Trump administration forces China to sell the Port of Long Beach

The Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security has forced China’s state-owned Costco to sell the Port of Long Beach over security concerns.

China’s Costco Shipping Holdings, which bought out its 75 percent-owned Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas International (OOCL), was forced to sell its Port of Long Beach Container Terminal ownership to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for $1.78 billion.

The Obama administration had no problems with OOCL signing a 40-year lease with the City of Long Beach in 2012 for control of America’s second largest and most automated container handling operation. The sweetheart deal was part of the “Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program" to fund a $1.5 billion expansion through 2020.

But one of the first major actions of the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security in March 2017 was issuing a ‘Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.’ national-security hold on Costco’s acquisition of a former U.S. Navy port facility.

China operates six of the world’s 10 busiest container ports. The Chinese government has also funded the construction and operations of 43 ports in 35 countries under its ‘One Belt and One Road’ (OBOR) initiative launched five years ago, according to China’s Ministry of Transport.

As part of its efforts to gain asset dominance, China has directed its’ state-owned companies to exclusively buy products and services from other Chinese state-owned enterprises. As a result, China International Marine Containers Group has become the world’s largest maker of shipping containers and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries has gained a 70 percent international market share for port cranes, and now exports to 300 ports in 100 countries.

Under the Macquarie acquisition terms, Orient Overseas International will pocket a $1.29 billion profit and still control vessel and rail traffic at the container facilities for the next twenty years.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/05/trump_administration_forces_china_to_sell_the_port_of_long_beach.html

May 7, 2019

Journalists forgetting the difference between news and opinion pieces

By Jack Hellner

A significant number of journalists’ articles today actually are opinion pieces posing as news or are Democrat talking points. A good example of this is an article from the Associated Press* on Clarence Thomas. In it, the writers use dog whistle terms for leftists and progressives by saying Thomas involved in “pretty radical decisions” and that he is on the far right. Those are obviously opinions of the journalists, not facts. They should list his decisions and let the public decide for themselves if they are extreme or radical.

*https://www.apnews.com/fbb07af9d5254aecbbab9422faf405ba

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/05/journalists_forgetting_the_difference_between_news_and_opinion_pieces.html

Royal expert predicts Meghan and Harry baby could be named after Alexander Hamilton

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/royal-expert-predicts-meghan-and-harry-baby-could-be-named-after-alexander-hamilton

Baby in Gaza killed by Islamic Jihad rocket, not Israel: Report

One of the terror organizations responsible for the recent barrage of attacks against Israel admitted that a malfunction with its own rocket killed a baby in Gaza after previously blaming Israel.

A report from the Telegram account of Hamas’ al-Risala News was published Sunday and said that the 14-month child was killed by a Gazan rocket that exploded inside of the family’s home, there are also reports that a woman also died in the Saturday blast. The report was quickly deleted, the Jerusalem Post reports.

“There is a claim that the technical failure was caused by low-grade explosives in the rocket,” it said. “There is no doubt that the baby’s death has nothing to do with the enemy’s [Israel’s] planes.”

After the death, Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza blamed Israel for the death, but the Israeli Defense Forces immediately disputed the claim, tweeting: “Yesterday, Palestinian weapons caused the tragic death of a mother in Gaza and her baby. Hamas blamed Israel. Journalists amplified the lie. Our assessment indicates that the incident had nothing to do with IDF strikes.”

Islamic Jihad representatives have reportedly met with the family of the dead child and offered them compensation in exchange for their silence on the matter.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/baby-in-gaza-killed-by-islamic-jihad-rocket-not-israel-report