AP Wire: Feinstein: Ports 'ought to be governmentally operated'

[PhilipShore]

AP Wire
Feinstein: Ports 'ought to be governmentally operated'
Feb. 22, 2006

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/13929392.htm

SAN DIEGO - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday it was fortunate that California's major ports are run differently than the six big ports on the East and Gulf coasts embroiled in controversy over whether their shipping operations should be taken over by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates.

"My reaction is that it is a mistake to let ports be privately owned, period," the California Democrat said during a news conference in San Diego.

Feinstein was asked her view on the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to Dubai Ports World. Approved by the Bush administration and expected to be completed soon, it would put Dubai Ports in charge of shipping operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia

Feinstein said she was familiar with port operations because of her nine years as mayor of San Francisco.

[unblock]

1. hey, that's what i've been saying!

[kenny blankenship]

2. This should be the Democratic position

It's a security issue on multiple levels as well as an issue of national economic infrastructure. Do we sell the interstate system to China, for them to do what they want with it charging tolls and deciding where the roads go and how often they'll be maintained? Fuck no. Would France sell its state-run nuclear power industry to Belarus? Of course not.

[barb162]

8. No other developed country would allow sucha stupid deal

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Apart from Australia, New Zealand, the UK,

Belgium, Canada, and France, eh? http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=36,1,36_31151:36_32105&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL

[fasttense]

12. Or so P&O says. Hmmm lets take a look at these deals.

The wording is kind of strange a lot of them refer to "joint ventures" and renaming companies. Not sure this is the same thing planned for the US.

[wordpix]

19. I agree, nationalize the ports infrasturcture. BTW, it was reported China

does manage a port in the US---don';t know which one.

[Az_lefty]

28. I thought it was the port at Long Beach, but may be wrong.

[Coastie for Truth]

34. Oakland, CA?

[wordpix]

20. roger that

[iconoclastNYC]

23. I completely agree. 100%

This is about Security!

And it also hurts the "Free Trade" at all costs ideology that has our country held hostage.

[central scrutinizer]

24. absolutely!!

It can be framed very simply: "Do you want entrust (fill in the blank here) to the lowest bidder?" Applies to airport security, bridge maintenance, vote-counting.......etc

[neuvocat]

3. I can hear the next line already.

"Those democrats just want everything to be run by the government. Next thing you'll know, they'll want to turn Social Security into some sort of government program that you have to pay taxes into."

[thinkingwoman]

4. She must have heard me...several of us...

shouting at the TV!! :hi:

There's no excuse for border control being privately owned, and that's what ports are--borders.

[barb162]

9. That's so right. It's something we should be doing ourselvesI

[wordpix]

21. of course---why is King GeoW outsourcing our national security???!!

[Selteri]

13. I've been rubbing this in the nose of a lot of neocons with the simple

statement - I told you so, I told you so, I told you so.

It feels nice that Bush pretty much outted himself and stated he was supporting a terrorist related organization with this particular Dubai owned company. We're just asking for it.

[thinkingwoman]

14. Are you doing the dance?

One of my favorite "Will and Grace" episodes is the one where Grace does the "I told you so" dance. It's now a common form of activity out our house!

Hey, gotta get exercise whereever you can! :rofl:

[Drum]

5. Yes exactly!

I mean, what could be more secure?

[anitar1]

6. If DiFi is so in the know, why does she not know about the

"free trade" deal this admin has been working on for the last year or so, with the UAE ? Evidently it has not been a secret within the government. It is posted on the home page. this is the culmination of the "deal". This country is for sale, lock, stock and barrel.Politicians are total hypocrits.They know about this.

[delete_bush]

7. Damn anti-American socialist.

Didn't the Japanese run our ports during WWII, as did Germany during the Great War? I seem to remember the Confederacy being in charge of New York ports during the Civil War.

Repukes, they never cease to amaze.

[NorthernSpy]

11. good! SCREW the privatization ideologues!

Free market/privatization extremists are like extremists of every stripe: they couldn't care less if the country goes completely to hell -- just so long as they can keep making us do things their way. Screw 'em!

As far as I know, all of my state's ports are publicly owned and operated. It should be like that everywhere. Foreigners should NOT be controlling our ports.

[winston61]

15. rules for dealing with politicians

1. NEVER listen to anything they say, they are lying.
2. FOLLOW THE MONEY. This is all about administration insiders and the corporate state shoving 'free trade' down our throats. UAE is a huge partner in business and as we all know with this president, when money walks through the door, national security gets tossed out the window.

[bluethruandthru]

16. Watch neocons turn this against Dems..

I too think the government should take care of port operation...but the pukes will say ...there they go again..the dems are the party of 'big government'!!

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

17. Simple answer

This is a national security issue. Do you want the Syrians running our airports?

[wishlist]

18. Even Repubs are fighting against Bush due to high stakes security issues

I don't think Repubs are even going to try to turn the issue against Dems. Instead they will try to convince Bush and Chertoff to go along with Repubs to block sale of ports mgnt since this issue will otherwise be a huge liability for Repubs this fall. Repubs know they must be seen as equally outraged with Dems and in charge of stopping this.

I cannot believe the incompetent traitor in chief has gone so far as to be defending his decision to do this and threatening veto if Congress stops it. Perhaps Bush is being blackmailed by Arabs into doing this deal and is afraid of a backlash if he does not try to go through with the deal. Tinfoil hat on but for good reason.

[The Stranger]

22. I think that the legs on this story are due to the fact that the UAE is an

Arab country, and there is an incredible groundswell of racism and bigotry against them in the U.S. and its media.

Still no one has been able to point to any link between the company at issue and any terrorist act.

[entanglement]

25. I agree, people are opposing the deal on the wrong grounds

Even on DU, some of the comments have been quite shocking :(

[Behind the Aegis]

32. Not as shocking as some other things.

Some oppose any foreign group in regards to this matter. Many were dismayed and angered that the British were in control.

Of course, it is not as shocking as those who would oppose the laws of another land to free someone because it 'offends' their sensibilities.

[newspeak]

35. so, it's all about bigotry

well, I'm against privatization of our military, our ports and our security-but hey, we're almost there. This administration has never cared for the well being of it's citizens, just the bottom line for themselves and their friends. Maybe, some should read past articles written by Daniel Casolero during the Iran-Contra, BCCI revelations. Who is really bankrolling terrorists and terrorism? And, who is in bed with those who are creating and supporting it? My classmate who is an investigative journalist exposed the Mena Arkansas, drugs for guns drop off by factions of our own government. A faction of our own government put drugs on the streets-what a lucrative deal, hook'em and book'em, making profits off of illegal drugs and expanding the prison industry. I am a woman and have no love for the human rights abuses in places like Saudi Arabia where women cannot drive or vote, and yet, they are one of our allies. There are moderate muslim states, but the ones we evidently support are not even democracies. It is all about the bottom line,greed and power and we are the "unwashed" masses who are supposed to go along with their glorious "New World Order" plans. I was against NAFTA-GATT, CAFTA, the un-Patriotic ACT and this greedy bunch!!!!! I remember Poppy Bush in front of the Senate committee apparently lying how he was out of the loop during Iran-Contra. Where was the media on that one? Daniel Casolero called it the "Octopus" because it had so many tentacles and was a threat to our country--now some of the same players are involved again. Do you, as an American, feel secure? The commons is being sold by the highest bidder and very little belongs in the hands of the people. You know, I joke that certain unscrupulous corporations would soil the air until no one could breathe just to sell us oxygen to survive, and if you couldn't afford it, they'd let you die--for what good are you if you are not consuming. Okay, that's the end of my rant!

[Behind the Aegis]

33. And you are from?

Does your country harbor no prejudices?

[Tellurian]

26. Perhaps, the reason this is being allowed to happen...

is because this is another shady, Bush/Cheney/Arab OIL PARTNERSHIP!!

Everything they do is $$$$$$ driven.

apparently, only the few secretarys voting for this insulting deal
are in for a cut of the proceeds!!

[Tellurian]

27. No Sooner Said than DONE!

The previously mothballed DOLE is their advocate!

no surprises here-


http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/22/wednesday/index.html

Dubai company hires Bob Dole to lobby for port deal

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Dubai-based company at the center of a controversy over the management of six U.S. seaports has hired former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole to lobby on its behalf against bipartisan criticism of the deal, a Dole aide said Wednesday.

The 1996 Republican presidential candidate was "engaged" by Dubai Ports World shortly after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle began expressing their strong opposition to the deal, said Mike Galloway, an aide to the retired senator.

He is considered a GOP elder statesman, and his wife, Elizabeth, now represents North Carolina in the Senate.

Dole is a special counsel in the Washington office of the law firm Alston & Bird. DP World hired the firm in 2005 to help shepherd its purchase of the British-based firm Peninsular and Oriental, which currently manages the U.S. ports, Galloway said. --From CNN Correspondent Andrea Koppel (Posted 2:43 p.m.)

[AntiFascist]

31. Also, Carter (who also defends Bush) apparently had ties to BCCI...

which I wasn't aware of before.

[PhilipShore]

29. CBS 5: Senator Feinstein Statement On Port Deal

CBS 5
Senator Feinstein Statement On Port Deal
February 22, 2006

http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_053165735.html

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today urged a moratorium on the Bush Administration's authorization of an agreement in which Dubai Ports World, a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates government, would take over operations at six major U.S. ports. The following is a statement by Senator Feinstein:

"I will support legislation to place a moratorium on the Dubai Ports World agreement so that Congress can conduct a more comprehensive review. I am especially concerned by the secrecy in which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States conducted its analysis. We do not know what issues were considered by this committee nor whether our national security interests were well served by the decision to allow the deal to go ahead.

Much more needs to be done by the United States to help secure our seaports. Each year, approximately 13 million shipping containers enter U.S. ports, including six million from overseas. Despite this high volume of cargo, only five percent of the containers are inspected.

As part of this effort, I have been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation making our ports safer. The resulting legislation, the 'Reducing Crime At America's Seaports Act of 2005,' was unanimously approved by the Judiciary Committee last year...

[Generic Brad]

30. Why Do We Even Have a Government?

I always thought government was supposed to work for the common good of all it's citizens. This is set up to just enrich the president's cronies. I am really tired of these guys treating our government as their own personal piggy bank.