Category: default || By jt3y

This isn't a place for discussion of national politics, because there are enough places on the Internet where you can get uninformed commentary on that. I try to confine my uninformed commentary to the Mon-Yough area.

But, the Tube City Almanac's National Affairs Desk has been following the Dubai ports kerfuffle with interest.

The President's supporters are accusing Democrats and those Republicans who object to the deal of being "racists." Says Alert Reader Jonathan, "Mickey Kaus wrote that Bush's response to legitimate concerns about this deal has basically been 'shut up, hicks.' He notes that it used to be Democrats who cried racism when they were losing an argument. It doesn't work any better for Republicans. (Especially when it used against other Republicans.)"

I'm inclined to agree with that. I have nothing against the people of Dubai (Dubians? Dubaites?) or any of the other emirates that make up the UAE. My problem is with the government of the UAE.

Sure, according to the Bush Administration, the UAE is helping us fight what the President calls "the war on turr." But available evidence indicates that Al Qaeda has been using the UAE as a financial and operational basis, and the UAE has either been unable or unwilling to stop this. Why should we turn over control of six major deep-water U.S. sea ports to them?

Some people are saying that a foreign company --- based in the UK --- is already running these ports. They ask, what difference does it make if that company gets sold?

Ah, but the company is not being sold to some publicly traded multinational --- it's being sold to a company controlled by the emir of Dubai. To me, that makes a big difference.

The analogy I would use is this: Imagine it's 1983. The company that runs six U.S. ports is being sold to a company controlled by East Germany. Do you think the Reagan administration would have gone for that?

Do you think Ronnie would have wanted the Stasi having access to our shipping information? Do you think someone might have been concerned that someone in the company would share sensitive information with the Soviet Union? I think they would have.

An emirate is not a democracy. It seems to me that if the emir of Dubai, for instance, wanted to rid his emirate of terrorists, he'd see to it.

Anyway, enough of that. I don't plan to comment again unless Dubai Ports World takes control of something in the Mon-Yough area. Say, the Mon Valley Speedboat Club or the McKees Point Marina. (Although that might mean we could get some decent Middle Eastern food Downtown, which would be a selling point, I think.)

And meanwhile, back here at home, it was wildly inappropriate for the county to erect this sign on the Jerome Avenue Bridge yesterday, and I hope someone will lodge a strongly worded protest with whoever it is that receives strongly worded protests:

(Of course it's a joke, and there's no such sign. Sheesh.)