CNN Analyst Mourns Hezbollah Leader on Monday; Out on Wednesday
[Guest post by DRJ]
As Patterico posted Monday, CNN’s Senior Editor for Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr mourned the death of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah in a tweet:
“Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah… One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.”
Today she left CNN:
“From Parisa Khosravi – SVP CNN International Newsgathering
I had a conversation with Octavia this morning and I want to share with you that we have decided that she will be leaving the company. As you know, her tweet over the weekend created a wide reaction. As she has stated in her blog on CNN.com, she fully accepts that she should not have made such a simplistic comment without any context whatsoever. However, at this point, we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised going forward.
As a colleague and friend we’re going to miss seeing Octavia everyday. She has been an extremely dedicated and committed part of our team. We thank Octavia for all of her hard work and we certainly wish her all the best.
Parisa.”
It’s been my experience that when people are let go, “we wish you the best” isn’t the message they remember.
— DRJ
Usually not, no.
And this:
Gee, ya’ think?
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:56 pmThis is exactly what i love about the modern age. Before this, her idiocy never would have made the light of day and her bias would remain hidden. now we know for sure she is biased and we are better for it.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (f97997) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:56 pmI was less than impressed with the “context”:
It was an error of judgment for me to write such a simplistic comment and I’m sorry because it conveyed that I supported Fadlallah’s life’s work. That’s not the case at all…
I used the words “respect” and “sad” because to me as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman’s rights.
He called for the abolition of the tribal system of “honor killing.” He called the practice primitive and non-productive. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam…
This does not mean I respected him for what else he did or said. Far from it.
It is no secret that Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah hated with a vengeance the United States government and Israel. He regularly praised the terror attacks that killed Israeli citizens. And as recently as 2008, he said the numbers of Jews killed in the Holocaust were wildly inflated.
But it was his commitment to Hezbollah’s original mission – resisting Israel’s occupation of Lebanon – that made him popular and respected among many Lebanese, not just people of his own sect.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:04 pmYou know, that is something like saying that you admired Hitler because he was a vegetarian and animal-lover.
People unclear on the concept. Even on the issue of women, Fadlallah did not have, um, modern views. In fact, Ms. Nasr’s clothing, make up, and so forth were not exactly approved by the late Mr. Fadlallah.
So…I don’t know quite what to say about a person who compartmentalizes so thoroughly, even about issues that directly impact her own life.
Eric Blair (02a138) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:07 pmYou know, that is something like saying that you admired Hitler because he was a vegetarian and animal-lover.
Yep. And in attempting to explain herself, she has instead unintentionally confirmed her own bias and irrationality.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:12 pmNot a big fan of CNN. But with this ridiculous situation and the one with Susan Roesgen (who was also let go after embarrassing herself and the network) you have to say they are more savvy and obvious about cutting ties with bad reporters than almost any other network–at least in recent memory.
elissa (75bb70) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:17 pmIt’s revolting, she would have said the same of Haj Amin Husseini, Arafat’s uncle and Hitler penpal
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:21 pmAnd to think there are probably 200-300 more lunatics at CNN who have yet to disrobe in public.
95% of the MSM are out-of-their-mind crazy mix of lefties and tribalists who will spin everything to meet their world view.
HeavenSent (a9126d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:22 pmDRJ: It’s been my experience that when people are let go, “we wish you the best” isn’t the message they remember.
— Well, when the real message is, “We wish that you would go crawl under a rock so that the public will forget that you were ever associated with us” . . .
Icy Texan (e3fa84) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:29 pm“We wish that you would go crawl under a rock so that the public will forget that you were ever associated with us” . . .
…and yet it was CNN that hired her…as well as Susan Rogen.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:33 pmwhat do you bet they double security? Maybe get one of them sniffer dogs
happyfeet (19c1da) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:35 pmStupid is as stupid does. Now we know that CNN is responsive to complaints. That is worth knowing. We also know that one more terrorist apologist is off the air…for now.
Vivian Louise (643333) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:38 pmits a damn shame that a terrorist sympathizer in the MFM can’t let the mask slip even once without losing her well paid position that allowed her to distort the world’s information flow from the Middle East and elsewhere.
what is the world coming to?
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:47 pmI’m glad they cut ties with her. That’s great news. Maybe CNN is worth a second look. I don’t expect much, but I’ll watch them for a couple of evenings and see.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:50 pm…and yet it was CNN that hired her…as well as Susan Rogen.
Comment by Dana — 7/7/2010 @ 6:33 pm
— Because either, A) she hid her views from her employers for a long time; or, B) they practice a policy of tolerance (read: unspoken encouragement), as long as it doesn’t go “too far”, with “too far” defined as “the point at which it embarrasses US”; or, C) they go by the addage that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”. Sure, they fired her, but think of the ratings boost the story gave them!
Icy Texan (e3fa84) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:03 pmYou know, that is something like saying that you admired Hitler because he was a vegetarian and animal-lover.
And he was a non-smoker.
He did have a few unpopular views but all opinions are equal under the principles of eleemosynary practice.
OK I just used the word because I like it.
Mike K (0ef8c3) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:37 pmOctavia, Susan, the guy who said they edited their news to retain access from Sadaam…what a list of news giants!
Patricia (358f54) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:57 pmIsn’t Al Jazeera trying to start up an English-language network for the U.S. market? Coincidence? Looks like a real strong candidate for Senior Correspondent just emerged.
I didn’t necessarily have the “Hitler loved dogs” reaction to Ms. Nasar’s lame explanation. The first thing I thought of was “Mussolini chased the mafia out of Sicily.” That seems closer in spirit to what Ms. Nasar was trying to convey.
JVW (18d81d) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:04 pmbaba fadlallah
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:08 pmsaid three times fast is funny
funnier he’s dead
And there’s always Nick Robertson, who they filched from ITN, always willing to speak the enemies talking points
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:17 pmWe are proud to announce our new Senior Editor for Mideast Affairs, Ms Octavia Nasr.
Comment by MSNBC
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:46 pmLife’s hard out there for a pimp.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:50 pmPatricia,
The CNN Chief News Executive who admitted that CNN was covering up human rights abuses of Saddam’s regime and giving gifts to Saddam Hussein, all in exchange for a special relationship with the tyrannical baathist Iraqi government, was Eason Jordan.
He also made up stories of US Soldiers trying to target and murder journalists.
Eason Jordan deserves to live in infamy.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:50 pmVia Ed Morrissey:
From CNN: Despite her senior editor title, Ms. Nasr did not run CNN’s Middle East coverage, a spokesman said. She reported and provided analysis about the region for CNN’s networks.
Morrissey: So why didn’t they call her a “senior correspondent” or “senior analyst”? In journalism, the title “editor” means something specific — someone who provides management of the news.
Update III: On the other hand, Tapper tweeted that titles don’t necessarily connote responsibility in news orgs these days. However, after 20 years at CNN, one might think the title of senior editor might be reflective of more than just her seniority, but we’ll see.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:09 pmI think they probably give out titles such as this based on nothing more than vapor and pedigree until that person does something too dumb to defend.
Ag80 (363d6e) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:16 pmFTFY!
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:28 pmDespite her senior editor title, Ms. Nasr did not run CNN’s Middle East coverage, a spokesman said. She reported and provided analysis about the region for CNN’s networks
Ah, the old Alexi Giannoulias defense. He was the world’s most wonderful young brilliant banking Vice President and deserving of being Illinois treasurer and a US Senator. Until his bank failed–and then he had only been a gopher, a form filler outer and the maker of lobby coffee.
elissa (75bb70) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:56 pmAs a colleague and friend we’re going to miss seeing Octavia everyday.
And please don’t notice that I, senior vice president of international newsgathering for CNN Worldwide, with dozens of copy editors and fact checkers groveling at my feet, do not know the difference between “every day” and “everyday.”
Murgatroyd (fd5fcd) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:56 pmMurgatroyd, alot of people watch CNN everyday and their alot smarter than you. Your not going to win a fight against there writing diploma’s.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:14 pm“Until his bank failed–and then he had only been a gopher, a form filler outer and the maker of lobby coffee.”
elissa – And as Senior Credit Officer somehow on the days the loans were made to the wise guys he was always emptying the waste baskets and knew nothing about them.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:14 pmLastima. Me gustan suyas tetas.
nk (db4a41) — 7/8/2010 @ 2:31 amhttp://thinkprogress.org/2010/07/07/nasr-cnn/
AJB (d64738) — 7/8/2010 @ 3:06 amSome more context:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/07/muhammad-husayn-fadlallah.html
It’s a lot more complicated than “ZOMG MUZZIE TERRIST BAD EVIL MAN.”
AJB (d64738) — 7/8/2010 @ 3:11 amAJB – It is no more complicated than this: 241 families of the Marines murdered who now grieve unnecessarily for their sons.
I really really really do not give a damn about his good works or dislike of communists. 241 dead Marines inform me of all I need to know about this now, thankfully, dead man. I’m quite sure that Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer were nice about something too, but their positive qualities are RIGHTLY eclipsed by their nefarious deeds.
Also, I’d like to note – you are the first to introduce racist terms into this thread. Bad form.
Vivian Louise (643333) — 7/8/2010 @ 4:33 amThe first real expert on Hezbollah, saw no great nuance, in Fadlallah, he allowed the Pasdaran through the likes of Mohastemi-pur turn that splinter of the Amal militia into a tool of Iran
http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/07/ayatollah-fadlallah-dies/
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:12 amHis successor at the DAyan Center, puts things in perspective,
http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=379&PID=1862&IID=2193
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:21 amHere’s the original essay on Fadlallah
http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/reader/archives/oracle-of-hizbullah-sayyid-muhammad-husayn-fadlallah/
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:37 amAJB
You cited thinkprogress? Seriously?
They are complete liars. if they claim the sky is blue, i don’t believe them without independant verification.
As for his good traits, i find most of the time when liberals allege a bad guy has his good points, those good points are largely hallucination based. I.e. al Qaeda building day care centers.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:05 amNo, it isn’t.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:20 amI wonder if the lady with the pretty decollatage did not mean the subsequent Grenada, the bombing of Qadaffi’s daughter, and Lockerbie.
There’s a hidden glee there for chaos being brought to the world, but that’s not the work of a giant.
nk (db4a41) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:20 amLove the euphemism “we had a conversation and we decided” that Octavia shouldn’t let the screen door slap her behind on the way out.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:27 amI’m surprised Nasr didn’t claim to be channelling Trent Lott or Bill Clinton.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:37 amStupidity is not just on this side of the pond:
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 7:31 amhttp://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/guy/entry/the_passing_of_decent_men
ian
ah, well, hell… they are even dumber over there. how many european leaders have left flowers at arafat-head’s grave?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 7:42 amnasr know adage
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/8/2010 @ 7:51 amthat today no such thing as
bad publicity
So AJB cites ThikProgress and a site called AngryArab for his “facts”. And of course the Israelis know nothing about what is going on in Hezbollah. This despite having thousands of native Arab speakers and the most advanced communications intercept equipment in the world in their intelligence services.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 7/8/2010 @ 7:58 amyou have to say they are more savvy and obvious about cutting ties with bad reporters than almost any other network–at least in recent memory.
I’m afraid I cannot agree with your conclusion – this is the same network that also employed “Bahgdad Pete” Arnett, willing conspirator for Saddam and hater of all things US, including his final act of outrageous lying, his infamous “Operation Tailwind” fabrication. The only reason any of these nasty types get fired is because they’re finally unearthed and exposed by the US public, but never by the network that employs them.
When CNN decides to get rid of “Drunk Driving Manslaughterer” Rick Sanchez, then I may be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Dmac (93e7cb) — 7/8/2010 @ 8:13 amOh, and I guess I don’t need to bring up that lying scumbag 24/7 Head Terrorist Sympathizer Arafat – Loving ME “correspondent” Amanpour, who only recently left to get a much better gig at ABC news. Best vid I ever saw was when she beclowned herself again in a lame attempt at baiting Sarko during a joint news conference with Obama in Paris – watch what happens when her idiocy is finally smacked down for all to see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwHc-dzU4I
But of course not only was she rewarded for this kind of rampant biased asshattery, now she gets to be a news anchor.
Dmac (93e7cb) — 7/8/2010 @ 8:22 amThe three things I like best about Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah:
AD - RtR/OS! (63c5ca) — 7/8/2010 @ 8:43 am1- He’s dead;
2- He’s dead;
3- He’s dead!
The three things I like best about Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah:
1- He’s dead.
2- He’s in Hell.
3- He’s being raped anally by his 72 “virgin” demons.
FIFY
peedoffamerican (27a8a6) — 7/8/2010 @ 9:05 ampeed
that reminds me of a joke i made up.
You might remember that about a week or two before 9-11 we executed tim mcveigh. so mcveigh is down in hell, when suddenly mohammed atta and his boys show up. The devil comes to mcveigh’s cell and says, “hey, McVeigh. i have someone i would like you to meet.”
The devil grabs mcveigh and drags him down to atta’s cell and throws him in. As he is locking the door, the devil shouts, “hey mohammed, remember how you were told you would get 72 virgins? Well, here’s your first one.”
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 9:48 amFixed it for you, CNN.
sherlock (55055f) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:02 amMaybe CNN could cover the new NASA Muslim mission.
kansas (1d82ed) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:21 amNASA TV could run slightly-renamed clips from the old Muppets show: “No Pigs in Space!”
sherlock (62f2cf) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:51 amsherlock
how do you pray toward mecca in space?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 12:05 pmJust bow towards Earth.
AD - RtR/OS! (63c5ca) — 7/8/2010 @ 12:08 pm“72 Amazon Virgins On The Moon”
Icy Texan (388cfa) — 7/8/2010 @ 1:14 pmUPDATE: Hezbollah denounces CNN’s firing of Mideast editor
From Associated Press
July 09, 2010 4:20 AM EDT
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant Hezbollah has denounced CNN’s decision to fire a Middle East editor for posting a note on Twitter expressing admiration for the country’s late top Shiite cleric.
Octavia Nasr later apologized for her tweet in which she described Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah as “one of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.” But CNN officials said her credibility had been compromised.
Hezbollah’s spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi says CNN’s decision amounts to “intellectual terrorism” and reflects the West’s “double standards” in dealing with the Mideast.
He said in a statement issued on Friday that the decision to fire Nasr — a Lebanese who worked for CNN for two decades — exposes America’s false claims regarding freedom of expression.
Icy Texan (ec99c0) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:00 amThat’s rich. Those motherthankers turned a beautiful country, Lebanon, into a hellhole and they are criticising America over freedom of expression?
(But I really liked her cleavage.)
nk (db4a41) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:12 amMy father’s sister son (that would make him my cousin I guess) married a woman from Lebanon, BTW. She’s blond and blue-eyed and a lot whiter than me.
nk (db4a41) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:15 amnk, not to worry. If there’s one constant among the cables, it’s attractive females on the screen.
As to Hezbollah’s whining over a constitutional freedom of expression, the way some internet troll would if banned from a website, and their whining about intellectual terrorism, I think it’s a little early to be quoting The Onion. Oh that’s not satire?
They act like they know terrorism and opposing classical liberalism is wrong. Either that, or they are just attempting some Alinksy-esque ‘make them live up to their own set of rules’ crap.
And I did watch more CNN over the last couple of days. It’s not as bad as I remembered, but it’s not very informative.
What I really want is a less flashy FNC without any editorializing programs except Red Eye. Maybe throw in 5 minutes of Beck crying so I can feel good about my life in comparison.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:18 amPictures of Machinist’s sword here: http://krites.blogspot.com/2010/07/gunto.html
nk (db4a41) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:28 amNot pimping my site, I don’t care about traffic. Just that Machinist sent me the photos with a note of how his father got the sword.
nk (db4a41) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:30 amI think you meant that for the thread on the shooting, nk.
It’s an amazing war trophy.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:35 amfree expression in
DeputyHaikuDawg (ec99c0) — 7/9/2010 @ 3:52 amHezbollah; say what you want
before blow self up
Obama should nominate Ibrahim Moussawi to the SCOTUS. The man has obviously never read the Constitution, and therefore would be eminently qualified to be chosen by Teh Won.
Icy Texan (ec99c0) — 7/9/2010 @ 4:05 amthis is CNN
A stimulus jobs program even a Republican could love*
happyfeet (19c1da) — 7/9/2010 @ 5:48 amI should not complain since it’s free, but I Blogger made me take the sword post down for almost an hour so I could edit it. Apologies to everyone. It’s good now (maybe).
nk (db4a41) — 7/9/2010 @ 6:52 am” We wish her the best and she will go with God. Unless she acts like a harlot , then she should be stoned to death. You know – going out in public alone – wearing make-up, head uncovered….hey, wait a minute.. she is doing that now!”
[“The problem is, you people have no idea on how to fight Moors.” derivation of familial quote from 1450]
CAlifornio (becfb2) — 7/9/2010 @ 9:14 am