Well, today let us just focus on corporate control of the ports.
The problem is that it that Dubai Ports World is a corporation. It happens to be a corporation that is owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, a nation that served as an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks of 9-11 attacks, and that has stirred broad concern. But, even if the sale of the ports to this firm did not raise security alarm bells, it would be a bad idea.
Ports are essential pieces of the infrastructure of the United States, and they are best run by public authorities that are accountable to elected officials and the people those officials represent. While traditional port authorities still exist, they are increasing marginalized as privatization schemes have allowed corporations — often with tough anti-union attitudes and even tougher bottom lines — to take charge of more and more of the basic operations at the nation’s ports.
Read more… from the Nation via Common Dreams.
And as for media….Clear Channel, Sinclair, and Fox —- can you say Rupert Murdoch? More on that another time.
I was wondering why that was getting so much attention on the yahoo news site…
A question people are asking is why Bush prefers the government of the United Arab Emirates to run the ports (since they own the corporation) rather than the government of the United States. It’s a good question. Maybe outsourcing has reached an absurd level.
Colin Powell was on the Jay Leno show last night and he said that a UK company used to run our ports and the Emirates bought that company out. He said that Ronald Reagan first introduced allowing foreign countries to “invest” in the US.
I just thing it’s weird. I always assumed we ran our own ports.
the Reagan discussion is extremely pertinent. Ronnie Rayguns deregulated everything meaning he allowed our vital public services to go to private corporate interests who had no interest in the american people only in profit. he pushed for the legislation that allowed foreign ownership of our media (murdoch) and these s.o.b.s in power are selling everything else they can get their paws on. yes. the overt selling of our country was started in the 80s, but corporate control (that the u.s. was originally created to get away from) has been building for 2 centuries. check out the corporate personhood course at the women’s international league for peace and freedom site– wilpf.org –if you are at all interested in how corporations (and the regally rich families that control the corporations) stole the country and are now set on undoing the bill of rights.