Think Progress has the latest--

Dubai Firm Giving Up U.S. Ports Deal

Sen. John Warner (R-VA) "says a Dubai-owned company has decided to give up its management stake in some U.S. ports," CBS News reports. More:

The news comes shortly after Republican congressional leaders told President Bush that both the House and Senate appeared ready to block the controversial deal that would have given DP World operational control of several U.S. ports.

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would be enough to cool widespread sentiment in Congress to pass legislation blocking the deal, which has become an election-year nightmare for Republicans.

UPDATE: CNN says the firm will "transfer fully the U.S. operation of P&O ports in North America to a U.S. entity."

"A U.S. entity?" Could it be Haliburton?

Another thing to note: it's a management stake, not ownership stake, that DPW is giving up. The deal will still go through but the management will go either to Haliburton or to some U.S. subidiary of DPW.

Stay tuned campers.

Just hopped over to WaPo and this is how they're reporting it:

Dubai Port Company to Divest Itself of American Holdings

The United Arab Emirates company that was attempting to take over management operations at six U.S. ports announced today that it will divest itself of all American interests.

The announcement appears to head off a major confrontation that was brewing between Congress and the Bush administration over the controversial deal.

And here is the NYTimes:

Dubai Company to Transfer U.S. Ports to American Company

DP World, the United Arab Emirates state-owned port terminal operator which had agreed to buy several port terminals in the United States, said today that it will transfer those properties to an American-owned company, bowing to a political groundswell against the acquisition.

The decision came just hours after a delegation of Republican leaders in Congress told President Bush in an Oval Office meeting that Congress would act within days to block the company's acquisition of the United States port terminals in the name of national security, lawmakers present said.

...

The announcement did not immediately mollify Democrats, though Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, a chief critic of the deal, called it a promising development. But he said that if the Dubai-owned company ultimately retained control over the port operations, "I don't think our goals would be accomplished and obviously we will need to study this agreement carefully."

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, concurred. "We will have to wait and see what is really going to happen," Mr. Reid said.

I guess we will.

All that money for naught now.

There are still plenty of issues, the question is if the democrats will have the balls to address any of those other issues or just do as usual and cower in the corner like frigthened little girls.

Medicare.

Iraq.

Pharma protectionism.

Environmental disaster that is the legacy of the Dumbya administration.

Katrina,The disaster of billions and billions of dollars and there is nothing to show for it in the Gulf Coast.

OF course that would mean democrats would have to take on the Corporate Masters of Congress and we know they won't do that even with a gun to their heads.

Corporatism rules America now and democrats are just as frightened of them as are ReThugs. So none of the above will be addressed.

Such a shame too, it's a nice country we live in and democrats are too frightened to take it back for us.

Since this is now a non-issuse, perhaps you might want to replace the ship with a roof top with people on it with the slogan of "Where were the Republicans when New Orleans was sinking"?

It's all a moot billboard point now.

Tell the folks in Tennessee that one of their cities has been invaded by crooks, cheats, liars, and traitors.

It may be a done deal--or it may not. According to Chuck Schumer, ...obviously this is a promising development but, of course, the devil is in the details. I think those of us who feel strongly about this issue believe that the U.S. part of the British company should have no connection to the United Arab Emirates or DP World, which is fully owned by the United Arab Emirates. So therefore, we would have to examine this proposal. The bottom line is, again, if the U.S. operations are fully independent in every way, that could indeed be promising. If on the other hand there is still ultimate control exercised by DP World, I don’t think our goals would be accomplished and obviously we’ll need to study this agreement carefully.

(HT Think Progress for the transcript)

Of course the port security was never part of the deal, but the DNC has never been a big stickler for the facts.

Chuck,

Like TN cities weren't invaded already??? After all, we do have a massive ethics investigation going on that crosses both party lines. Everyone is dirty here!

Let's not forget that an "American" company that is every bit as "patriotic" as Halliburton has interests in the deal--the Carlyle Group, featuring the never-popular GHWB and, formerly, the "good" bin Ladens who flew back home shortly after helping Bush accomplish 9/11. Unfortunately, another Bush family business involvement had long since gone the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon. Remember Silverado?

Obviously, too few people in this country have good memories or are informed or analytical on current events, because GHWB was by no means the last member of his felonious family to attain political office. If Dubai is indeed a dead issue, or even if it's not, these root causes are what we should be instilling into people's collective consciousness, and in a way that ties the rest of the G.reedy O.bstinate P.igs to them as well.

> Of course the port security was never part of the deal,
> but the DNC has never been a big stickler for the facts.

Ah yes, when in need of facts, consult the RNC. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Regardless of the outcome of this Dubai hang up, our ports are still controlled by foreign nations all over the place. I'm a proud Democrat, but pulling this latest fiasco will ultimately hurt the DNC. We, as a whole entity need to start promoting world wide unity with all countries with good intentions and who publicly back the US. It seems that the current policy of the DNC is to fight whatever Bush or the RNC is trying to do instead of developing a nation wide platform.

This port deal never posed a security risk past what security risks are in place. Our Customs Department sucks and the Coast Guard sucks, and those are the entities that need to be reformed and improved.

If you move to block Dubai, move to block China, Saudi, and every other foreign nation "MANAGING" our ports. Let's kick out any foreign airline managing terminals in our International Airports. If you're going to back something, believe in it and believe in it all the way.

+1 to Bush on this port deal

-1 to Congress, the DNC, and the RNC for failing to help unify the US with our business partners

Of course it's obvious that mainstream America is severely out of touch, uneducated, or just don't care, thus the reason Bush is in office in the first place.

As the Republicans Split the Democrates Unite!

Now, Get rid of all the Complainers of Democrrats, and we will look like one!

The reason Bush is in Office is that he stole the election and started a war with Iraq?

I just gave to support the Signs on Trucks because I can't volenteer to drive a truck or give a truck.

"Let everyone give something to the truck advertisment either time or truck or money?"

We as the Democratic Public, it is our duty to give our time to drive a Truck and or give a truck for a sign to be mounted on it! Or give a big fat check to hire someone else to do your support.

Do the Republicans have any Plans or do they just Wing it?

One thing about Republicans,they will stick together when it counts and will never give up power easily. We will have to take it and use any method in doing it. No more let's be friends and debate crap like the last two elections. Voters want to know the candidatse because they already know the issues.Politics has always been a dirty game but Democrats have forgotten what we used to do when we won most elections. We were tougher and meaner and we used everything we could lay our hands on to win and we took no prisoners.You can call it what you want but that is what it will take to get back to sanity in this country.When Judge O'Conner warns us of falling into a dictatorship, it is time to get tough again and fight these scoundrels with every thing we have.Nothing less will work.

I'm not quite sure I am following this billboard story correctly.
Does going with the mobile forfmat mean that wehave more or less given up on trying to post in the larger format because of the corporate interference that arose ? I sure hope not. I find the portables sort of ... well, puny-looking, actually. Can somebody out three update me?