Bizarre plan to cede US Port operations to UAE 2-25-2006

25, February 2006                 Bizarre plan to cede US Port operations to UAE 

I urge Indo-Americans concerned with Homeland Security to contact their local representatives and urge them to demand that the Bush Administration does not cede port operations to the UAE.    

  

In a bizarre twist that defies belief, the Bush Administration is now planning to turn over the management and operations of 6 major U.S. ports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  Dubai Ports World. Thus, UAE will be given the task of operating six of the most critical ports on the Eastern seaboard.  Such a sale, already approved by the Bush Administration is fraught with risk. One of the ports affected by the sale is the port of Miami which is one the nation’s busiest.  It serves as a hub for the nation’s cruise ships which carry more than 6 million passengers a year. The seaport also services more than 30 ocean liners and delivers more than 1 million cargo containers every year, 95% of which are not even inspected.

Condoleezza  Rice,  who sold Congress on the need to wage war based on non-existent WMD’s, responded to the firestorm raised by Democrats and Republicans, that the transfer of ownership would not compromise security because the UAE is a  ''long-standing friend and ally and said the United States and UAE have a good relationship”. The Administration would like us to forget that two of the 9/11, 2002 hijackers came from the UAE. UAE was one of three nations that recognized the brutal Taliban regime in Afghanistan and also served to route (Pakistan’s) Khan’s nuclear bomb-making material to Libya and Iran.  In an odd ironic twist, it is the fear factor, that the Bush Administration has exploited so well that has generated so much ‘shock and awe’ outrage among the general population. It is not surprising that the Bush Administration has decided to mothball this reckless move which would further endanger our security. After so many appalling domestic and foreign policy blunders, the general public is no longer willing to accept the Bush theme song, “trust me, be happy.”

Iran 2-9-2006

9, February 2006                   Iran

Iran has become the latest country to be targeted by western nations to be a rogue state which has the audacity to be concerned about outside intrusion and attack. The Bush Administration deserves much credit for disarming neighboring Iraq from its non-existent WMD’s, destroying its infrastructure, slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent civilians and stealthily using chemical weapons (white phosphorus bombs,  and depleted uranium) – to relieve Iraq of its liquid gold.

This seems to be the divine mission of our self-proclaimed born again Christian president, who sanctions torture and believes he is above the law in his ‘war on terrorism’. While the Bush Administration is critical of Iran’s nuclear intentions, we seem to have conveniently ignored Israel’s huge stockpile of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Congress and the administration have recently approved millions of dollars to develop new and more terrifying nuclear weapons. Such is our hypocrisy that has engendered so much distrust and hostility towards us. 

NASA Scientist threatened 2-2-2006

2, February 2006                   NASA Scientist threatened

Once again the White House ‘swift boat’ swat team has ensnared another victim. Dr. James Hansen. NASA’s top climate specialist has invoked the wrath of the administration for his public statements linking industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases to global warning. Dr. Hansen informed Andrew C. Revkin of the New York Times that he was threatened with “dire consequences” if he continued to defy and embarrass the administration on such ‘petty, inconsequential issues’. This is another example of the administration’s attempt to stifle free speech, the bedrock of a healthy democracy.

The administration’s ‘hired gun’ was George Deutsch, a spokesperson in NASA's public affairs office who appears to have been rewarded for his services with President Bush's re-election campaign and inaugural committee. Mr. Deutsch was forced to resign when an alert blogger exposed his false claim of receiving a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas A&M in 2003. It is appalling that NASA did not vet the credentials of one its employees and allowed him to denigrate and alter the report of a valued scientist with impeccable credentials. 

James Frey 2-2-2006

2, February 2006                   James Frey

It seems the U.S. media and public is very selective with ethical issues. James Frey, author of the best-selling ‘memoir’, ‘A Million Little Pieces, received Oprah Winfrey much coveted stamp of approval and made Frey and publisher, Doubleday, millions in book sales. When parts of the memoir were found to be fabrications, Oprah summoned Frey and a team of seasoned reporters to her show and pilloried Frey in front of her adoring millions. It is a pity that public interest and outrage are not proportionate to the crimes of deceit and mendacity committed.

Corporate leaders guilty of malfeasance usually escape such public attention using the power of the purse and political connections. Judith Miller, former reporter of the New York Times and Armstrong Williams were “hired guns” for the government publishing false stories to buttress failed domestic and foreign policy decisions.

Perhaps the greatest story teller in our recent history and his squad of ghost writers – President Bush and his coterie, should be vilified and for dragging us into an unnecessary war based on fictional accounts of WMD’s. Phil Donahue, the former talk show mogul, performed a great public service for his anti-war position but alas incurred the wrath of his network and was fired. Truth has consequences and falsehood is a growing cancer in our beleaguered nation.