Jaw-dropping stupidity that nobody in these US or UK governments notices or figures out that they’re trying to buy shipping ports and now airports for nefarious purposes and aren’t just folding them in to their portfolio as if it was just an incidental, casual “investment.”

Thanks Debbie for your excellent reporting on our steady demise.

DS_ROCKS! on August 23, 2012 at 2:20 pm

Everyone is treating it as an investment.

But no foreigner should be allowed to buy or control sensitive industries or assets in a foreign county. Its only common sense, right?

But that’s why Londonistan along with the rest of Europe is being folded into Islam’s embrace. No one can say “no” to wealthy Arabs buying up the West.

And as every one knows, with money comes control and its usually none to the good. As in Heathrow.

NormanF on August 23, 2012 at 2:32 pm

The west certainly has a death wish.

John on August 23, 2012 at 2:34 pm

In the case of the Dubai Ports deal, Rush’s support of it was even more inane considering that the UAE was one of 3 countries that recognized the Taliban before 9/11, and that some of its emirs were buddies w/ Osama.

And Qatar – it is, or was – one of the 2 Wahabi countries in the world. Which is a part of why al Jazeera is al Qaeda’s favorite channel, and was Osama’s chosen chennel to give his interviews.

Japanese owning everything sounds like heaven. Hey, even the Chinese owning everything doesn’t sound so bad.

Infidel on August 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm

Debbie they might as well buy all the UK airports. Muslims are already running the security theater in all of them. A heavily Muslim screener in Gatwick snatched away my contraband Diet Coke a couple of summers ago. Meanwhile the women in burqas were probably smuggling RPG’s.

A1 on August 23, 2012 at 2:54 pm

Yup…. and Mohammed and Hamida are breezing through airport security in Europe and Islamic terrorists are laughing at us!

Londonistan is already good as gone. We’re getting there very slowly but we’ll get there soon enough!

NormanF on August 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm

Thank you Debbie for pointing out this important news item and its significance. The average person would think that 20% control of BAA (the entity now majority controlled by Spain’s Ferrovial, with a 39.4% stake), which owns Heathrow Airport, is not significant. And, indeed, the media has played up on that impression by positing Qatar Holding’s 20% acquisition as “just an investment.” (Qatar Holding is the direct investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority.) Not true!

AQs Debbie has presented it, this stake is significant–and she is absolutely correct, even from a technical accounting perspective, as well as in a practical operational sense.

Although this stake only makes Qatar the third largest shareholder in BAA, and 20% control is typically called a “minority interest,” this deal gives Qatar Holding much more influence than the percentage interest may suggest.

According to Interenational Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) significant influence may be gained through agreement, by statute, or by means of share ownership. Under the provisions of International Accounting Standard (“IAS”) 24, AN ENTITY IS DEEMED TO POSSESS THE ABILITY TO EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IF IT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY THROUGH SUBSIDIARIES HOLDS 20% OR MORE OF THE VOTING POWER OF ANOTHER ENTITY (unless it can be clearly demonstrated that despite holding such voting power the investor does not have the ability to exercise significant influence over the investee).

Furthermore, Qatar Holding gets two seats on BAA’s Board of Directors. When you add in that Heathrow is nowhere near as regulated as airports in the United States, airport “security” could easily become little more than a word for passengers.

As the late, great Hollywood prodcuer Samuel Goldwyn used to say, “You can include me out”—when it comes to air travel to Heathrow, if at all possible.

Ralph Adamo on August 23, 2012 at 3:54 pm

Deny British Air access to US soil.

As Goes... on August 23, 2012 at 4:05 pm

Qatar is also buying Stansted Airport too.

BAA to sell Stansted Airport to Qatar Holding
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/53499

K on August 24, 2012 at 1:51 am

Norman, the Japs & Chinese owning things is not a big problem (in the latter case, as long as it doesn’t mean Beijing owning things). But I was thinking about lee Iacocca’s books where he used to complain a lot about the former.

I follow the protectionists vs the free traders arguments that have gone on for ever, but when it comes to the likes of these sheikhs from Sowdi Barbaria, Qatar, Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrein buying up valuable Western assets, it’s a whole different ball game altogether. The previous issue was more of an economic debate as to whether trade deficits help or hurt an economy, whereas this one is about whether Muslims can ultimately get to enslave us by the power of their money. That very thought makes me cringe.

Infidel on August 24, 2012 at 3:46 am

So much for England.

Fred on August 24, 2012 at 8:18 am

After abject poverty, Qatar now have money flowing like water in their laps. They are getting crazy with their new wealth.

Now listen to this too; Our Foolish department of State was encouraging Qatar to lease the Suez Canal for 99 years for the incredible sum of three billion dollars a year. HUH. The Suez Canal brings some seven Billion Dollars a year to Egypt. Who is the stupid ass who would allow such a gangestership to occur. The Copts rose rabble about the deal until it died down. Hopefully to day of ressurection.

I don’t know who is feeding these ideas to these lousy Arabs. May be it Sherazad.

G. R. SWcharoubim on August 24, 2012 at 11:23 am

Let’s think muzzie style.

The reason the muzzs chose British Airlines is to leverage the availability of “gaining” entry into US airspace.

We know why, too.

As Goes... on August 24, 2012 at 11:47 am

In 2006, I attended a military sensor symposium near Orlando. On one of the days, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, spoke on a book he had written about the then “current Long War,” and what was really at the root- a market breakout with Islam as the symbiotic vehicle with their money. I thought it a bit out of left field, but it has begun to appear that way.
Currently, I have been reading a bookk entitled, “Napoleon’s Egypt.” It’s about what the French attempted to do, and the Egyptian and Ottoman Muslims did during the late 1790’s A.D- their tactics, battles, and business accumen etc. Seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
“It’s a giant s*it sandwich, and we’re all gonna hafta take a bite.” Ficticious USMC 2nd LT, “Movie-Full Metal Jacket”

Sick_Boy on August 24, 2012 at 5:22 pm

this is just horrible.

Dave on August 25, 2012 at 2:54 am

Let us also remember that Qatar (along with all the other Arab dictatorships) operate State owned “corporations.” They are NOT capitalists! (that is a shared feature with Communist China — and does anyone believe China would ever side with America in time of a crisis? Of course not — just as China and Russia protect Iran at the UN. So I don’t want to see China or Arab states acquiring vital Western assets.

J.S. on August 27, 2012 at 11:47 am

Have you guys heard yourselves?
The rubbish you guys are typing on here is just pathetic.
Owning a % of a company/organisation does not mean you completley have full control of it.
and especially owning 10/20% would definatley not mean you control the whole company. you would be a mojor shareholder.
If it was not for arabs/chinese/brazilian/japanese money being invested in the west then we would really be in troublesome times.
the amount of jobs and investment that has been pumped inti the west, we should be grateful that they choose to invest the money in our countries.
so pleae go and do some of your own reasearch and maybe you will start seeing the bigger picture rather than reading some crap on random sites which are controlled by some strange people. that is what you should be more worried about. what these people are feeing your and your kids minds with crap that has no facts.

P.S to the person who had their diet coke taken away by security at a aiport… what did you expect you moron?
because you still connot give up drinking somehing that is not good for you and your stupid enough to try and take it onto a plane through security and had it taken from you..
they should have given you a fine also for being so stupid.
so people go do your own research about everything vefore writing absolute rubbish b

shahid al hussain on August 30, 2012 at 3:07 pm