I like Robert Fisk.
'I might have guessed it. CNN has fired one of its senior Middle East editors, Octavia Nasr, for publishing a twitter – or twatter in this case, I suppose – extolling Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon, calling him "one of Hizbollah's giants whom I respect a lot".
Well, he wasn't Hizbollah's man, but no matter. He was definitely a giant. A man of immense learning and jurisprudence, a believer in women's rights, a hater of "honour crimes", a critic of the theocratic system of government in Iran, a ... Well, I'd better be careful because I might get a phone call from Parisa Khosravi, who goes by the title of CNN's "senior vice president" – what these boss types do or what they get paid for their gutless decisions I have no idea – who said this week that she had "had a conversation" with Nasr (who'd been with the company for 20 years) and "we have decided that she will be leaving the company".
Oh deary, deary. Poor old CNN goes on getting more cowardly by the hour. That's why no one cares about it any more. That can't be said about Fadlallah. The Americans put it about that he had blessed the suicide bomber who struck the US marine base in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 service personnel. Fadlallah always denied this to me and I believe him. Suicide bombers, however insane we regard them, don't need to be blessed; they think they are doing God's duty without any help from a marja like Fadlallah. But anyway, Washington used Saudi money to arrange a car bombing to assassinate Fadlallah in 1985. It missed Fadlallah. But it killed more than 80 innocent people. I do wonder what Ms Khosravi would have thought of that. No comment, I guess.'
--Robert Fisk
58 comments :
To begin with, Mr. Mojo, it's a good idea not to jump to conclusions about the firing of Octavia Nasr. An inside source says that poor performance was also a reason behind the sack. If that be true, I cannot fault CNN. She really was a dumb, unprofessional reporter.
The second point is that Robert Fisk's article is blatant romanticism about Fadlallah. I'm not sure why anyone should express admiration for an anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying Islamist. Does that deserve to be ignored, as Fisk does, even though he had relatively liberal views on women's rights in the Muslim world? I want to know what you think of this statement by Fadlallah: ''We find in the Qur'an that the Jews are the most aggressive towards the Muslims...because of their aggressive resistance to the unity of the faith''. Similarly, in an interview with Al-Manar TV in 2008 about the Holocaust,he declared ''Zionism has inflated the number of victims in this holocaust beyond imagination. They say there were six million Jews – (there were) not six million, not three million, or anything like that''. If you cannot condemn such abhorrent sentiments, we have a serious problem here.
True, Fadlallah was not exactly the ''spiritual mentor'' of all Hizbullah, but in the 1980s he served as a jurist, strategist, spokesperson etc. for Hizbullah clerics at times, and, as Al-Manar's obituary points ou, he ''inspired the leaders of the resistance movement'' and ''fumed the flame of the ideology of the resistance'', freqeuntly justifying suicide bombings with statements like ''What martyrdom is greater than making yourself a human bomb, detonating it among the enemy?'' Let me hear you decry that horrific opinion. I will concede, however, that after 1990 his formal distance from the group increased with the rise of Hassan Nasrallah.
Final point is that ''Washington'' did not attempt to assassinate Fadlallah. The bomb that was planted to kill him might have been the work of those with American training and perhaps the personal approval of CIA director William Casey (emphasis on ''personal'', not necessarily the approval of the CIA as a whole), but there is no evidence the US government had any role in the attack or even approved of the action.
Robert Fisk is generally an idiot unworthy of being taken seriously. Look how wrong he was about NATO intervention in Kosovo and Bosnia, for example. The tyrant Milosevic ended up in the Hague. He didn't make the mistake of supporting the 3arab jarab and has decried Muslim killing of Muslims, but his writings are filled with errors and he pedals the Muslim victimhood narrative of the Middle East (see Efraim Karsh's review of his book ''The Great War for Civilisation'' to see the staggerng number of errors in his book). He also propagates the myth that the Zionist movement as a whole planned to expel Palestinians en masse before the 1948 War.
So he didn't deny the Holocaust. He did try to minimize it and said the numbers are lower. That is contemptible enough.
But is it true that he was a believer in women's rights, a hater of "honour crimes", a critic of the theocratic system of government in Iran? If so I'd say that's pretty good for a Shia cleric.
'And now it turns out that the British ambassador to Lebanon, Frances Guy, has written on her personal blog that Fadlallah was a man she respected and most enjoyed meeting in Lebanon. What possesses these personalities to have blogapops all over the place I have no idea. But Ms Guy has incurred the anger of the Israeli foreign ministry, whose spokesman says it would be "interesting" to know what the British Foreign Office thinks of her remarks.'
and
'In those days, we journos called Fadlallah Hizbollah's "spiritual mentor", though that wasn't true. He did support the Lebanese resistance during Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and he was a fierce opponent of US policy in the region – like almost everyone else in the world, including the US, it seems – and he demanded an end of Shia blood-shedding ceremonies at Ashura (when Shias mourn the killing of the Prophet's grandson).'
Firstly, Mr. Mojo, minimising the death toll in the Holoaust DOES fall under the category of Holocaust denial. You can find many neo-Nazis in this world who will say things along the lines of ''Well, at most, only 200,000 Jews could have died in the camps''.
Secondly, it is true he was a critic of velayat-e-faqih, but he did endorse velayat-e-umma (i.e. Shi'a majoritarian theocracy), espoused by Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr. That makes him an Islamist.
Moreover, I don't care if the ambassador to Lebanon for the UK praised Fadlallah. She is probably ignorant of Fadlallah's antisemitism, Islamism and Holocaust denial, but that makes her as dumb as Octavia Nasr.
Fadlallah did oppose the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanon (funny how Fisk never wants to put Israeli actions in context), but had no problem with Hizbullah's toleration of Syrian occupation or Hizbullah's determination to drive out UN multinational peacekeeping forces from Lebanon (which the group achieved in 1985).
I notice, also, that you do not condemn Fadlallah's antisemitism as expressed by what he said about Jews as reflected in the Qur'an.
Holocaust denial is despicable. I wrote a post about Holocaust denial among Arabs and Muslims
"In 1991, Fisk won a Jacob's Award for his RTÉ Radio coverage of the first Gulf War.[32] He received Amnesty International UK Press Awards in 1998 for his reports from Algeria and again in 2000 for his articles on the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999. In 1999 Fisk won the Orwell Prize for journalism.[33] He received the British Press Awards' International Journalist of the Year seven times, and twice won its "Reporter of the Year" award.[34] In 2001, he was awarded the David Watt Prize for "outstanding contributions towards the clarification of political issues and the promotion of their greater understanding" for his investigation into the Armenian Genocide by the Turks in 1915.[35] In 2002 he was the fourth recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. More recently, Fisk was awarded the 2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize along with $350,000.[36]
He was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of St Andrews on June 24, 2004. The Political and Social Sciences department of Ghent University (Belgium) awarded Fisk an honorary doctorate on March 24, 2006. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the American University of Beirut in June 2006. Trinity College Dublin awarded him a second, honorary, Doctorate in July 2008.[37]"
I must say that's impressive.
I know you condemn his Holocaust denial, but I noted that you did not condemn his antisemitism as reflected by this remark: ''We find in the Qur'an that the Jews are the most aggressive towards the Muslims...because of their aggressive resistance to the unity of the faith''. Please condemn that. Fadlallah also levelled traditional Islamic antisemitic motifs against Jews, such as their allegedly being ''prophet killers'', inter alia.
Furthermore, listing awards Fisk has won does not tell us anything about whether he is a good analyst. argumentum ad verecundiam is logic fallacy, and Fisk makes so many blunders: again, I urge you to read Karsh's review of his book: http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2006/31-3/biblio31-3.htm
Mr. Mojo, surely you are aware that Fisk kept saying that NATO intervention in Kosovo and Yugoslavia would not work? Please answer this: who later turned out to be right, NATO or Fisk? Today Kosovo is de facto independent, Milosevic ended up in the Hague, and there has been reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Fisk pedals the Muslim-victimhood narrative we need to move beyond. Not sure why you like him.
I like Robert Fisk because he is honest.
I've mentioned Robert Fisk a few times on my blog.
I called one of those posts "Shia Women in Saddam's Iraq"
"there is no evidence the US government had any role in the attack"
... the ol' plausible deniability. When somebody says that there's no evidence that the Americans did some or other dirty deed, you can be sure that they had a hand in it somewhere.
"It was thanks to "the Jews" that Jesus Christ was put to death. Make of that what you will."
Even assuming (which is doubtful) that the narratives in the gospels have any historical basis, Jesus was crucified, not stoned to death. Crucifixion was the method of execution used by the Romans. The Jews did not crucify. Jesus was killed by Italians.
However, I think the whole story is fiction.
"The Jews did not crucify. Jesus was killed by Italians."
At the insistence of the said Jews. If you recall, Pilate wanted to let Jesus free.
The story might be fiction, or it might not ... but it tends to mean a lot to the sorts of religious zealots that finger-point on the basis of religious texts.
What's wrong with saying that Jews killed Jesus. They did. They say it themselves all the time. One of the settlers favorite chants in the occupied territories is "we killed jesus and we will kill you too"
And what's wrong with saying the Holocaust numbers were inflated? Why do we have to accept the number 6 million? And why cant we go with a different number? Maybe it was more. Maybe it was 7 million. Or maybe it was only 2 million. Who said we have to accept one story as true?
If this is the definition of anti-Semite, I am an anti-Semite.
The holocaust numbers are generally accepted as being pretty much accurate.
That said, I'm sure that they want to discourage close scrutiny of the matter because they fear that people will use small discrepancies in the tallies to discredit the entire event. You know, sort of how the warmongers pick apart the various massacres that are committed against the populace of the ME by America and friends.
"Oh, the one witness said that there were four soldiers killing those Iraqis and the other said there were five, so obviously the discrepancy in the a count means they are liars and ergo nothing happened" ... sort of thing.
To Bruno, even gravity is proof that amreeka is evil. Yes Bruno, amreeka is responsible for the big bang and every bad thing that happened since. Including your migraines, bald spots, and impotence, of course.
"Yes Bruno, amreeka is responsible for the big bang and every bad thing that happened since."
Aha! I knew it! Thanks for confirming that bit of news, Maury. :)
ZOMG! The Canadians need to be 'liberated' right away Maury:
"In one telephone poll of teens between the ages of 14 and 18, over 40 per cent of the respondents described the United States as being "evil". That number rose to 64 per cent for French Canadian youth."
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2004/weinreb063004.htm
I probably have too much time on my hands right now.
"And what's wrong with saying the Holocaust numbers were inflated? Why do we have to accept the number 6 million? And why cant we go with a different number? Maybe it was more. Maybe it was 7 million. Or maybe it was only 2 million. Who said we have to accept one story as true?"
The holocaust is extremely well documented, far more than any other genocide or massacre.
"In one telephone poll of teens between the ages of 14 and 18, over 40 per cent of the respondents described the United States as being "evil". That number rose to 64 per cent for French Canadian youth."
Bruno
Does this prove that children are brain washed in these countries or that youth is simply ignorant?
It proves, Aton, that the Canadians need to be "liberated" ASAP, so that they too can learn to love Amreeka. Yeah, I bet after their houses are smoking rubble and their families are dead or in jail, they'll change their tune soon enough. Damn terrorist lovers!
Bruno;
Canadians buy almost everything those evil Americans make. The love is quite obvious.
It's not what you say, it's what you do. :-)
Now, Bruno, if you REALLY hated the Amreekans, you'd boycott your computer.
Kisses of love,
Lyra
But anyway, Washington used Saudi money to arrange a car bombing to assassinate Fadlallah in 1985.
Some substantiation for this charge would be nice, Mojo. Exactly where did you see that? Unlike Bruno, I am in need of some hard evidence for something like this, before I would be ready to believe it. I have seen too many rumors and read too much innuendo floated around in various media to be naive enough to take things at face value.
And, of course, it does without saying that if Bruno believes it I would have to be very skeptical...
Former CIA director William Casey, on his deathbed, told Bob Woodward he had a hand in it Lynnette. But, he also claimed it was "off the books", and not okayed by higher-ups. Apparently, he hooked the Saudi's up with a Lebanese warlord willing to bomb for the right price.
Still, William Casey was hardly "Washington". It's a bit disingenuous of our "honest" Robert Fisk to place the blame there.
I have many Muslim friends; none of them are dumb like you anon.
Helter Skelter was a song on the Beatles White album. Charles Manson was fixated on this album when he murdered nine people in a psychotic attempt to start a 'race war.' I'm not sure how that relates to Europe.
Yes communism is an idiotic philosophy.
You aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?
You aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?
7/14/10 5:05 PM
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Actually it is you who is not the sharpest tool in the shed. I will break it down for you. The reference to "helter skelter" means the Americans are very very dumn and confuse Hitler with the name is similiar. So you see it was a comment mocking American stupidity, and your follow up comment perfectly demonstrated the proof of what was said. Thanks for being so dumb.
A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
William Shakespeare
[lynnette] "it does without saying that if Bruno believes it I would have to be very skeptical"
I have no opinion on the matter one way or he other. Haven't done the research, see? But I have to note that:
1: Your dogma instructors in Amreeka will be proud of your stance and
2: Plausible deniability is the typical American modus operandi when it comes to dirty tricks.
Of course, you'd never believe it unless it was on Oprah, so that's that, then.
Aton quotes Shakespeare, but if he was a little wiser he'd know that the original observation came to us from Socrates.
"Bruno, if you REALLY hated the Amreekans, you'd boycott your computer."
Who said I hate the Americans?
American foreign policy, and the retards that support it, yes. There are lots of cool Americans out there, that aren't a disgrace to homo sapiens.
Take care when filling up your car today, Lydia. I hear that the evil Ay-rabs might have had a hand with the petrol that goes in it. Now, there's a scary thought, isn't it?
Well said, 吳婷婷 . Aton might want to take note.
Bruno;
Since you do hate American foreign policy so ferociously , then make a statement by boycotting their products. Stop contributing to their economy. It’s that friggin' simple.
Hemming and hawing because you don’t want to give up your Yankee goodies just makes you look like the fool you already are.
Maury,
Former CIA director William Casey, on his deathbed, told Bob Woodward he had a hand in it Lynnette.
Thanks, Maury. I see so many claims about what the US has or hasn't done that I get a little irritated when the source is left off. I prefer to evaluate whether or not I think it is credible myself.
Anonymous at 7/14/10 1:53pm,
When A stupid American asks for evidence it usually means "i did not see it on american tv so its not true"
Don't be silly, Anon, when I watch TV I'm far too busy watching things like "Desperate Housewives" or "The Big Bang Theory" to notice any so-called hard news. So how could I have possibily seen anything that had to do with an assassination? True or not.
Bruno,
[lynnette] "it does without saying that if Bruno believes it I would have to be very skeptical"
[Bruno] I have no opinion on the matter one way or he other.
Could have fooled me...
[Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi] ...there is no evidence the US government had any role in the attack"
[Bruno] ... the ol' plausible deniability. When somebody says that there's no evidence that the Americans did some or other dirty deed, you can be sure that they had a hand in it somewhere.
7/11/10 11:47 PM
Perhaps that was a troll impersonating you?
1: Your dogma instructors in Amreeka will be proud of your stance
Hmmm...how nice, and just who would they be?
2: Plausible deniability is the typical American modus operandi when it comes to dirty tricks.
Again with the "no opinion", huh? Okay, whatever.
Of course, you'd never believe it unless it was on Oprah, so that's that, then.
lol! Actually, I have never watched Oprah. And before you jump to the conclusion that it was because it's the wrong side of the political spectrum, I would say that "touchy feely" talk shows don't really interest me. A good debate, yes, but those are very rare.
Bruno said...
Aton quotes Shakespeare, but if he was a little wiser he'd know that the original observation came to us from Socrates.
7/14/10 11:59 PM
...............................
ouch! He must be feeling really dumb by now
Of course, you'd never believe it unless it was on Oprah, so that's that, then.
7/14/10 11:57 PM
...........................
hahahahahahahahahaha, you really k now these fuckheads, but you are not totally right. They would also believe it if it was on any other show like Geraldo Rivera, Dr Phil, Jay Leno.
If it is on American TV then it is true. If it is not on American TV chances are they are not aware of it and if anyone wants to educate them they insist they are crazy, why? because it is not on American TV.
Anon,
Black stone bootlicking Arab jarab American hypocrites are the forefront of ideological purity?
Perhaps when the dust settles from you play box, you will notice that your straw man burned to ash and all the adults are laughing at you illiterate illusions from your Don Quixote picture book.
One day you might realize your giant foe is simply a windmill grinding grain.
"That's why they've been able to massacre the Palestinians for 60 years now and get away with it."
South Africa sees more violent deaths every day than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused in the last 6 months.
[bruno] "That's why they've been able to massacre the Palestinians for 60 years now and get away with it."
[ch] South Africa sees more violent deaths every day than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused in the last 6 months
Ah! CH must have been that bearded fellow disguised as a hobo that I passed this morning, muttering to himself and waving a ragged notebook in the air. Kudos to you, CH for having logged every murder in Palestine and South Africa for the last six months. Excellent work! I particularly like your "displacement method" of being in two places at once.
(Next, CH will reveal to us the relevance of his momentous study to the argument, and how that excuses Israelis killing Palestinians.)
[Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi] ...there is no evidence the US government had any role in the attack"
[Bruno] ... the ol' plausible deniability. When somebody says that there's no evidence that the Americans did some or other dirty deed, you can be sure that they had a hand in it somewhere.
[lynnette] Perhaps that was a troll impersonating you?
That's me stating that plausible deniability is the standard American tactic when it comes to assasinations and similar things. Which is correct.
But, evidently you buy into these absurdities, where despite (in this case) the reported involvement of a CIA director in the affair, y'all want to pretend that y'all had nothing to do with it. That's a typical LEE-ism, trying to smudge accountability into meaninglessness. Its like the holocaust deniers that claim the Nazi government never had anything to do with the extermination camps, because they never personally visited them and put their autograph on the gas bottles.
[b] Of course, you'd never believe it unless it was on Oprah, so that's that, then.
[l] lol! Actually, I have never watched Oprah.
Suuuuure. ;)
[aton] "all the adults are laughing at you illiterate illusions from your Don Quixote picture book. "
Surely you mean:
"from your play box"
and
"laughing at your"
and
"illiterate allusions"
Aton is at his funniest when he's trying to sound clever.
Firstly, there's no need for ad hominem attacks on this thread.
Secondly, Bruno, any claim requires evidence in order for it to be plausible. Please show me evidence that the US government had any role in the bomb attack to kill Fadlallah or even approved of it.
Finally, it was not ''the Jews'' who wanted to kill Jesus, it was the Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin: big difference.
South Africa sees more violent deaths every day than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused in the last 6 months.
Indeed. And the genocide in Darfur has seen vastly more. So have the numerous on-off wars in Africa. And let's not get into the horrors of North Korea.
This tedious 60 year old conflict gets more media attention than it deserves. There's far worse suffering going on in the world.
Obviously, 1.3 billion Muslims don't care enough about the Palestinians to send in their armies to save them. Why would anyone else?
"Kudos to you, CH for having logged every murder in Palestine and South Africa for the last six months. Excellent work!"
This is coming from someone who really did spend 5 mornings a week for 6 years to post articles about every car bomb or violent incident in Iraq.
Thanks Bruno for dotting my I's and crossing my T's. I know you were good for something.
Best
Maybe it is time to tear down al-Aqsa Mosque.
Bruno; were=are
Aton said...
Maybe it is time to tear down al-Aqsa Mosque.
7/16/10 3:42 PM
...........................
hmmmm..how can I upset the mawzlemz. Oh! I know!
I got it. All I have to do is say something about the Aqsa Mosque. that always gets them. They are religious fanatics you know. And if the Aqsa remark doesnt work I can go a step further and say something about Mecca. now that really stirs their passions and violence.
LOL.
Perhaps we should build a giant church in Mecca.
..and then our empire will be complete!
LOL
It is pretty easy to rattle Arab Jarab need for violence. People who blame their own dysfunctions on other people are always easily rattled.
"I asked you why you do not care about 100 Iraqis being incinerated by a Shahid suicide bomber"
Is that supposed to be impressive Arabic, C.H.?
Sometimes when I'm going through news, it says "75 Shi3ite pilgrims die" and then a comment from the U.S.: "Great headline to start my day!"
So, while you care about the Rejectionists in Iraq, some of your Assmerican colleagues don't
Nice to see that lingette from Min. is trying hard to get an education. her info on the world comes from reading comments on blogs.this is as far as it goes. yet she likes to portray herself as someone who has enormous amounts of knowledge. deep down all that lingette is really hoping to achieve is to get laid by another ayrab. lingette is the prototype of the dumb fucked american female
"he is either a jew from a zionist family or one of those christian zionist types."
I come on here condemning the slaugher of innocent Arabs and Muslims -- the people you supposedly sympathize with -- by suicide bombers and this is the only conclusion you can come to?
You're right, CH, the violence in South Africa is appalling and will continue to be appalling long after the new Iraqi democracy rounds up the diehard terrorist remnants that Bruno Terre Blanche supports.
But we shouldn't blame the South African government, they inherited a terrible legacy from the racist Afrikaners who ruled the country during the apartheid era.
Statistically a South African is 12 times more likely to be murdered than the average American and his chances of being killed are 50 times greater than if he lived in western Europe.
"This is an extraordinarily violent society and nobody understands it," said Peter Gastrow, a crime analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Cape Town.
There are plenty of theories, many tied to South Africa's unique history and the belief that the struggle against apartheid created a culture of lawlessness, Gastrow said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/27/world/main1936878.shtml
Here's an article from one of Bruno Terre Blanche's favourite websites that he would NEVER link.
Apartheid is dead in South Africa, but a new version of white supremacy lives on.
“During apartheid the racism of white people was up front, and we knew what we were dealing with. Now white people smile at us, but for most black people the unemployment and grinding poverty and dehumanizing conditions of everyday life haven’t changed,” a black South African told me. “So, what kind of commitment to justice is under that smile?”
This community activist in Cape Town said that, ironically, the end of South’s Africa’s apartheid system of harsh racist segregation and exploitation has in some ways made it more difficult to agitate for social justice today. As he offered me his views on the complex politics of his country, Nkwame Cedile, a field worker for People’s Health Movement, expressed a frustration that I heard often in my two weeks in the country: Yes, the brutality of apartheid ended in 1994 with free elections, but the white-supremacist ideas that had animated apartheid and the racialized distribution of wealth it was designed to justify didn’t magically evaporate.
http://www.counterpunch.org/jensen06092009.html
If the violence gets too scary for Bruno Terre Blanche he can always find refuge in racially segregated towns like Orania where the old spirit lingers on.
http://www.minnpost.com/globalpost/2010/06/22/19089/small_all_white_afrikaner_town_is_not_interested_in_soccer_which_is_viewed_as_a_black_mans_sport#comments_section
you support the slaughter of innocent arabs and muslims carried out by the Arab Jarab.
I didn't realize Arab Jarab used bathrooms.
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