To the Point

Dubai, Port Security and Ethnic Stereotyping

Dubai Ports World won't take over terminals at six American ports until the Bush Administration has tried a selling job on the Congress. The State of New Jersey and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are going to court to stop it and Congress may pass legislation as soon as next week. Still, President Bush insists he'll veto any new law and that that treating Dubai as less trustworthy than other countries sends a "signal to the Middle East" that would be "disastrous." With foreign companies already running most American ports, what is the Arab reaction to the outcry over Dubai? Is America's political crisis fueled by a real threat or stereotypes formed since September 11? What does it mean for Arab-Americans? Making News: Clerics Call for End to Violence Restores Relative Calm in IraqAn extraordinary daytime curfew helped establish a degree of calm in Iraq today, but discovery of 29 bodies, killed execution-style, brought the death toll to nearly 200 since the Shiite Golden Mosque was destroyed two days ago. President Bush has expressed appreciation at calls for peace and unification by Iraqi religious leaders, including the Grand Ayatollah Sistani. Borzou Daragahi is in Baghdad for the Los Angeles Times.Reporter's Notebook: New Orleans on Eve of Mardi GrasDespite some local grumbling that it's not appropriate yet, on Tuesday New Orleans will stage its first Mardi Gras since Katrina. There have already been some parades, one with an empty float to remember 1,000 dead and 2,000 still missing. We get an account of what's happening from humorist and political commentator Harry Shearer. When he's not in Hollywood or on tour he lives part-time in the French Quarter, and he's there now.