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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Mar-17-06 09:46 PM
Original message
Great Dubai Ports Analysis:
Edited on Fri Mar-17-06 09:49 PM by Flabbergasted
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_600.shtml
With friends like these
By Sheila Samples
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Mar 17, 2006, 12:41

Senator John Warner (R-Va.) has the unexpected problem of a foreign state-owned company taking over operations at U.S. ports all figured out. The dour, self-righteous chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee announced from the Senate floor on March 9 that Dubai Ports World (DPW), one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), "has decided to transfer fully U.S. operation of P&O Ports North America to a United States entity."

For Rove-Cheney watchers, that immediately begs the question -- what U.S. entity? What does "transfer fully" mean? But, alas, Warner said details about that part of the scam "weren't immediately available." For Warner watchers, especially those of us who have looked at him from every possible angle while scratching our heads,....

snip...

....it's been suggested that DPW hire a "front company" to run port operations. You know, like defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld did when the Congress told him he couldn't have the Total Information Awareness (TIA) data-mining program. Rumsfeld said okay, and took the program into the shadows, out of congressional oversight and gave it a new name -- Terrorist Information Awareness program.

snip...

It looks like it's back to the shadows for a port-control strategy session. If you believe either the Bush regime or the UAE will politely back off because of the nuisance of an unhappy American citizenry, you just haven't been watching these guys in action for the past five years. There's too much money and power involved. They'll figure it out. That session ought to be easy. Bush says he's a "strateregist" because, he explained, "I create . . . er..strateregy." Can't argue with that. He also claims to be a problem-solver because he solves . . . er . . . problems; he says he's a leader because he . . . er . . . leads, and brags that he's a war president because he . . . er . . . ohhh, never mind.

snip...

So, who's in control here? Disregard what Israel PM Ariel Sharon allegedly told Shimon Peres, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, a month after the 9-11 attack -- "I want to tell you something very clear, don't worry about American pressure on Israel," Sharon said. "We, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it."

Yeah? Well, I want to tell you Americans don't know Jack about who controls this country. Israel may be our partner in crime; may be sucking us dry; prodding us to fight its battles -- but the United Arab Emirates, "entities" like the Carlyle Group and Halliburton, and the administration globalization gurus are in control and, as Sam Peckinpah so aptly put it -- they're blowin' this town all to hell.

snip...

The critical news about the UAE is what the media, the Congress, and the administration are NOT telling the people. In addition to its multi-million-dollar order for Boeing jets, and a $6.4 billion deal to buy 80 F-16E/F multi-role fighters, which will make Abu Dhabi the leading air power in the Gulf, Dubai firms have several lucrative contracts with the Pentagon, which might explain Rumsfeld's tight-lipped, purple-veined fury after a recent congressional hearing as he stood there beside a dreamily nodding Joe Lieberman (?-CT) and deflected media questions to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, and U.S. Central Commander Gen. John Abizaid.

The spectacle of this nation's top military brass lobbying Congress to give a foreign government control over a crucial part of our infrastructure, our military operations and security is appalling. Making the rounds of recent Sunday talk shows, Pace said, "Since 9-11, Dubai is as good a partner and friend as we've had." Pace told a Pentagon briefing on Feb. 21 that the Arab Emirates were "very, very solid partners in the alliance."

Abizaid was not nearly so diplomatic. He lashed out at the public and the Congress --"The UAE is absolutely vital to our interests," Abizaid said angrily, and added that the furor over the port control was "nothing but Arab and Muslim bashing that is totally unnecessary." Abizaid should know. He's been bashing, smashing and blowing apart Arabs and Muslims for years . . .

snip...

Also under consideration is the sale to Dubai International of (you guessed it) yet another British company that makes precision parts used in engines for military aircraft and tanks. The UAE purchased London's Doncasters Group for $1.2 billion, which operates nine factories, including military production facilities in Connecticut and Georgia. According to Middle East Newsline, Doncasters' clients include Boeing, General Electric, Honeywell and Pratt and Whitney . . .

What should concern Congress and, as a minimum, tweak the curiosity of the media is the UAE's ties to, and protection of, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, its recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, its thwarting of a CIA attempt to kill bin Laden before 9-11, its massive money-laundering network for terrorist activity, its funding ($23 million) for Neil Bush's IGNITE! learning systems company, and its furnishing two hijackers for the 9-11 attacks. The UAE's appalling record on human slavery should be dragged out of the shadows for all to see. In June 2005, the U.S. State Department reported that the UAE is a major destination for women sex slaves, and it regularly imports, steals or buys children from other countries to serve as camel jockeys to feed the gambling frenzy of oil-rich sheiks.

snip....

The UAE will win because of the free trade agreement we are determined to have in that part of the world. It will win because, as Mike Whitney writes in Online Journal, "The United Arab Emirates is situated at the center of an oil-dependent world. This tiny state forms the promontory that juts out into the famed Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world's oil passes every day." Whitney says Iran is just across that strait and, if we're going to attack Iran, we must have boots on the ground in Dubai to keep the strait open and ward off the resulting devastation to world oil supplies and financial markets.

It will win because the crony alliance that comprises the Iron Triangle of the New World Order -- industry, government and military -- is a power elite that feeds ravenously on the soft underbelly of war like maggots on rotten meat. Until we realize just how precious freedom is, until we work to take back that which was stolen, nothing will change. We must do more than complain and cast worthless votes every few years.

With best friends and partners like the United Arab Emirates, the Carlyle Group and Halliburton controlling the house, we have little time to worry about alleged enemies at the gate.



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Monkey see Monkey Do Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 11:22 AM
Response to Original message
1. It's well known that the Sharon quote is an anti-Semitic fabrication.
Anyone who is too ignorant to check that ("allegedly" is not a defense) and who reads the kind of sites that reproduce it, isn't worth reading any further.
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Except that true or not is not the issue. Anti-semetic is a pretty
meaningless term as well. In addition it should be obvious who is in control of America's government. That's my opinion.
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. "it should be obvious who is in control of America's government"
Uh huh. And who would that be, exactly? Would you care to enlighten us?

Those who do not consider whether something is factual or not to be relevant to an issue should have no problem with all the lies and deception of the Bush administration.
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 07:00 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. Man I stated my "opinion". Its just like all the crap
that Michael Moore got over F911. Yes lots of factual inconsistencies. And I don't care for the movie because its not really a documentary, however what the movie is implying is accurate. It other words don't miss the forest for the trees.

I am no fan of Israel. These are some the biggest fascitst asses on the planet and the US caters to their every need (bullshit).

Money is the motivator of our current administratition and many before it. Which means oil is the prime motivator. Who has the oil? And Who is near the oil? Get the picture?

Brown and Roots infiltration into the American Governmental system can be traced easilly back to Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House before the 60's, who more than anyone else put LBJ in the white house. Brown and Root (later became KBR and was bought by Haliburton) was very involved in Vietnam and so was Exxon. Guess what their still involved! Its all just a huge convoluted load of horse crap.
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 07:47 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. Actually I don't
Money is the motivator of our current administratition and many before it. Which means oil is the prime motivator. Who has the oil? And Who is near the oil? Get the picture?


So, who exactly do you believe controls the U.S. government?
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 07:58 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. How can I possably make this statement any clearer?
Edited on Sat Mar-18-06 07:58 PM by Flabbergasted
Do I need to point out where the military bases were in Saudi Arabia. Why did we repel Sadamn during Gulf I? Its not because The House of Saud is a really nice bunch of guys?
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:03 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. You can make it crystal clear by stating a simple declarative sentence
Edited on Sat Mar-18-06 08:04 PM by salvorhardin
Try this one: "I believe <insert name of group or individual> controls the United States government."

You fill in the blank.
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:11 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Ok....
I believe those in the field of oil production and or military contracting are calling the shots for Bush. In addition I believe that their is a very clear back scratching contest between those in a variety of ME countries, especially Isreal and Saudi Arabia but also UAE (as the article indicates).

I guess I also need to qualify "control". In this case "willingness to engadge in corrupt governmental dealings with foreign nations in order to maintain positive relations sometimes at the detriment to ones own citizenry."
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:17 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. So you don't really know
You just have some vague notion of "they" as being military contractors and oil producers, but you can't say exactly who or what groups and organizations.
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:21 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Oh so your looking for an essay? I thought that you just wanted a brief
answer? If you want to believe that I don't know what I'm talking about fine. This is really not worth my time..Have a nice day.
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:31 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. I'm just trying to get you to clarify your views
Edited on Sat Mar-18-06 08:38 PM by salvorhardin
You said above that facts don't matter, that what is important is the "big picture". But facts do matter, as well as precision in thinking. You can't draw that picture if you don't have factual evidence to begin with. At least not if you want a picture that is representative of reality. One of the big ways the right wing tricks people is to get them to ignore facts and look at the big picture which they can paint any way they want without having to rely upon facts. We on the left have to do better than that. That's why Monkey see Monkey Do said above that anyone who would use such an obviously discredited source isn't worth reading. You've got to ask yourself, "well, if she gets such an easily researched fact wrong then what else has she gotten wrong?" and "Could she be including this oft-debunked myth for a reason? Maybe she's trying to disingenuously influence my opinion?"
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:36 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. Ok thank you! However as you know its not necessary worth writing
an essay in response to a post. I don't know every detail on the above but I do have a understanding of the premises.
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Flabbergasted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 08:53 PM
Response to Reply #11
15. The Zionist Movement, CFR, Trilat Commision, Several Major American
Oil Companies, Halibuton, The Half Dozen Major Media Corporation, PNAC, Saudi Arabi, UAE, Chinia, Britain. Short list....
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. The veracity of Sharon's comment to Peres is highly suspect
Edited on Sat Mar-18-06 03:35 PM by salvorhardin
Is this true?

Ariel Sharon allegedly told Shimon Peres, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, a month after the 9-11 attack -- "I want to tell you something very clear, don't worry about American pressure on Israel," Sharon said. "We, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it."


No. The source of that quote is the Islamic Association for Palestine which produces antisemitic propaganda on behalf of Hamas in the U.S. This has been pointed out repeatedly and yet people for some strange reason continue to parrot this fabrication.

Syndicated Columnist Georgie Anne Geyer Uses Fabricated Sharon Quote

In a May 10, 2002 column (“Now Isn’t the Time for Bush League Moves”), nationally-syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer included bogus and inflammatory allegations against Prime Minister Sharon and Israel’s supporters in America.

...

Finally, Geyer’s syndicate disseminated the following Editor’s Note which appeared on June 14 in the Chicago Tribune and Sarasota Herald Tribune and will likely be published by other papers that ran Geyer’s May 10 column.

Editor’s note: Georgie Anne Geyer’s May 10 column included a quote from Ariel Sharon, 'I control America.’ This quote was widely reported in the Palestinian press but cannot be confirmed in independent sources. Geyer and Universal Press Syndicate regret not having attributed the quote more specifically.


While the syndicate thus admitted that “This quote...cannot be confirmed in independent sources,” it failed to state unambiguously that Sharon never uttered the words and that the alleged quotation first appeared in a press release from the pro-Hamas IAP. Since IAP said that Kol Yisrael was their source and Kol Yisrael denies broadcasting any such report, there should be no question that IAP was attempting to perpetrate a hoax. The syndicate also should have written “alleged quote” whenever referring to the supposed statement by Sharon.

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=6&x_article=34
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-18-06 07:51 PM
Response to Original message
7. BTW: Your link isn't working for me
Here's a link to the same article at Sheila Sample's blog.
http://sheilastuff.blogspot.com/2006/03/with-friends-like-these.html
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