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March 14, 2011
Selection Sunday for Savages
By Richard Baehr
The Palestinian Authority on Sunday named a new town square.


"Palestinians from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction named a town square on Sunday after the leader of a 1978 bus hijacking in which 35 Israelis were killed."


"Many Palestinians see Dalal al-Mughrabi, a member of the then-underground Fatah movement, as a heroine for her role in hijacking the bus on Israel's Haifa-Tel Aviv highway.


"We stand here in praise of our martyrs and in loyalty to all of the martyrs of the national movement," Fatah member Sabri Seidam said at the unveiling of a plaque showing Mughrabi cradling a rifle against a backdrop map of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The square was festooned with Palestinian flags.

The Palestinian Authority conducted the naming ceremony two days after five Israelis were stabbed to death in their home in Itamar, the victims including an infant and a four year old. This raised the question of whether the perpetrator or perpetrators of these murders will be deserving of a town square named for their "heroic acts" at some future date.


Since there is no Joe Lunardi of bracketology.com to offer any advice on which Palestinian murderers will get a town square named for them or other naming glory, I have attempted to recreate the calculus that the PA seems to use in making these important decisions.


1. How many Jews did you kill?


This seems to be a key criterion. Only five Jews were murdered in Itamar, and the killers carelessly missed two more children who were in the home. Earlier in the evening, many more young people were in the Fogel home, but left with the 12 year old daughter who eventually discovered the killers' handiwork later that night. The Itamar killers could have added to their "body of work" by better timing of their attack. It seems likely that the suicide bomber who murdered 30 mainly old Holocaust survivors at a Passover seder in Netanya or the suicide bomber who killed 21 teenagers at the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv are among several Palestinian "freedom fighters" who will earn serious consideration for new town squares, well ahead of the Itamar killers.


2. How many young Jews did you kill?


Murdering Jewish babies and young Jews seems to help in getting the selection committee's recognition. Murder of the young has the multiplier effect wherein the committee looks at the total number of years of Jewish life eliminated. Killing a 4 year old Jewish girl counts for 78 years, a 4 year old Jewish boy for 75.


The Itamar killer or killers may have impressed "the Committee" by murdering three young people, and two young adults. The total number of years of Jewish life eliminated may exceed that of several suicide bombers with much higher total Jewish death counts.


3. How vicious were the murders?


The Itamar murderer or murderers scored high in this category. Not just any ordinary killer can slit the throat of an infant, or stab a 4 year old in the heart. The Committee is certain to consider this "strength of settler" factor in its decision, though the higher score here goes if those murdered were more defenseless. In the past the Committee has favored those who killed sleeping children to awake ones.


4. How big a deal were the murders to the mainstream media?


Did the murders get to the front page of the New York Times, or rate a background story on NPR, or the BBC on how the killers had no choice, given Israeli settlement activity, but to force the world's attention to the crimes of the infant and toddler settler and their brutal occupation?


The Itamar murderer did very poorly here. The New York Times' initial story by Isabel Kershner was not on the front page and only mentioned settler or settlement 8 times including in the title. CNN used quotes around the words "terrorist attack" and the Times headline indicates that Israelis "suspected Palestinians" of committing the attack. Of course, it could also have been a robbery gone wrong (the 4 year old refused to turn over his teddy bear), or perhaps there was a dispute among neighbors. But in any case, the story was dwarfed by coverage of the earthquake in Japan. This too reflects badly on the killers -- why could they not have waited a week or two until the Japan story faded? The Munich Olympics killers only killed 11 Israelis, but the story of this carnage was seen on television in real time for nearly 24 hours by billions. I think the big media coverage enabled these mass murderers to earn the Committee's attention, and earn a high seed for future town squares.


5. Did the killings bring joy to the hearts of Palestinians?


After news of the Itamar slaughter occurred, people took to the streets in Gaza to celebrate, passing out sweets for the sweet news. However, there have not yet been competing claims of responsibility for t

Koalas vary in size and colour depending on where they live in Australia. Koalas found in the southern distributions (Southern NSW and Victoria) tend to be slightly larger and darker than those in the northern areas (Northern NSW and QLD). This is likely to be related to the different temperatures and is a feature exhibited by many species whose distribution encompasses large climatic variations.

The most notable physical aspect of the Koala would have to be its big fluffy ears. Koalas have a great sense of hearing and an even better sense of smell. This is how they select which leaves are the best to eat. Their eyesight is not too good, and therefore detection of predators is generally by sound. They possess very strong forearms and extremely long, sharp claws for climbing.

Habitat

Koalas are found in eucalypt forests around the Eastern and South Eastern coast of Australia. The majority of wild Koalas are found on private property thus meaning there is no formal protection of this habitat. It is not known why some areas are absent of Koalas despite the presence of a food source, but it is possible that historically hunting has driven local populations to extinction.

Diet

Koalas eat eucalypt leaves but only from certain species. There are over 700 Eucalyptus species occurring within Australia, however the Koala will eat leaves from less than 50 of these species. Out of the palatable varieties, less than one dozen are staples. They prefer the 'tip' of the leaves, which is the juiciest and softest part of the leaf and eat around 500g of tip per day. Of course wild Koalas have to depend on whatever leaf is available and during the cooler months will often be forced to eat the more mature leaves.

Breeding

When a female Koala is ready to breed she will call out to a male by letting out a loud snorting bellow. The female gives birth 35 days after mating. When born, the baby weighs only half a gram and is the size of a kidney bean at about 2cm long. It stays attached to its mothers teat for 13 weeks, its eyes are open at 22 weeks and it gains teeth at 24 weeks. At around the 7 month age bracket, the baby will start taking short spells climbing on its mother's back and is usually independent at about 12 months old.