Song Lyric of the Day:
Don’t come around here no more / Whatever you’re looking for / Hey, don’t come around here no more
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers / “Don’t Come Around Here No More”
10:53AM.
The headlining story on ABC World News Tonight last night was really alarming: the Bush administration has agreed to a deal that will allow a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai Ports World, to take over managing at least six major U.S. ports, including New York and Baltimore (DP World is buying the British company currently managing the ports). How on earth did the administration think this would be a good idea? The spin on the deal so far has the administration trying, I think unsuccessfully, to reassure us:
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made the rounds on the talk shows Sunday, asserting that the administration made certain the company agreed to certain conditions to ensure national security. H said details of those agreements were secret (from the AP).
Why would those agreements be kept secret? Can’t they give us some information to put us at ease? As it is, hearing about how lax our overall port security still is years after the attacks was astounding. I know the general public hasn’t forgotten that some of the 9/11 hijackers came from the UAE and had financial support there; I’m pretty sure the politicians behind this deal haven’t forgotten that, either.
What do you think? Should a foreign country be running our nation’s ports?
I’ll try to stay off the soapbox the rest of the day, unless some other news story earns my ire. See–this is why I could never have been a journalist. With me, impartiality goes straight out the window.
5:00PM.
I went for my drug test this morning–my first day of work is this coming Monday. I accepted the company’s offer and am thrilled to be rejoining the work force (mmm…earning money). My first paycheck splurge? Large payments on my credit cards. And maybe CSI: Crime Scene Investigation season 2 on DVD; I had no idea it was so cheap on Amazon.com.
After my drug test I went by the local American Cancer Society office to pick up my Relay for Life team captain information packet (see links at top of my blog page). I need to use a cattle prod to get my family members to join the team; while I have their word that they’ll join (and I don’t doubt they will), they need to actually pay the $10 registration fee and sign up. The registration fee goes toward the total our team raises. I’m looking forward to the first team captains’ meeting on March 13. I have some good fundraising ideas and would like to not only get feedback from other participants but hopefully get some additional ideas, as well.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Patricia Lee 
I’ll definitely do the relay with you…You have a leg up on fundraising by using your blog to get the word out…When I raised $ for Team In Training for the Marathon , I sent out a heartfelt letter to all my friends (along with a self- addressed stamped envelope for donations)..Couldn’t hurt to try snail- mail…. Let me know how to sign up..Seeya!
What the news just glosses over is that these ports were already owned by a foreign country, a British company. That company was bought by the current company.
The UAE has been and is our ally, just as is Britain. What this whole media hype is about is racism, plain and simple. It’s not about foreign ownership; it’s about arab ownership.
Believe it or not, Arabs are NOT all villains. Our media would love for everyone to think this way so our government can go on taking over the countries that have oil with impunity, but it’s just not true.
There are thousands of disenfranchised people all over Europe (yes, in Britain, too) who hate the U.S. more than anybody in the Dubai Ports’ World company ever will.
If we have such a moral problem with foreign ownership of our ports, then ALL foreign ownership should be blocked.
Namaste.
~HDJ