Arab Firm Has Lesser Role at 16 Other US Ports

[NVMojo]

while we were whining and fighting about a stupid Oscar ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The $6.8 billion deal British courts approved Monday, putting a Dubai-owned company in charge of significant operations at six U.S. ports, also gives the company a lesser role in other dockside activities at 16 other American seaports.

By purchasing London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., DP World bought the publicly traded British firm's concessions to manage and operate some cargo or passenger terminal facilities in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

It has been known that the deal involves limited operations at ports besides the six that have drawn the most attention. An Associated Press survey of ports managers across the country on Monday determined the full scope of the other dockside operations in question.

Tampa's port authority, for example, said Monday that it will reconsider a pending contract for the British company to manage and operate some terminals once DP World's purchase is finalized.

The AP review of ports nationwide found that at more than one dozen others, DP World would operate so-called stevedoring operations that employ longshoremen to load and unload cargo on behalf of a port's terminal operators. These ports include Baton Rouge, La.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Gulfport, Miss.; Lake Charles, La.; and Portland, Maine.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-other/2006/mar/06/030603991.html

[autorank]

1. Oh, sure. Let's just hand over NORAD and Disneyland while we're at it!

Maybe throw in the Area 53 theme park franchise so those of us who find our heads spinning could amuse ourselves.

This is strange beyond words. What on earth are the folks at the WH thinking about.

You just know that the Senate is arrogant enough, the Republicans plus 2-3 others, to come back with their 45 day plan. They'll say, "but we've got troops there" and "they're helping us monitor the terrorists" (which of course the action requiring the troops there, Iraq, has increased exponentially).

They really have to own all the voting machines to pull this stunt.

RECOMMENDED HIGHLY!

:shrug:

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Our national security is a joke.

[Sensitivity]

3. Correct representation of deal. Thank You.

To maintain our integrity, we have to be honest about what is going on with the Deal.
To start with, let's acknowledge that there is no "Arabs buying our Ports" but an
international acquisition of which U.S. assets are a minor part, including:


British firm's concessions to manage and operate some cargo or passenger terminal facilities in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.



American Air and Maritime companies have historically had exactly the same right in airports
and seaports around the world. Many of the U.K. and U.S. rights were not obtained by
hugely expensive acquisitions but through pay-offs and gun-boat diplomacy.