"look, kids, you need to change your tune." - Handsome Boy Modeling School, World Gone Mad
All the last two weeks, I kept thinking that the Democrat and liberal response to the port situation smelled an awful lot like racism and xenophobia and was a lot of politricking to appear tough on terror. We have serious port security issues but that has all to do with the procedures, protocols and resources we have in place and doesn't have anything to do with which country handles the security contract. Besides, I tend to believe Jimmy Carter knows more about global issues than most and when Danny Glover sided with Bush on it Real Time, I suspected I was on the right track. Besides that, I've been really uncomfortable with Maher's being okay with wiretapping but kind of crazy racist with this port discussion on his two shows this season.
Now straight from an Average Joe in Dubai...
Metroblogging Dubai: Dubai Good For America
Most In the Arab World feel that this deal is not a security issue but rather a racial and religious issue because of the misconceptions that most Americans have with the Arab World. Most Americans do not know much about Dubai & the UAE, but they know it is situated in the Persian Gulf, they know it is an Arab country and thus they feel that it is not safe. I would like to clarify that yes Dubai is in the middle east, it is an arab country, it might have had links to terrorists, but it is one of America's closest ally's on the war against terror. It is a fast developing country with one of the best records in running businesses. Its business undertakings and new projects are unmatched anywhere in the world. It already has billions invested in American businesses. Dubai is westernized Arab country with world class hotels and tourism facilities, Bars and night clubs, an active nightlife, it hosts businesses from all over the world including top companies from the US i.e microsoft, CISCO systems, CNN among the hundreds of others. There are thousands of Americans working in Dubai.
Now I listened to a great discussion of ports on Randi Rhodes last week but the problems she talked about had much more to do with port security as it is rather than the dubai connection.
It feels like when I'm walking down the street and women switch their purses to the other side or getting followed around stores when I was a teen by people thinking I was shoplifting.
That shit shouldn't fly.
Bonus: the Jon Swift Blog drops some grand satire on the subject.