Port Security I

For my first entry I will talk about this episode of Montel Williams I saw recently on day time TV. First let me say I hate talk shows and I suffer greatly when I am home because I do not have cable TV. Normally during day time TV I am switching between game shows, and PBS, but that day Montel did something very interesting- He hosted some news reporters to discuss current issues facing the nation. One issue that was brought up was the Dubai Ports deal, and how the administration really dropped the ball on that one. People defending the president said that it was racist to discriminate against Dubai’s intensions due to the fact they were Arab, while those against it point to the UAE’s dubaious record when it came to terrorism. Personally I feel like both sides have credible arguments and counter arguments. Something I would consider if I was in a situation to make a difference would be: possible backlash from the US’s new ally the UAE or other Arab nations, possible ramifications with free trade, UAE’s record on terrorism…

However, to me the saddest part of the whole deal is the fact that the port management industry in the US is not competitive enough to compete with foreign companies. Whether it is poor management, unreasonable union demands, a little bit of both, or something totally different the fact is that US corporations cannot compete in that market. Even though the situation was diffused when DB World Ports agreed to give up the operations to a domestic company we realize that there are no domestic capable of running the operations. In the end there will probably need to be government support for ports operations! In this global economy it is essential to innovate and remain competitive. Otherwise two things will happen: either the industry gets outsourced like team India Dell Tech support or reservations are raised and the government has to step in. The Port Security II post is an essay I wrote on the situation read it if you have time.