Had to post this because of the catchy title!

"Kiss My Ass, Dubai!

by Claudia Long

So I read that the princes of Dubai are 'furious' that the US has refused to hand over operations of our most sensitive ports to them. Excuse me? Feeling a little entitled here, aren't we? Since when did oil shieks and foreign princes dictate American policy? Oh, I forgot –- since their great friend George W, Bush has been in office. Wonder what favor they provided that got them promised this sweet deal? Their good friend Osama releasing a scary tape just before the 2004 election, maybe?

Of course, you won't find any American companies running ports in Dubai, or the rest of the UAE, or any other middle eastern country. You won't see, say, France selling the Eiffel Tower. In fact, I doubt if there's a single other country in the world so eager to auction off its most valuable and significant assets to the highest bidder.

Under the Bu****es, the US has become like a cheap streetwalker having a fire sale. Hey, we need the money bad, because of our addictions -- like unaffordable tax cuts for investors, endless wars of aggression and exorbitant amounts of imported oil. We need to attract almost $1 trillion of foreign financing annually to fund our huge and growing trade and current account deficits. And what we are increasingly selling is not just stocks and bonds but hard assets-- hotels, landmarks, big chunks of sensitive infrastructure, whole sectors of our economy. Sold, America!

And we're desperate, so like that streetwalker, we're not asking many questions about who the buyer is or where their cash came from, or what their ultimate intentions may be. Just show us the money. The whole idea that the Bu****es care about security is a joke. Or that they care about America's heritage. They don't. Any real estate is just real estate to them.

But even if they did, they've dug themselves into such a financial hole they couldn't manage to do much about it. We are hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars to shady, unscrupulous, politically connected military contractors and wildly expensive and speculative weapons systems that will never get built -- and tax cuts that will never, ever 'pay for themselves'.

If you have a brain, I think you have to ask, if the tax cuts are paying for themselves, why is the deficit growing so fast? But Bush Believers have lost the ability to add 1 + 1 and get 2. They seem to think that tax cuts have some sort of magical ability, like what Jesus did with the loaves and fishes. It's a faith-based economy now.

And of course the corporate pundits, who speak with many voices but only one Rovian brain – – are so angry with the American people they are stamping their little feet and pounding their tiny fists on the table. How dare Americans refuse the oil sheiks something they want! These are people who are used to having their own way. They might do something bad to us... we need to appease them!

And just like that, when money comes into the picture, the hard Right, which has been posturing and threatening and ranting and demonizing all Arabs for 4 years -- now turns a perfect 180 degrees, on a dime. Suddenly overnight, we are not at war with Eurasia, we're at war with Oceania, and Arab countries are our friends and we're worried about their feelings.

President Bush said Friday he was concerned about the "broader message" that the failed port operation deal with a United Arab Emirates company sends to other Arab allies in the U.S. war on terrorism.
But not, I guess, about the broader message of rounding up innocent Muslims and torturing them. But what's of paramount importance is not security, but business, as usual.

What will the Dubai debacle cost us? Now the deal is done, it's time for American companies to face the economic consequences of politicians' public statements.
Indeed, The Hill, a Washington newspaper that covers Congress, reported that Dubai's royal family is "furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal."


Very scary, boys and girls. Ooooh. We're the big bad dudes on the block... shock and awe, baby. Until it comes to biz. Then it's grovel and beg. And David Brooks of the NYTimes, like most of his fellow scolds a dependable pro-corporate strumpet, jumps in to lambaste Hilliary [despite the fact that most of his fellow GOP'ers agreed with her].

But campaigns reveal character, and force us to adjust our views. The Dubai ports deal — a politically unpopular measure that almost all experts agree was justified on the merits — was a test of character. John McCain and Chuck Hagel passed. Clinton, though, joined the ranks of the nakedly ambitious demagogues.
You suppose these 'experts' Mr. Brooks cites are the same ones who read the Aug. 6 memo that said 'Bin Ladin determined to strike in the US' -- and then didn't do anything about it? Hello, does America belong to a handful of 'experts' or to the citizens who live here? Across the spectrum, this was one issue that united most Americans, regardless of party, and we made it very clear to our elected officials how we felt about the deal. And as angry as the CEO's and the corporate shills like Brooks are with us, our politicians perhaps read the writing on the wall:

More and more people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush’s performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.
Brooks also ridiculed Hillary for 'roaring', "We cannot afford to surrender our port operations to foreign governments." I'm sorry but what is wrong with that? How ****ing surreal is this debate? It's not 'xenophobic' to say we have enemies in the world. We hear about 9//11, 9/11, 9/11 from our 'president' and his handmaidens in the punditocracy, every day. One business deal and they're saying -- never mind?

Why shouldn't we run our own ports? Why shouldn't Americans work there? We have jobs flying out of this country by the thousands every day. Not nearly enough new jobs are being created to replace them. And the jobs that are being created are low-level, low-pay, no benefits.

Our manufacturing infratructure is in ruins. Why is not a single politician suggesting training programs for displaced American workers, at our ports, our airports, our factories? Why no tax breaks for companies that train and hire Americans over foreign nationals and no penalties for companies that outsource or move offshore? The way our policies are currently structured, we are actually aiding and abetting and encouraging foreign companies to take over our country, and foreign workers to take our jobs. When will we start giving preference to our own workers, the way most countries do? When will we once again put America first?

Globalization has led to a loss of American identity and a loss of American competitiveness. Our politicians, our so-called leaders -- are so deeply in thrall to transnational corporations that they are weakening and undermining our country, in a way that, I'm sure, gives aid and comfort to our enemies. They don't have to do a thing. Just stand back and watch us go down in a frenzy of drunken sailor spending, under a mountain of escalating debt.

Bush's low poll numbers show that, perhaps, some people are beginning to wake up and smell the victory coffee. But -- not to worry. It's distraction time again! Both Bill Frist and Denny Hastert plan to introduce amendments banning gay marriage and flag burning! Don't look over there! Look over here! And in short-attention span America, it just might work. It would be hilarious if it weren't so damn tragic."

However you stand on globalization (I'm agin' it), you got to admit Dubai has got a right to be furious.

Dubai has operated totally within the law as it exists and lived up to their side of a financial and political deal. A deal is a deal. It's the U.S. which isn't living up to their side of the agreement.


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