[lit-ideas] Re: Denying the Holocaust

From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 17:44:36 EST

Might I add to the list? Apparently no one is particularly concerned that
Bush is forcing a deal, in the face of bi-partisan opposition, that will allow
a United Arab Emirates-based company run six key U.S. seaports. Bush has
finally completely flipped out, lost his mind, and no one is noticing? Egads.
Btw, the story was initially in the news a couple days ago.

Julie Krueger

Bush backs Dubai port deal, vows veto

Lawmakers seek more thorough look at takeover by UAE firm
Tuesday, February 21, 2006; Posted: 4:39 p.m. EST (21:39 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Tuesday strongly defended a deal that
would let a United Arab Emirates-based company run six major U.S. seaports,
telling reporters that he would veto any bill to hold up the agreement.
Bush, who has yet to veto a bill during his administration, warned that the
United States is sending "mixed signals" by attacking a Middle Eastern company
after the American ports had been run by a British firm for several years.
Lawmakers who have called for the deal to be blocked need to "step up and
explain why a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard," he
said.
The administration has faced a wave of criticism this week over its decision
to let a subsidiary of maritime management firm Dubai Ports World run ports
in New York and New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland;
Miami, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
The company recently acquired the British-based firm that currently directs
commercial operations at those ports, Peninsular and Oriental Steam
Navigation. The takeover by Dubai Ports World means that it will be in charge
of those
operations.
"I don't understand why it's OK for a British company to operate our ports
but not a company from the Middle East when we've already determined security
is not an issue," Bush said.
Bush made his comments to reporters Tuesday aboard Air Force One, which he
rarely does. His forceful statement came just hours after Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist urged the administration to block the deal until Congress
could
scrutinize it.
Frist, a Republican from Tennessee, called on the review committee that
approved the deal to open its deliberations to congressional scrutiny.
"If the administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing
legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets
a
more thorough review," Frist said in a written statement Tuesday.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, and Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, also joined that call as lawmakers from
both parties expressed concern over the deal.
"No one can understand it, Democrat or Republican," said Sen. Charles
Schumer, a New York Democrat and a leading critic of the agreement. "Average
citizens, everywhere we go, are stopping us and saying, 'What is going on?' "
Critics say the takeover raises security concerns, noting that two of the
hijackers in the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington came
from the UAE, and that the hijackers drew funds from bank accounts in Dubai,
the
financial center of the Persian Gulf.
But the Bush administration argues the deal was properly approved and poses
no security threat, and that the UAE is an ally in the war on terror. (_Watch
what role the UAE plays in the war on terror -- 1:57_
(javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/02/20/arena.uae.terror.mxf.cnn','2006/02/27');)
)
"Nothing in this acquisition has anything to do with the responsibility for
security in American ports," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said. "That
remains very firmly in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security.
What we're talking about is the management of some port operations."
The agreement is scheduled to take effect March 2. It was approved by the
federal Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, which includes
representatives of the Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments,
the FBI and the Pentagon.
Frist, a potential presidential contender in 2008, said the committee's
approval process "needs to be more transparent and include a role for
Congress."
"These deals could have a major impact on America's security, the protection
of which is our greatest responsibility," he said in a written statement.
Bipartisan concern
Lawmakers swarmed over the issue Tuesday, criticizing the administration's
approval of the contract and calling for a more extensive review.
Pelosi called for hearings into the deal "and others pertained to foreign
ownership."
"In the meantime, Congress must put an immediate halt to this deal that the
administration hastily approved in secret without input from the Congress or
state officials and without a thorough review of how it might affect America's
security," she said.
Rep. Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and
Schumer already have introduced a bill to put the deal on hold.
King, a New York Republican, said the UAE "has had unusual ties to al Qaeda
in the past," and he called the administration's review of the decision
"totally unacceptable after 9/11."
"My office today has received more phone calls on this than any issue in the
14 years I've been in the United States Congress, and every one of them is in
support of what Senator Schumer and I are doing," he said.
Ereli said Homeland Security officials have had good relations with Dubai
Ports World, and he said the United States has a "strong and effective
partnership" with the UAE "from a counterterrorism point of view."
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican, said Congress has until March
2 "to ask a lot of questions, demand some answers and shed some light about
these transactions."
And Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and the chairwoman of the Senate
Government Affairs and Homeland Security Committee, said the agreement
received "far less scrutiny than it should have."
"Although the UAE is an ally in the war on terrorism, the country has
historically been used as a base of terrorist operations and financing," she
said.
Two Republican governors -- George Pataki of New York and Robert Ehrlich of
Maryland --- have indicated they may try to cancel port lease arrangements,
according to The Associated Press.
A Dubai Ports World spokesman said Monday that the firm has received all the
necessary regulatory approvals and that the security systems in place at the
ports would only get better under the new management.
"We intend to maintain or enhance current security arrangements, and this is
business as usual for the P&O terminals," the spokesman said.
A port security expert said fears that the agreement would reduce U.S.
security are based on "bigotry" against Arabs and that "shameless" politicians
are
creating an issue they think will resonate with the public.
"This whole notion that Dubai is going to control or set standards for U.S.
ports is a canard ... is factually false," said Kim Petersen, head of
SeaSecure, a U.S.-based maritime security company, and executive director of
the
Maritime Security Council, which represents 70 percent of the world's ocean
shipping.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. _Associated Press_
(http://www.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP) contributed to this report.

========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Denying the
Holocaust Date: 2/21/06 4:02:13 P.M. Central Standard Time From:
_pas@xxxxxxxxx
(mailto:pas@xxxxxxxx) To: _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:

>RP: Holocaust Denier Gets Three Years

What do people think about this? Should Irving be in jail?

It's peculiar how some things go almost completely undiscussed on this list.

[lit-ideas] Re: Denying the Holocaust

Other related posts: