Radley Balko | April 18, 2007
"2005 Weblog Award Finalist" and C-list pundit Debbie Schlussel once again beat the Em-Ess-Em to the punch. This time, she has scooped Cho Seung-Hui's connection to global jihad. Seems that with the help of other anti-jihadists, Debbie (as well as the equally loathsome Pamela Geller Oshry ) sleuthed her way to to the obscure Flickr account of a Muslim Indonesian woman who goes by the name "Eldarossell." After baiting her readers with a completely gratuitous picture of one of Eldarossel's female friends wrapped in an Islamic head dressing, Schlussel moves in for the kill. She next shows a picture of a South Korean friend of Eldarossell's named Cho Seung Hoo (as opposed to "Hui"). Eldearossel befriended Hoo while he was studying computer science in Indonesia. While there, he took the name "Ishmael." It's not at all uncommon for Asian people to adopt local names while visiting foreign countries.
From there, Schlussel and Geller let their crank, obsessive Muslim-baiting take over. Hoo and Hui must be the same person! Hui is a jihadist! The Blacksburg massacre is just the latest battle in the global war on terror!
You see, the Virginia Tech killer was apparently a skilled marksman. Could it be that he studied marksmanship at Islamic terror camps in Indonesia? Schlussel doesn't know. She's just asking. And golly, don't Hoo and Hui look remarkably similar?
Well, no. They really don't, other than that they're both young Asian men with glasses.

But don't let that stop you, Debbie. The kicker for Schlussel is that after being "discovered," Eldarossel took down the photo of her friend.
Strangely, since yesterday, that photo has been removed by Miss Eldarossell, though the rest of her photos remain up. Also removed were the many comments posted by visitors to the site noting that her friend (or relative?) "Ismail," sure looked like Cho Seung-Hui, and was probably him, given the caption she posted.
Yes. That sure is strange. Or not. Perhaps EldaRossel removed the photo because she was mortified that dimwitted American bloggers had pulled photos from the Flickr account she'd set up to share pictures with her friends and family, posted them on their blogs to score cheap political points, then suggested her friend is a Muslim militant and mass murderer. Can you see, Debbie, how that might make someone who didn't ask for this publicity want to take the photo down?
As EldaRossel notes in her response, her friend is still studying in Indonesia. He is Christian. And he's still very much alive. I'm just guessing here, but I'll bet an MSM-er would have taken the time to email EldaRossel before posting a man's picture on the Internet and suggesting he's a mass murderer. Silly, America-hating media.
I don't know if Hui sympathized with Islamic terrorists or not. The "Ishmael Ax" story is interesting, but purely speculative. Reports thus far suggest he was just a really messed-up kid. But this obsessive drive to bring every tragedy back to the GWOT is really getting ugly.
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"And golly, don't Hoo and Hui look remarkably similar?
Well, no. They really don't, other than that they're both young
Asian men with glasses"
http://alllooksame.com/
saunters off...
A local talk radio host yesterday was going to try and explore the "connection" between ismolatic facisim and the note on his arm, but he ran out of time.
"And golly, don't Hoo and Hui look remarkably similar?
Well, no. They really don't, other than that they're both young
Asian men with glasses"
http://alllooksame.com/
saunters off...
Heh, exactly.
Notice how Schlussel's and Geller's blog posts are still up even
after they were proven wrong. Not surprising, really.
I've become convinced those on the Nutbag Right wake up every
day fervently hoping that this country is attacked by Muslims once
again, strictly because it will enable them to tell liberals 'I
told you so.'
They do really seem desperate to tie anyrhing that happens in the
universe to those wacky 'Islamofascists,' don't they?
Freedom of speech right up there with right to bear arms.
I am familiar with Nina Hartley in "Debbie Does Dishes"
VM, mrs. bro ben is now a huge fan of the taint kick you dirty
bastage (her kick, my taint)
It's just been reported that the killer sent a packet
including videos to NBC.
Also, it's being reported,
that in 2005:
A Virginia court found that Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho
was "mentally ill" and potentially dangerous. Then the state let
him go.
Stranger -
sadly, it seems that the "I told you so" doctrine is alive and well
and used by both sides. It's sickening, and it distracts from the
more important things in life. Like bating.
Among other things.
ChicagoTom - thanks for that link. scary stuff.
Like bating.
Among other things.
What other things could possibly be more important than batin?
It does seem like the state has its hands on all of these mass
killers at some point before they finally get caught (or die). I'm
not saying that we should keep them all imprisoned without evidence
or anything, of course. People can go pretty far down crazy lane in
a free society before we'll do anything about it--usually, someone
has to get threatened or hurt.
Like with the terrorist threat, this is a natural consequence of a
free and open society. We can only do our best to minimize the
threats, but we can't eliminate them without losing something more
important than "perfect safety". Which is likely unachievable,
anyway.
What other things could possibly be more important than
batin?
Marijuana!
It's really starting to get bad in this country when it's hard
to distinguish "real" news articles from a story in "The
Onion."
I had to read it twice to be sure (the post, not the link; as I saw
a chance to save 2 minutes of my life from utter waste).
ChicagoT:
"What other things could possibly be more important than
batin?"
the noam chomsky blow up doll
the leather-bound edition of "Heather Has Two Mommies" (the one
with the sweaty pillow fight scene on page 69)
while they're not more important, there are definite times when
they're on par with batin.
The shooter was an English major at Virginia Tech. Perhaps he
read "Moby Dick" - itself the story of a loner. Who was that
loner?
"Call me Ishmael."
What other things could possibly be more important than batin?
My large tracts of land.
THE ROVING REPORTER HAS UNCOVERED SOMETHING
IMPORTANT
Cho Seung-Hui and Cho Seung Hoo have teamed up with Who Flung Poo
and Izheet M'Drawrz for nefarious activities.
ALSO: What other things could possibly be more important
than batin?
For Schlussel and Geller, it's obviously, "obsessive Muslim-baiting
(sic)".
oh. wrong kind. sorry.
I am familiar with Nina Hartley in "Debbie Does
Dishes"
I've dated many girls named Debbie. None ever did dishes.
I used to detest Schlussel for her annoying, cause-you-instantly-to-change-the-station man-voice. Now I have a much better reason to detest her.
I must be the only person here who has never heard of Debbie Schlussel until yesterday. Who is she? Does she have a history of bad reporting?
Marijuana!
Agreed!
while they're not more important, there are definite times when
they're on par with batin.
Agreed!
Rum and Piracy
Am I pirating porn?? Then agreed!!! Otherwise not so much. In fact
the Rum might obstruct the batin, no?
My large tracts of land
Ick!
THIS JUST IN: ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NO PROOF, WE HAVE NEVER SEEN SENATOR OBAMA WITH THESE TWO TERROR SUSPECTS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE CONNECTED IN INDONESIA. THERE MUST BE A CONNECTION. AND YOU CAN'T PROVE THERE ISN'T ONE. NEENER NEENER
Apparently the video ("multimedia") package he sent to NBC news in New York was addressed from Ishmail (spelling?)
Rum and Piracy comes only in the package deal, but if you
ACT NOW!
you can get Rum, Piracy, and an authentic Spanish Dubloon FREE!
"Do Rum, Piracy, or Marijuana interfere in any way with
batin'?"
not in the Big Rock Candy Mountains
mediageek,
Yes, they are part of a secret organization, a mental-midget mafia,
if you will.
If he was Muslim, he'd call him Ismail, not Ishmael.
30 seconds of Islamic Studies would tell you that.
He WHAT!!! - Mailed a package to NBC - MAILED A FREAKIN' PACKAGE - WHILE ARMED! Didn't the bozo know all USPS facilities are gun-free zones. That's a federal offence! I no longer feel safe going to the post office to ship the stuff I sell on eBay. I'll have to shift to one of the private shipping companies. Oh the humanity!
Quote from Ms Eldarossell's response -
"I'm being paranoid now. I'm afraid because I put all my pictures
in the internet. What if something likes this happen again?? Maybe
one day, someone will say "Hey, that dog pic on your Flickr, I
think it was the one who bite me yesterday. I'm going to sue
you"
>Perhaps he read "Moby Dick"
"Eskimo." It's one word. I usually go for the whole sentence
myself, but, that's perfecto.
"They do really seem desperate to tie anyrhing that happens in
the universe to those wacky 'Islamofascists,' don't they?"
I'll wager many of the Malkinites / Schlusselites / and Coulter
beasts would gladly have the final VT death toll tripled if but to
have a Muslim connection, or even a French one for that matter.
Five years ago, political scientist Muqtedar Khan wrote
this:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/64/story_6448_1.html
He clearly criticized the Dalai Lama for saying "Whether Hindu or
Muslim or Christian, whoever tries to convert, it's wrong, not
good" onstage at an event in India hosted by a Hindu nationalist
group.
Schlussel responded by writing this:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24835
Then there is Muqtedar Khan. A political science professor at
Michigan's Adrian College, he is supposed to be a moderate Muslim
American. A frequent op-ed writer in the Detroit News and several
other publications, he is on the board of the Center for the Study
of Islam and Democracy and the executive committee of the
Association of Muslim Social Scientists. But Khan's Feb. 8 Detroit
News opinion column attacking one of the world's most peaceful,
humane religious leaders - the Dalai Lama - belies the moderate
tone Khan tries to present. Khan is upset that the Dalai Lama is
respected and "legitimized ... by bestowing upon him a Nobel Peace
Prize." The Dalai Lama's crime (according to Khan)? He actually
opposes forcible conversions to Islam. What nerve.
That Pamela Geller Oshry link and the "Atlas Shrugs" blog is
enough to scare anybody. ...and I'm not just talking about the VA
Tech story. Scroll down. ...or better yet, just read the banner.
"Western Civilization..." ...blah, blah, blah.
...and what's the Ayn Rand tie in to all that anyway? What strange
path does somebody have to stumble down, to read "Atlas Shrugged",
love it and end up in a place like that? WTF?!
Between that blog and the news, I'm 'bout ready to go buy the first
season of "Full House" and keep watchin' 'til I start feeling
normal again.
Someday Schlussel will be right about something. And then you'll all owe her an apology. Start practicing now.
"Someday Schlussel will be right about something. And then
you'll all owe her an apology. Start practicing now."
Gee, I'm really sorry, Debbie. ...but a broken clock tells perfect
time twice a day.
A quick Bertillion leads me to believe that they are two different men. While you can only see a single ear on the left photo, it appears to be smaller and a different shape than the ear in the one on the right.
Wake me up when somebody links this guy to Kim Jong Il and the PRK secret police.
Normally, I'm all for knocking down falsehoods, but I wonder about the value of even linking to this. I assume that even the relatively crazies think that stuff like this is crazy.
brotherben | April 18, 2007, 11:04am | #
Permission to troll?
thank you
Cho had the words "Ismail Ax" scrawled on his arm in red ink. His
writings rage against rich kids and religion.
My gut is that he viewed himself as doing this to take down the
idols of christianity and sacrifice others to God for their
religious hypocrisy. This being in line with Ibrahim's destruction
in the temple with his ax prior to founding Islam. The sacrifice
being similar ti Ibrahim's call from God in a dream to kill his
son, Ismail, as an act of obedience. Wealthy christian kids can be
real tough on a odd mental case like Cho.
Dont see this as justification for his actions, there is none. I am
curious as to his motivations.
So much fun to have until someone finds whatever mundane yet very specific reference this kid made with "Ismail Ax." We may never find out, but I'll wager it will be very dull and obscure.
Does anyone else think that Nietzsche is responsible for this? ZOMGMISR3&ADING
Unfortunately, the Schlussel meme has made it into the
"mainstream" media:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21581504-661,00.html
When investigators searched the body of Cho, who shot himself in
the face as police closed in, they found the cryptic phrase "Ismail
Ax" written in red ink on one arm.
There was speculation it could be a reference to a Muslim girl in
Indonesia he was said to have befriended online or to a cultist
focus on Islam and assassins.
People, let's keep our facts straight. The tattoo read "Ishmael
Ax', not "Ismail Ax".
Ishmael is Hebrew, not Arabic.
Cho had a seemingly Islamic reference on his arm and on the
package he mailed. His sister is employed by a contractor dealing
with Iraq war finance.
Therefore, It is Islam terrorista and Bush related.
A liberal democrats wet dream.
if you listen close, you can hear Hillary moaning in ecstasy...
Well, the good news is that about 175 more civilians were killed in Iraq today than in Virginia on Monday. So, count your blessings.
And, guess which story is leading all the TV news and news websites? Hint: not the one that happened today.
Also, reports that John McCain visited Virginia Tech and shopped at the campus store the day before the shootings have not been confirmed.
Call me Ishmael Some years ago - never mind how
long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing
particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a
little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of
driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I
find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp,
drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily
pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every
funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper
hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me
from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically
knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to
sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.
With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I
quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If
they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or
other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with
me.
(Moby Dick)
I don't know that this Schlusser person is the first to try to link the VA tech killings to islamic terrorism. Michael Savage, who hosts the talk radio show "Savage Nation", started making that connection the day of the killings, merely because they wouldn't give the name of perpetrator. Savage thinks that the MSM is part of a conspiracy to shield islamic people from blame for their terrorist acts.
Until this minute I thought the stupidest explanation for the
Cho's behavior was the woman who suggested it was because he was an
English major. Why doesn't Schussel just connect the fact that Cho
and Osama both breathe oxygen, ergot Cho must be a jihadi? Makes
about as much sense.
You know what that much asshatery calls for? A recipe. A nice,
spring recipe, something nurturing to clean the vast pile of ick
out of my brain from this article. So, here is Asparagus and Lemon
Chicken, a Cathy Lowe recipe featured on Sara Moulton's Food
Network show, and what I made for dinner tonight.
2 tbls. olive oil
1 whole boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces. (I actually
used a pound and a half of chicken tenders. That requires roughly
doubling the given amounts.)
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock (since I doubled the recipe, I
used both. I recommend using both, adjusting the amounts as
necessary.)
3 cups cooked rice
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high
heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the
skillet, cooking until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and pepper. Add the asparagus and cook for about a
minute. Stir in zest and liquid and bring to a simmer. Cover and
cook for three minutes. Serve immediately over rice.
My kids actually liked the dish. They ate entire plates, including
vegetables. We discussed Admiral Nimitz and island hopping and not
one single, solitary word was mentioned about GWOT, terrorists, or
nutzoids with grudges. I highly recommend this.
Thank you Karen.
I'm thinking that might also work with veal. You know, do it in
stainless instead of notstick and deglaze the pan with the
wine/stock?
Also, you could serve it over orzo instead of rice . . .
Funny you should mention orzo. We didn't have any rice so I used orzo tonight and it worked splendidly. I'll bet couscous would work, too. Also, the veal sounds good. I'll have to try that.
Video of the killer makes it clear that he felt harassed and rejected. Perhaps the moniker Ismail/Ishmael is a Biblical reference to the son of Abraham's concubine, who was cast out into the wilderness.
So, the question is: "who's Ishmael and how does he afford to
shop at Armani Exchange?"
Them's some expensive pants. That's all I'm saying.
There is a black american author/essayist/poet by the name of
Ishmael Reed who writes about minority power struggles a lot
concerning blacks and asians in america. He was recently featured
in a leading south korean literary magazine. In the black
vernacular one might want to Ax Ishmael a question? An english
major of south korean origin might be familiar with Mr. Reed?
Stop that!
Everyone else is reaching for answers too.
There is also this theory kicking around. Ishmael is a character from a James Fenimore Cooper short story called Prarie. Ishmael carries an axe. But not an ax. He almost never talks.
What other things could possibly be more important than
batin?
Brawndo! It's got what Islamosinokoreofascists crave. It's got
electrolytes.
Somebody should tell these stupid cunts (yes, that word--it fits
here) that this nutjob apparently found inspiration in Jesus
Christ:
"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my
conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were
extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire
generations of the weak and the defenseless people."
henry-
What you don't realize is that Jesus isn't just a Christian figure.
He's also regarded as a prophet by Muslims.
Which means that the kid was inspired by an Islamic prophet.
OMG!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/dining/18veal.html
thoreau,
I never trusted the fucker myself:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29540
I'll bet money the tatoo actually says "a small axe" but is just poorly written (or maybe reading a tatoo on a wounded corpse ain't that easy.) "A small axe" of course being the lyrics to a Bob Marley song that actually make sick sense in this context - "And if you are the big tree, we have a small axe. Sharpened to cut you down, well sharp, to cut you down"
If Schussel wants to follow the scent of terror, she should wake
up and smell the cheese --
http://adamant.typepad.com/seitz/2007/04/the_long_arm_of.html
Well his video did remind me quite clearly of the ones left by the London 7/7 bombers. Right down to the shot with all the weapons.
What have you learned, Grasshopper?
"All blogs are suspect, Master."
I want to discuss the global jihhhAAAd!
The only time I've ever heard Debbie Schlussel is when they are
making fun of her on Stern. The classic was when she accused Jason
Alexander of supporting global terror because he was involved with
that silly ONE World charity. She's a riot. Funny because she is
completely unaware of how funny she is. She's like Coulter's
retarded sister.
Karen,
Nice touch with the recipe :)
Although, have you tried to sautee the garlic first in the oil
before the chicken gets cooked? In my (limited) experience it gets
more umph out of the garlic. Fat being the vehicle of flavors. But
then my only cooking experience is in southern/creole stuff which
many yankees find... too much for tender palates.
But anyway, good stuff
vanya | April 19, 2007, 3:05am
*slowly backs away. makes note about vanya in little notebook.
fades away into shadows*
*THUD!!!*
*trips over Colonel Flagg*
Why are right wing nut job women so damned hot? Yet, left wing nutjobs like Susan Estrich or Dalia Lithwick so plain? When beautiful girls go wrong, they join the right. When plain girls go wrong they go left.
I suspect* that
Jin Sun-Kwon is somehow involved.
*Yes, I realize that this statement is probably at best in poor
taste. My thoughts go out to all those effected by the Virginia
Tech shoooting.
They're not that hot. They just conform more stringently to the
"boob-highlighting, hair and make-up" requirements of 'standard'
notions of female magazine-beauty.
When you see them up close, in person, you realize they are average
people done up.
I say this from spending 4 years at a conservative southern
university, where the women were hot, blonde, all looked the same,
and dull as wet socks. the 'liberal' jeans and t-shirt chicks at
least put out. :) the 'hot' ones wanted to know what your dad did
for a living and whether you had a trust fund.
so i just lied and told them i was the heir to great fortunes and
that my other car was a porche.
Worked like a charm.
Why are so many of the right-wing nut jobs lawyers - Reynolds, Coulter, Schlussel, Althouse? I suppose a lot of left-wing nut jobs are lawyers as well. Let me rephrase that - why would anyone give a lawyer the time of day to hear them pontificate on anything? Clearly a legal education only trains you to believe in the sound of your own voice droning on, not to actually develop a logical thought...
Do not doubt that people like Debbie Schlussel are just as narcissistic and evil and dangerous as the VT shooter, in their own way.
never ever believed that something like that is
possible...
a memoriam and condolence site you'll find here:
http://www.blacksburg-massacre.info
Thanks for joining and helping build up this memoriam site.
Vanya,
The are lawyers who can't practice law. First, Reynolds is not a
nutjob. You may disagree with him but if Reynolds is a nutjob in
your world, you must be a leftwing nutjob yourself. As for
Althouse, Lithwick and Coulter and the like, they are lawyers who
are too crazy to actually practice law so instead they became
journalists.
I'm just guessing here, but I'll bet an MSM-er would have taken the time to email EldaRossel before posting a man's picture on the Internet and suggesting he's a mass murderer. Silly, America-hating media.
I wouldn't take that bet.
As for Althouse, Lithwick and Coulter and the like, they are
lawyers who are too crazy to actually practice law so instead they
became journalists.
The mere fact that you lump Lithwick in with those two suggests
your critical faculties are non-operational. Please post something
from Lithwick that you deem particularly "crazy".
The Schossel column is probably the stupidest thing I've ever read that didn't have the words "Michelle" and "Malkin" attached to it...
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