Arafat Ailing

Poor old Arafat is not well.



He will likely be dead soon.



The AP has run a touching timeline of key events in his life.



I particularly like this entry:

-Feb. 4, 1969: Arafat takes over PLO chairmanship, transforms it into dynamic force that makes Palestinian cause known worldwide.
Well, I suppose that's one way to describe becoming the Father of Modern Terrorism by pioneering the concept of airline hijackings and creating a cult of death g(l)orifying mass murder through suicide bombings.



What is wrong with these people?



Somehow the slaughter of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics didn't make the timeline.



Would that fall under "dynamic", or making the "cause known worldwide"?



It tells you something about the UN -- the people we're supposed to listen to -- that they granted the PLO official observer status in 1975. This shortly after Arafat was allowed to speak at the body -- while carrying a gun.



What is wrong with these people?