At the movies: 'Straw Dogs' (1971)

In his column today, entitled “Israel Will Never Have Peace”, Bret Stephens (WSJ) makes the point by citing among other things UN resolution 194 which states that Palestinian “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date”. Clearly, this hasn’t happened. Why?

Has it not become clear that a majority of Palestinians that have been shut out would not live peaceably within a Jewish State? Let’s say that Switzerland had been created (for the Swiss) in some barren Alpine region. Would it have to build a fence to protect itself from its neighbors (Germany, Italy and France) who were intent on nothing less than genocide? Or would life go on peaceably, neighbor visiting neighbor and abiding by the relatively simple rules of good neighborly graces?

I’m reminded of Sam Peckinpah’s film, “Straw Dogs” (1971) I saw way back when it first came out. It was one of a handful of films I remember seeing with a pounding headache which progressed towards a crescendo throughout. A young couple had moved to what they both thought would be an idyllic place for them to live: a remote cabin near the village in Cornwall where she had grown up as a child. It turns out through a series of unfortunate incidents that the couple is targeted by townsfolk. Rotten Tomatoes says this: (The film) “expresses the belief that manhood requires rites of violence when a young couple's idyllic life is disrupted and forever changed when the violence and savagery they sought to escape suddenly engulfs them.” As all Peckinpah’s films, this one is violent alright. I sat tensed up from start to finish.

The reason for this (or any) violence was ignorance. Palestinians are fed hatred for Jews from birth. It’s there in their mothers’ milk. Reason plays no role in it. Israelis understand this. If they were to open their borders – as our border with Canada is essentially open – Palestinians would immediately stream in and wreck the place. At least, this is the assumption. And Palestinians have done nothing to show it to be otherwise.

The same way we don’t open the tiger cages in a zoo, Israel does not dare to open her borders. Unfortunately for Israel, the situation is reversed. It is Israel that lives in a cage. Of the estimated 7.6 million living in Israel, 20% are Arabs who also enjoy representation in the government. Their standard of living is markedly higher than that of most Arabs living outside of Israel.

The world has turned its back on Israel and decided to side with the tigers. Like David in “Straw Dogs”, it will be up to Israelis to protect themselves. Even if Israel should win – another myth those mildly sympathetic to Israel usually comfort themselves with – the resulting losses would be insurmountable all around.

The enmity between the Palestinians and Israel is a trigger. We have put our worst elements in charge of it. Once tripped, there is no turning back. Even if Netanyahu decides not to fight (or decides only to go through the motions of fighting) the world will never again be the same – no matter the outcome. Washington keeps mouthing off about its infantile ‘reset’ button. War in the ME would definitely qualify as ‘reset’.

At the end of the film, David (Dustin Hoffman) is driving the injured Niles (the village idiot) to town, when the latter turns and says, "I don't know my way home." David smiles and says, "That's okay. I don't either."

The House Always Wins

The fever of revolution is sweeping the world. Syria, UK, U.S. (tea parties), China – you name it. Nobody is immune. There’s a restlessness loose on the globe. It’s born out of a growing intransigence on all sides; a failure to cooperate. Walid Phares is right: Every uprising has its own stamp; its own individual character.

It might always have been so. It’s in embedded in our DNA: sons rebelling against fathers; fathers rebelling against the State. What is different now is that the chucks have been jettisoned – America has turned coat - and the festooned chariot, carrying the idol, is hurtling madly through the madas (streets around a Hindu temple), mowing down worshippers and rogue priests alike in its pitiless path. There’s no telling where it all ends.

With no chucks to stop it, the chariot will tip over or crash into a building, tallying more victims. The ghee and curd soaked idol will lie shattered in the dusty street for all to see. Like it or not, the chucks were important – as is the law and leadership. With the idol lying broken in the dirt, the time will have come to begin again - from scratch. It’s not that we’re not capable of it, but it’s a long hard road.

It’s foolish to say that leadership has always to be a certain way. Bush was wrong to insist on ‘democracy' everywhere. It works for Switzerland, but you can’t say it’ll work for Zimbabwe.

Even Switzerland is restless now. For the first time in Swiss history, the celebration of its Independence Day on historic Ruetli Meadow was threatened with cancellation. Switzerland - as most nations - is struggling with the issue of immigration. They fear disturbances by neo-Nazi groups and were unwilling to pay for additional security. In the end, private enterprise promised to donate the money needed to keep order and reassure folks.

What struck me about the video in John's post (Daraa, Syria uprising) is that people spoke English. They were clearly distressed. Why did they speak English? Answer: for American TV, of course; to let Obama know that they are in trouble. The news obviously hasn’t reached them yet. They may also have been preparing themselves for jobs in America – where the streets are paved with ...debt. And, again, the news hasn’t reached them yet – that America has become a ward of the same system that Syria has.

The rich, the powerful, and the bored use the world’s grievances like dice at a crap table, hoping to best their friends and walk off with the prize. But time and time again we learn what every Las Vegas pauper already knows: that the house always wins.
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Watch episode# 2; parts 1 and 2 (Temple Cart) of Louis Malle’s “Phantom India” on You Tube to see what I’m talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIGodDxlnVo ('cut and paste' into your browser.)

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Fighting Back

Brad Manning has already become a hero - a martyr - for the anti-war Left. This group has separated itself from the “official” Left that is now in charge of Washington. It is yet another indication that the center (of the Left) cannot hold.

Today, Switzerland celebrates its National Day. The date (August 1st) was inspired by the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291. What is notable and widely acknowledged as being the essence of the Swiss nation is that is has been able to maintain its strict neutrality during times of global dispute. This is not to say that the individuals of this small, landlocked Alpine country do not have opinions about global issues and tensions. Neither are they reluctant to express their preference. During WWII, for instance, Hitler threatened to invade and occupy Switzerland as well. It had become a relatively tranquil center in which spies of all stripes could house their networks. Also, situated as it is at the crossroads of Europe, the Swiss made it clear that they were prepared to blow up their bridges, tunnels and passes should any foreign army set foot within its sovereign territory. In the end, the country was spared from the physical ravages of war.

As a child, I often crossed the border between Germany and Switzerland by train. Even I could clearly see the difference. By the 1950’s, Germany was not bad, if somewhat ragged at the edges. Switzerland, however, was pristine, almost as if every blade of grass had been carefully manicured.

Today, it is we the people who are blowing up our bridges, tunnels and mountain passes. It is we who are keeping Barack Hussein Obama from achieving his communist Utopia. We are denying him economic success by sitting on our hands and dragging our feet. We are not working, innovating, expanding. While he blames the system for its failures to create jobs, it is we who are singularly responsible for this. We are not victims. We are fighting this political interloper in the only way we can, by taking a passive-aggressive stance. It is far too soon for anyone to take over our country. We will send him and his cronies packing by denying them the considerable weight of our support. We can turn this thing around. And, when we do, we will continue as we have in the past and make this into a nation we can be proud of.

I attended the ceremonies yesterday in New York’s Central Park. There was wine and music and an abundance of good cheer. The flags of every Swiss canton were proudly displayed. There was raclette, potatoes, bratwurst and beer. The performing seals, however, stole the show.

Best Intentions

>...(a) myriad jihadi movements, all having the same strategic objective of humiliating the US, destroying Israel and forming an Islamic Caliphate.<

BAHUKUTUMBI RAMAN builds a convincing case that our assumptions re Al-Qaeda may not necessarily be right. One of these, however, is dead-on and cannot be disputed: 'destroy Israel'. From there follows, ' humiliating the U.S.', because we are there, conspicuously protecting Israel. Whether the desire to cleanse the region of Israel constitutes the fulfillment of religious prophecy (to establish an Islamic Caliphate) or merely to allow regional players to determine their own political destiny – Tehran vs. Riyadh; Sunni vs. Shiite; etc. – without what is seen as undue outside interference, holds little relevance to the argument (except for the bloviating class).

My guess (as one who has been known to bloviate) it’s the latter rather than the former. Israel has been an irritant in the Middle East since its formation. Irritants, in the eye for example, demand immediate removal of the foreign object. Any delay in treatment invites infection which may spread and ultimately result in the loss of the eye. There can be little doubt that the fact that the U.S. has doggedly worked to protect and sustain the Jewish State in the midst of an overwhelmingly Islamic region has affected U.S.-Arab relations adversely.

No peoples of any region take kindly to interlopers. Peaceful, tolerant, neutral Switzerland recently voted to ban the building of additional mosques. (There are four so far.) We here in the U.S. have aptly demonstrated that we too do not take kindly to having alien influences shoved down our throats and that we are prepared to fight to keep it from happening.

I am not suggesting that we abandon Israel. The moment we (the U.S.) decided to advocate for Israel’s right to exist, we committed ourselves to getting it done. When our parents give us the money to enroll in a college or university program, it is understood that we will do our utmost to graduate. It’s the same with a nation publicly committing itself to anything: going to the moon; tackling terrorism; nation building; eliminating poverty, crime, ignorance; finding cures for diseases; etc. No less than that nation’s credibility is on the line. It must be done wholeheartedly, seriously, and with the expectation of succeeding.

We are failing in many of the goals we have set out for ourselves. No doubt, there have been set-backs. And it’s time to ask why. Perhaps we’re over-extended. Perhaps promises we’ve made in the past are no longer enforceable. Perhaps conditions have changed. Perhaps what had initially come under the header of ‘good intention’ has morphed into something else: extortion, perhaps, of which we now find ourselves to be the victim. Perhaps we need to reset and re-calculate where we stand. Perhaps we need to assess our weaknesses going forward. Perhaps there are battles that need to be put to rest – one way or another. Perhaps we should refrain from adding to our obligations for a while.

Have we become overwhelmed by our own ‘good intentions’? Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Or are we being sabotaged by a clever enemy who knows how to fight us in our own houses by turning our own weapons against us – an enemy who knows precisely how to overload our systems; overwhelm our capacities; create confusion and distrust and leave us at the mercy of silver-tongued tyrants?