UAE/ports sentiment: discrimination or caution?

The public backlash against a United Arab Emirates company, Dubai Ports World, taking over operations at six U.S. ports is being blamed on racism by some in the Arab community. But Dubai served as a money transfer center for al-Qaida and money was wired to the Sept. 11 hijackers from Dubai banks just before the attacks. A year and a half ago, USA Today reported the city still serves as a logistical hub for Osama bin Laden's operatives. And 11 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers entered the U.S. on flights from Dubai in the final preparatory stages for the attack. But President Bush insists the deal poses no security risk.

Is the opposition to a Dubai-based company having major access to our ports just post-9/11 paranoid racism, or justifiable concern and caution?

OK, who's the wise guy?

Assemblyman Peter Biondi of Somerset County wants to be able to find out who says nasty things about him on the Internet. That's what I'm gathering from his bill to require Internet service providers to keep track of the names and addresses of all who post comments on their Web sites. Biondi's bill would enable the subject of a defamatory remark to request and receive the name and address of the person who posted it. A little intimidating. And a lot of harm to freedom of speech.

Should people - most likely public officials and others in positions of authority who would be singled out in such postings - be able to find out who said what about them? Or will that prevent forum users from "speaking" their minds in their posts?

Turf or grass -- who makes the decision?

Barnegat school and township officials are discussing the possibility of the town ponying up $750,000 to cover the high school's football field with artificial turf. School officials say if the town doesn't help them out, recreational athletic leagues would have to find another field because there is too much wear and tear on the grass. Another debate in town is whether turf is safer or more dangerous, and if it should be an option at all.

But officials also said this arrangement would be a way to avoid the cost and time of putting the issue to the voters in the form of a referendum, as required for school projects of this magnitude. Is this type of expense something voters should have their say in, either through special referendum or in a question in the general election in the fall? Or should they put their trust - and tax money, because it's coming from there no matter who pays for the artificial grass - in the officials on this one?

$100,000 worth of pleasure

Brick Township's insurer will pay out $100,000 to settle a lawsuit by a sex-shop owner. The town and the owner have been in legal battles since the Pleasure Zone opened in 1992. This closes out most of their cases, save a few nuisance charges relating to the booths inside the business. I really don't want to know further details about those ....

Was the town right in settling? Officials say if they were ordered to pay the legal fees, it could have run much higher, and their settlement doesn't stipulate that the store has the right to remain there. The owner says he's just a hard-working guy, trying to make a living, and doesn't see why his shop - booths and all - has become such an issue. Should local officials continue in their efforts to force the Pleasure Zone to move?

Should keeping kids with parents be DYFS' top goal?

A report issued by Legal Services of New Jersey - featured in a front-page article in the Press Tuesday - urged the state Division of Youth & Family Services to make it a key point to refocus its efforts to keep children with their parents. Should that really be the key point? Shouldn't the safety and well-being of the children be the key point, with helping parents clean up their act and returning the children when the home is deemed stable and secure a secondary goal?

It seems to me that most of the criticism DYFS has received over the last few years has been for NOT intervening rather than for being too intrusive. The Legal Services report points to the psychological harm a child suffers when taken from parents, but some of the residences they are living in aren't truly a "home." Of course removing a child from parental custody is devastating, but that's often the only life the child knows. Isn't getting them out of a bad situation - likely a lifestyle they'll adopt as adults if left unchecked, if they survive - the top priority?

Invading their space in MySpace

MySpace.com is an immensely popular Web site for teens, where they post their photos and personal information and communicate with friends. (See story on MySpace in today's "Whatever" section of the Press.) The site is the hot place for kids, but terrifying for many parents who hear of cyber-stalkers. Plenty of teens are more Internet-savvy than their parents, yet still potentially vulnerable to predators.

Do you allow your teens to keep a MySpace.com page? Do you monitor their pages? What information do you allow them to post?

Hooked on a TV show?

The final season of "The Sopranos" starts up next month after a long hiatus. It was one of the reasons I held on to HBO after my free trial ended. The other reasons were "Six Feet Under" and "Sex and the City," shows I truly looked forward to.

I can't wait to see what's in store for the characters, although I'll miss Adriana ("Christafuh!") and Steve Buscemi's Tony Blundetto was a great, albeit brief, addition.

Every now and then a show really gets a hold on me - "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure" are fond memories. Any shows, past or present, that you absolutely had to record if you couldn't catch an episode?

Parking ticket trouble

Monday's article about pricey parking fines in Red Bank reminds me of when I once parked in what I thought was a visitor's spot at a friend's condo complex. The lines had been repainted and they weren't yet redesignated. The true owner of the unmarked spot had my car towed, cost me a bundle, plus a $75 parking ticket that I fought (and won). My brother once got an expensive parking ticket summons from a town he had never been in. And at the end of the summer of 2005, several out-of-area visitors to Point Pleasant Beach wrote to complain about municipal parking tickets there after the new system was set up. Following complaints, Red Bank officials recently lengthened the parking time limit and added a 15-minute "grace period" for late shoppers.

But parking ticket income is a cash cow for many towns and those meter readers are out in full force all summer. Anyone have a good parking ticket tale? And what's a fair fine for a parking ticket at the Jersey Shore beaches or amusement/shopping/dining venues?

The UAE getting open access to our ports?

The Bush Administration finds no problems with a company from the United Arab Emirates taking over significant operation in six major U.S. ports, including shipping terminals in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. I think it's particularly frightening, as the UAE served as the operational and financial base for the Sept. 11 hijackers, and that nuclear components smuggled to Iran, North Korea and Libya were transferred through there.

A UAE company having open access to our ports, combined with the continued vulnerability of our maritime industry, sounds to me like we're opening the henhouse door for the fox and lighting the way. Is the government taking too light of an attitude on this one -- citing the UAE leaders as allies -- or am I overreacting because of post-911 paranoia?

Personal cell phone conversations ... held in public

A pet peeve of mine: Very personal cell phone conversations in public -- in stores, theaters or public transportation -- especially when the talker lets the conversation take precedence over what he or she should be doing.

In a supermarket recently, someone yapped away through the whole checkout process. The babbling made the babbler take that much more time, and the poor checkout person struggled with trying to not appear to be listening into this "private" conversation vs. knowing when the person was speaking about the transaction.

What kind of awkward or funny moments have you had? Or, if you're having a private conversation in public, should others to "turn their ears'' away?

Stay-at-home vs. working moms

"And you work, too?'' The question -- I'm never sure how to interpret it -- prompts me to launch into an explanation of why I work. Am I admired for juggling work family or scorned as a substandard mother who should have cut out all "extras'' to be home for my children?
A recent article on stay-at-home Moms prompted letters letters from working mothers, defending their status. Some stay-at-home mothers also told me they feel they have to explain why they didn't return to work when their children were in school.
How do the two "sides'' really see each other?