Palestinian "Thug-of-the-Day" in the Times
Today's "thug of the day" is a lovely young chap named Nasser Joumaa. He is described in tender, almost loving terms: "pale and thin," like a wispy reed of scallion, our young hero is "39 and respected here for his military and political prowess."
Our young hero has a war record, perhaps? After all, he has "prowess." Hmmmm.... let's see. Has he commanded a tank battalion, perhaps, in one of the Gulf Wars (no doubt on the side of Saddam Hussein, not that we care)? That is what I think of when someone talks about "military prowess." (I guess the political prowess must come from.... oh, why be picky?)
No, actually Times reporter Steve Erlanger never discloses our young hero's war record. However, we do get an idea of what he did to get a chest full of ribbons.
Seems that he was "the commander of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus. He was wanted by the Israelis and" and... and.... well, without even telling us what this young hero was wanted for, Erlanger tells us that this man is not only a war hero, but a man who, in the best John Ford war movie tradition, loves his mother:
He "kept hidden, even as his mother was dying, 15 months ago, from cancer. When her body was laid out in a crowded mosque, however, he slipped in to pay last respects."
Doesn't that make you all choked up? Still, what kind of "battles" do the "soldiers" of the "Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades" carry out? Hmmm..... that's a toughie. Let me think on it. Hey, I got it! They kill Jewish civilians by suicide bombings and firing rockets into civilian areas!
So in other words, in Steve Erlanger's view, what qualifies our young hero for "military prowess" would also qualify, say, a commander of the Einsatzgruppen who dispatched Jewish civilians by firing squad, or someone who tossed in the Zyklon B into the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
No? I exaggerate? Well, then perhaps someone can tell me what other "military activities" the "Al Aksa Brigades" engages in?
That brings me to yesterday's thug-of-the-day, a story on "a man named Hitler" running for a seat in the Palestinian parliament. Not even lovingly taking on the "Hitler" name prevents our loyal pro-Palestinian shill Greg Myre from making an excuse for it. " Mr. Roub said Hitler's slaughter of the Jews was wrong, yet he seems quite willing to keep the nickname," reports Myre, seemingly perplexed by the contradiction.
Duhhh.... could it be that maybe while he allegedly believes Hitler's slaughter of the Jews was "wrong," he believes that Palestinian slaughter of the Jews is right? And has maybe actually, oh, killed a few Jews now and then? Myre doesn't tell us and apparently never asked.
No matter. This man has a "military" record too, and that is what counts. In his case it is that of a glamorous Che Guevara or Pancho Villa, leading the "militant" "Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in this turbulent corner of the West Bank, and has spent the past five years leading his ragtag band of gunmen in frequent clashes with the Israeli military."
Golly, why would a man named "Hitler" be wanted by the Israeli military? Might it have anything to do with....oh, I'll take a wild guess, killing Jewish civilians by suicide bombings or firing rockets into civilian areas?
Again, we don't know. In neither article do Myre or Erlanger even bother to inquire what these two young heros have actually done. That would, after all, spoil the heroic picture.
I'm sending a copy of this item to the Empty Suit, Times "public relations editor" Barney Calame. Barney has ignored or excused journalistic atrocities such as this in his eight months as a parody of a public editor. So Barney, here's another one for you to ignore!
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posted by Mediacrity at 10:37 AM
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