Posted on 03/09/2006 11:22:41 AM PST by smoothsailing
Those who are so accustomed to mob rule usually excuse it by saying that is the same everywhere. Sorry, but it it not. It is dusgusting to most Americans.
Agreed.
And that is because ......................... ???????????
Not defending the mob, and assuming that you were "all business" in support of the deal, don't the same things apply to a "mob controlled" deal?
I.e., why would the mob want to allow a breach in security? It could only hurt their position. Besides, I think it's a real reach thinking that the mob somehow wants terrorism in this country in spite of them "being bad guys."
In fact, I dare say, if anything, they're probably just as much for a secure nation as anyone is.
And don't extrapolate this post to the extent that paints me in favor of the mob, I'm not. But I am just addressing your opinion. Also, the mob does exist, but it clearly doesn't have the "reach" and influence that it once had.
Lastly, for someone (and anyone) seemingly so concerned with "the mob" in a deal like this, how is "the mob" in a deal like this that much different from people with interests tied to fundamental Islam? Neither is going to win a Nobel Peace Prize for human rights advances.
Most gangs and gang leaders are known (Mafias) in the U.S. yet they are allowed to operate.. Even the ways they operate are known mostly.. but they are allowed to operate.. WHY? Because we have become a democracy.. and thats the way democracy operates.. Its normal for a democracy..
America being a Republic is a myth.. and few there be that will admit it.. Facing the truth is primary to dealing with it.. Unless we at free republic face the truth our charter is a dequise.. a mask.. America is a fairly free democracy.. not a republic at all.. anymore..
What actually happened there is that Lucky Luciano had Albert Anastasia stage an attack on the S. S. Normandie; then he offered to "help" in return for parole. It was basically a shakedown scam akin to the mob offering "protection" to shopkeepers after smashing up their store, only in this case the shopkeeper was the US government:
Salvatore Lucania A.K.A Charlie "Lucky" Luciano
Luciano had come up with a plan to get himself out of jail and be able to help the war effort. Luciano had to find something that was front page news and had to do it quickly. Then, it finally came.
"Costello got in touch with me right away. Albert had worked this idea out with his brother, Tough Tony. Albert said that the guys from Navy Intelligence had been all over the docks talkin' to 'em about security; they was scared to death that all the stuff along the Hudson, the docks and boats and the rest, was in very great danger. It took a guy like Albert to figure out somethin' really crazy; his idea was to give the Navy a real big hunk of sabotage, somethin' so big that it would scare the sh*t out of the whole ****** Navy."
The sabotage that Albert and his brother Tony were talking about was the sinking of a ship in the West Side Manhattan port -- the French luxury liner, the SS Normandie -- a ship that was being slated to be turned into a troopship for the Allies. Luciano thought it was a great plan. It would get the attention of Naval Intelligence and wouldn't truly affect the war effort since the ship was no where ready for war. The plan was set in motion. Within twenty-four hours the SS Normandie was gutted and wrecked. Naval Intelligence was charged preventing anything like this to happen again, since it was obvious that German spies had done this. That is when the U.S. Government turned to organized crime for help and began the idea of "Operation Underworld." Naval Intelligence officers, working out of their headquarters in Manhattan, went directly to Joseph "Socks" Lanza, the czar of the Fulton Fish Market, for help along the docks. But, the illustrious Joe "Zox" could only help the Naval officers so much. There were some areas that were blocked to him, especially by Tough Tony. Luciano personally setup this blockade, forcing the Naval officers to come to him for help. Luciano agreed, but only if it meant that it would reduce his sentence. That's when Naval officials sought out the D.A.'s office for this favor. Since it was a matter of national security, there could be no way that the D.A.'s office could refuse, even if Dewey was still the D.A. But Luciano wanted too much -- to be paroled and set free for the obvious reason of picking up the reins of control to organized crime. Dewey agreed to parole, but only after Luciano agreed to be deported to Italy.
Actually they set the fire and made it look like Nazi sabatouers. I think some navy guys died too.
Next, we had better kick some airlines out of airports for operating terminals there...Sheesh!
LOL! I love that! If only the article was about that!.
What the article suggests to me is the hollowness of "selective indignation" exhibited by those who opposed the DPW deal.
It's apparently more popular with the run with the pack crowd to see Islamist terrorists hiding under every bed, than it is to acknowlege an ally that we need.
The mob, no big deal, the Democrat Party thinks they're just swell as long as the campaign contributions keep rolling in.
There really are a limited number of posts on this thread. Guess our Mobster wannabee set and their running dog lackeys who run terminals for the Chicoms on the West Coast are afraid to self-identify themselves on a thread like this one.
Nope. The mob is not a symptom of democracy. It is a symptom of corruption. It developed in Sicily as a protection system where the government was incompetent and came to America with Italian immigrants. It is about as democratic as Islamic terrorism. It persists because people are used to it, and they tolerate it, even though it is authoritarian, totalitarian and anti-democratic.
Post #20 is particularly touching, isn't it?./s
Just something about it that seems so real.
And wouldn't it be great if the Communists ran the airports, all the flights would be on time. :-)
Commies ran unscheduled air service in the old USSR. If you complained, though, they'd just send you to the Gulag.
compared to who?
Not all America, hosepipe. You are not alone. I agree with much of what you say, except this: "The War on Terror is a joke".
This war is quite real and the tatters of our Constitutional Republic are severely threatened. Unfortunately, that looming destruction of our Republic would suit many Democrats/Socialists/Communists just fine. I would say, How this War on Terror is being fought is a joke. Due to both Congress and the Executive, it has been poorly organized, poorly lead, and poorly executed.
I do get emotional.. and caught up in my outrage..
Iraq should be divided into three parts and let them fight it out among themselves.. Divide and conquer.. Been true since war was first invented.. Invade, divide them apart, support the weakest group to keep the attrition going... Surely we have warriors that know that.. They must be being suppressed..
Teamsters mobbed up PING.
...Surely we have warriors that know that.. They must be being suppressed..
From my perspective as a relatively senior military officer (retired), fighters have not been suppressed, but they have not been promoted to positions of higher command and or have quit. But beyond that, our US military is subordinate to and controlled by US civilians and politicians.
Our current crop of politicians (in Congress) have so little knowledge of warfare yet so much control over how it is conducted. Frighteningly, a small but vocal lot in Congress have motives which are seditious, at best. That goes back to: HOW THIS WAR IS BEING FOUGHT IS A JOKE! War is conducted on and off the battlefield and is far more complex than volleys of rifle fire or aircraft bombing runs. The behavior of (some) Democrats, International Answer, Code Pink, Cindy Sheehan, et al, is squandering American (and innocent Iraqi/Afghani) lives and treasure. They subvert the essential motivation of the US populace to succeed in this war, and continue to tease our enemy into the possibility of our untimely withdrawal.
And now back to Dubai and our seaports... FDR allied with Stalin and Communism (the greatest scourge of the 20th century) in order to defeat the Axis. We are today in a war no less dangerous than that of my father's, but this time allies are harder to come by. Dubai is far from perfect. But they have proved themselves reliable as our ally in this war and for that I don't care if they are Arabs, Muslims, or Martians. So what's it matter if our seaports go from being run by P&O, a British company, to Dubai Ports. I have much greater concern for the afore mentioned Americans continuing to run loose at the mouth (and run loose), than I do of a proven foreign ally administering our seaports.
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