Bush Ignores Security

Sidney Daily News, Sidney, Ohio | Letter to the Editor

[HankReardon]

thank you

[1035rep]

As long as you post on this forum I will respond to you whenever I feel like it. Now if you don't like it that's just too bad.

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

"Thank you, that was very helpful. I did not know Haliburton had bid on the ports or that the 21 were merely 21 of 235. Who currently manages the other ports?"

I misspoke. Halliburton no-bid the contract. As for the 300 plus ports, it is a mixed bag. They are smaller ports and a number of cities manage it, such as "The New York Port Authority", etc. I don't have a complete list. I just understand that the 21 ports in question the management portion was contracted out to the British Company, and then the UAE-based company bought out the British Company. Hence the problem here.....!

The security function has never changed at all!

[NCLaw441]

I am still waiting for a description from an opponent of this deal showing how security might be compromised by it. I have asked on several threads for nearly two weeks now, and have heard no such scenario described, only attacks on the UAE. I am no defender of the UAE on this, but if you can't show a risk of harm, why does it matter who contracts with the longshormen to loand and unload these ships?

This is a threshold question on this issue, but I have heard no answers from anyone who opposes the deal.

[the Marshal]

You have a gift for being wrong.

If I don't like it I can do something about it, jerk.
You have a right to speak, but not to be heard - or post harrassing juvenile insults to others when your feeble mind has nothing better to say.

What part of "don't" don't you understand, Gerbil?
Don't post to me again.

[Admin Moderator]

Knock it off.

[GrandEagle]

Maybe it is just in my sphere of knowledge, but we have help close plants and rebuild them in Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Malaysia. Most of the time when time to retrofit comes, if it is major, they just close the plant and move it overseas.
Appliance parts, automobile parts, appliance manufacturers, raw materials processors, steel mills, even shipbuilding.
About 40% of my peers, who are very good at what they do, have had to get into some other line of work. Some are even EEEKKK -Used car salesmen!

I do not claim to be all knowing, but I do know that in my small area of the world things are much, much worse.
Up until four years ago, no one at my company even had a visa. Now around 50% of our work is overseas.

Cordially,
GE

[HankReardon]

thank you

[HankReardon]

Where are you? Michigan?

[GrandEagle]

No, I work for an engineering firm in Alabama.
We do work in all 50 states, well we have never been to Hawaii - so I guess it would be 49 states, and also in 20 or so foreign countries.
What we have seen in the last 6 or so years is that there is very little investment in the States. Some upgrades as older control systems become outdated, but if the retrofit is too extensive they just close the plant and move it overseas; primarily to China, Taiwan, Thailand, of now we are beginning to see Malaysia.
Here in the state of Alabama, we have been fortunate because there have been two automobile plants open here in the last 6 or so years. That has helped some.
What it seems is that you have an automobile plant open that will employ say 2000 people but there have been 10 smaller facility's close that employed say 400 people each.
The real value of the dollar is plummeting overseas. We have always gotten our overseas contracts to be paid in US dollars. We had a couple of two year projects that finished last year in Brazil. They were all to happy to pay us in US dollars since it was worth 1/3 of what it had been up against their currency from the time we started. We lost a fortune so we now are having to consider what currency the contract is to be paid in as a factor when bidding.
Like I said, I can't speak for the whole economy, but from where I sit the long term outlook is terrible.

Cordially,
GE

[1035rep]

He keep it up until he was banned

[moehoward]

You are bad! But very funny....

[HankReardon]

Are you saying that the value of a foreign currency tripled against the American dollar in 2 years?

[GrandEagle]

Are you saying that the value of a foreign currency tripled against the American dollar in 2 years?
Yes. That is exactly what happened.

[HankReardon]

Which foreign curency? Can you elaborate?

[GrandEagle]

This one was Brazil, and the project Completed in 2004 not 2005. (I'm still stuck in 2005, so when I said "last year" it was really 2004).

[GrandEagle]

I won't be able to FReep much today. I've got a client in for a project review. I'll check back as I can. I don't remember what their currency is called.
However, it is not just their currency. I've not looked, but I'm fairly sure it should against most any currency that the dollar fell.

Cordially,
GE