Moral for Terrorists: Don’t Mess with Zionists. Christa Pike’s Botched Execution. Cornell Retreads: Me Too and Tish James. Porn and Sexual Assault. Hopeful in Hormuz. More
What is the takeaway from the thwarting of what might have been Israel’s September 11?
“The lesson of Flydubai? Don’t mess with Zionists.” That’s the Spiked Online headline for Brendan O’Neill, who was at the Tel Aviv airport as news of the attempted terror incident broke. O’Neill writes about the passengers who fought back:
This was a revolt worthy of the history books. A people’s fightback against the violent narcissism of either a suicidal freak or a murderous Jew-hater (or possibly both). This man may have craved death, and possibly loved it, but he came up against a swarm of people who far prefer life. That’s the civilisational divide distilled: worshippers of death vs lovers of life. There is something profoundly moving about the clip in which the passengers chant ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ as the plane safely lands. ‘The people of Israel live’ – in a time of untrammeled Jew hate, it’s the most defiant, life-giving cry you can make. It fortifies the hearts of those of us who love civilisation, and breaks the spirit of civilisation’s enemies.
There was humility with the bravery. …
UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband said he was ‘deeply concerned about the incident’, which was only stopped by ‘the actions of those on board’. Oh Ed, would it kill you to say something nice about Israelis?
You might also like The Washington Free Beacon’s “’A Nation Like a Lion’—Israeli Airline Passenger Heroics Avert Jihadist Terrorist Attack.” The near catastrophe exposed a gaping hole in Dubai’s airport security. Meanwhile, “Flydubai Terrorist Identified as Radical Muslim with Bizarre Practice in Front of Women.”
The New York Post gave convicted murderer Christa Pike, who survived a botched execution in Tennessee, the full tab treatment on this morning’s cover: “Die Another Day.” Pike is in critical condition with her prognosis unknown. Predictably, the accident has triggered calls to end the death penalty.
In “Am I Lying to Myself About the Death Penalty?” Charles C. W. Cooke, who (unlike Ms. Must) had not previously supported the death penalty, has a counterintuitive reaction to the failed execution—he now wonders if the death penalty is right:
The truth is that I think that Pike should be dead, and I am not at all upset that Tennessee tried to kill her. I wish it had succeeded, and I feel no qualms about this. I have read what she was convicted of — what she confessed to — which was this:
Later that night, Pike went to Iloilo’s room and told Iloilo that she had just killed Slemmer and that she had brought back a piece of the victim’s skull as a souvenir. Pike showed Iloilo the piece of skull and told her that she had cut the victim’s throat six times, beaten her, and thrown asphalt at the victim’s head. Pike told Iloilo that the victim had begged “them” to stop cutting and beating her, but Pike ….
Melanie MacDonogh writes in the London Spectator that Pike should be allowed to live. At this point, Ms. Must doesn’t disagree. The authorities indulged Pike’s wish for an all-female execution team. What kind of statement was this supposed to be? Isn’t the last meal of favorite dishes sufficient? Babylon Bee has the best take.
“Cornell brings back #MeToo” is a headline in the London Spectator. That’s not the only unwelcome returnee. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state AG Letitia James to take over the investigation of the Cornell allegations.
Does pornography help explain the Cornell assault? “Where else would young guys get the idea that women want group sex with strange men?” asks Emma Camp of Free Expression. Camp makes a good case:
In the middle of it all, I’m left wondering how this could have happened in the first place. Sexual entitlement and drug-loosened inhibitions are for sure part of the story. But there’s another likely factor that’s so far gone unmentioned in public discussion of the case: pornography.
It’s unfashionable to ask if endemic pornography use among young men contributes to some sex crimes. It’s a sign of moralist hysteria—akin to thinking videogames cause school shootings or heavy metal is turning the kids into Satan worshipers. Porn is presumed harmless, and anyone who suggests otherwise is consigned to whatever cultural trash heap Tipper Gore and the Church Lady now reside in. …
Watch enough porn, and you’ll think it’s perfectly normal for a woman to want group sex with strange men. Watch enough porn, and you’ll think it’s perfectly normal to strike a woman while you’re having sex with her.
Republican voters are panicking at the prospect of a blue wave, even as the President Donald Trump receives two plaudits from the Wall Street Journal editorial pages. The first is “Trump Has the Right Instincts on AI.” Trump knows the risks if China is left to dominate AI. The second is “The Battle of Hormuz Is Turning“:
Did you notice the sudden media realization that the oil export pressure is now working against Iran? New reports from tanker-tracking groups confirm what the Trump Administration has been saying: Adm. Brad Cooper and the forces of U.S. Central Command have turned around the battle of the Strait of Hormuz.
Data from Kpler indicate that the seven-day average for oil clearing the Strait is 14.19 million barrels a day, approaching the prewar baseline of 17.13 million. Most of what’s missing are Iranian oil exports stopped by the U.S. blockade. The recent resumption of oil flowing through the Saudi bypass pipeline, followed by accelerating loadings at the port of Yanbu to transit the Red Sea, will unlock more exports….
This is what progress looks like: Iran’s oil is blocked while the world’s oil increasingly gets through. The effect is to reduce pressure on the West and its Gulf allies while Iran must scrounge for money. The regime is rapidly running out of oil already on the sea from before or between blockades, though payments will have a longer lag. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimates the Iranians will deliver the last of this oil to China in mid-October.
Even The American Conservative (TAC)—steadfast opponent of the Iran war—sees “glimmers of hope in Hormuz” but with tons of caveats.
Annals of Not Free Speech. “I Questioned Transgender Ideology. Now I’m Facing Prison in France,” by Dora Moutot at The Free Press. The 411:
I went on television to debate what makes a woman a woman. Four years later, I have a criminal conviction and face new charges that could put me in prison.
Fox has a follow-up to Ms. Rachel, who has built a sprawling media empire contributing to radical causes. This is not free speech; it is indoctrinating small children behind their parents’ backs.
This Just In: President Trump reveals a possible change in what we must tell IRS that might help prevent illegal immigration. Usual suspects are apoplectic.
The Company He Keeps. Zohran Mamdani is being honored by a group that apparently has close ties with Iran. City Journal has the scoop:
But critics have long questioned NIAC’s relationship with Tehran. In a 2020 letter, Senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, and Mike Braun called on then-Attorney General William Barr to launch a Justice Department investigation against NIAC and NIAC Action (its sister organization) for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, identifying a pattern of what they called “troubling behavior.”
The senators pointed to a 2019 internal memo in which NIAC blamed the United States for an Iranian militia’s attack on a military base that killed an American civilian contractor and wounded several others. Kata’ib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that carried out the attack, later stormed a U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The senators also highlighted tweets from NIAC and NIAC Action staffers pushing “conspiracy theories deflecting blame from the Iranian regime for shooting down a Ukrainian civilian airliner, killing 176 individuals.” (NIAC called the accusations “slanderous.”)
Religion News. Scientists are claiming to have discovered Noah’s Ark. The Duchess of Sussex is marketing a new chocolate-filled Advent calendar for a mere 112 pounds. Perfect. As ever, Ms. Must.
