28 February 2006

Brave men died in our Revolutionary War to give us the opportunity to do business with dictatorial, undemocratic monarchs

An editorial that makes the case that putting an undemocratic government in charge of our ports is a bad deal, in terms of both economics and security.
The United Arab Emirates itself is made up of several small Islamic kingdoms, each with an unelected emir, or king, who inherits a throne. In turn, the most powerful of these is chosen as the unelected leader of the entire UAE.

There is no religious freedom and little if any freedom of speech or press. It is this unelected, undemocratic monarchy which owns the company that will control operations at our ports.

While much of the hysteria over this economic arrangement is just misdirected rabble rousing and/or silly jingoism (i.e., the canard that they have had dealings with Al-Qaeda, when our own government has been in cahoots with the likes of Al-Qaeda and other monstrous barbarians), the author here is on the mark for pointing out that the U.S. is turning over assets to a "unelected, undemocratic monarchy". A monarchy that rules over a nation where freedom of expression is limited and where up to 90% of the country's workers are migrants, who according to Human Rights Watch are exploited, with charges of salary withholding and sexual abuse.

But I'm not singling out this deal, by any stretch. In fact, this is another perfect illustration where our sovereigntry is being parceled out, piece by piece, to a globalist, corporatist agenda. A "new world order" where the interests of the corporatists and the globalists are not always in sync with the hearts and minds of American workers, or any denizens around the globe, subserviant to a plutocratic cartel.

Comments

I just can't agree with the last paragraph, Naum. The reason I can't is that, well, "change happens."

I don't mean to be so simplistic, but we've witnessed in one century a collapse of a European Imperial System that dominated, suffocated and held back cultural progress in so many countries (just look at the Muslim situation in Third World countries)(and for Trav, yes, I know the US took part, but that's miniscule compared to Britain, France, Germany (post 1871), Russia and Belgium.
This is bigger, in my opinion, than the collapse of the Roman Western Empire in AD476. And you know what effect that had over the next 700 years. We're having to deal with this in a much quicker manner.

The European Imperial collapse has created tremendous, significant changes to all cultural and economic entities, not to mention the United States (like a tidal wave so to speak). The choice many face is tyranny, illiteracy and poverty, or "change" to democratic, and a capitalistic culture that can provide food, security, and freedom to those who never had it. Just look at India and the progress it's made in the last 20 years (and a rosy forecast over the next 20 years).

The view you seem to express, and correct me if I'm wrong is more or less isolationism. I just can't accept that.

I know that means significant changes to the way America has matured through the 20th century. But just as an Agricultural economy eclipsed and collapsed between ca1880-1920, other economies must also change. Already China has the steel market (actually for 30 years); the Middle East, and others have oil and petroleum; Japan has once again taken the auto market. Our natural resources are difficult to mine, considering environmental and economic concerns.

I don't know all the answers, but I'm convinced that Democratic change is essential to progress and helping the 3/4 of the worlds population claw their way out of abject poverty.

I'm thinking I've ventured off your main point about global capitalism.

I guess the big question is what can we, the United States offer to our workers that will provide security for the workers? Sure, better leadership, modernizing the economic structure (I listened to an auto expert comparing how Toyota is run as a corporation compared to the Big Three; interesting); education especially.

I think the first thing we should do is institute another education plan the US did in 1947. Go back to science, math, and english. Forget the PC shit, muticulturalism crap and even foreign language for K-8.
Anyway, sorry to be long....have a nice day.