Free Republic

In a monumental labor dispute, approximately 45,000 dockworkers across the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are threatening to go on strike on October 1, potentially shutting down 36 ports that handle nearly half of the nation’s cargo from ships. The International Longshoremen’s Union (ILA) is demanding higher wages and an outright ban on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used in the loading and unloading of freight. A strike of this scale could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy, especially if it persists for more than a few weeks. CBS News reports how experts suggest that consumers...

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, investigative reporter Lara Logan reported that the crash of the Dali cargo ship into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was not an accident but rather a “strategic attack.” Hours after the Dali cargo ship crashed into the Key bridge, taking the lives of six men, the Democrat Governor of Maryland, in a press conference, stated, “The preliminary investigation points to an accident. We haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack.” Many believed Moore and the NTSB’s quick assessment to rule out terrorism raised red flags, considering the NTSB’s preliminary analysis...

A congressional investigation has discovered strange communication equipment on Chinese-built cargo cranes at U.S seaports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Rather than building them domestically at potentially higher costs, the U.S. relies heavily on Chinese-built cargo cranes that are relatively cheap to produce and equip at seaports across the country. The congressional probe discovered that several of these cranes, built by Chinese mega-manufacturer ZMPC, contain communications devices that were not requested or don’t appear to support standard operations, heightening existing espionage concerns, according to the WSJ. U.S. intelligence has warned that Chinese cranes – equipped with an array...

LOS ANGELES — Employers could lock out West Coast dockworkers in as few as five days if the two sides do not reach a new contract. That warning came Wednesday from the head of a maritime association who is negotiating a new deal with a union representing longshoremen at 29 ports that handle about $1 trillion in trade annually. Pacific Maritime Association CEO James McKenna said he wanted to avoid a coast-wide port shutdown, but employers wouldn't keep paying workers who aren't moving cargo at their normal rate if the ports become much more gridlocked. He said that could come...

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard has stepped up screening of crews arriving in Texas from West Africa for possible Ebola symptoms. The new measures are for any vessel that has visited West Africa within its last five ports of call. They also require that any crew member with symptoms of Ebola be quarantined. In Houston, one of the world’s busiest ports, some dockworkers say they’re fearful. But no Ebola cases have been found yet, and Coast Guard officials say there’s little need to panic. “Ships from other countries, we want to be aware of where they’ve been,” said Coast Guard...

The Obama administration has failed to meet a legal deadline for scanning all shipping containers for radioactive material before they reach the United States, a requirement aimed at strengthening maritime security and preventing terrorists from smuggling a nuclear device into any of the nation’s 300 sea and river ports. The Department of Homeland Security was given until this month to ensure that 100 percent of inbound shipping containers are screened at foreign ports. But the department’s secretary, Janet Napolitano, informed Congress in May that she was extending a two-year blanket exemption to foreign ports because the screening is proving too...

It’s shaping up to be a major political battle: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and House Majority Leader John Boehner have all lined up against President Bush’s plan to turn over operation of six major American ports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates. The President is threatening to veto any attempt to block the plan. Referring to the fact that the company in question, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, has been British-owned up to its impending sale to Dubai Ports World, he said Tuesday: “I want those who are questioning it...

President Bush gave out Volunteer Service Awards at the White House. With the vice president, Bush honored African American History Month today in the White House. Bush addressed the Asia Society, outlining some of the issues he will bring up with the leaders of India and Pakistan in his upcoming trip to those countries. The president is facing opposition by both parties to a proposal to hand over shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates. At the request of New Jersey's governor, the NJ Attorney General will file...

When I talk to my European friends and they wonder how America ended up at the pinnacle of the world and the last century’s worth of history I remind them that America is distinct, still, from all other democracies. “America’ is not a religion-based society (though we have deep roots in the Judeo-Christian framework) like the Muslim countries, or even Israel. We do not associate together through religious ties.... The one bugging me right now is the outcries about a UAE company acquiring control of a British company that runs some of our ports. Has anyone heard that this is...

DUBAI — The UAE and Palestine have agreed to the establishment of a new joint investment company, to be announced within a few weeks, according to Mazen Sinokrot, the Palestinian Minister of Economy, who has recently visited the UAE. Speaking exclusively to Khaleej Times, Sinokrot said, "The purpose of establishing such venture is to explore the investment opportunities in Palestine, and to boost the economic ties with the UAE. Further we are planning as well an Initial Public Offering for the company in the UAE." "We have already started with the first step towards establishing this company by talking to...

A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism. The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The $6.8 billion sale is expected to be approved Monday. The British company is the fourth largest ports company in the...