I’m going to break from form and actually discuss some politics here, since this definitely affects us here in NYC. (And cause I am dying to code something in our new, lonely Politics category)

Of course everyone is aware of the controversy going on about the potential contract of US port operations to a Dubai based company. And if you are not, you’re obviously drinking way more than I am, and for that I envy you.

But seriously…

There a great post over at Dubai Metblogs discussing why the people of the UAE are upset by American’s reaction to this port deal–a post I highly recommend reading. For what it’s worth, all I can tell the people of Dubai is to me it looks like their nation has been drawn into an unfortunate political fiasco over here, a battle that has less to do with racism and hate and more to do with misinformation and political posturing. I must admit when I first read about the deal I was taken aback, but upon learning that 80% of our ports are already controlled by foreign companies, it didn’t make sense as to why this deal would garner so much press and outrage. Again, it’s an issue of education and reading more than just the sensationalist headlines and the word “Arab”–you have to get to the real issue behind fervor. The fact that the UAE based company has called for a security review itself is indeed encouraging, not to mention the fact that it has come to light that they would be handling operations and not security.

The bigger deal I think is the American people feeling that the Bush administration is pulling another fast one on them; trying to get this deal in place before people were aware of it and it had been properly reviewed. To me, the real story here is about Republican leadership breaking from the Bush administration and speaking out against this deal when they’ve seemingly drank the kool-aid on every other counter-initiative he has going on, from Iraq to wiretapping to Katrina. All I can say is “It’s about freakin time, guys.”

On, and I posted a map of the UAE cause I didn’t actually know exactly where it was and I bet there are plenty of you out there in the same boat. But now we know, and knowing is indeed half the battle.