Monday, January 5, 2009

Man of the Street, Scholar, Hero (and Murderer?)

Noah Pollack alerts me to Mary Katharine Ham's dissection of the Guardian obituary yesterday for the late Nizzar Rayyan. Even Haaretz, which regularly translates Guardian articles for the education of the Hebrew-reading public, is a bit taken aback by the obituary (but not enough to post its reservations on the English side of its website).

I don't know if the Guardian's obituary is bizarre, or depraved, or merely predictable. Probably all of the above. Though it's actually a good idea to read it also for the gags:
Although, on winning the 2006 election, Hamas committed itself to a long-term truce with Israel and promised to abide by resolutions already agreed by the Palestinian Authority...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

FROM CAROL HERMAN

Hey! More obituaries, please!

Hey, again. I'm reminded of all the kind words spoken at Nixon's funeral. When one comedian wrote: "Maybe, they're burying the wrong man?" You could miss Nixon, if those lovely sentiments had been true.

Weren't.

As to Riyyan, the media is leaving out the arsenal he kept at home. Just in case you thought it was the "one bomb" theory that led to his decapitation; I think not.

Riyyan, too, is the jerk who told gazans to "put women and children up on their roofs" ... because the Israelis were too cowardly to shoot.

Oops.

Turns out a family tried this trick; and you can picture this. Actually.

Beause it happened. The helicopter came in low. To "eye level" so to speak; and let loose with a round of 20 mm. Canon. Short of leaping off the roof, this "family" did a fast exit. So you can decide? Loving family? Or just scared shitless? How come we don't get the interview?

The nicest picture of Riyyan's demise is that his head flew off. And, his body was a separate piece. In the old day? That would have been a convenience. And, the head would have been placed on top of a pike. And, shown off LONDON BRIDGE.

So, don't get so confused. Londoners were used to seeing heads on pikes displayed on LONDON BRIDGE.

Alas, here, the head was rolled into the ground, along with this terrorist's body. (And, unlike what would happen in America ... where people would come to show their devotion. By bringing champagne. Drunk first, of course. Just to water the flowers.)

Not that I care.

Where would fish wrap be without the Guardian? What are they "guarding?" It's not much of a defense. And, for England, the real problems are socialism. Good luck to them, with Marx. Oh, yes. You can visit his body, in England. In America? I think you'd have to stick a Port'a-potty on top.)

Ya know, if there's also another truth. Without the obit, how would you know the guy wasn't among the living?

You've seen Haniyeh lately? Go ahead. Write "copy" in advance. Obit departments typically do.