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