Comment at end
8th October, 2009
BENDING IT LIKE BECK… er …FISKING IT LIKE FISK
Wikipedia: The term fisking, or to fisk, is blogosphere slang describing a point-by-point criticism that highlights perceived errors, or disputes the analysis in a statement, article, or essay.[1] Eric S. Raymond, in the Jargon File, defined the term as:
A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story. A really stylish fisking is witty, logical, sarcastic and ruthlessly factual; flaming or handwaving is considered poor form. Named after Robert Fisk, a British journalist who was a frequent (and deserving) early target of such treatment.[2]
The British newspaper The Observer defined fisking as “…the practice of savaging an argument and scattering the tattered remnants to the four corners of the internet (named after Robert Fisk of the Independent, whose columns are considered soft targets)”[3]
Otherwise described as – “When you can’t win with one argument, try another.”
And so it is that Robert Fisk the foremost Iraq war critic, and dissembler of the west’s motives in the Middle East, has gained more fame – notoriety than he ever did calling Blair a “liar” and seemingly regretting that Blair will NOT be hanged for war crimes.
Fisk can, and does, if subtly in the video below, link his new argument of dollar downturn to his old one of malicious American-dominated intent in Iraq. Thus in his eyes, the eventual defeat for the west will be (arguably – Fisk-like) linked back to the Iraq war.
So, my dear American friends, don’t take this agenda’d individual TOO seriously.
Honesty and Fisk aren’t necessarily soul-mates. Honestly.
Meanwhile Tony Blair last night defended his Iraq decision against attacks by some Buffalo ‘Fiskers’
Robert Fisk on the Gulf ‘ditching the dollar’ in oil trade
Video and information from Al-Jazeera YouTube:
‘Gulf states have held secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the US dollar with a basket of currencies in the trade of oil, the UK’s Independent newspaper says.
The report by Robert Fisk, the newspaper’s Middle East correspondent, was published on Tuesday and cited unidentified sources in Gulf Arab states and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong.
Al Jazeera has this exclusive interview with Robert Fisk and Steven King, chief economist from the HSBC Group.’
Is Fisk “off his trolley”? Well, yes and no.
You only have to listen to him at the end of the video to determine his political bias. He was and still is a main critic of the west’s international agenda and in particular of the Iraq war.
He takes great delight at the end of the video in saying that the ‘thunder of denia’ is due to his being RIGHT. Interesting argument. If an argument is denied it must be right? By that argument Ahmadinejad is right in his holocaust denial, and Fisk was right over Iraq. Both proved to be wrong.
Fisk’s article at The Independent – ‘The demise of the Dollar’
It is nothing new that the dollar may be losing its place as the world’s central currency. That has been clear for some years, long before the current economic downturn. As often, Fisk is rather slow in coming to terms with the real world and its political complexities.
Right now, under the auspices of a ‘respected’ British national paper he seems to be getting more attention over his dollar dives story than he deserves.
Non-British readers should note than NO British newspaper was as determinedly AGAINST the Iraq war as was The Independent.
So, as our former Prime Minister’s EU star rises, there is clearly no (co-)incidental link. None whatsoever.
RELATED
I wrote on Fisk propagating MORE lies on Tony Blair here in December 2008 following this –
Fisk’s words of wisdom – ‘Leaders lie’ – December 2008. Unlike journalists, of course.
Reactions to Fisk’s doomsday scenario.
Most conclude – “yes, possibly, even probably, but not yet”:
- Russia Today – premature dance on the dollar’s grave
- Counter Punch
- The World reacts to Fisk
- Russia Today – Gold climbs to all time high
- Market Place
- The First Post – China leads the way
- Peter Lavelle – untimely thoughts
- Large archive of Fisk’s articles on Iraq and other things
- Here Fisk describes the west – British & Americans (to name but two) as ‘savages’
Tags: agenda, dollar dives, fisking it like beckham, Robert Fisk, Tony Blair
Tony Blair 
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