John Malkovich wants to kill Robert Fisk

bugler

Haha. I don't really know where this belongs!

http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=294787

Dear dear dear. Is there no end to peoples stupidity? He should probably stick to his acting. At least he's good at that..

It's very disheartening to see educated professors and so on acting like total morons. Read the article, and shudder to think how idiotic and narrow-minded people can be.

koneko

I can't help but think it was taken out of context, or he was mis-quoted perhaps.

Malkovich comes across as a well-educated smart man. Not the type to start threatening people over nothing. That's not the impression I got of him, or what I heard from others. T'is strange really. Though Fisk does have his fair share of enemies.

bugler

He also named George Galloway as the other person he would most like to kill. He said this after reading the British press, apparently. As Galloway says, if it was a joke, it was a poor one. He's threatening to take him to court

The Corinthian

"Do not do battle with monsters, lest you become a monster; and when you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you." - Friedrick Nietzsche

mike65

Honestly now, who gives a fig?

Mike.

bugler

I'm not that interested in what Malkovich has to say as such, but reading the whole article is painful to see people who should have better sense basically denying truths and making ridiculous claims. I think its very telling that an apparently intelligent respectable celebrity can be reduced to such intolerance of others opinions. Celebs=mongs.

sceptre

Malklovich now joins my list of celebs whose work I appreciate who make idiot inflammatory statements about killing particular people or not having a problem with it.

Current list:
Cat Stevens
John Malkovich

Saruman

Fisk was on the last word last night... what he has been put through for telling the truth is terrible!

yellum

If what Malkovich said is true I won't be supporting his work again. What a nutter.

sceptre

I've no doubt that most people on this forum feel this way, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Robert Fisk is a fine journalist. His work with the Times and Independent has opened the eyes of many people to the Middle East.

The two books of his that I have read ("Pity the nation" and "In time of war") were well researched pieces. I enjoyed reading them. And in both cases they told me things I didn't know. I wasn't too familiar with the Lebanon situation before reading the book so I can't comment decisively about how impartial it was (not that it's too easy to be impartial when there are bombs flying at your head). With regard to "In time of war" though, I found it remarkably impartial, as well as informative.

Robert Fisk has major problems with the international policies of the state of Israel. This doesn't make him a Nazi. It doesn't make him a jew-hater. It deosn't mean he denies the Holocaust ever happened. It does mean that he has issues with the acts of the state of Israel. It does mean that he thinks that, just because millions of Jewish people were brutally murdered sixty years ago, doesn't mean that we have to give the state of Israel everything they want forever, ignoring the needs of others in the region. When a state (or government - or army) does something wrong there's no reason to treat them with kid-gloves just because there's something that happened in the past that you feel guilty about.

Every race or people on the planet should have the right to self-determination, respecting the laws and ways of others. That's nice and simple.

And I don't have a problem with any of that. I support it wholeheartedly. And I appreciate good informative journalism, especially from a journalist who literally puts his ass on the line. Even if someone doesn't agree with Fisk's point of view, there's no rational reasoning behind what can be regarded as an incitement to hatred or violence.

bugler

More official reports of the story, if you want to peruse them:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid_1967000/1967317.stm

http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Exclusive/0,4029,711268,00.html

koneko

Galloway still seems to have a sense of humour regarding the incident. From the BBC article/page:

Mr Galloway asked: "Who can get inside the head of John Malkovich*, a very strange man offering a dangerous liaison** - indeed, offering a killing field***?"

* re: Being John Malkovich
** re: Dangerous Liaisons
*** re: The Killing Fields

All Malkovich films... funny guy.

Bateman

That was an incredibly stupid thing to say. He could have said Osama bin Laden, or even Yasser Arafat, but instead he says Robert Fisk? Baffling.

Clintons Cat

dan rather CBS news anchor paints an intresting picture of the preasures to conform to the expectations of patrriotism in todays guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4415235,00.html

Rather did not exempt himself from the criticism, and said the problem was self-censorship. "It starts with a feeling of patriotism within oneself. It carries through with a certain knowledge that the country as a whole - and for all the right reasons - felt and continues to feel this surge of patriotism within themselves. And one finds oneself saying: 'I know the right question, but you know what? This is not exactly the right time to ask it.'"

Fisk maybe challenges that conformity,by continuing to ask the challenging questions,that others feel the need to self censor.

The Corinthian

Originally posted by Clintons Cat
dan rather CBS news anchor paints an intresting picture of the preasures to conform to the expectations of patrriotism in todays guardian.

A very interesting, and indeed remarkably chilling article.