I'll let you figure it out.
Solomon lost respect for Nelson Mandela back in 2003, when he (Mandela) called President Bush arrogant and implied that he was racist for threatening to bypass the United Nations and attack Iraq.
"Is it because the secretary-general of the United Nations is now a black man? They never did that when secretary-generals were white," Mandela said."
And we wonder where Obama came from.
Late the next year, Solomon [again/still] wanted his outrage back; Mandela had graduated to praising Arafat.
South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela on Thursday hailed Arafat as "an icon in the proper sense of the word" .... "Yasser Arafat was one of the outstanding freedom fighters of this generation, one who gave his entire life to the cause of the Palestinian people," said Mandela, who met Arafat numerous times over the years.
And so we learn that for Mandela, the father of modern terrorism - who died with the blood of thousands on his hands - is an icon and a freedom fighter.
Today, Condi Rice released an official Statement on Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday:
Today, July 18, we salute Nelson Mandela on his 90th birthday. Nelson Mandela continues to be an inspiration to all who believe in the value of human rights and human dignity, and the power of democracy. We celebrate his moral vision, hard work, and sacrifices which have contributed so much to help South Africa move toward becoming a country that truly belongs to all who live in it. We wish him health and happiness, and a Happy Birthday.
Arafat could not have been more clear what he was about; in an interview with Oriana Fallaci in 1974 he said,
“The end of Israel is the goal of our struggle, and it allows for neither compromise nor mediation. . . the purpose of this violence is to liquidate Zionism in all its political, economic and military forms, and to drive it out of Palestine forever."Fallaci: "Conclusion, you don’t at all want the peace that everyone is hoping for."
Arafat: "No! We don’t want peace. We want war, victory. Peace for us means the destruction of Israel and nothing else. . . We will fight until victory. Decades if necessary. Generations.”
And so they do. And just think, Mandela must necessarily consider this incessant war on the Jews somehow admirable. And then Condoloeezza Rice admires Mandela. and has the chutzpah to speak of his "moral vision."
In truth, Mandela is not as moral as a box turtle. And for her part, having enriched and empowered Arafat's successor, neither is she. I really don't think very much of these people. And I find their hypocrisy offensive.
Next week, Mandela will receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace. I hope he has better luck holding on to that than Arafat did his Nobel Peace Prize medal.
UPDATE 07.22.2008
Yahoo News has a slideshow entitled "Nelson Mandela celebrates 90 years of freedom fighting." Born in 1918, he must have started his fight at an incredibly early age (do the math).
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