November 13, 2004
ARE YOU SURE HE’S DEAD? OK, RUN IT
Yasser Arafat 1929-2004 ( Pittsburgh-Tribune Review, November, 13th, 2004)
The most disgusting aspect of Yasser Arafat's death is not the representatives of at least 35 countries (from Algeria to Yemen) who attended the funeral of the international terrorist. Nor is it the 25 minutes French President Jacques Chirac stayed by Mr. Arafat's corpse in a French hospital conveying condolences.Nor Mr. Chirac saying the bearded butcher was "a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years has incarnated the Palestinians' fight for ... their national rights."
"Fight" being French for "terrorism."
Nor United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan being "deeply moved" by the death of the man who rewired children into bombs.
Nor Mr. Annan's inadvertent irony that "President Arafat ... led the Palestinians to accept the principle of peaceful coexistence between Israel and a future Palestinian state."Nor Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, saying Arafat was "a hero to us all" -- except perhaps to the survivors of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972, 21 Israeli school children in 1974, or Leon Klinghoffer, an old man in a wheelchair on the Achille Lauro who was dumped overboard in 1985.
To name a few.
The most disgusting aspect is that the United States would send anyone -- let alone William Burns, the State Department's top Middle East official -- to pay our final respects to the smiling sociopathic serial-killer.
No argument here, but why are so many newspapers worldwide now saying what they declined to say while he was alive and murdering?
Sounds familiar... when Saddam was overthrown, some head honcho said that finally CNN can report the truth, which it couldn't under Hussein's regime, but they still wanted people there to impress everyone on how CNN is everywhere.
Also, a lot of reporting is still respectful of Saddam for the same reason no-one shows the Palestinians celebrating 9/11... they're afraid of being on the terrorists' hit list.
Posted by: Just John at November 13, 2004 8:16 PMHas anyone see Ringo Starr recently?
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at November 13, 2004 10:51 PMActually, CNN still seems pro-Saddam sometimes.
I think reporters on the foreign beat lived for the chance to meet with Arafat (and denounce Israel).
Posted by: jim hamlen at November 13, 2004 11:08 PMCNN only hires you if you hate America and its friends around the world.
Posted by: Bart at November 14, 2004 6:26 AMRaoul: Are you refering to the striking resemblance to Arafat the ex-Beatle has aged into?
Posted by: Bartman at November 14, 2004 6:38 PMNo argument here, but why are so many newspapers worldwide now saying what they declined to say while he was alive and murdering?
Because he's no longer alive to order their murder for such disrespect.
It's like the Beavises & Buttheads on Usenet -- very brave as long as they're on the Net and safely out of fist range.