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February 22, 2006
Notes from Ferdy - The Port Mess
I admit that my concern over the sale of U.S. ports to an Arab company was abated somewhat when I found out that Sargento's cheese is not imported.
This transaction began as a corporate sale of a subsidiary with some restrictions attached. I suspect that the creaky inertia of government regulation kept the Bush Administration from realizing something was amiss until the process was approved. This happens to Bruce all the time: he'll step on something sharp and then five minutes later he'll yell and grab his foot.
It's possible the President has the same problem. After all, it took a while for him to realize he had a problem with the nomination of Harriet Miers, I expect that after another week or two Bush will grab his foot and yell at the Commerce Department for leaving thumbtacks on the floor of the family room.
There's a lot of opposition to the port sale, so in order to get ahead of the curve, people need to be thinking of alternatives. For example, we could give the ports to the Jewish setltlers who were dragged kicking and screaming out of the Palestinian territories. I can't imagine anyone who would be more motivated to interfere with terrorist smuggling. Another possibility would be the United Nations. Based on the track record of the Oil-for-Food program there is a simple algorithm for catching terrorists with the UN in charge: if they think a container is suspicious, let it through, if they think it's harmless, send it straight to the bomb squad.
In the meantime, I'll be focusing my efforts on setting up a betting pool on how long it will be until Dubai decides this transaction is more trouble than it works. Part of being a superior life form is being on the lookout for the bright side in these controversial situations.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
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» The Nuances of the Port Deal from Church and State
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Tracked on February 23, 2006 8:13 AM
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