Valley of the Wolves, the viruently anti-American and anti-Semitic Turkish film, is playing to cheering crowds of Muslims in Germany. The Telegraph reports:

The production went on general release in Germany a fortnight ago and has had full houses ever since. More than 130,000 people, most of them young Muslims, saw the film in the first five days of its opening. At a packed cinema in a largely Turkish immigrant district of Berlin last week, Valley of the Wolves was being watched almost exclusively by young Turkish men. They clapped furiously when the Turkish hero of the film was shown blowing up a building occupied by the United States military commander in northern Iraq.

In the closing sequence, the hero is shown plunging a dagger into the heart of a US commander called Sam, played by Billy Zane. The audience responded by standing up and chanting “Allah is great!”

It’s tough to take that sort of reaction to a film in which an actor playing a Jewish doctor cuts out organs from Muslim prisoners and American soldiers brutalize innocent civilians. We want to be seen as the good guys, and it’s clear that we’re very often not seen that way.

We’re not in Iraq because we want to be loved; we’re there to change the intolerable status quo of the Middle East, but seeing Valley of the Wolves cheered takes all the inspiration out of internationalism.

Meanwhile, Germany’s leadership is struggling with how to react to the movie, given its concern about anti-Semitism. Kenan Kolat, a leader of Germany’s Turkish community provided the only viable answer:

“If it is withdrawn, it will raise levels of identification with the film. A democracy must be able to endure films that it doesn’t approve of.”

Kolat, to his credit, was sharply critical about Imams urging Kartoonistan violence, but his voice is outnumbered by the shriller voices of Islam. The Muslim punks cheering Valley of the Wolves in a country that must allow such filth to be showed are probably the same ones who want Danish newspapers to be closed down for running cartoons they pretend offense at.

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I’m beginning to like the Dubai ports deal more and more — after all, it got the LA Times to lead off it’s high-profile Sunday editorial page with a full-barrel blast at California’s oh-so-junior senator, Babs Boxer.

The LAT position is interesting. While it routinely slams new development, not caring that it is attacking the state’s number one business in terms of sales (that would be real estate), here the paper recognizes the importance of international trade to the state, and the importance of global management to the ports:

Memo to Boxer: 13 of the 14 container terminals at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach, the biggest port complex in the U.S., are run by foreign-owned companies.

How many of those are run by Islamic countries — even relatively enlightened ones like UAE — the Times leaves unclear.

The Times then harkens back to the 1998 COSCO deal, when China’s international trade company wanted to move from its existing LA berths to a closed naval station nearby. Clinton supported the deal, Boxer loudly supported the deal, the public hated the deal, and it died.

Now that a Republican is, however clumsily, promoting a similarly controversial dock deal, Babs is a ranting anti-internationalist. She called last week for legislation preventing any foreign firm, state-owned or not, from buying port operators, i.e., the Clinton-Menendez bill. When she found out that nearly all LA ports were foreign-operated, she “told The Times that she meant such deals should get greater scrutiny, not be banned.”

Why so suddenly anti-global? It could be that things have changed since 9/11. They have, and that’s why so many of us on the right were shocked by the Dubai docks deal. LAT posits a more probable explanation for Babs’ behavior, however:

One possible explanation is that the Cosco deal was heavily backed by a Democratic administration, while the Dubai Ports World deal is heavily backed by a Republican administration. But that would mean Boxer is working against the interests of her state in order to score cheap political points. She would never do such a thing. Would she?

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In a show of what’s right with the French Republic, tens of thousands marched in Paris this morning to honor the violent death of a young Jew, Ilan Halimi, and make a plea for the elimination of anti-Semitism.

Halimi was a young man of 23 when he was kidnapped by a gang after being enticed by a young woman. Three weeks later, he was found naked with horrific burn and stab injuries. He died on the way to the hospital.

The suspected gang leader, who has been arrested, apparently picked Halimi because he was a Jew, and therefore presumed to be rich. After all, they run all the banks, right?

A leading French Jew said at the demonstrations, “It’s important for French society to realise that little anti-Semitic and racist prejudices can have terrible consequences.”

True indeed, but let’s go farther: It is important for Islamic society to realize that rampant, virulent anti-Semitism can have even more terrible consequences, like having presidents of important nations pledging to “wipe Israel off the map.” The holy men of Islam continue to allow anti-Semitism to flourish in their countries, despite the teachings of the Koran — which they hold so dear in other cases.

Where is the brave and forceful Muslim who will lead this faith to reform?

Note: Agence France Presse reports: “Although the gang allegedly includes whites, blacks and Arabs, media attention has focused on its Muslim members, stoking animosity between members of France’s 500,000-strong Jewish community and the five-million-strong Muslim population.”

Source and photo credit: BBC
Related Tags: Anti-Semitism, Halimi, France, Jews, Iran

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Incredible Daughter #1, who stands just 5-foot-2, catches the bouquet at my nephew’s wedding. Look at the reach of that girl! Perhaps a basketball scholarship is in the offing!

Meanwhile, Dad responds with loving cheer at the thought of this 20-year-old first-born wedding anytime soon.

We were so impressed with Tracey’s family, my brother’s big circle of friends, and Tassho and Tracey’s friends. Romeo, Tassho’s best man, didn’t have a drink all through dinner, so he could toast Tassho with style. I told him afterwards that it showed great respect for his friend, and he bear hugged me with thanks.

We saw the wonder of deeply rooted families and friends tonight, and it was good.

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In February, this exchange occurred between reporter Oliver Feingold and Ken “Red Ken” Livingstone, the mayor of London, after Feingold asked the mayor a question:

Livingstone: “What did you do [before you were a reporter]? Were you a German war criminal?”

Finegold: “No, I’m Jewish. I wasn’t a German war criminal. I’m actually quite offended by that.”

Livingstone: “Well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard. You’re just doing it ’cause you’re paid to, aren’t you?”

For this exchange, and for not apologizing for it, Livingstone on Friday was suspended from office by a civil service tribunal for four weeks, reports the Jerusalem Post.

What are Muslims to make of this? Are we for free speech in the West or against it? Is it OK to publish cartoons of Mohammed that might offend, but not OK to say things about Jews that might offend?

Or do we really not know what we believe in when it comes to free speech? Clearly, as they’ve shown time and time again, British civil service boards have no clue. Livingstone’s a bull-headed idiot, but he has a right to say bullheadedly idiotic things.

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The Dubai deal is at one level, a very important level, an emotional deal, a gut-reaction deal. That’s certainly how it hit me.

The only way opinion can change on a matter like this is through new information. That presupposes (1) there will be new information, (2) it won’t be countered by new information from the other side, and (3) people will be exposed to and understand the information.

New information is coming out on the Dubail deal. Particularly influential to the process of changing opinon is information based on personal experience. Dennis Lormel at Counterterrorism Blog has it. He says of the United Arab Emirates:

When I was the Chief of the Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFOS) at the FBI, we maintained direct dealings with the UAE concerning numerous issues. In particular, the UAE Central Bank provided considerable support and was consistently receptive and responsive to requests for information.

As the Dubai Ports World story gained momentum, reports indicated that two 9/11 hijackers came from the UAE and bank accounts supporting 9/11 were maintained in the UAE. It should be noted that the UAE Central Bank provided important information concerning these accounts. In addition, they provided significant account information for other matters pursued by TFOS and companion agencies. In one instance, they facilitated the apprehension of an important TFOS subject.

Actions such as this clearly demonstrate how important an ally the UAE is and the contribution they’ve made to our war on terrorism. While rightfully showing concern about port security, we should not be irresponsible in our rush to judgment. After all is said and done, the UAE is an important ally.

But then there’s information like this, from AP:

WASHINGTON – The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company’s taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent.

The department’s early objections were settled later in the government’s review of the $6.8 billion deal after Dubai-owned DP World agreed to a series of security restrictions. …

Stewart Baker, a senior Homeland Security official, said he was the sole representative on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States who objected to the ports deal. Baker said he later changed his vote after DP World agreed to the security conditions. Other officials confirmed Baker’s account.

“We were not prepared to sign off on the deal without the successful negotiation of the assurances,” Baker told the AP.

Was Baker strong-armed politically, or were his concerns genuinely addressed? As more is learned about the deal, the indications are more that his concerns were, or are being, addressed.

That’s fine and dandy, but in the end, this remains an example of public opinion that is emotion-driven. And Confederate Yankee shows us the numbers:

Just 17% of Americans believe Dubai Ports World should be allowed to purchase operating rights to several U.S. ports. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 64% disagree and believe the sale should not be allowed.

In my experience, numbers that bad stay that bad. You just can’t move the needle that far unless you’ve got a lot of time to do it, and a communicating wizard to do the talking.

There is no time. Active campaigning for the 2006 election starts in three months. There is no wizard. We’ve learned, painfully, that W is no Great Communicator.

The only solution I see is the one I proposed yesterday: Buy time and fix the system.

hat-tip: memeorandum
Related Tags: UAE, Ports, Dubai, Bush

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Seen at a pro-Denmark rally at the Danish embassy in Washington, DC today was this sign, made out of Legos. Wonderful creativity — and so much easier than carving the letters out of Havarti cheese.

hat-tip and more photos: Vodka Pundit
Related Tags: Kartoonistan, Denmark, Cartoons, Islam, Demonstrations, Legos

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There among the 1,177 names engraved in white marble at the Arizona Memorial was A. Pearce, Jr. Was he a relative? I’ve never heard of him, but my father has never been forthcoming on family history or World War II, in which he served on the sub SNN Trutta.

Direct family or not, A. Pearce, Jr. and all 1,177 of the men who died when a Japanese armor-piercing bomb detonated its forward ammunition magazine are our brothers — our heroic brothers who were there when their country called, knowing we were on the verge of war and ready to serve.

Their tears, Navy lore now tells us, bubble to the surface as oil, at a rate of about two quarts a day. Do you see the Founding Fathers, the flag and the Love of Christ in this photo of those tears? I do.

God bless them, and our troops who today have answered the same call.

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This photo is so tropical, you can almost scratch-n-sniff the coconut-scented suntan lotion. It was taken yesterday afternoon on Oahu’s much less developed West side.

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In a much more significant development in oil wars than the recent Nigeria skirmishes, Islamofascist suicide squads have attacked the world’s largest oil processing facility, in Saudi Arabia.

Fortunately, they fell short of the Abqaiq facility, going to Hell in a blaze of glorious fire, when the car-bomb they were speeding toward the facility in was fired upon and exploded.

Even the failed attack spiked oil prices by $1.50, an indication of the soundness of the terrorists’ strategy.

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