"Does the mainstream media not know it is being had, or does it just not care?"

It is both, Political Correctness abounds, it kills free speech and free thought.

Mainstream media are shivering cowards.

Posted by: Deus_Vult! at December 31, 2008 5:07 PM

Hamas legalizes crucifixion...Are you surprised?

I wonder who they have in mind for the first victim?

I don't want to speculate, but it will be designed to tear Israels heart out...

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111707087&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Posted by: duh_swami at December 31, 2008 5:09 PM

The cowardly thugs! The mass murdering bastards who follow an ideology that is responsible for the most heinous and atrocious crimes in history against humanity and it is called Islam. Those who perpetrate these crimes emulate the founder of Islam, Mohammad criminal par excellence, and are called Mohammedans.

Posted by: savsiv at December 31, 2008 5:10 PM

Good article by Tawfik Hamid in jpost.com:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733118401&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Posted by: jewdog at December 31, 2008 5:20 PM

Leaders at the local mosque urged neighbors to converge on the apartment building and act as human shields

The local Imams know that such a human shield would not deter an Israeli attack on an identified military target. This was an open Pallywood casting call for extras in an upcoming film.

Posted by: Richard at December 31, 2008 5:24 PM

Jewdog

interesting article by Tawfik Hamid.

He appears to me to be sooo close to embracing his Inner Apostate. One hopes he will; and I certainly am praying that he will. It would be wonderful - for him and for everyone else - if he were to emulate either Ibn Warraq or Magdi Cristiano Allam.

Notice that as well as excoriating the Muslim refusal to condemn the killing of Muslims by other Muslims, he notices and condemns the Muslim refusal to condemn the killing of non-Muslims by Muslims...which means that, deep down in his heart, the principle of the Golden Rule is challenging al-walaa we al-baraa, Loyalty [to the Ummah only] and Enmity [toward everyone else].

Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at December 31, 2008 5:55 PM

I guess those Hamas terrorists that fled weren't that enthusiastic about dying for allah.

Posted by: kyros at December 31, 2008 7:03 PM

While I admire Robert's work (and own nearly every page), I have a minor correction to his blog entry. Israel's government does NOT minimize ISRAELI civilian casualties, as a responsible government would. For this reason, Israel should be condemned and not praised.

Posted by: skZion at December 31, 2008 8:39 PM

Israeli intelligence called the Hamas members to warn them that they were targets
......................

Wow--Israel is not only calling Gazan civilians to warn them of impending attacks--but even *known Hamas members*. This either makes them the most humane state in human history, or total idiots--maybe a bit of both.

Posted by: gravenimage at December 31, 2008 9:02 PM

It is not hard to find plenty of evidence even in the main stream media that the "Palestinians" are guilty of war crimes.

Geneva Conventions and Protocols:

Convention I
For the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field

Geneva, 12 August 1949

Art. 21. The protection to which fixed establishments and mobile medical units of the Medical Service are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after a due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded.

See this video of Palestinian gunmen using a UN ambulance as a getaway vehicle after ambushing an IDF patrol.

If one fires a rocket from a hospital it loses its protection under the Geneva Conventions.:

Convention IV
Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 12 August 1949.

Art. 19. The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit and after such warning has remained unheeded.

The use of human shields is a war crime:

Art. 28. The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.

Weapons workshops are found throughout Gaza, next to schools, hospitals, mosques (inside as well):

Annex I. Draft Agreement Relating to Hospital and Safety Zones and Localities

Art. 2. No persons residing, in whatever capacity, in a hospital and safety zone shall perform any work, either within or without the zone, directly connected with military operations or the production of war material.

Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 8 June 1977

Art. 13. Discontinuance of protection of civilian medical units

1. The protection to which civilian medical units are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after a warning has been given setting, whenever appropriate, a reasonable
time-limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded.

By this standard every rocket and mortar round fired by the Palestinians is a war crime:

Art. 51. - Protection of the civilian population

4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are:

(a) those which are not directed at a specific military objective;

(b) those which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or

(c) those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by this Protocol;

and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.

5. Among others, the following types of attacks are to be considered as indiscriminate:

(a) an attack by bombardment by any methods or means which treats as a single military objective
a number of clearly separated and distinct military objectives located in a city, town, village or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects;

and

(b) an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in
relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

7. The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.

More human shield prohibition.

Art. 53. Protection of cultural objects and of places of worship

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 14 May 1954, and of other relevant international instruments, it is prohibited:

(a) to commit any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples;

(b) to use such objects in support of the military effort;

Mosques lose their protected status when they are found out to be arms stores or military planning and execution facilities.

Art. 58. Precautions against the effects of attacks

The Parties to the conflict shall, to the maximum extent feasible:

(a) without prejudice to Article 49 of the Fourth Convention, endeavour to remove the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian objects under their control from the vicinity of
military objectives;

(b) avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas;

Palestinian violations of this protocol are so numerous that it isn't even news in the Israeli media.

All of these are just the tip of the iceberg. Someday, when the world finally comes to its senses, the perpetrators of jihad will join their Nazi soul mates in the docks of international war crimes tribunals. In the meantime we need to take copious notes.

Posted by: SaracensAtTheGates at December 31, 2008 10:07 PM

skZion: What proof can you offer that Israel does not "mimimize" casualties (i.e., gets things correctly as far as possible)? I do not necessarily accuse here but I am, to be quite frank, somewhat skeptical of your contention. Please elaborate if you will, with examples.

gravenimage: Your "either/or" reveals the soft underbelly of civilization, which is also one of its greatest strengths-------compassion. By the way, Happy New Year to you.

Posted by: Wellington at December 31, 2008 10:19 PM

skZion said that Israel does not minimize ISRAELI casualties, which is true. If they did that then they would have treated every rocket and mortar as the act of war that it is and taken steps to minimize the destruction of its own land and citizens after the first rocket or mortar, not several years after they have continuously rained down on the civilian population. skZion's right. Even if they clear out Gaza and the West Bank and then take back the Sinai (which they should totally do, since Egypt has endlessly violated the terms of the agreement which gave it to them), it wouldn't be too little but it would be way, way too late.

Saracens, thank you for that post. The Geneva Conventions were drafted for human beings, though. Hamas is not quite human, more like beasts from the Island of Dr. Moreau, sort-of human/physical-manifestation-of-hate chimeras.

Posted by: jdamn at January 1, 2009 12:10 AM

Wellington wrote:

gravenimage: Your "either/or" reveals the soft underbelly of civilization, which is also one of its greatest strengths-------compassion. By the way, Happy New Year to you.
....................

Very true.

And Happy New Year to you, Wellington! A Happy New Year to Robert, Hugh, Marisol, Raymond and all other JW staff, and to all the wonderful (non-troll) posters here.

Posted by: gravenimage at January 1, 2009 12:42 AM

so the Hamas militants fled" You can also add who foed are the immans, these hatefilled sacs of fertilizers who want to send others to their deaths fled themselves.. wake up stupid muslims, you are being led by cowards !

Posted by: ZenaWarriorPrincess at January 1, 2009 12:44 AM

I disagree. They're not cowards. In this case, it really is a tactical retreat. They'll stay aground, wait patiently while ginning up public support for their dirty business, and then spring up like weeds after they've gained enough strength.

It's what their Prophet (police be upon him) did.

Posted by: Narrator 1 at January 1, 2009 1:12 AM

Ah, jdamn, thanks for that interpretation of skZion's statement about minimization. I took it as I think Robert Spencer meant it (i.e., a matter of humanitarianism irrespective of what Israel should have done in the past, with accurate reporting in any case following, as opposed to the inhumane and subsequent mendacious accounts of casualties which are part and parcel a regular element in the way Muslims conduct warfare, cowardly and despicable though it be), but I now understand how it might be viewed as you and skZion see it.

I would still assert, however, that Israel is terrific in thwarting the vast majority of terrorist attacks against it on a daily basis and really does go out of its way to avoid civilian casualties, but I grasp your point that such efforts respecting the Israeli civilian population would be less necessary if Israel's borders were more expansive. Yes, I think that a Greater Israel would be better not only for Israel, but for America and all the West, even though many in America and the West would remain clueless here (especially in academia and the media).

Land taken in warfare from the aggressor (and the Arab world has been the aggressor {and liar} from the get-go, demanding everything and according Jews nothing), can be taken by the victor, if it so chooses, and with expulsion of hostile populations to boot. Israel should have done this with at least the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights and formally annexed all to the state of Israel. If this had been done, who could argue things could be any worse than they are now? And Israel would certainly be more secure than it is at present.

Posted by: Wellington at January 1, 2009 1:31 AM

Wellington, for the record, jdamn understood me exactly.

I think there is a risk of applauding Israel for essentially not protecting its population. I don't want to join that crowd.

The issue is one of focus, which will be either on one's own population or the enemy population in cases where both populations are at risk. As Torah teaches, if one is kind to the cruel one will be cruel to the kind. And surely that is what is happening in Israel.

Given the apparent influence of Western opinion on Israel, it would be helpful if we did not applaud the country for not expelling an enemy population that has been reasoned with and negotiated with for decades now.

Posted by: skZion at January 1, 2009 10:23 AM

skZion: Thanks for your response and sorry for my initial criticsm of your first post, which jdamn did indeed grasp the first time. And am in agreement with your sentiments on this matter. The way I have put it over the years is that my only major criticism of Israel is that it has been too kind to its enemies, ironic in light of the fact that to most of the world Israel has been way too harsh. But then there is no accounting for the world many times, which reveals it's craven, hypocritical and stupid far more often than it should be.

Posted by: Wellington at January 1, 2009 11:57 AM

Why the hell is the Israeli army warning Hamas members and their symphatisers in Gaza. That's just totaly stupid. Just bomb the shit out of them. Israel is way to kind to it's enemy

Posted by: rammer at January 1, 2009 12:24 PM