If there is one thing I have noticed throughout this whole national debate over a company from the United Arab Emirates acquiring a contract from a British company to manage several of our U.S. ports, it is that there is a colossal lack of knowledge about the whole matter. I do not know whether it is from simple ignorance or misinformation, or just blatant racism and prejudice, but there are a lot of powerful people making unfounded accusations against the Bush Administration for not killing this deal when they had the chance, when in reality there is nothing wrong with it.

Dubai Ports World, a company based in the UAE, recently purchased the British owned Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which operated several terminals throughout six ports in the United States. These ports include Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Huston, and Newark/Elizabeth, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Web site.

Many people are more than a little apprehensive about a country from the Middle East controlling port operations in the United States, but their fears are largely unfounded. First, Dubai Ports World and P&O made an agreement to comply with the security programs to which P&O currently adheres. There will be no policy change in terms of security. In fact, Dubai Ports World will not be handling security at all. Dubai Ports World will be acting as terminal operators at each of these ports. They will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the port terminal, such as general upkeep, the loading, unloading, or transfer of cargo, storage and repair of facilities.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the CBP are the ones directly responsible for security at the ports. The CBP’s mission is “to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States by eliminating potential threats before they arrive at our borders and ports,” according to the CBP Web site. The Coast Guard regularly inspects cargo and makes sure each port facility complies with the rules and regulations set forth by the government.

These are the men and women who are protecting our ports and ensuring our safety. It is not as if the U.S. Government is handing the UAE the keys to our ports and politely asking them to lock up when they leave. As President George W. Bush has said, if there was a threat to national security, this deal would have never gone through.

But that is not good enough for most people. Most people in America no longer take the president’s word at face value. Sometimes they will not even take honest to goodness facts from the president unless some liberal pundit succumbs to rationality and agrees with something the president says. Heaven forbid.

But that is what has happened in this whole debacle. There is no real threat to national security because of this deal. Let me illuminate some realities for you, the poor, tired wretches longing for truth.

The UAE is a strong ally to the United States. It is most certainly our strongest ally in the Middle East and one of our strongest allies in the War on Terror. The UAE hosts more U.S. Navy ships in their ports than any other country in the world, outside the United States of course, according to the U.S. Department of State Web site. Dubai Ports World currently runs one of the main ports in the UAE that harbors U.S. ships. This provides the Navy with a strategic position in the Middle East. It also allows the U.S. Air Force to utilize several of its airfields.

The UAE has frozen many suspected terrorists’ bank accounts in an effort to shut down the global terror finance network. It has enacted new laws against money laundering and provides funding for counter-terrorist operations.

The UAE was also the first Middle East country to join the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which is a multinational agreement to help protect global trade from terrorism, according to the Department of State Web site. The article goes on to say, “Under CSI, a team of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers is permanently stationed inside Dubai's ports, where they work closely with Dubai Customs to screen containers destined for the United States. Cooperation with Dubai officials has been outstanding and a model for other operations.”

The UAE has been a model citizen when it comes to port security and cooperation with national security agents.

Finally, the UAE has been a big supporter of the new Iraqi government. It has provided significant funding to help establish and maintain the government. The UAE has traditionally been a champion of Middle East peace efforts.

From everything I have researched, it seems as though the UAE is one of our greatest allies and most certainly, our greatest ally in the War on Terror. What kind of message does it send when we say to that ally, “We don’t trust you with our ports.” It is a slap in the face, plain and simple.

And just in case you still had any doubts as to the intentions of the UAE, I will leave you with this little tidbit: The UAE donated $100 million to help with the relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They were one of the first nations to donate and they made the largest donation of any country.

Yeah, that doesn’t really sound like the type of people I want managing our ports.

I love the media. They always seem to take a relatively simple story and blow it completely out of proportion. It happens all the time. Most recently, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s terrible hunting accident in which he shot his friend and hunting partner, 78-year-old lawyer Harry Whittington, in the face, neck and chest with birdshot.

According to Katharine Armstrong, one of the owners of the ranch on which Cheney and Whittington were hunting quail, Whittington shot at a quail and went to go look for it while Cheney went on looking for more quail. In Armstrong’s own words, Whittington “came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself.”

She then went on to tell the Associated Press, “The vice-president didn't see him. The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And, by God, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good.”

Armstrong admits that Whittington was a little shaken up, but he was not badly hurt. Luckily for him, Cheney’s medical team was able to tend to him immediately. The vice-president always travels with his medical team because of his history of heart attacks. After he was stabilized, Whittington was airlifted to a local hospital where he underwent further treatment.

This should have been the end of the story, but the media had different plans. They were upset, and rightfully so, that information about the accident was not made available to them until the day after it happened. However, the information was not completely classified. A local newspaper in Corpus Christi, Texas, ran a story about the accident on their Web site Saturday. After being contacted by the media, the White House confirmed the story.

Then the media frenzy began. I personally think the White House press corps felt a little slighted knowing that they were not the first ones to break the news. Most notably, and verbally, I might add, was NBC chief White House correspondent David Gregory who aggressively questioned and, at one point, yelled at White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan before a scheduled press conference. He was more than a little upset when, while Gregory was asking questions about the incident, McClellan made a somewhat insulting comment toward him that implied he poses for the camera whenever he asks questions.

These guys are usually the first ones to report on any news coming from the White House, and one has to imagine they must have felt irritated, to say the least, being scooped by a local newspaper on what has become a top story across the nation.

But I digress.

The real issue here is how the media has blown this story out of the stratosphere. Since the story broke only three days ago, I have read numerous news stories and columns and heard the ramblings of countless pundits speculating on everything from whether or not Cheney was drunk at the time of the shooting to whether Cheney was upset with Whittington at the time. One of the newest stories is Cheney did not have the $7 stamp to shoot game birds on his hunting license when the accident occurred, which lead to a citation but no fine.

This story has already been lampooned almost to death by the likes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and every other late night talk show host in the nation, and it has only been a week. The media are having a field day with this story, and it is only the beginning.

The latest development in the story is Whittington had a silent heart attack Tuesday, caused by arterial blockage from one of the birdshot pellets. The heart attack was more of an irregular heartbeat than an actual heart attack. Doctors seem to think he is still in no real danger and will make a full recovery.

Still, the stories persist.

Since Cheney has been in office he has not be perceived as a nice, amicable man. He is often portrayed as an evil, clandestine, money hungry politician by the media. Whether or not he actually is is a matter of opinion, but this story has done nothing to help his poor public image.

While I will grant the Cheney should have been more forthcoming in the way he handled the situation, I ask myself what I would do if I were in his place. What would my first reaction be after I accidentally shot a friend on a hunting trip? Would I, like Cheney, make sure he received the medical treatment he needed and do everything in my power to assure his safety and comfort? Of course I would. Would my next thought be to hold a press conference outlining the tragedy that just took place? Probably not.

Think about what happens after a tragic accident, which, from my understanding, is exactly what this is. If a friend of yours were accidentally shot, how clear would your mind be? I do not think it would very clear at all.

Everyone makes mistakes. I know we always want our celebrities and politicians to be perfect, but that is not real life. Cheney made a mistake in not immediately telling the media what had happened. But consider yourselves: are you always quick to admit your mistakes and accidents to everyone? I think Cheney deserves a break. Sure, he made a mistake, but he accidentally shot a friend of his. I am sure he feels bad enough about it without all the media hoopla. Accidents happen, and I think it is time we moved on with our lives. Let the story die, because if you do not, the media never will.

When the Associate Press reported a few weeks ago about the outrage erupting in the Islamic world over the publication of a series of political cartoons in a Danish newspaper depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammad in various satirical poses, most notably the one with his turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse, I was left dumbfounded.

Muslims across the Middle East took to the streets and began protesting against the cartoons in great numbers. Protesters became increasingly violent, throwing rocks through the windows of Danish embassies and governmental building in the Middle East and then burning them down.

Muslims leaders in countries like Iran and Syria started making public speeches demanding righteous Muslims bomb Denmark for publishing the cartoons and advocating the death of the artists.

Since that time, numerous other newspapers across the European Union have published these cartoons in support of Denmark, opening them up to the same criticisms and violent outbursts that were directed at Denmark by the Islamic world.

This has only fueled the flames of outrage throughout many Islamic countries. Demonstrations have become so violent that police and security forces have had to utilize deadly force to stop the crowds. Countries throughout the European Union have denounced the violence and some are trying to work with Islamic leaders to calm the fury these cartoons have generated.

Many fear retribution from the Islamic world if they publish the controversial cartoons. Even the illustrious Associated Press, from which many publications get pictures for national and international news stories, has taken it upon themselves to censor the inflammatory images.

Let me reiterate, because that last little tidbit needs to be said again. The Associated Press has refused to distribute the images of the cartoons to the numerous newspapers, magazines and other publications that use their wire service. They have, in effect, made an editorial decision for almost every newspaper and magazine in the country without their consent.

It is not the place for organizations like the Associated Press, Reuters or any other one for that matter to decide for the world what can and cannot be shown. While this has certainly made these cartoons more difficult to obtain and publish, it has not made them completely unavailable, as any Internet search will show.

But that is not the point.

Another disturbing thing that has happened in the wake of this controversy is the admission by President George W. Bush that the European newspapers were partly at fault for publishing the controversial cartoons. Bush denounced the violence, but claimed that while the media has the right to express itself freely, it must act responsibly in that expression. This stance was quickly endorsed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). After about a week, the Bush Administration apologized for sounding like they were siding with the protestors and not the Danes and took a more hard-line stance, claiming some Middle East nations, like Iran and Syria, are using the controversy to incite anti-American sentiments across the Islamic world.

I think President Bush missed a big opportunity here. He could have used this to unite the nation and the world against radical Islam. Never before in the U.S. led War on Terror have so many nations across Europe seen radical Islam for what it really is. Countries all over Europe are standing up for freedom of speech and the press, rights guaranteed to all Americans by the First Amendment, and what does Bush do? He slaps them right in the face. Ideals as central to the American way of life as freedom of speech and press are being assaulted, and we as a nation should be outraged.

Now I know it is against Islamic teachings to depict the prophet Mohammad in any way. From what I have read and learned, this practice was imposed mainly to deter idolatry. But even so, the reaction to these cartoons is completely ridiculous.

It is made even more ridiculous when one takes into account the cartoons were published in an Egypt almost four months ago without so much as a peep from any imam or sheik, according to the Web site littlegreenfootballs.com. If the name is not familiar, they were one of the four Web sites that discovered the memos Dan Rather referred to as credible sources alleging President Bush did not serve in the National Guard during Vietnam were actually fake.

Where was the outrage four months ago? Egypt is over 90 percent Muslim, but the rest of the world heard nothing about these cartoons until a Danish newspaper republished them.

And do not, for one second, think that westerners could not and would not feel any differently if the cartoons concerned something sacred to us. It happens every day. Irans President Mohammad Khatami announced a contest to see if westerners could do just that. He called for artists to create cartoons depicting scenes from the holocaust in a less than reverent way.
This is not the same thing. It is not even in the same ballpark. One was a violation of religious dogma and the other was the extermination of over 6,000,000 Jews. There is no comparison. President Khatami just wants to ruffle the wests feathers.

We, as Americans, should be outraged. How much sense does it make that Muslims across Europe and the Middle East are protesting depictions of Mohammad that show him with a bomb for a turban by burning down buildings and threatening to bomb the offending countries? These supposed holy men are advocating the deaths of those responsible for both the creation and the publication of the cartoons.

These are the people we are fighting in the War on Terror. It is these radical fundamentalists who take to the streets, burn down buildings and threaten the lives of others, all in the name of religion, who we must overcome.

This is not about cartoons. This is about freedom of speech. This is about the ideals upon which this country was founded. This is a war on an intellectual and idealistic scale. We must protect our freedoms, even at the cost of angering a few religious zealots who would rather encourage violence than peaceful negotiations.

I have to get a few things off my chest. It has only been two weeks, but already people are starting to piss me off here at Cal State Long Beach. My fellow students seem to have no regard for anyone other than themselves, and it shows. People are rude here on campus. They come to class late, they come to class sick, they are boorish to professors and they are disrespectful to other students, but the list could go on and on. The fact is a lot of people here at CSULB are rude, and they do not seem to care.

There could be many reasons for this. We are a commuter campus, so there is no inherent camaraderie among the student body. We have very few, if any, reasons to hang out on campus. Our sports enthusiasm is lack-luster at best. There is no place on campus for students to just hang out other than the student union. There is no reason to stay on campus. There is no reason to build up relationships with our fellow students because, at the end of the day, almost all of us go home.

Maybe that is why almost no one gives a rat’s ass about anyone else here on campus.

Take, for example, the people who come late to class. Now I know there are always legitimate reasons for being late. There was an accident on the freeway, maybe you had car trouble or a family emergency, or some other significant thing came up that caused you to be late to class. But all too often people just oversleep, leave too late or spend time finishing up some assignment they were supposed to have started weeks, if not months, ago. They come in and disrupt the class, shuffle noisily to their seat and ruffle through their backpacks before getting settled. All the while, everyone else is trying to politely ignore them while still paying attention to the professor. It is hard enough to take notes and participate in class, especially a difficult one, without the added distraction of someone who couldn’t get their act together and get to class on time. Or they could just do us all a favor not come at all.

But the late student isn’t the only character in the rogues gallery of rude students. There is also the sick student. You know the kind. They will sit there in class and hack up a lung, spreading their infectious pestilence across the classroom. Lord help you if you happen to be sitting next to or in front of the contaminated one. You are almost always in his or her direct line of fire when they spew their diseased spittle from their gaping craws. Sometimes you encounter the polite sicky, the one who courteously excuses themselves to get a drink of water to help suppress their cough. This is all well and good, except inevitably this person will excuse himself or herself at least a dozen times before class is over, which means, you guessed it, more distractions for the rest of the class. Hey sick guy. Yeah you, with the red face, slight fever and drool hanging from your lip, do us both a favor and stay home so you can get better and not infect me in the process.

Another thing I love is when someone will beg and plead with a professor to let them into a class, and once they get in, they stop coming until there is a paper due or a test to take. I know this happens all the time, but just because it is the norm does not mean it is right or acceptable.

I remember this happening in at least two of my classes last semester. One girl claimed she was a senior and needed the class to graduate, so like most professors, this one let her add the class. The very next day the girl was absent. She was absent the day after that, and the day after that. She was absent every day up until the first midterm. How is that for respect? The professor graciously allowed her into the class and the girl repaid her kindness by skipping class every day except test days. That is just incredible.

If respect isn’t dead, it is in desperate need of a vital transplant of some kind because it is hanging by a thread. There is never an excuse to be rude. Never. The world does not revolve around you and your friends, so stop thinking it does. People need to stop messing around and start taking school seriously. It is no wonder the once “four-year-schools” have become more “five-to-seven-year-schools.” When people don’t take things seriously nothing gets accomplished. You are all paying for this education in some way or another. Would you treat any other investment the way you treat your schooling? I really hope not.