Comments on: Sometimes I Wonder About Michelle Malkin…

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:38:56 +0000

Anderson,

Did the USSR infiltrate places like the FBI? Has China infiltrated some of the most closely guarded places in the U.S.? The answer is yes. Putting a U.S. company in charge of the ports isn't going to be any sort of protection against the problem you are worried about. In fact, if might give a false sense of security. I find your argument completely unpersuasive.

By: John Poleshek

John Poleshek — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 06:31:13 +0000

Can we Americans honestly expect the U A E to
keep assisting us with our goals in Iraq and the
mideast if we treat them differently then the British who ran the ports before them.At the first sign of any discrimination against Jewish
business intrests by the UAE port managers I am sure the American press will scream loud and clear to discredit W.and I am sure the UAE knows this also.

By: Anderson

Anderson — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 02:17:26 +0000

Kaus has it right:

But of course the issue isn't whether the UAE is a friendly government. The issue is whether the UAE is a friendly government whose subsidiary organizations are more easily infiltrated--against the government's will, presumably--by people who might not be friendly than are other organizations that might manage U.S. ports. It's hard to believe the honest answer isn't "yes."

By: Anderson

Anderson — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 01:57:25 +0000

What TOMO said. If you think UAE is "moderate Muslim," then you are using the word "moderate" in a sense unfamiliar to most people.

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:25:57 +0000

No I don't considering that China operates container terminals in Long Beach as does APL. Maybe if you were making a stink about this issue shortly after 9/11 I'd understand your position, but right now it smacks of outright bigotry.

By: TOMO

TOMO — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:06:03 +0000

I guess the UAE is just "misunderstood" and we should be more "sensitive" to this "moderate muslim" country (as you call them Steve). I guess "moderate muslim" means disavowing the existence of Israel and recognizing the Taliban as the rightful government of Afghanistan. Don't you get how BIG this is?

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:08:44 +0000

Legion,

I do believe that DP World would have to operate under U.S. laws and hence the U.A.E. boycott would have no impact at all.

By: legion

legion — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:43:50 +0000

So, how would the UAE's boycott affect the operations of US ports? Would their position allow them (legitimately or not) to bar or delay Israeli goods and vessels? I'm guessing thsi question never came up when the UK was running the show, but it seems like something the Commerce Dept should have tackled pretty early in the process - oh wait, they were _told_ what their decision would be before there was ever even a hearing on the subject, right.

In other news, watch Malkin closely - by the end of the week, one of two things will happen. She will either a) back off of her opposition to this deal (a la Frist), or b) get demonized at other farther-right sites like Free Republic or LGF. Watch the blood fly!

By: Al Capone

Al Capone — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:46:57 +0000

I think this is what Malkin refers to:
The parent company of a Dubai-based firm at the center of a political storm in the US over the purchase of American ports participates in the Arab boycott against Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The firm, Dubai Ports World, is seeking control over six major US ports, including those in New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is entirely owned by the Government of Dubai via a holding company called the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCZC), which consists of the Dubai Port Authority, the Dubai Customs Department and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area.
"Yes, of course the boycott is still in place and is still enforced," Muhammad Rashid a-Din, a staff member of the Dubai Customs Department's Office for the Boycott of Israel, told the Post in a telephone interview.

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:49:25 +0000

Maybe the UAE can start blocking Malkin's site? Can we do that here too?

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:56:33 +0000

Well duh, it is and Arab/muslim country. Expecting them to be like the U.S. is just silly.

Oh, and precisely why do you think the U.S. and probably every other country in the world has a similar document...to keep out goods from specific countries. I mean good freaking God.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:52:00 +0000

I think the point of the post was to show that the Dubai has a policy of not allowing products that originate in Israel. Nothing is said about the documents not existing.