When Karl Rove claims total transparency and George W Bush puts his veto in the balance, something pretty vital for the Bush Administration must be under way.
We're just talking about a takeover of the P&O Group (The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company), which happens to operate all major US ports on the East Coast, New Orleans, Florida and Texas included. Some are worrying because national security is at stake and the new owner, DP World (Dubai Ports World), is wholly owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm sure DP World will do as good a job as P&O - if not better. The issue lies elsewhere and quite a few questions burn my lips :
. why are the Bush Administration so eager to push the takeover, defend DP World and take as many risks in an election year ?
. what can they get in exchange for DP World's new entry points, and not only in North America (ie Asia - including Russia, India, Indonesia and China -, France, the UK, not to mention P&O Estates' 25 million ft² of property in Western countries and Australasia ?
. what role did Dave Sanborn play during his one year of service at DP World (as a Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America) to deserve a nomination by Dubya himself as MarAd (Maritime Administrator - under Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta) ?
. why was the recent replacement of Russ Peters by Helen Deeble as P&O's CEO announced by, among all the company's top guns, Sir John Parker* ?
. what promises were made by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World and so much respected by the Haves More of the world (also Chairman of Nakheel, the owner of The Palm and The World luxury resorts) ?
. why did DP World overpay so quickly and overwhelmingly for P&O, far beyond what PSA could ever consider realistic (this Singapore-based competitor also coveted the UK operator and immediately gave up), and to the point they even had to admit by themselves the price was excessive ?
. ...
Looks like DP World's takeover of P&O was not only accepted by, but made possible by the Bush Administration. If not how, time will tell why.
* An advisor to the Defense Academy and a President of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Sir John has been cruising in the naval circles for ages (Carnival Corporation, National Grid Transco, P&O...), claims a few prestigious memberships or chairmanships (Court of the Bank of England, General Committee of Lloyds Register of Shipping, Lloyds Technical Committee...), but also seems to know quite a lot about lobbying in the US :
- Brambles Industries plc (support services for heavy industries),
- Babcock International Group plc (technical services and engineering, aerospace and defense, a major contractor in Afghanistan and Iraq),
- Chairman of the RMC Group plc (alias Cemex, the leader of concrete in the US)...
Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
20060204
Red blogule to New New Orleans - the bleach blitz
The Federal authorities are in no hurry to allow Louisiana citizens back to what's left of their homes : the area is enjoying a 2/3 white supremacy very much different from the 3/4 pre-Kathrina black rule. As in neighboring Texas, pro-Bush Hispanics may get their share of the cake, were this situation to last till next elections.
They'd be right to stick around : according to many wheather forecasts, greenbacks are supposed to start pouring soon over the region. I'm not sure they will land in the pockets that most deserved them.
One could recycle the tactful words the Queen of Diplomacy Condi Rice once uttered about another massive disaster, "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us".
Praise Lord Dubya and his clerical clique ; always fighting against Evil and defending the Haves and the Haves More. Let their followers enter the kingdom of whealth. O when the Saints go marchin in...
They'd be right to stick around : according to many wheather forecasts, greenbacks are supposed to start pouring soon over the region. I'm not sure they will land in the pockets that most deserved them.
One could recycle the tactful words the Queen of Diplomacy Condi Rice once uttered about another massive disaster, "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us".
Praise Lord Dubya and his clerical clique ; always fighting against Evil and defending the Haves and the Haves More. Let their followers enter the kingdom of whealth. O when the Saints go marchin in...
20050920
Red blogule to stop-and-goes - the wisdom of crocodiles
A slomo brain can be something other than a curse. Take President Bush, for instance. After yesterday's signature of the deal with North Korea, he took a "wait and see" stance. Hours later, Pyongyang would add more conditions and threaten all previous efforts. And as Mayor C. Ray Nagin called for a homecoming of New Orleans citizens, King W said more time was needed. Hours later, a new hurricane alert would support this piece of wisdom.
After crocodile tears, the wisdom of crocodiles... Now that he knows the UN is not for him, Bill Clinton tries as hard as he can to get Dubya's skin and offer a nice bag to his lady. But the beast ain't dead yet.
After crocodile tears, the wisdom of crocodiles... Now that he knows the UN is not for him, Bill Clinton tries as hard as he can to get Dubya's skin and offer a nice bag to his lady. But the beast ain't dead yet.
20050911
Red blogule to Halliburton and the 40 thieves
Remember last sunday, when George W. Bush was criticized for not acting quickly enough in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath ? To the contrary, the Prez proved to show a lot of compassion for his most beloved citizens, Halliburton management : on monday, The Houston Business Journal noticed Kellog Brown & Root had already begun work on a $500 M U.S. Navy contract in the Gulf (the Hurricane Katrina damaged Gulf of Mexico, that is*).
No wonder both the Administration and Cheney Inc set the same priorities : earlier this year, the company subsidiary hired Joe Allbaugh, Bush's former campaign manager. A man who would know all about spotting a potential jackpot since he chaired the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) after leading Dubya to the crown in 2000.
Wars and natural disasters meant as business opportunities. Budget deficits built for big corporation profits. An again, please don't show any picture of these dead bodies, will you ? Let the official Propaganda celebrate the 4th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers and The Pentagon by Saddam Hussein. Welcome to the Banana Republic of the Divided States of Amerika.
Impeachment ? No way, unless the Reps flunk badly next year, which I doubt since The Architect, the ultimate Intelligent Designer of smear campaigns, the very Karl Rove who should be charged for treason, is at work too.
* Regarding the other Gulf, more about "Ali Burton and the forty thieves" in my 2003-2004 hand-made blogules.
No wonder both the Administration and Cheney Inc set the same priorities : earlier this year, the company subsidiary hired Joe Allbaugh, Bush's former campaign manager. A man who would know all about spotting a potential jackpot since he chaired the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) after leading Dubya to the crown in 2000.
Wars and natural disasters meant as business opportunities. Budget deficits built for big corporation profits. An again, please don't show any picture of these dead bodies, will you ? Let the official Propaganda celebrate the 4th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers and The Pentagon by Saddam Hussein. Welcome to the Banana Republic of the Divided States of Amerika.
Impeachment ? No way, unless the Reps flunk badly next year, which I doubt since The Architect, the ultimate Intelligent Designer of smear campaigns, the very Karl Rove who should be charged for treason, is at work too.
* Regarding the other Gulf, more about "Ali Burton and the forty thieves" in my 2003-2004 hand-made blogules.
20050907
Red blogule to pro-life / pro-death pro-teges
How many black people among how many dead people down in the South ? Thousands ? Yet a fraction of the country cries over the death of one single individual in Arlington, VA. White supremacists and Christian fundamentalist expect a "good" successor to William Hubbs Rehnquist, praised by his November 2000 Protégé (and pro-life+pro-death-penalty pal*) King Dubya for "improving the delivery of justice for the American people".
John Roberts was not supposed to take the helm that soon but the US should be very careful who will replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Edith "Joy" Brown Clement, a woman from 'bama with a New Orleans pedigree, would be the perfect post-Katrina nominee but for his potential last shot and one year before key elections, W needs to send a much stronger message to his "base"**.
Besides, since she's still sitting in Louisiana, Brown may have a not so Clement word to say during the inquiry about Katrina's aftermath.
* "pro-life" people tend to be "pro-death", but there's nothing funny about it
** Speaking of which... Newsweek just published in their 20050901 edition the mild extract of my 20050708 blogule on London bombings I sent them : "President Bush keeps talking about good vs evil (...) - Tony Blair keeps talking about attacks against civilization... but such speeches are music to the ears of fundamentalists. What these leaders need to protect is not their own "way of life" but the basic rights of moderate majorities under the spell of extremist minorities."
John Roberts was not supposed to take the helm that soon but the US should be very careful who will replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Edith "Joy" Brown Clement, a woman from 'bama with a New Orleans pedigree, would be the perfect post-Katrina nominee but for his potential last shot and one year before key elections, W needs to send a much stronger message to his "base"**.
Besides, since she's still sitting in Louisiana, Brown may have a not so Clement word to say during the inquiry about Katrina's aftermath.
* "pro-life" people tend to be "pro-death", but there's nothing funny about it
** Speaking of which... Newsweek just published in their 20050901 edition the mild extract of my 20050708 blogule on London bombings I sent them : "President Bush keeps talking about good vs evil (...) - Tony Blair keeps talking about attacks against civilization... but such speeches are music to the ears of fundamentalists. What these leaders need to protect is not their own "way of life" but the basic rights of moderate majorities under the spell of extremist minorities."
20050905
Red blogule to quagmires and bayous
To those who doubted Bush was a fake, Cindy and Katrina exposed the truth : a quagmire abroad and a bayou at home, that's how deep the US have sunk. "Our Dear Compassionate Leader", a born again Christian with a well trained Texan accent, turns out to be a selfish and amoral stubborn New England brat, enjoying two more days off in his own ranch when real people from the South die in their own feces.
Time to rehearse the National Anthem's lyrics, folks :
Q :
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
A :
Err... no, actually I can't see. I did see quite a few rockets and bombs but the banner people tend to follow is that of the Red Cross.
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
A :
Lemme get you some glasses. The reflection on the stream is a dead body.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
A :
"That band" is still at large at the White House. "The hireling and slave" happen to be US citizens. Some were ordered to bring "the havoc of war and the battle's confusion" overseas, others found no refuge and ended in "the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave".
Q :
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
A :
"Rescued land"? "Victory" ? "Peace" ? That remains to be seen. Blame the power that hath made the US a despised nation : Lord Dubya, King of the Banana Republic of the Divided States of America.
Time to rehearse the National Anthem's lyrics, folks :
Q :
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
A :
Err... no, actually I can't see. I did see quite a few rockets and bombs but the banner people tend to follow is that of the Red Cross.
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
A :
Lemme get you some glasses. The reflection on the stream is a dead body.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
A :
"That band" is still at large at the White House. "The hireling and slave" happen to be US citizens. Some were ordered to bring "the havoc of war and the battle's confusion" overseas, others found no refuge and ended in "the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave".
Q :
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
A :
"Rescued land"? "Victory" ? "Peace" ? That remains to be seen. Blame the power that hath made the US a despised nation : Lord Dubya, King of the Banana Republic of the Divided States of America.
20050904
White blogule to "this is America"
My last visit to New Orleans was a business trip in the gloomy days before the invasion of Iraq. In the early hours of the morning, I would stroll the decaying streets of the city, empty but for the occasional hobo, wild cat or mad dog, thinking to myself no one is awake in this country. Each individual is living his own life and in an illusion of unity, the masses are blindly following a warmonger faking compassion and cynically heralding moral virtues. No one realizes the country is falling apart.
After that, I would come back for breakfast and then walk to the Ernst N. Morial Convention Center before the opening of the gates, crossing Tchoupitoulas under freeways obviously knitted by giant spiders on crack, wondering how such an urbanistic nonsense could deserve sounding like a memorial.
The other day, at the same angle, the TV would show people passing by corpses without even noticing. Up the 90, in the Superdome, women and kids would be raped in public. In other parts of the state cameras couldn't reach : chaos, anarchy, cannibalism, the collapse of the idea of society itself. And these words echoing on and on : "this is America, can you believe it ?".
Such things can happen anywhere anytime, but never at this scale. The saddest point is I'm not even surprised. Sad, yes. Because I love the US and have this special feeling for Louisiana and New Orleans. Not puke smelling Bourbon Street New Orleans but abandoned New Orleans, where long before Katrina came, ghost cities would pretend to exist in the present time.
Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, the realization of America's social collapse may leave even bitter marks.
After that, I would come back for breakfast and then walk to the Ernst N. Morial Convention Center before the opening of the gates, crossing Tchoupitoulas under freeways obviously knitted by giant spiders on crack, wondering how such an urbanistic nonsense could deserve sounding like a memorial.
The other day, at the same angle, the TV would show people passing by corpses without even noticing. Up the 90, in the Superdome, women and kids would be raped in public. In other parts of the state cameras couldn't reach : chaos, anarchy, cannibalism, the collapse of the idea of society itself. And these words echoing on and on : "this is America, can you believe it ?".
Such things can happen anywhere anytime, but never at this scale. The saddest point is I'm not even surprised. Sad, yes. Because I love the US and have this special feeling for Louisiana and New Orleans. Not puke smelling Bourbon Street New Orleans but abandoned New Orleans, where long before Katrina came, ghost cities would pretend to exist in the present time.
Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, the realization of America's social collapse may leave even bitter marks.
20050831
White blogule to Katrina and Cindy
Katrina succeded where Cindy failed : in shortening Dubya's holiday and exposing the scandalous sun tan of a man who rested 20% of his time the first five years of his reign. Since the man sleeps 10 hours a day, W's been active less than 40% of his mandate. Let's consider ourselves happy : what if he'd done 2,5 times as much damage !
A natural catastrophy is all it takes to make dictators look more human and popular - ask Fidel : talking for hours about the weather is far easier than delivering a few words about failing policies - not to mention the most stupid war of our time. Today, Our Dear Compassionate Leader won't need Hurricane Jeb on his side : he will shine on his own, walk on the water like his favorite philosopher, try to surf on the 27 feet wave that devastated the cherished South of this New England brat pretending to be a Texas hunk.
A natural catastrophy is all it takes to make dictators look more human and popular - ask Fidel : talking for hours about the weather is far easier than delivering a few words about failing policies - not to mention the most stupid war of our time. Today, Our Dear Compassionate Leader won't need Hurricane Jeb on his side : he will shine on his own, walk on the water like his favorite philosopher, try to surf on the 27 feet wave that devastated the cherished South of this New England brat pretending to be a Texas hunk.
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