IRIS Blog

The Dumbest MSM Analysis Ever

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:01:09 -0500

This may be the most idiodic mainstream media analysis I have ever seen...

The cyanide found in this Somali Muslim's Denver hotel room could have killed hundreds, yet terror has been ruled out.

Apparently being wrong about a large number of "sudden jihad" incidents does not stop this irresistible impulse on the part of law enforcement. Apparently they are not familiar with the fallacy that absence of evidence does not constitute evidence of absence.

In this case, however, a man with this name posted a threat calling for the murder of Christians on July 11th.

Then, after the death, someone posted mocking comments on the same Internet site under the same name, pretending to be writing from Paradise lamenting his lack of 72 virgins. The Rocky Mountain News considers this to be proof that the July 11th poster was the same person "unless someone had taken the name as a joke." I kid you not.

Let me repeat this in case the journalist is trying to understand this. Someone who posts on the Internet after a Muslim death using the name of the deceased claiming to be writing from Paradise lamenting his lack of 72 virgins has most certainly posted the comment as a joke. There is only one other possibility: that it is indeed the deceased, that he has an Internet connection in Paradise, that he mistakenly received male virgins as prizes for his martyrdom, and that he has taken up the term "dudes" to refer to them.

Prediction: this case will be revealed to be yet another case of sudden jihad syndrome.

Olmert Permits Symbolic 'Right of Return'

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:37:53 -0500

The number of 'returnees' that Olmert agreed to repatriate in Israel is not important; the principle it establishes is key. Also, it supports the all-important myth that 'Israel is displacing Palestinian natives through occupation:'

One thousand exiled Palestinians will be allowed to reunite with their families in the West Bank and Gaza after Israel agrees to issue permits, Hussein Ash-Sheikh, head of the PA civil affairs department, said Saturday.

Reunification permits were to be issued to a thousand Palestinians living without permits in Palestinian areas, as well as Palestinians living abroad.

Israel agreed to issue the permits during a meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert last Wednesday.

'Honor' Killing Comes to the US

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:26:13 -0500

This is obviously nothing new to IRIS readers, but Jacoby encapsulates the phenomenon in masterful writing:

NO ONE knows just how many Muslim girls and women are murdered each year in the name of family "honor," since their deaths frequently go unreported and unpunished. The cases that do come to light are ghastly. "Women and young girls are set ablaze, strangled, shot at, clubbed, stabbed, tortured, axed, or stoned to death," a United Nations report noted in 2004. "Their bodies are found mutilated with their throat slit, or they are chopped into pieces and thrown in a ditch."

The report singled out as especially horrifying the honor killing in Pakistan of "a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly electrocuted to death after being drugged with sleeping pills and being tied to a wooden bed with iron chains." Her offense: marrying a boy from the wrong community. Countless others have lost their lives for refusing an arranged marriage, wearing Western-style clothing, having a boyfriend, or even being raped.

Recently, the Saudi human rights activist Wajeha al-Huwaidar wrote a scathing essay characterizing honor killings as a scourge peculiar to the "Greater Middle East," with its entrenched culture of misogyny and male supremacy. Her article was prompted by the lynching of 17-year-old Du'a al-Aswad, a Kurdish girl stoned to death by a mob of Iraqi men. (The essay has been translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which also provides a link to a gruesome cellphone video of the lynching.) "From Pakistan and Afghanistan through Iran, the Middle East, and all the way to Morocco," Huwaidar wrote, "this entire part of the world [is full of] defeated and dejected men, whose only way to gain some sort of victory is by beating their women to death."

In the last few months, there have been news reports of a Jordanian man murdering his daughter "to cleanse the family's honor" after she kept leaving home without permission; another Jordanian, 22 years old, who gave the same reason - "family honor" - for killing his pregnant sister; a Saudi woman beaten and shot by her father after he discovered her having an online correspondence with a man on Facebook; and two Arab brothers in Israel, who strangled their sister after learning that she was involved in a romantic relationship.

But while honor killings may be more prevalent in the Middle East, no longer are they unknown in the West.

Read the whole thing...

There's only one objectionable sentence in the piece, the de rigeur "look at me, I'm a moderate" line:

Islamic religious tradition does not sanction honor killing

Here is an article which describes the link in much more depressing terms. One fact worthy of note is that religious elements are often the ones opposed to the enactment of punishments for honor killings.

Saudi Official: Marrying Infant is Permissible

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:06:52 -0500

Western apologists parrot the line that extremists twist the Koran, when it is they who are doing the spinning:

There is no minimal age for entering marriage. You can have a marriage contract even with a one-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of nine, seven, or eight. This is merely a contract [indicating] consent. The guardian in such a case must be the father, because the father's opinion is obligatory. Thus, the girl becomes a wife...

But is the girl ready for sex or not? What is the appropriate age for having sex for the first time? This varies according to environment and traditions. In Yemen, girls are married off at nine, ten, 11, eight, or 13, while in other countries, they are married off at 16. Some countries have legislated laws forbidding having sex before the girl is 18....

The Prophet Muhammad is the model we follow. He took 'Aisha to be his wife when she was six, but he had sex with her only when she was nine."

Christian Pogrom Incited Over Mosque Loudspeakers

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:55:35 -0500

Here is an update on a previous story. It should be noted that because of universal persecution, the only non-Muslim population growing in a Muslim-majority area is Israel. All others are fleeing:

For a second consecutive night some 580 students from the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology (SETIA) in East Jakarta slept in the lobby of Indonesias parliament yesterday following demonstrations against the school that left at least 17 students injured.

Urged on by announcements from a mosque loudspeaker to drive out the unwanted neighbor, hundreds of protestors shouting Allahu-Akbar [God is greater] and brandishing machetes, sharpened bamboo and acid continued to attack 1,400 students and school staff members even as they were evacuated over the weekend (July 26-27).

Besides the students in the parliamentary building, hundreds of others were evacuated to area denominational and medical facilities. The violence took place in spite of the efforts of 400 police officers summoned after tensions erupted on Friday (July 25).

Students and school staff taking refuge in the parliament building lobby asked government officials to return them to the college and guarantee their safety there. They talked with members of parliament, particularly from the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), a Christian party led by Karol Daniel Kadang.

The parliamentary members promised the students, staff members and their lawyers that they would contact the head of the National Police Department to file a complaint about officers who failed to protect them during the July 25-27 violence that caused 85 million rupiahs (US$9,325) in damages.

Lawyers for the students and staff members also demanded capture of those responsible for the violence, as well as the firing of the mayor of East Jakarta, known as Murdani, for blaming the Christian students whom he referred to as a minority group that should behave.

A seemingly harmless incident touched off the protests. Local sources said that at 10:30 p.m. on Friday (July 25), two SETIA students, Julius Koli and Jonny Gontoh, returned to their dormitory to find a large rat, and one of them threw his sandal at it. The sandal fell onto a neighbors property, and when the two went there to retrieve the sandal, area residents shouted Thieves!

By midnight mobs had formed and were attacking two male dormitories. At 2:30 a.m., mobs had reached the third floor of one of the dormitories and were trying to burn it down. Local sources said that when they set the building on fire, gasoline spilled onto the leg of one of the attackers, and they ran away.

Hamas Prepares for West Bank Takeover

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:33:15 -0500

Here are two articles that show the writing on the wall. The PA is essentially a front for the receipt of Western cash and Israeli land concessions, which will be left in place as long as it serves the interests of Hamas:

Peace Talks with PA Purely Cosmetic

According to the IDF General Staff, the IDF is the only force preventing a Hamas takeover in the West Bank. The talks between Israel and the PA are purely cosmetic, since Israel's negotiating partner does not represent any real political force.

Anyone who is counting on Fatah to reform itself in order to serve as a counterweight to Hamas in the West Bank is fooling himself.

If Israel frees Hamas' West Bank political leadership - which was arrested two years ago in the wake of the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit - in a prisoner exchange for Shalit, this will only help Hamas to take over of the West Bank.

This article confirms the above assessment:

Hamas Prepares for West Bank Takeover
With the most recent fighting, Hamas has ended the role of Fatah in Gaza and is patiently organizing toward the next stage, which includes the takeover the West Bank.

This is to occur after the completion of a prisoner-exchange deal for Gilad Shalit, in which key Hamas cadres and parliament members will be released from jail and return to the West Bank.

Hamas' Christian Convert: I've Left a Society that Sanctifies Terror

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:48:47 -0500

Yet another person who risked his life to convert from Islam has risked his life to speak the truth about the societal obsession with genocide that Israel (and the world) faces:

Masab, son of West Bank Hamas leader and MP Sheikh Hassan Yousef, has become a Christian. He says, "You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death." "An entire society sanctifies death and the suicide terrorists. In Palestinian culture a suicide terrorist becomes a hero, a martyr. Sheikhs tell their students about the 'heroism of the shaheeds.'"

Journalists Begin to Question Coverup of John Edwards Scandal

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:50:09 -0500

John Edwards, a liberal Senator and short-list contender for the Vice Presidency, was caught by seven reporters of the National Enquirer in a hotel at 2 am as part of what appears to be a major personal scandal. I have a distaste for personal muckraking, so I won't repeat the specifics directly (although one can easily follow the link in this post).

In more than a week since that event, no major mainstream media source has even mentioned the story, but a handful of reporters from minor newspapers have noticed that Edwards has been evading their questions and that neither party has denied the allegations.

One courageous left-of-center reporter, however, has blogged the events in the scandal and is admitting quite openly to the coverup by the like-minded liberal media.

Take a look and then consider the media feeding frenzy that occurred over the scandals of Republican politicians Larry Craig, Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. Each of them was turned into a laughingstock through non-stop abuse by media personalities long after the events had transpired.

MSM Rebels on Edwards
Oddly, some journalists want to know the truth

The phenomenon of left-wing media bias is common to all Western countries, which is why this story is worth mentioning in an Israel-oriented blog. Like a one-way valve that is designed to close should blood flow in the wrong direction, leftists only grant like-minded colleagues entry into influential positions in the media, civil service, academia, and other institutions of cultural influence. Because they systematically exclude the most talented applicants, many of these institutions disintegrate without ever taking corrective action. For example, all the news media would have to do to recover would be to cut out the liberal bias.

Police: Olmert Knows We have Him

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:07:05 -0500

In what will be the fourth round of questioning in several months, police interrogators will go to the Prime Ministers residence in Jerusalem to interview Olmert on the latest corruption scandal, police sources told Haaretz. In the so-called Olmert Tours affair, Olmert is accused of receiving duplicate funding for trips abroad for himself and his family, and investigators seem more confident than ever that they will have enough information to serve an indictment.

You may be wondering why IRIS is "piling on" now that Olmert has announced he is stepping down.

As I wrote yesterday, Olmert's announcement is nothing more than a cynical ploy to cling to power for as long as possible. It is conceivable that he could remain until March of next year.

There are few things more dangerous to a country than a corrupt leader who has nothing to lose. On a small scale, America experienced this when Bill Clinton issued mass pardons to friends, personal financial contributors and terrorists for leftist causes as he was leaving office.

In this case the stakes are much higher. Olmert not only has the power to continue looting for personal financial gain. The keys to his future pardon are held by Shimon Peres, who is obsessed by giving away land to appease jihadists.

Those who believe the Olmert threat to Israel's security is passed now that he is officially a "lame duck" are quite mistaken.

Prediction: Olmert will accelerate his efforts to give away Israel's land now that he has announced he will step down.

Exclusive: IRIS Source Confirms Olmert 'Multiple Billing' Allegations

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:28:54 -0500

An exclusive IRIS source has confirmed that the practice of billing multiple non-profit organizations and government agencies for the same travel expenses was routine in the Jerusalem Mayor's office at the time of the the most recent allegations. This practice was questioned at the time by at least one staff member.

Olmert Steps Down

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:00:40 -0500

Exactly as predicted an hour before the surprise news conference, Ehud Olmert has announced the inevitable. He will not run in the Kadima primaries that he is forecast to lose anyway. This will enable him to procrastinate and remain Prime Minister for the longest amount of time feasible (conceivably, until March 2009).

Ironically, he is preening that he is doing this for the good of the country, even though he fought bitterly against the scheduling of the Kadima primary that has become the catalyst for his exit.

The beginning of Olmert's announcement was a summary of his accomplishments as Prime Minister, including, ironically, taking credit for the peaceful situation in the north of the country. Hezbollah has seized de facto control of Lebanon, and Olmert's requested UN "disarmament force" has resulted in an inventory of several times the pre-war missile stockpile aimed at Israel.

PM announces he will resign after Kadima elects new leader

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held a special press conference on Wednesday at 8 p.m. where he announced he will not run in the Kadima primary scheduled to take place in September.

Olmert said he would resign from office upon selection of a successor, and would allow his successor to attempt to form a coalition.

The premier lashed out at his political adversaries without naming any of them - either from Kadima or other parties - personally.

Olmert opened his speech by expressing his pride to be a citizen of Israel: "As a citizen in a democracy I have always believed that when a person is elected prime minister in Israel, even those who opposed him in the ballot want him to succeed....

The winner in the Kadima primary will have until October 26 to submit his new government for approval by President Shimon Peres.

In case the elected leader fails, the president customarily grants another 90 days to form a government; after the 90 days are through, in case no coalition is formed, a general election is scheduled, thus potentially allowing Olmert to remain in power until March 2009.

After the primary Olmert will remain in office as prime minister of a transitional government, until his successor in Kadima manages to forge a new coalition or until general elections are held.

Prediction about Olmert's Impending 'Personal Announcement'

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:00:32 -0500

Speculation is raging that Olmert is about to announce his resignation at an abruptly announced press conference. There's only one way that could be true--if he wants to annoint the next Prime Minister in exchange for some major personal benefit (like the promise of a Shimon Peres pardon). He still has the power to hand over the reigns of power the way he earned it--by becoming acting PM first and exploiting the power of incumbency.

Prediction: Olmert will hang on to the end and announce that he has decided not to run in the Kadima primary. The polls show he will lose anyway, and this way he will deflate the pressure on him to step down immediately.

Update: Here's a clue:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is currently in Washington, announced that she will be holding an unscheduled press conference two and a half hours after Olmert's.

Update 2: The word "unscheduled" above was an error on the part of the Jerusalem Post.

Barak: US Will Provide Missile Defense; Obama: I'll Kill It

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:04:09 -0500

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has today announced that Israel's greatest security vulnerability will soon be fixed, courtesy of new agreements with America. The Lebanon War provided shocking proof that Israel (and all democracies) are completely vulnerable from missiles that rained down on the country.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, has vowed to cut off funding for missile defense, because it's "unproven."

This is rather perplexing because Obama has pledged his great love for Israel and surely he knows that "if you love someone you know what hurts him."

Every Israeli worries that much of Israel will turn into Sderot with the re-opening of hostilities with Hizballah and its estimated 40,000 missiles, not to mention a rapidly arming Hamas.

Leaving considerations of Israel aside, should Americans not care that Obama does not understand that the job of the military is to develop new (i.e. unproven) technologies for defending against new forms of attack?

Israel's Demographic Situation Continues to Improve

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:53:11 -0500

The chief pretext for ceding parts of tiny Israel is to divest of the Arabs living there to stem the mythical "demographic tide." (Only a certain presidential candidate believes that it will obviate Arab animosity.) Here's the truth:

Anyone suggesting that Jews are doomed to become a minority west of the Jordan River is either grossly mistaken or outrageously misleading.

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the annual number of Jewish births has increased by 40% between 1995 (80,400) and 2007 (112,543), while the annual number of "Green Line" Arab births has stabilized around 39,000 during the same period. The secular Jewish sector is mostly responsible to the impressive increase, especially Soviet Olim, who shifted from Russian fertility rate of 1 child per woman to the secular Israeli Jewish rate of 2.2 children. Arab-Jewish fertility gap has been reduced from 6 children per woman in 1969 to 0.7 child in 2007! Arab fertility rate (3.5 births per woman) has declined 20 year faster than projected - due to successful integration into Israel's health, educational, financial and commercial infrastructures - while Jewish fertility rate is rising (2.8 births per woman). Arab-Jewish fertility rates have converged in Jerusalem - 3.9 births per woman - for the first time since 1948. Currently, Israel's Jewish fertility is the highest in the industrialized world.

Read the whole thing...

Jihadists Rape Women to Force them into Suicide Bombing

barak@iris.org.il (Barak) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:11:25 -0500

All of this is permitted when the chief religious goal is jihad:

Marriage, Blackmail, Rape: Al-Qaeda's Methods for Recruiting Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq

A woman pretending to be pregnant walks up to a hospital in one of Iraqs most dangerous regions and blows herself up.

Minutes later a man, also laden with explosives, attacks the rescue workers who rushed to the scene in Diyala province, north of Baghdad. Thirty-two people are killed and 52 wounded.

The co-ordinated bombings that ripped through the town of Baladruz in May are one of twelve attacks involving thirteen women suicide bombers to strike Diyala so far this year a huge jump, signalling a new tactic by insurgents. US officials suspect that al-Qaeda has built a network of cells that recruit women and turn them into killers.

Women are the perfect weapon in a country where it is frowned upon culturally for a man even to approach a woman without her husband or father in tow, let alone frisk her for weapons at one of the many checkpoints that are the bombers favourite targets. In addition, it is easy to hide a vest packed with explosives under the traditional Islamic robes worn by women in Iraq without drawing suspicion.

In total, there have been 24 attacks involving women suicide bombers since January, including four on Monday in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk that left scores dead. Al-Qaeda is a very adaptive enemy, a US Special Forces captain based in Diyala said. They will try to use whatever works best for them to attempt to exploit whatever political or cultural restrictions we have.

In the past, al-Qaeda fighters have used mosques to hold meetings and hide weapons, knowing that the US military will not raid religious buildings. Now theyve adapted to try to use female suicide bombers.

The military believes that al-Qaeda employs a variety of tactics to get women to become suicide bombers. Some are easy prey because their husband or children have been killed or detained by US forces, said Captain Matthew Shown, the intelligence officer for Sabre Squadron, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, which is based in southeast Diyala.

Another method is for a member of al-Qaeda to marry a woman and then dishonour her in some way, such as letting someone else rape her. This would leave her with no choice but to end her life, Captain Shown, 34, said.

There are also reports of women being told that their husband or child will be killed unless they agree to become suicide bombers.

Eliminating the threat of female suicide attacks in Diyala is a priority for US and Iraqi forces, who began a large offensive yesterday across the province against al-Qaeda and pockets of Shia militias.

There have been a few successes. Last month Iraqi police arrested the alleged leader of the suicide cell that orchestrated the twin blasts on May 2 in Baladruz. Video footage of attacks on US forces was found at his home. Officers believe the material was used to indoctrinate female recruits.

The US military is also hiring women to stand alongside male guards at checkpoints to ensure that all women get a full body search.It is not possible for males to search females. It is a cultural thing, said Staff Sergeant David Schlicher, who works in civil affairs at Forward Operating Base Caldwell, a US camp in the middle of a much larger Iraqi army base in the desert in southeast Diyala. So this closes that loophole.

The woman guards will complement a workforce of about 80,000 men who are paid by the US military to protect their neighbourhood under a programme that encouraged many former Sunni insurgents to turn against al-Qaeda.

There are few female volunteers, however, just as there are not many women in the police and Army because it is not part of their culture.

The female bomb threat appears to be changing attitudes. In Baladruz, twenty-five women are due to start civilian guard duties this week, and an appeal has been made for another ten.

Dhimmi Watch provides context:

Here, al-Qaeda is exploiting the injustices of Sharia law -- including the subjugation of women, and the danger of reporting a rape without four witnesses -- and the culture it creates to trap women into doing their bidding to advance the cause of imposing Sharia in Iraq.