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Mar. 1, 2006 John W. Lollpop of the web site www.postchronicle.com asks the obvious question in an article titled "Why is US port security not an American enterprise?", dated 2/21/06. That question is if America can spend billions of dollars on their wars with Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of safety and security why can't we secure our ports? He also poses the question about the cost of this contract with the UAE. Mr. Lollpop asks America to step up and take a whack at this contract, after all it is worth in excess of $6 million dollars! So American's come out of the woodwork and compete for this lucrative contract!!! According to an article on the web site www.ccsmonitor.com by Abraham McLaughlin titled "US port security: Is x-ray enough?", Abe says that there are over 16 million containers that come into US ports each year. We have 361 operating ports across the US. Only 4 to 6% of those are scanned!!! Am I the only one that finds this appalling? The argument against scanning entails the time, effort, and cost to do so has to translate into a higher cost to the shipper. How much are we talking about? According to Mr. McLaughlin, Boston spent $2.25 million dollars for their black and white scanner. Is that so much compared to the alternative? I say NOT!!! Mr. McLaughlin also says that you can add a radiation sensor for about $120,000.00. By using this radiation sensor we can intercept hazardous materials prior to another national tragedy! I say that is a good thing!!!! We can also add GPS tracking devices that can help us to track, flag, and inspect cargo that is suspicious. Currently most ports use low-tech searches. Those entail occasional crawling inside or poking of the contents. Is this secure to you? This is cost effective, but it is not safe. We need more inspectors, better and more equipment, and a government with a sense of national security as their top responsibility. It appears to me that the Bush Administration is pushing this deal as part of some larger deal or special favor that we are not clued in on. Why didn't they review this deal before signing off on it? Is the Bush Administration too close to the Middle-east in a time of war and terrorism? I say yes, too close for comfort!!! Let's not just take 45 days for due diligence, let's stop it right here and now!!! IF we allow the UAE to run six of our sensitive ports we are making a much less safe America. We are allowing them an easy, cost effective, way to enter the US with all sorts of potentially damaging nuclear devices that will most likely not be scanned or flagged. Is this what you want for America? I assure you I do not!!! So buck up and ask Congress to stop this deal with the UAE and bring our safety and security back home. Come on American's please step up and make the US ports an offer they cannot refuse!!! Sources; http://www.csmonitor.com, article by Abraham McLaughlin, "US port security: Is x-ray enough?" http://www.postchronicle.com, article by John Lollpop, 2/21/06, "Why is US port security not an American enterprise?" ------------ About the author: Michelle Malsbury was born and raised in Champaign, Illinois. She holds a BA in Business Management. Currently she is seven weeks away from earning her master's degree in Organizational Management while concurrently pursuing her lofty writing ambitions. Her plans also involve obtaining her PhD in 2006/07. Michelle moved to south Florida in 1982 and resides between the Keys, Miami, and Apalachicola, allowing her to experience the seasonal fluctuations between the southernmost and nearly northernmost beauty in the state of Florida. Travels have taken her from Europe through the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and across much of the United States. She enjoys outdoor activities like sailing, waterskiing, hiking, bike riding, working out, and fishing as well as reading, music, theatre, playing with her two amusing pets (Abu Chez, her 6 year old Australian Blue Heeler and Zack, her two year old yellow tabby cat) and writing. Michelle is a regular featured author on the web site www.useless-knowledge.com and member of their 100 + articles published club. Here she enjoys exchanging points of view with her comrades on an array of topics. "Three Years With Adonis" is the first to be published of several books that she has written and is now available in all the better bookstores, but can also be found and ordered at Amazon.com, Booksamillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or ordered directly from her web sites, www.3yearswithadonis.com, www.threeyearswithadonis.com, or www.MichelleMalsbury.com. In addition to "Three Years With Adonis", she has authored four other books and three screenplays while continuing to explore all that life hands her. Email Michelle Malsbury: zackywacks@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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