Mark Humphrys (politics)

Search:

Nov 2024 entries
Oct 2024 entries

The Irish left - Media - Irish Times



  Writers

Whitewashing foreign tyrannies

Headlines

Editorials

Bias against Bush

Bias for Obama

Bias for Obama in 2012

Credulous about Islam

Anti-Israel

Lara Marlowe

Michael Jansen

Frank McDonald

Eddie Holt

The Guardian

RTE

BBC


The Irish Times

The Irish Times has long been a quality newspaper in Ireland, in terms of in-depth coverage. While its editorials and opinion are slanted to the left, and it spins the news to the left, it used to, under Conor Brady and Geraldine Kennedy (1986-2011), have a tradition of providing some non-left-wing voices.

Unfortunately, this tradition has recently been abandoned. All of the centre-right voices are gone.






Tony Allwright surveys letters to the Irish Times after the Gaza flotilla clash of 31 May 2010.
It is hard for a young person growing up in Ireland to realise that the Israelis are the good guys.
It takes a lot of independent thought and standing against the crowd, often including one's own parents and teachers.






The Irish Times



This hilariously biased CNN report on talk radio, Oct 2009, reminds me of the patronising way the Irish Times often spins the news.
Instead of wondering why people prefer talk radio to CNN (or blogs to the Irish Times), they bring on New York psychiatrist Gail Saltz to explain what is wrong with their brains.
(By the way, I did some Googling and discovered to my surprise that Gail Saltz is a donor to the Democrats.)
As Greg Gutfeld says, this report is pure bias: "CNN Perplexed By Talk Radio ... Now, only CNN could do this with a straight face. According to the network, some say talk radio is "viciously partisan," without of course defining "some," as "people who work at CNN." And so the segment began, with CNN using a shrink to examine the typical listener, as though he belonged to a rare breed of lizard that dines only on feces."
Comment: "Am I the only one who is at the point where I simply roll my eyes when I see / hear this crap? Do those tools really think people are that stupid?"



Irish Times front page, 25 Apr 2018, says Trump triggers "concerns" that the US will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
"Concerns". Not "hopes".
A classic example of how newspapers write opinion into the news pages.


  

Writers

Irish Times writers include some of Ireland's leading leftists.


Donald Clarke, Irish Times, 29 April 2022, positively reviews an Islamic devotional film The Lady of Heaven. See trailer.
This is a pious Islamic film in which Muhammad and his followers are the good guys.
Following the ancient taboo, it declines to show Muhammad on screen.
Instead of slagging off a movie following such a strange taboo (for which many people have been murdered) Donald Clarke is enthusiastic and positive about it.


  

Seán Cronin



Sean Cronin sneers at Reagan's stunning 1984 re-election, Irish Times, November 3, 1984.
Cronin says (in an echo of the later sneering coverage of George W. Bush in 2004) that the Americans re-elected him basically because they are stupid.
Cronin was the Irish Times' voice on America for decades.
And now they tell us he was Chief of Staff of the IRA?



"Morning in America", Reagan's 1984 re-election ad.
Still moving, even today, long after the sneers of Sean Cronin are forgotten.




John McManus

John McManus has been writing about business for years. Unfortunately, he has recently started writing about the jihad, and his opinions are absolutely hideous.


Tom Clonan



A typical headline from 2014 during the Syrian civil war, as Assad tortured and killed 100,000 or more.
"an industrial killing machine not seen since the Nazis".
Tom Clonan visited Syria, and understood nothing.





Paul Gillespie



David Adams




Whitewashing foreign tyrannies

A common Irish Times trope is for its writer to visit some repressive tyranny - like Laos, Syria or the UAE - and completely ignore the fact that it is a tyranny.




Laos



"Last Christmas" (1984) by Wham!
To me (and I am sure to the people of Laos) vulgar consumerism means freedom.





Headlines

The Irish Times has a particular genius in spinning the news in its headlines:

  1. After the 21 July attacks, 23 July 2005: "Muslims fearful as attacks prompt hostility"
    • Not: "Non-Muslims fearful of never-ending future of Muslim attacks", which would be far more to the point. No, "Muslims fearful after Muslim attacks" is obviously the main story.

  2. After the killing of Zarqawi, 9 June 2006: "Fears killing may lead to retaliatory attacks".
    • No one expects the Irish Times to celebrate the killing of blood-soaked terrorists, but how about just a simple headline: "America kills leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq". But no, the headline had to be: "Fears killing may lead to retaliatory attacks". But of course.

  3. 3 Aug 2006: "Hizbullah counters Israeli raid with rocket barrage"
    • Manhattan Notes suggests: "Attack on Israeli Civilians Counters Military Raid". Why does the Irish Times never use headlines like that?

  4. 10 Nov 2008: "Fears execution of Bali bombers will encourage militants"
    • Why not simply: "Justice at last for the butchers of Bali". Whose side are the Irish Times on?

  5. 7 Sept 2011: "MI5 passed information on Irish citizen to Libya"
    • Sounds bad. But the "Irish citizen" is Ireland's no.1 Islamic terror suspect, widely accused (even by the UN) of links to Al Qaeda.
    • The article starts by calmly saying he is accused of having "recruited young Muslims, including Irish-born converts, to fight in Iraq", as if this is something reasonable, rather than an evil act of war against Britain, America, Iraqi Christians, Iraqi Kurds, Iraqi Shia, and moderate Iraqi Sunnis. He is even linked to the satanic Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
    • Of course whether it was right for MI5 to share with Libya - and believe Gaddafi's claim that he was fighting Al Qaeda - is another matter. "MI5 shares information on Irish totalitarian with Libyan totalitarians" is perhaps the real headline.





"Fears that" (something good will happen)

Another favourite is when the Irish Times has a headline in effect of the form: "Fears that" (something good will happen). For example: "Fears that Arafat near death" instead of the more rational: "Hopes that Arafat near death". This is a nice little way of introducing bias into the regular news pages.


Headline after Stockholm truck attack, Apr 2017.
After a horrific jihad attack in Sweden, the Irish Times is worried that this will boost the fortunes of people who dislike jihad.


  

Editorials

  1. "Guns in the US", Irish Times editorial, 7 Nov 2009.
    • This is genius. Fort Hood, the worst Islamist terror homeland attack in 7 years, happens under the watch of their beloved Obama, and what is the Irish Times editorial about? Gun laws! Not jihad. Not Islamism. Gun laws!

  2. "Another day, another slaughter", Irish Times editorial, 4 Dec 2015.
    • They do it again! Their editorial after the San Bernardino jihad attack makes no mention of jihad, or anything related to Islam. It is entirely about gun laws!

  3. The sickest Irish Times editorial ever, 20 Feb 2010.
    • It describes the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in Jan 2010 as "this act of international terrorism". How is this in any way ethically different from the capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in May 1960?
    • The Irish Times even calls on Israel to extradite suspects to Dubai!
    • Dubai is a tyranny. It is ranked as the worst status, "Not Free", by Freedom House. Does the Irish Times even care?
    • Ian O'Doherty, February 19, 2010, is baffled by the uproar: "were they right to do it? Frankly, I find it hard to understand anyone who doesn't simply shrug their shoulders and realise that it's one fewer terrorist planning murderous attacks on civilians."

  4. Shocking Irish Times editorial, 13 June 2011, says that religious fascists who hate Western values should still be allowed into the West.
    • France bars citizenship to an Algerian Muslim religious maniac who does not allow his wife speak without permission, leave home without his consent or a chaperone, or seek a job.
    • The Irish Times is concerned about France's "marginalised and stigmatised Muslim minority" and calls this decision "a dangerous precedent" (rather than a hopeful one).
    • For decades the Irish Times stood against the power of the Catholic church in Ireland. Now they are in favour of appeasing Muslim religious fundamentalists. Why? Is it because they are from a religion their parents don't belong to?

  5. Irish Times editorial, 14 June 2011, treats the re-election of Turkey's Islamist leader Erdogan as a good thing!
    • About Erdogan's new orientation of Turkey as an enemy of Israel, they blandly say: "Regionally, under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has also become a major player, independent of the Nato consensus, its relationships with Syria, Israel and Iran seen as new crucially important points of leverage."
    • Erdogan himself said that with his victory, "Gaza, Palestine and al-Quds were also won".
    • The Irish Times ignores the Islamist dawn in Turkey and absurdly says that Erdogan "has confounded secularist and military fears to create a harmonious model of coexistence between Islam and democracy that is increasingly admired throughout the region as a post-Arab Spring possibility."

  6. Irish Times editorial, 21 Oct 2013, is as naive as a 7 year old child about statements by the thug state of Iran.
    • "'Closing an unnecessary crisis: Opening new horizons". This title of the presentation given by the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ... is a promising and hopeful sign that the long stalemate .. on his country's nuclear programme can be overcome. ... He set a positive agenda for the talks, which are to continue next month, and appear to have the potential to reach a settlement that would indeed open new horizons for all concerned. ... Mr Zarif's honesty and detailed engagement has gone a long way to re-establish hope of a breakthrough."
    • They would never be so gushing and credulous about the foreign minister of any democracy.
    • Israeli Ambassador, 5 Nov 2013, sensibly asks: "How can your Editorial believe so easily a country that has no respect for human rights?"
    • Problems with the western media (sceptical about democracies, trusting about dictatorships).



The Irish Times' prejudice against Bush

If the Irish Times was negative about all American Presidents that would be one thing. But the era of fawning Obama coverage showed that no, they are only negative about Republican Presidents. The Irish Times is for Democrat supporters only.



Head to Head: Is George W Bush the worst president in US history?, Irish Times, January 19, 2009. Also here.
Arguing the Yes side is .. someone who hates Bush.
Arguing the No side is .. someone who hates Bush. What a debate!
And that is not to even mention the choice of topic. Why not: Head to Head: Will Obama wreck Bush's achievements in Iraq and Afghanistan?



Wouldn't a headline like this have been more relevant in Jan 2009?
But that would have taken imagination, and thinking outside the centre-left box.
From here.



From The Jawa Report. Chart from here.
Don't expect to see this question asked in the Irish Times.



Poll of Americans, July 2014, finds they think Obama is the worst President since WW2, and Reagan is the best. I would agree on both counts.





The Irish Times' bias for Obama

Like most of Ireland, the Irish Times loved Obama from the start. They have indulged him and praised him, and given him the benefit of the doubt in a way they never did with George W. Bush.




This made me laugh in derision:
30 June 2008 (during the US election campaign): "Former Nato commander questions value of McCain's military experience" Also here.
Ooh, that sounds bad. Until you realise (as the headline hides from you) that this is Wesley Clark, well-known partisan Democrat who ran for the 2004 Democrat presidential nomination.
But somehow "Democrat criticises Republican" doesn't have the same ring to it!






Another headline like the previous.
President Obama, 23 May 2011, at the time of his visit to Ireland, is highly praised.
"not since president Kennedy "have we had a president of which we could be as proud"."
Who said this? Why, the chairman of the Irish branch of Democrats Abroad. Incredible!
But somehow "Democrat praises Democrat President" was not the headline.





Bias for Obama in the 2012 US election

The Irish Times spun hard for Obama in the 2012 election, and their man won.




The Irish Times, 20 Aug 2012, sneers at Romney and Ryan as "Two rich white guys".
When did the Irish Times ever call Kerry and Edwards "Two rich white guys"?
Never, of course. Because they were Democrats.
And "white"? As Victor Davis Hanson points out, it is the Obama supporters, not his opponents, who have introduced this unpleasant racial labelling into US politics.



In the tank for Obama!
A Google search for "irish times" romney restricted to the last week before the election yields these headlines.
Every single one of them is anti-Romney.





More US elections



Roisin Ingle, The Irish Times, 20 Jan 2021, p.9, celebrates the first female vice-president in Jan 2021.



Kathy Sheridan, The Irish Times, 20 Jan 2021, p.10 (one page after the above), celebrates that there was no female vice-president in Jan 2009.


  

Credulous about Islam

Like all of the Irish left, The Irish Times hammers away at Catholicism and yet treats Islam with kid gloves and respect. The Irish Times is sceptical about everything the Catholic hierarchy says. But it is credulous about everything Islamic clerics and leaders say.


  


How the Irish Times, 14 Sept 2011, p.2, previews a speech by the head of Libya's interim government promising to enslave Libya under sharia law.
Regime lackey Mustafa Abdul Jalil was Minister of "Justice" in Gaddafi's brutal dictatorship.
Now in this speech he says Libya will be "a state that will have Islamic sharia law as the main basis of legislation".
Brave?? Stirring?? Visionary??
"but will it work?" Will sharia oppression work? I'm sure it will.




Anti-Israel

The Irish Times has so many anti-Israel writers many of them have separate pages.


The Irish Times, 29 July 2013, illustrates a story about Israel releasing prisoners as if it is a good thing.
The show us the celebrating family of "Ateya Abu Moussa, who has been held prisoner by Israel for 20 years".
They do not tell us why he was held prisoner by Israel for 20 years.
You won't get "The Story of Why" here!



Outrageous Irish Times headline, 2 Aug 2013.
The incoming Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says about Israel: "The Zionist regime is a wound that has sat on the body of the Muslim world for years and needs to be removed."
Does the Irish Times title the piece: ""Moderate" incoming Iranian president is just like Ahmadinejad"?
No, of course not. They are committed to the idea that this genocidal Islamist really is a "moderate". So they title it: "Israel swiftly at loggerheads with incoming Iranian president". As if Israel is to blame!
The article declares, as if it is fact, that there is now "a more pragmatic president in Iran".



Holocaust denier "Ruthanasia" likes an Irish Times article on Israel by Paul Gillespie, Jan 2016.
From here.
That makes sense to me. But maybe the Irish Times should have a think about this.
If Holocaust deniers like what you say about the Jews, maybe you're on the wrong side.



Revolting headline from The Irish Times, 9 Oct 2016, after a jihadi killed two Jews.
"Palestinian motorist", not "Palestinian terrorist".





Kitty Holland

  


Kitty Holland calls the democracy of Israel an "apartheid regime", 6 Dec 2013.



Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland promotes a fake news story about Israel from the fake news Mint Press website, July 2018. Mint Press have a photo of a sign at a Tel Aviv demo saying "Kill Them All" and says all these Israelis want genocide. Kitty Holland promotes that claim.

  

Naomi O'Leary

  


Martyn Turner



"Jewrassic Park", anti-Israel cartoon by Martyn Turner, Irish Times, July 31, 1993.
This was during Operation Accountability, launched by Israel in response (of course) to Hezbollah and PFLP terror attacks from Lebanon.
The Anti-Defamation League actually protested this cartoon.
Martyn Turner projects Hezbollah's world view onto the Israelis.
Hezbollah, of course, regard all Jews as targets, and responded to Israel by bombing the Jews of Argentina in 1994.



Martyn Turner has spent decades attacking Israel and running spin for the jihad.
Here he is again in the 2014 Gaza war attacking Israel and the brave IDF (who lost 66 soldiers killed).
From Irish Times, July 16, 2014.
What a one-sided fanatic.
See CiF Watch commentary.



Martyn Turner above has Hamas merely "spitting" at Israel.
And lefties often say that rocket attacks are no big deal, since only modest numbers of Jews are killed.
Above I reply to a leftie who says rocket attacks are "few". Apart from being inaccurate (there have been 11,000 rocket attacks since Israel left Gaza) it is a ludicrous argument: "Why are you angry? Our government hardly ever launches military attacks on your nation."



 

 




Politics      Religion      Since 1995.      New 250 G VPS server.


Banned in Iran: This site is banned in Iran.

Blocked on Twitter by the regressive left and Islamists: I love debate. I love ideas. But the Western left and their friends the Islamic right do not return the favour. Their response to opposing ideas, whether expressed politely or robustly, is often to block. See Who blocks me on Twitter.

I like debate. But I do have rules. See Who I block on Twitter.

Twitter is broken, 2016 to 2022: I am on Twitter at markhumphrys. Twitter was a great place for debate before 2016. You could meet everyone in the world, and argue about ideas. Starting in 2016, Twitter became increasingly broken. It became full of reporting and bans and censorship. In 2019, Twitter even started shadowbanning me for no reason that was ever explained, or could be appealed. By 2022, everyone was looking for a better place to debate.

Twitter is saved, 2022: In 2022 Elon Musk bought Twitter and started to end the censorship. It looks great so far. Twitter seems to be saved.