social studies books, because the books stated as fact that the conquest of India by Islam was one of the bloodiest pages in history, yet the book said that Israel was the only true democracy in the Middle East. All of these examples make you wonder about the UAE.
On the other hand, the U.S. Navy allows port leave in Dubai. The Navy docks their ships in the UAE. The UAE houses our U2's and Global Hawks. If the UAE was that big a threat, why are our most sensitive aircraft based there?
One of the major arguments against the deal is that the UAE could pass along security information to the Irreconcilables. Guess what? They already have the information. Plus, you must realize that it isn't the receiving port that counts. It's the sending port. DB World has been running ports that send stuff to us for years.
The UAE has been invaluable in our fight on the Irreconcilables. Prior to 9/11, the UAE was paying protection money to the Irreconcilables. By siding with us, they no longer have to do that. That hasn't stopped some citizens of the UAE from supporting the Irreconcilables, but the government has stopped doing so.
Again, we are in a war that spans 30-50 years. Along the way we have to have allies to help us. If we are to have the UAE on our side, we have to trust them enough so that they can betray our trust and reveal themselves as our enemies. Are you getting this? We HAVE to find out whether the UAE is on our side, because we have a nasty war to fight. If they are on the other side, then we need to know that... BUT there is a problem with this whole analysis.
DB World is one company in a country called United Arab Emirates. Just as it is insane to hold the Jutland Post responsible for the behavior of the country of Denmark, it is also insane to hold DB World responsible for the behavior of the UAE. Yes, I did mean to say it that way. How can you hold a company responsible for the actions of its government AND its other citizens? Got me.
Do I say that the DP World takeover is a risk free venture? Nope... It has some risks attached to it. I suggest that, if you have problems with this venture that you have the brakes on your car inspected tomorrow. As soon as you can. It's important... to YOU. The brakes on your car could go out tomorrow and kill you. If you have them inspected, you could save your own life. But wait... How do you know that the brake inspector knows what he is doing? How do you know that the new brakes he puts in will be of good quality? OoooOoo... There are SO MANY risks. The odds that the UAE will betray us is about the same as your brakes going out tomorrow.
Okay. What I am getting at is that we cannot live a risk free life. It is impossible. The UAE and DP World have shown themselves to date to be relatively loyal allies. They are not solid, but how could they be? They have enemies on their borders who could give them a hard time. The big deal with the UAE is that they are in the Strait of Hormuz. If the Iranians decide to cut off the oil in the Middle East, it is at the Strait of Hormuz they will strike. Ummm... You DID know that the Iranians are threatening to build an Islamic bomb like the Pakistanis. They threaten to close the exit to the Persian Gulf at the Strait of Hormuz, if we get in their face or attack their nuclear facilities. We need the UAE right now to offset the Iranians.
Thank God, the Bush people could get DP World to agree to a 45 day review period before Congress, so everyone could climb down from their high horse and move on. That compromise is not perfect, but it has all the earmarks of a good compromise, i.e. no one is satisfied with the compromise, but no one can think of a better one.
There is one other thing I find fascinating about this story. DP World is MUCH more efficient at transferring cargo from ships to truck trailers than P&O was. The unions HATE efficient companies who bring change. After all, evil corporations are out to screw the little guy whenever they can. And evil foreign corporations are the worst. DP World may eliminate some jobs, so the unions have pulled out all the stops to head off this deal. In addition, there is an American company that does what DP World does. They got outbid by DP World for P&O. They are suing to stop the deal. They couldn't compete in the market place, so they are using political means to get what they want. In short, things are NOT as they seem.
There is risk in this deal, but life is filled with risks. Either we take some risks so that in the future we don't have to depend on an untried ally or we do not. If some Americans die today, because DP World leased some of the terminals in some of our ports, then that's the way it goes. I shall pray for the families of the lost and advocate the punishment of the United Arab Emirates. If you feel that we will never have another terrorist attack, then you are deluded. We have to test the UAE. All of us in this country are on the front lines. If we forget that, I am quite certain that the terrorists will remind us. We need to know that the UAE is on our side... right now.
I do not denigrate the fears of the people who would prefer that all our ports were handled by Americans. Hmmm... If you absolutely have to have a riskless life, then I say "go for it", but don't get me involved. I live in a world where you just have to take some risks... sometimes.
posted by aRandomTexan at
6:50 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home