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November 14, 2003
Fingering Fisk
Glorious destruction by David Pryce-Jones in the Spectator of that grand vizier of venomous distortion, the Independent journalist Robert Fisk. What Pryce-Jones brings out in particular, in addition to the hysteria and disinformation which are Fisk's calling cards, is that his sanctimonious posturing is beyond parody -- as when he praised his Taleban attackers for having the good taste to beat up a westerner who was by definition evil (ie, himself). Since events persistently prove him wrong in virtually everything he writes, the fact that he is so lionised by the left says it all. Posted by melanie at November 14, 2003
Comments
Pardon my pedantry, but I'm compelled to make one small correction. Pryce-Jones writes: "a new word has appeared: ‘fisking’, meaning the selection of evidence solely in order to bolster preconceptions and prejudices" But the authoritative Samizdata glossary defines it thusly: Fisk verb. To deconstruct an article on a point by point basis in a highly critical manner. Derived from the name of journalist Robert Fisk, a frequent target of such critical articles in the blogosphere (qv). Usage: "Orrin Judd did a severe fisking of an idiotic article in the New York Times today..." The latter does seem to be the prevalent usage. Posted by: The Tapir at November 14, 2003 11:36 PMThe Spectator's definition of "fisking" is not the one used by the fisking community. The beating Fisk received in Afghanistan inspired the paragraph by paragraph "critical kicking" that is the trademark of fisking. Fisk was mugged in Afghanistan and he then claimed he was attacked for representing the evil West. His self-righteous cant was subsequently beaten up, line by line, by bloggers. I wonder what Robert Fisk thinks about his contribution to the dictionary. Posted by: Djinn & Tonic at November 15, 2003 10:01 AMPryce-Jones is undoubtedly confusing "Fisking" with "to Pilger" in his definitions. He gave an excellent definition of "Pilgering." Someone needs to send him an email and remind him that he's got his left-wing, dishonest moonbat journalists mixed up. Posted by: Susan at November 15, 2003 08:15 PMAt Little Green Footballs there is an annual Idiotarian of the Year Ward called The Fiskie. Last year Jimmy Carter ws the winner. Posted by: Travis at November 15, 2003 11:06 PM |
