Politics - What Are Your Thoughts On The Ports Deal?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Squirt

actually less then 1/3 the population of the U.S. voted Bush into office and the first time a judge decided he would become president.

---

Oh...and this is coming from a country that could barely form a government by the skin of its teeth.

Are you critical of a system where 1/3 the population gets to elect its leader? If so let's note that out of Germany's 82 million people, about 19 million voted for Angela Merkel just last year.

And didn't the SPD challenge some of those extremely close elction results too in court? So.... by lazy defination "a judge" must have decided your election too.

Countries can have close elections; need we continue to angst over the Realpolitik?

Steve

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Paco

but where will I get all that lovely cheese, made with mind controlling milk.

---

Honey, like we usually do: you eat it off my body :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by desslock

Oh...and this is coming from a country that could barely form a government by the skin of its teeth.

Are you critical of a system where 1/3 the population gets to elect its leader? If so let's note that out of Germany's 82 million people, about 19 million voted for Angela Merkel just last year.

And didn't the SPD challenge some of those extremely close elction results too in court? So.... by lazy defination "a judge" must have decided your election too.

Countries can have close elections; need we continue to angst over the Realpolitik?

Steve

---

I think you meant that post for Devlin the German right? Not Squirtit the American in Australia? :kelly:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DEVELISH

Yeah, yeah, the Danish-People... Next time around we will eradicate that filthy strip of land

---

Well I'm sure if the Danish, and the rest of the European world, continue to publish new, even more insulting cartoons, maybe they'll riot and continue to kill eachother off and torch their cities.

War by cartoon... I love it :bush: Death by humor, who knew?

It is a global economy. If the United States expects to be able to invest in countries the world over and pursue economic opportunity abroad, we can only expect the same in reverse.

DP World is an extremely successful, prosperous, company that runs port operations all over the globe - Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, South Korea, Latin America, the Middle East. It is a prime example of the complete and total antithesis of what Islamic fundamentalists like. It's a capitalist company driven by the desire to make more money by dealing with and incorporating with the West. If anything, DP World is the kind of thing Islamic terrorists target, not employ.

Just because a company is based in the UAE doesn't mean it's some primitive tribal clan of America-haters at the helm of it, as some would like to believe. Many of DP World's top executives are British, American, Canadian and Australian. It's a global company with a global presence and a global executive board and global employee make up, which happens to be based in the UAE. The company's Chief Operations Officer is a Westerner, in fact.

I think it rather unsettling that just because a company is identified as being based in the Middle East, its history of achievements and accomplishments and successes are totally ignored and the only detail people choose to pay attention to is that it's a Middle Eastern company. That reeks of racism, and these politicians shameless, ignorantly raising a fuss while ignoring everything but the fact that DP World is based in the UAE are so prime an example of shiftless opportunists wanting nothing more than to feed upon unfounded fears to score votes, be they Dem or Rep.

Squirt: Yes that tirade was for DEVELISH :noddy:

I understand your concern about Arabs buying the ports. But I also know that closing your local business to foreign competition is a bad thing. So for me, those Governors really have to make a pretty heavy case to show they need protection.

The main reason I supported the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism is because I do find the fundamentalist Islam ideology a significant threat... a threat to me personally as a gay man, because there is no greater articulated idea against my identity than from them.

And I like the concept..... I know many don't.... of confronting those people. Because I know from personal experience that when you confront people about the prejudices regarding homosexuality, it gets them thinking and learning. Maybe going in there and changing the regime in Iraq, as well as talking openly about Western ideas (freedom of speech via cartoons) is the only route.

Despite this, I don't think we should close our business off to Arabs... the businesses could be from Saudi Arabia, the Emerites, or even Turkey. What are they going to do? If an arabic company bought America West out of bankruptcy, do you think they would just start filling their Boeing jets with bombs? I think they would more likely try running it as a business for a profit to the shareholders.

As an illustration of my economic liberalism, I think allowing Turkey in the EU would be a great way to anchor that country to the West.... although I'm sure the idea of letting Muslim Turkey into the EU would be very unpopular in Europe right now.

Steve

Quote:

---

As an illustration of my economic liberalism, I think allowing Turkey in the EU would be a great way to anchor that country to the West....

---

Along with strengthened economic ties to the Middle East. American troops aren't the biggest threat to Islamic fundamentalists. Capitalist, Westernized Muslims are the biggest threat to Islamic fundamentalists.

A Middle East and Islamic world at large incorporated with Western capitalism and the global market will snuff out fundamentalism. We should encourage Middle Eastern entrepeneurs to whom we can export our ideals and who would in turn spread them to and integrate them in to their own countries, not alienate and seek to isolate ourselves from them just because they are Middle Eastern and/or Arab and/or Muslim.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by desslock

Oh...and this is coming from a country that could barely form a government by the skin of its teeth.

---

yes - but it is just my opinion about a country whose president is in constant media coverage all over the world for being - well "special".
It took quite some time to form a government because neither SPD and CDU had majority so the two parties had to look for partners and were very cautious doing so. In the end they decided that the voters gave them the order to form a government together since they had close to 70% of the votes.

Quote:

---

Are you critical of a system where 1/3 the population gets to elect its leader? If so let's note that out of Germany's 82 million people, about 19 million voted for Angela Merkel just last year.

---

Well, as far as I heared it was about 50:50 for Republicans and Democrats of the people eligible to vote in the US. 1/3 would be of the total polulation then.

Quote:

---

And didn't the SPD challenge some of those extremely close elction results too in court? So.... by lazy defination "a judge" must have decided your election too.

---

They did.. BUT the ruling of judges did not have any impact on the outcome of the election. Part of the city of Dresden actually voted a few weeks after the actual date - judges ruled that it would still be a legal voting, eventhough people already know the outcome - the influence of the voters was not noticable.

Quote:

---

Countries can have close elections

---

Sure can countries like USA, Germany and others have close votings, but I have not heared of a close voting where so much fuzz was made about like the election of G.W.B for his first term.

dont take me wrong, steve, I really like the US and Americans all together, I just dislike the course y'alls present gov't takes.
And I look forward who's gonna be the next President: Hillary or Condi.

DEVELISH
:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DEVELISH

Honey, like we usually do: you eat it off my body :D

---

Do you know what happens to dehrty dehtry boyz? :whip:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CorbinFisher_BD

Capitalist, Westernized Muslims are the biggest threat to Islamic fundamentalists.

---

I disagree, Islamic fundies are the biggest thread to Islamic fundies...

Lets just hope they keep blowing themselves up for no reason ;) ;)

Regards,

Lee

HAHAHAHAHA...

This just keeps getting better...

A CEO from the UAE company who is going to be managing the ports is getting a job.... In the White House.

Who said cronyism was dead LOL

Regards,

Lee

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lee

HAHAHAHAHA...

This just keeps getting better...

A CEO from the UAE company who is going to be managing the ports is getting a job.... In the White House.

Who said cronyism was dead LOL

Regards,

Lee

---

well, why not

if the government also run by an (ex)manager of a very well known company actually co-conducted a war against an oil-rich country grants them working permit, why not? :D

DEV :D

My standpoint is:

the US voted him for 2nd term and the people (sadly all of them) have to stick with him.

People should learn, though, who is the real brain behind GWB and who (for my opinion at least) runs the right-winged eagles which are in office. I mean it is not Bush who can not even rember which way he came in to a speech...

Colin Powell spoke his mind many times and is now planting flowers in his yard or thelike....

I would very much like to see a woman as president next time around and would like to see her first husband we already know ;D

DEV

0,02€ :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Paco

Do you know what happens to dehrty dehtry boyz? :whip:

---

Do they get an invitation to Canady for dinner? :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DEVELISH

well, why not
if the government also run by an (ex)manager of a very well known company actually co-conducted a war against an oil-rich country grants them working permit, why not? :D DEV :D

---

Ok.... you are invoking oil, gas and Halliburton as negatives.

But its okay for your previous prime minister to go take a lucrative position with Gazprom in Russia??? Why wasn't therfore all of Germany's decisions from 2000 to 2005 based purely on selfiish oil and gas influence? Maybe Gerhard Schroeder's decisions were based MORE about the oil and gas in the Iraq region than the US and UK.

Steve