We wouldn’t take your money if you paid us to do so!
Translator’s note: This is a a rather explosive subject which has been covered at length elsewhere. I point you to these blogs for more coverage of the events leading up to this:
Little Green Footballs - "LGF in Danish" and "The Wages of Appeasement"
(I think LGF can claim a *first* on this one, BTW)
The Brussels Journal - "Dairy Producer Who Boycotted Israel Gets Boycotted by Muslims"
Jimmy’s Corner - "Requests to come if the boycott is to end!"
Hodja’s Blog - "Buy Danish - but not…."
Egyptian Sand Monkey - "What does Israel have to do with it?" and "Arla foods denies boycotting Israel"
This is Arla’s response to the allegations that they boycot Israel (I personally don’t trust them farther than I can throw them):
But just because they don’t boycot Israel, doesn’t mean they aren’t pandering to thugs and assassins.
Jyllands-Posten, Tuesday, February 21, 2006
EDITORIAL: No "support", Please
FOOD FAIR in Dubai: A man with a tight smile announces that Arla in no way "supports" any cartoons in Jyllands-Posten.
What cartoons in Jyllands-Posten have to do with a food fair in Dubai can only be explained by the gallopping lunacy of the times, but for now that is not our focus.
A different kind of weird is: what does the man mean by "support"? The statement, coming as it does from Arla, can only be about money. The matter at hand, we must deduce, is that Arla was thinking of sending us a check made out to some amount, but has now decided not to.
Thank you. To be blunt, it would be deeply insulting for us to receive any such "support" from Arla. We still have to consider our dignity.
And that is not for sale. We do not crawl for oriental dictators and we wouldn’t dream of boycotting the democratic state of Israel in order to please some bloodthirsty dictatorship out of medieval times.
But Arla has no such scruples. It is more profitable to kowtow to dictatorships than to stand up for democracy.
Danish history has seen other examples of grubbing merchants who haven’t let democratic principles or even ordinary decency stand in the way of profits.
While the man from Arla is in Dubai talking about his lack of "support" for the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten, the thugs of the dictators are busy desecrating national symbols and burning down embassies.
Arla doesn’t seem to mind.
Known madmen invade our TV sets, shrilly promising slavery to Danes, demanding that the Danish cartoonists be handed over to suffer torture and eventual death.
Arla becomes silent.
Moslems act as madmen over a cartoonist who - to their astonishment - portrayed the prophet with a bomb in his turban. Certainly not the most unnatural thought, considering the deeds that have been done in his name.
Arla is silent.
Plundering hordes scream that Islam is the Religion of Peace. Some of us say they have a funny way of showing it.
Arla stays silent.
We wouldn’t be as primitive as to suggest that Arla be boycotted.
But we are astonished.
Denmark we salute you from the USA!
Comment by RG — February 22, 2006 @ 4:19 am
It’s
going take alot more of this kind of fearlessness and principle to win this struggle. You have my appreciation.
Comment by David — February 22, 2006 @ 6:03 am
Arla website has a map of their trade in the Middle East. Countries in which they do business are marked by name except guess who. See here
http://tinyurl.com/ovexr
Comment by Anat — February 22, 2006 @ 6:23 am
Bravo.
Comment by DB — February 22, 2006 @ 12:58 pm
Thank you, Denmark! I can only hope that your courage inspires your fellow europeans to join your struggle for freedom. I know it has inspired many here in the US.
Comment by idgit — February 22, 2006 @ 1:15 pm
Another salute from the USA!
Comment by Cheesel — February 22, 2006 @ 1:50 pm
Well said. My family and I may have to travel to your country for our holiday instead of the UK.
Comment by Carol — February 22, 2006 @ 3:28 pm
Danish Editorial: No “Support,” Please
Here is a must-read editorial in Jyllands-Posten, regarding the Danish dairy firm Arla and its deals with Arab countries:
Food Fair in Dubai: A man with a tight smile announces that Arla in no way �supports� any cartoons in Jyllands-Posten.
What carto
Trackback by IRIS Blog — February 22, 2006 @ 4:12 pm