On Feb. 17, Hillary denounced the Dubai deal, declaring, “Our port security is too important to place in the hands of foreign governments.” But on March 2, the Financial Times reported that Bill was called in to advise the United Arab Emirates about securing the deal for its company.

Indeed, Hillary’s own financial disclosure forms showed that Bill received $450,000 for giving speeches in Dubai in 2002, and that UAE officials had donated up to $1 million to the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock. Did Hillary really not know about that? Didn’t she get curious about any possible conflict of interest that those Arab monies might have posed?

Bold emphasis mine:

Here is a recent study you should read:

Among the study’s findings:

_Safety problems were not limited to overseas ports. A warehouse in Maine was graded less secure than any in Pakistan, Turkey or Brazil. “There is a perception that U.S. facilities benefit from superior security protection measures,” the study said. “This mind set may contribute to a misplaced sense of confidence in American business practices.”

_No records were kept of “cursory” inspections in Guatemala for containers filled with Starbucks Corp. coffee beans shipped to the West Coast. “Coffee beans were accessible to anyone entering the facility,” the study said. It found significant mistakes on manifests and other paperwork. In a statement to the AP, Starbucks said it was reviewing its security procedures.

_Truck drivers in Brazil were permitted to take cargo containers home overnight and park along public streets. Trains in the U.S. stopped in rail yards that did not have fences and were in high-crime areas. A shipping industry adage reflects unease over such practices: “A container at rest is a container at risk.”

_Practices at Turkey’s Port of Izmir were “totally inadequate by U.S. standards.” But, the study noted, “It has been done that way for decades in Turkey.”

_Containers could be opened aboard some ships during weekslong voyages to America. “Due to the time involved in transit (and) the fact that most vessel crew members are foreigners with limited credentialing and vetting, the containers are vulnerable to intrusion during the ocean voyage,” the study said.

_Some governments will not help tighten security because they view terrorism as an American problem. The U.S. said “certain countries,” which were not identified, would not cooperate in its security study — “a tangible example of the lack of urgency with which these issues are regarded.”

_Security was good at two terminals in Seattle and nearby Tacoma, Wash. The operator in Seattle, SSA Marine, uses cameras and software to track visitors and workers. “We consider ourselves playing an important role in security,” said the company’s vice president, Bob Waters.

In theory, some nuclear materials inside cargo containers can be detected with special monitors. But such devices have frustrated port officials in New Jersey because bananas, kitty litter and fire detectors — which all emit natural radiation — set off the same alarms more than 100 times every day.

Read the whole thing here

It’s the only Constitutionally-mandated expense, and one of the few legitimate expenses, of the Federal government. It’s all the useless feel-good programs that don’t actually have any effect on the problems they’re supposed to solve that waste my money. If it weren’t for the Defense Department, you’d be speaking German or Japanese. On the other hand, there would probably be forced euthanasia for the useless.

That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, since they are two completely seperate things. Do you have no concept whatsoever of budgeting and government?

Conservatives are far better stewards of the environment than Liberals could ever be. Why is that, you ask? Because unlike Liberals, we actually believe there’s a future to plan for… to conserve for. Conservation means management of resources, which includes harvesting and use. We understand that nature is in a constant state of flux. Walling off portions of the world and demanding that things never change there runs completely counter to nature, and destroys the environment by putting it in a glass bubble, disconnected from the real world. Hey, that kind of sounds like Liberals…

Seems media reports and caring all revolve around NO, but no mention of any other state or city that has been devastated by the actual hurricane.

Remember, the devestation was said to be the size of Great Britian, and that is a BIG area. So why does it seem like the media and everyone only cares about NO?

Here is something to ponder:

Put yourself in the shoes of those not in NO, but have been devestated by the ACTUAL hurricane (not flooding afterwards), and you tell me how PO’d you would be listening to the media and money going to NO and the problems of the actual hurricane victims seem to be forgotten.

Just sit back and let that sink in for a moment, look back and look at the media reports, where the national attention is, where the money seems ot all be going….ponder that for a few and think how you would feel……

Aww, it’s kind of cute when Liberals pretend to be fiscal Conservatives…

>New Orleans needs money

…especially when the mask slips seconds later and they start screeching for money for their social programs. Personally, I don’t want my tax dollars rebuilding a city in a flood zone, below sea level, that was destroying the environment by its very presence. You do realise that the city was causing the mass destruction of the wetlands? Or don’t you care about the environment?

We have two major U.S. bases in the UAE. The port of Jebel Ali docked over 500 Navy warships last year, and played host over 70,000 American troops.

The Air Force flies reconnaissance and refueling missions out of the Al Dahfra airbase, which played a critical role in the air wars over Iraq and Afghanistan.

So… how in the hell Republican Senators and Congressmen who claim to be on board the war on terror can justify their vote….. I can’t figure. Stupid, STUPID, STUPID. We needed the UAE.

My hubby did a year in Iraq with the 82nd ABN and he’s FURIOUS over this mess. One thing most people who haven’t been to the Middle East don’t know is what offends Arabs. This sort of public disrespect of them, with American Senators talking about what a security risk the UAE is (they have arguably the safest port in the world) and claiming the UAE supports the Taliban (they broke off ALL TIES with the Taliban after 9/11 and became our earnest allies, so Dems are just ignorant or lying about that) or that the UAE fasciliated 9/11 with their “2 terrorists) (The US fasciliated 11 terrorists, then, who used the US as an interface for carrying out their 9/11 plots… we’d be more guilty than the UAE) is absolulety INSULTING to Arabs… particularly since it’s false. My husband said that in his experience with Iraqis and Kuwaits, an Arab man would respect you taking him privately aside and punching his lights out but not for publicly disrespecting him, so this is a HUGE insult to our UAE friends. And they truly are friends and allies.

STUPID SENATORS!

Another lie is that the UAE was “taking over US Ports.” Totally false. The office of Homeland Security said, “DP World will not, nor will any other terminal operator, control, operate or manage any United States port. DP World will only operate and manage specific, individual terminals located within six ports.”

In fact, Dubai paid out of its own pocket millions to appease Americans via extra security training of it’s workers.

If these hallowed Senators have any respectibility, they will kick out China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan from US ports. They all operate as the UAE would have.

This is just so sad. Any moron can just look at a map of the UAE and see why we need them. We’ve never had any problems with any of our troops and ships that have passed through there, and there have been 10’s of thousands. You know, Kuwait and Qatar have governments just like the UAE…. to diss the UAE is to diss them all.

Stupid Democrats, stupid Republicans. Were any Republicans supporting the deal?