Lipstick On A Pig
On Miss Piggy, a nice shade of lipstick is fabulous. On the Dubai Ports World deal it's just red lips on a hog. Mark Davis wonders how far the supporters of the deal will go to justify it, and how much they're willing to give up in an election year by letting hypocritical Democrats get the upper hand on national security.
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We are warned that if we thwart the Dubai Ports World acquisition, all that swell cooperation will grind to a halt. If that's true, these pals of ours are about as two-faced as our other chums, the Saudis, who talk a good game about fighting terror while their schools and media promote it.HT: Neal Boortz
We should have made clear to the UAE that while its dicey terror history makes the ports deal impossible, we value its continued journey toward moderation and look forward to additional cooperation. That's called diplomacy.
I confess to curiosity as to how those who so ardently want this deal will spend this time. What new material can they come up with? How much lipstick can be put on this pig?
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3 comments:
Lipstick on a pig. Pork, the other white trash!
Sorry, it just came out.
Despite the low opinion they have in the Islamic world pigs are very worthwhile animals, quite intelligent and very tasty, too. They are not, however, particularly attractive and putting lipstick on a pig is silly because it ignores the aspects that make them valuable.
I will admit that the Dubai port deal is not that attractive on the face of it but, like your pig, it becomes more desirable as you find out more about it.
One difference between Dubai and Saudi Arabia is that Dubai doesn't get their money from oil. They make their money by being shrewd businessmen. They provide business services to their oil-rich neighbors who are not businessmen of any sort but are single-industry monopolists who enforce their monopolies with their militaries.
Being, in essence, capitalists they are careful not to offend their customers. They do not, for instance, openly acknowledge Israel's right to exist, a position that would anger their Arab neighbors (and best customers) but they also do extensive, and mutually satisfactory business with Israeli companies, as demonstrated in this letter [PDF] from Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping Services CEO, Idon Ofer.
Something to think about, I think.
BigLeeH
Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin until you're dizzy. Making a deal with Dubai, just doesn't make sense...
Spin, aye? Sadly no. Unless I misremember the definition it is only spin if you can get it moving. So far all I seem to have accomplished is torque.
I'll check back after I find a bit more pipe to put on my wrench.
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