DP World rings bell for second round in sale of US port assets (Carlyle)

[NVMojo]

Of course the Carlyle group wants back in ...

September 13, 2006
DUBAI'S DP World was due to start overnight a second round of bidding for its US port assets, with Morgan Stanley, Carlyle Group and SSA Marine all among the last few bidders in the highly politicised sale.

The three companies are among five or six bidders weeded out from among hundreds of potential buyers thought to have expressed at least some interest in the business, according to a person familiar with the process.

State-owned DP World announced the sale of its US port assets in March in the face of a political furore over its purchase of the businesses as part of its pound stg. 3.92 billion ($9.7 billion) takeover of P&O, the British-based container terminal and ferry operator. There had been security concerns about whether it was wise to allow an Arab company to control US port operating businesses.

The operations include companies operating container terminals at five US eastern seaboard ports and various other cargo and passenger-handling facilities. They include the Port Newark Container Terminal at New Jersey.

more...

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20400647-36375,00.html

[TomInTib]

1. DPW has had the ports from Day 1..

This latest is nothing but smoke.

Grow up, America...

It is what it is.

And they can do a hell of a lot better job than can we.

[acmavm]

2. They can do a better job than we can? Why's that? With the funding and

the right administration in power, we can't run our own ports?

Do you support the idea that Americans can't do anything as well as foreign companies? Do you think it's a good thing that bush** wants all these visas for skilled workers because America just doesn't have the talent? I mean, where do you draw the line?

That remark was just about as clueless as any I've read on here for a long long time.

[TomInTib]

5. Uhh.. have you done much trans-oceanic shipping lately?

I have and I will tell you right now that our ports are fucked beyond belief and have been for quite some time.

As a matter of fact, we are closing one of our (domestic) businesses because of the sheer hassle of dealing with Dept of Homeland 'Security'. And those guys are going to be around forever, no matter who is running the Show.

And on your other note, Americans have the talent. They just don't have the will.

I am going straight import.

And I am not hiring any more university graduates. Those people are coming out of school talking gibberish with their heads planted firmly in their collective ass.

I will grab the best and brightest right out of high school and teach them the ways of the real world.

[acmavm]

6. I understand that the ports are all screwed up. That's been

in the news for a long time and I didn't address that issue at all. You're pulling that shit out of the air.

I said that we do have the talent to run our ports, and to run the efficiently and safely.

You must live in a really stupid part of the country. So sorry you're surrounded by dumbasses. That would be a drag.

[TomInTib]

8. Yeah, Tiburon, Marin County, is one of the stupidest parts of the country

and also the most educated, wealthy, and liberal town in the entire US.

I was just telling it like it is. I use real, hard, and rational information. I never pull shit out of the air. That is for dreamers.

So, pray tell, what hard info and/or experience can you offer to support your position?

Or are you simply dreaming of a hypothetical solution? I am serious.

[fasttense]

4. They will do a lot better just like they were better at helping Al Qaeda

Sure am glad to know they can do a better job than Americans. Just like they did a better job at laundering money for Al Qaeda so they could attack the World Trade Center. So glad we have UAE royals controlling operations of our largest ports. It makes it much easier for them to help out Al Qaeda again when they next decide to attack us. :sarcasm:

[w4rma]

9. Dubai's ruler accused of slavery

14 September 2006
Dubai's ruler has been accused of enslaving thousands of young children for camel races in a class-action lawsuit filed in the US.

The action claims Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, his brother Hamdam and 500 others are responsible for abducting and trafficking the children.
…
The children were said to be from Bangladesh, Sudan and southern Asia.
…
The case was filed in Miami where Sheikh Mohammed and his brother, Sheikh Hamdam bin Rashid al-Maktoum, have property.

The two, along with the other 500 defendants who the suit says are as yet unknown, face nine counts.

They include engaging in slavery, conspiring to engage in slavery, engaging in or facilitating child labour, battery, assault, infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death.
…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5346430.stm

…
Trafficking in persons, including children, is a modern form of slavery. International estimates indicate at least 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. The United States is not immune from this trade — an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year, with New York as the main port of entry. This figure includes children trafficked into forced labor and sexual exploitation.
…
http://www.unicefusa.org/site/c.duLRI8O0H/b.269279/k.8DC9/Child_Trafficking__Advocate__Volunteer__US_Fund_for_UNICEF.htm


February 1999: Bin Laden Missile Strike Called Off (Dubai Royalty present, clinton said no)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1583388/posts
…
The Central Intelligence Agency did not target Al Qaeda chief Osama bin laden once as he had the royal family of the United Arab Emirates with him in Afghanistan, the agency's director, George Tenet, told the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States on Thursday.

Had the CIA targeted bin Laden, half the royal family would have been wiped out as well, he said.
…
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/22/103153/034

These are the folks who you want to control our ports.

[TomInTib]

10. I don't 'want' DPW to control our ports

re-read my reply. I was just stating fact.

I sure as hell do not want DHS running them.

We have very few logical candidates for port operations, Halliburton and Bechtel being at the top of the list.

I'll take DPW over either of those guys.

[w4rma]

12. Then quit defending them and quit attacking domestic owned port buisnesses

I know darn well that there are Americans who would like to and can run a port buisness better than any of the folks you have listed.

[TomInTib]

13. So who are they?

Platitudes do not translate well to practice.

What/who would you suggest?

[annabanana]

3. Hillary's campaign ads tout "stopping sale of ports to

foreign interests". .

She should either pull them, or we should hear from her on this new round of bidding.

edit:recommed for visibility

[Nikki Stone 1]

7. DHS seems to exist to f*ck everything up.

What we need to do is scrap DHS, repeal the Homeland inSecurity Act and let the government do its job.

[flyarm]

11. DUBAI BOUGHT $ 8 BILLION $ OF CARLYLE GROUP ...

SEE THIS ARTICLE FROM AUGUST..

Dubai is, of course, a major investor in the
Carlyle Group.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT
(voice over): The oil-rich United Arab Emirates
is a major investor in The Carlyle Group, the
private equity investment firm where President
Bush’s father once served as senior adviser and
is a who’s who of former high-level government
officials. Just last year, Dubai
International Capital,
a government-backed
buyout firm, invested
in an $8 billion Carlyle fund.

http://www.correntewire.com/bush_family_dubai_ports_wor...