Any Port in the Sea of Corruption, Hong Kong Division

In fact, the Pale was ’a weltering sea of corruption—­the captains out of credit, the soldiers mutinous, the English Government hated; every man seeking his own, and none that which was Christ’s.’ ~ James Godkin, The Land-War in Ireland

After the kerfuffle regarding the sale of U.S. ports to a Dubai firm, you would think that the Bush Administration would have gotten the message that their own people weren't entirely happy with selling port security to foreign governments. Wrong! The latest news from the AP is that our loopy little government is hiring a Hong Kong firm (That's Communist China for you right-wing wackos who are want to to call anyone you disagree with a commie pinko.) to do cargo nuclear security checks in the Bahamas. Duties that would normally go to customs agents will be outsourced to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. of Hong Kong.

Of course, it is a 'no-bid' contract, although I am certain it is not a 'no-bribe' contract. In 1999, the Clinton Administration blocked Hutchison from buying part of the Panama Canal for security reasons. In 2003, White House darling Richard Pearle negotiated the sale of bankrupt Global Crossing to Hutchison. The FBI opposed this saying it would gain control of contracts for secure Pentagon communications. (Source: Wikipedia) A military intelligence report cited Hutchison in 1999 with close ties to the People's Liberation Army and as a potential risk for smuggling arms and other prohibited materials into the United States from the Bahamas.

The AP article quotes Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), "We must not allow an unwarranted fear of foreign ownership or involvement in offshore operations to impair our ability to protect against nuclear weapons being smuggled into this country."

In fairness, Hutchison does have facilities already in the Bahamas.