Robert Fisk - classic or dud

I have derived much enjoyment from his book "Pity The Nation: Lebanon at War", a fascinating account of Lebanon at war. There are a lot of images in that which will live with you forever while making you forever fascinated by Lebanon and its people. Or at least, that's what happened with me.

I gather many people do not like this writer.

"It is the job of journalists to be impartial on the side of those who suffer most"

It must be nice to finally slide into complete self-parody.

The most self-righteous journo in the UK? I'm discounting John Pilger as he's an Aussie, despite I think being based here.

Although TBF being outraged about the shelling of schools is fair enough.

That's the trouble with being permanently outraged

T/S: robert fisk vs. alan 'cunt' milburn vs. dom passantino

Fisk's combination of "permanently outraged" with "massively self-loathing" seems to be a good distillation of the UK's "intellectual" left in the 09

The most self-righteous journo in the UK?

Pretty much.

I went to a discussion that he was involved in last year in which, in
response to a question about what the American and British soldiers say when he talks to them, his response was "I don't talk to the winners of wars, only the losers". Was sorely tempted to stand up and rebut him with the line from the simpsons about how there are no winners in wars, only losers but didnae.

Must be nice to live in a world of moral absolutes.

his response was "I don't talk to the winners of wars, only the losers"

All the while making a L shape on his forehead

Who's got a link to that article where he's getting his head kicked in by a gang of Afghans, and his response is "I deserve these stamps to the face because I belong to the decadent oppressive West"

He collects stamps from the third world

Arty Fufkin, Polymer Records:

The article Dom mentions doesn't seem to be on the indy website but the line is:

" "They started by shaking hands. We said "Salaam aleikum" – peace be upon you – then the first pebbles flew past my face. A small boy tried to grab my bag. Then another. Then someone punched me in the back. Then young men broke my glasses, began smashing stones into my face and head. I couldn't see for the blood pouring down my forehead and swamping my eyes. And even then, I understood. I couldn't blame them for what they were doing. In fact, if I were the Afghan refugees of Kila Abdullah, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border, I would have done just the same to Robert Fisk. Or any other Westerner I could find." "

lol, and managing to refer to himself in the third person is the icing on the cake!

From what's just been said here, he still sounds OK to me. That last quotation is rather morally impressive actually. If it was me I would always blame anyone for attacking me.

I suspect they wouldn't do that to any other Westerner they could find, just Robert Fisk

Who's got a link to that article where he's getting his head kicked in by a gang of Afghans, and his response is "I deserve these stamps to the face because I belong to the decadent oppressive West"

Did this actually happen outside a Private Eye parody that also had Julie Burchill liberating Kabul by telling them all that Tony Parsons was a cunt?

LOOK FOUR POSTS UP CHUCKLES

Still having problems believeing Craig Brown didn't write that

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/my-beating-by-refugees-is-a-symbol-of-the-hatred-and-fury-of-this-filthy-war-619698.html

Here it is in full. Dig that URL.

God this is a URL treasure trove:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-why-does-john-malkovich-want-to-kill-me-605849.html

"The way things are goin', they're gonna crucify me..."

Those things are funny, yes, but I still haven't seen anything to diminish my old respect for him or make me think he's mistaken.

There's nothing very strange or comical about what Fisk wrote. It is completely understandable if Afghans who have been bombed and have lost their loved ones attack the first westerner they see.

Who says they did attack the first westerner they saw?

And why should Fisk feel glad about it? Weird masochism does not make good war correspondence.

He didn't say he felt glad about it, he said it was understandable, which makes sense.

MATT YOU ARE EXCUSING THEIR ACTIONS, WHICH ARE MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE JUST LIKE THE NAZIS

sorry did i say something? i talk in my sleep sometimes

He didn't say he felt glad about it, he said it was understandable, which makes sense.

You didn't pick up on a frisson of masochistic glee?

multixpost
I don't see how you can say Fisk feels glad about his beating, seems more like shock and disbelief that it could happen to him. As PF says the fact that he shows empathy and understanding with his assailants is quite impressive, I'm sure that someone from Fox News would have put a much less nuanced slant on it.

seems more like shock and disbelief that it could happen to him

Indeed, that's the single more irritating thing about it

We should compile ILX-approved members of the British intellectual left, I'm sure there are loads of 'em

1. Paul Jewell

2. l0u1s jagg3r

51+ suggest bans != approved

Also, "intellectual"

was waiting for that

and now the coup de grace: lol mansions, servants, countryside alliance

3. Ian Sinclair (?)

*Iain

and now the coup de grace: lol mansions, servants, countryside alliance

Well that's the self-loathing box well and truly ticked

No, more the "haha King Boy Pato likes to make jokes about how I'm a loaded Young Conservative"

Nice derailing, good work, well done.

OK, that's the overly sensitive to criticism box well and truly ticked (xp)

seeing as people on ILX constantly disagree with each other, how could there be a list of anything 'ilx-approved'?

'ilx-approved' = 'country matters + his two friends find it funny'?

anyone who's British or American has to be self-loathing to be moral.

no they don't.

picked up "The Great War for Civilisation" recently, having never read any of his stuff before. It is really fucking good.