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Port Deal: Neoliberal Business as Usual
by Kurt Nimmo    Another Day in the Empire
Entered into the database on Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 @ 19:05:05 MST


 

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As usual, the corporate media attempts to steer us away from the real situation behind the wholesale takeover of shipping operations at six major American seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. “The president on Tuesday defended his administration’s earlier approval of the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to Dubai Ports World, despite concerns in Congress it could increase the possibility of terrorism at American ports,” reports the Associated Press. “It sends a terrible signal to friends around the world that it’s OK for a company from one country to manage the port, but not a country that plays by the rules and has got a good track record from another part of the world,” Bush said, characterizing opposition as a form of Arab racism, and thus deflecting the real issue—big transnational corporate fish eating smaller transnational corporate fish, nothing more than business as usual, a neoliberal feeding frenzy, in this instance controlled by the UAE royal family. On its face, it would appear the Bushites have sold U.S. ports to a country, or rather a decadent royal family. It should be noted that the UAE is tight with the Free Trade Agreement and last month it was announced “the US will grant the UAE access to the largest consumer market in the world,” according to the Bahrain Tribune. Of course, in order to facilitate this access, it sure doesn’t hurt to control the ports. So, in short, nothing going on here, just neoliberal business as usual. So please move on…