February 12, 2006

• American citizens are frightened of terrorism and think that it should be stopped or prevented at all costs. As terrorists don't fly a flag or call one country home or announce where their home bas is, it allows the US government to tell its citizens where they are and what countries are supporting them. All this leads the US to be able to justify any attack or hostilities against another nation on the claim of terrorism or terrorist associations. And this can go on forever.
• Note that they're taking over "some operations" (unspecified.) It would be nice if they had more details as to the extent of the "take-over." But, um, can you give us your well considered theorizing on why the current administration would "incubate another 9/11?" Is this part of their plot to kick off The Rapture? Or, do they have investments in the British company that's selling and will make out like Halliburton, in spite of the fact that most of the east coast will be wiped out by suicide-bomber tankers? Look, I hate to seem to approve anything the Bush administration does, but your aluminum foil had is not protecting you. I'd prefer not to tell you, but I've found it impossible to find tin foil in years!
• Tee Hee. Because with another terrorist attack comes more power to manipulate the american populace into giving away yet more of their constitutional rights. Logically, another terror attack would seem to make Bush look like a useless sock-monkey, but the american public doesn't think like that. They'd just spin another attack into gold.
• So, ok, what nefarious scheme do they have in mind which ties this all together? A concerted attack on east coast ports would pretty much put bunches of US businesses out of business, which could send the government into meltdown, and would affect the military. How would the administration benefit from that? Causing a huge threat to the economy doesn't seem like a plus for a sitting president, or his party. Or, is manipulating the public their true goal, no matter now ill considered the manipulation is? What "gold" would they get from this? Come on, you can do better that drive-by comments.
• t=n
• As an American, where and how do I profit? Any Ferengi who can advise me would be paid handsomely.
• Buy ten feet of east coast property. Build a dock. Put dinghy in water. Start rowing for Europe. In my generosity, I'll let you decide what goods to import.
• Religion, Political leanings, ideology... All bow before the power of money. This company may end up hiring "insurgents" accidentally (and I sincerely doubt that will happen), but I'm sure the CEOs, and stockholders all want the additional green which comes along with this deal. To associate this deal with terrorism is very US-centric and shortsighted to say the least.
• If American ports are attacked and heavily damaged, who do you think will get the (no-bid) contract to rebuild? That said, I want a port of my own. ;_;
• 
• This seems very much like mere paranoia. How is it like 9/11? Were the 9/11 people working for a UAE corporation? Did they put in a take-over bid for the company responsible for concierge services in the Twin Towers before attacking the place? I don't understand.
• How dare foreign companies invest in American industry
• I don't think that there is anything wrong with this. However, I imagine that if this decision was made by a Democratic administration and the economic benefits were not directly going into the pockets of some Republican darlings that there would be Republicans who would be claiming that the Democrats are soft on terrorism by allowing this to happen. As I tried to point out earlier, the administration's concerns about terrorism are more directly related to how certain countries affect the US economically than they are to how much of a threat those countries actually are. This move involving the UAE is not likely to bring about more terrorism. I think that it just shows the hypocrisy of the US administration. 15 out of the 29 9-11 people were from Saudi Arabia so we attacked Iraq.
• Wasn't it Afghanistan you attacked because of 9/11?
• They're saying this as though changing the management of our ports will make them less secure. *snicker* They already ARE less secure. Unless things changed radically in the last year, the administration had been systematically taking money AWAY from boring things like border checks and the port authority, and putting it into building bigger, more exciting weaponry. When they decided they'd fight this so-called "war" under the theory that the best defense is a good offense, they weren't kidding. We have virtually no DEFENSE at all. Better hope we DO kill 'em all over there, because there's dick all keeping them out right here.
• They're saying this as though changing the management of our ports will make them less secure. *snicker* They already ARE less secure. Unless things changed radically in the last year, the administration had been systematically taking money AWAY from boring things like border checks and the port authority, and putting it into building bigger, more exciting weaponry. When they decided they'd fight this so-called "war" under the theory that the best defense is a good offense, they weren't kidding. We have virtually no DEFENSE at all. Better hope we DO kill 'em all over there, because there's dick all keeping them out right here.
• I didn't attack anyone Plegmund.
• Shhh, InnocentBystander. Now the Terrorists know. Way to go! And I didn't attack anyone, either. At least not that I remember. I was pretty drunk...
• Pleg - 9/11 was invoked in the attacking of both countries. WMD's were given as the official reason, but the general fear created by 9/11 was capitalized on in the push to invade Iraq.
• Sorry Pleg, that was me. My apologies!
• I completely stopped going down on my girlfriend in the fall of 2001. As I explained to her at the time, September 11th changed everything.
• WMD's were given as the official reason Was that the only reason?
• No, f8x, but that was the big one, the clincher, the thing that actually tipped the scales and made it happen.
• That's funny, bernockle, it changed me too. I became an asshole after 9-11-01, the terrorists won that game of tic-tac-toe. No... that's not right. I didn't change, all you mooks got softer-headed.
• Was that the only reason? No, it was a lie.
• I stopped washing my socks. Life is too short. I just buy new ones now when the old ones get dirty.
• That's okay, iws - bernockle was partly responsible, too.
• this is pure xenophobia.