militantly in the closet

July 13, 2007 9:43 AM

Arafat Died of AIDS, Fellow Terrorist Says. Today, the PFLP and the Palestinian Authority announced that the French government had sent Arafat's medical records back; the cause of death was AIDS.
posted by nickyskye (27 comments total)

First of all not everyone with AIDS is gay, especially in the third world. Making the connection between the two is really disgusting.

Secondly, do you have any sources that are not part of the "wingnutosphere"? I mean, these people still think WMDs are in Iraq.
posted by delmoi at 9:47 AM on July 13, 2007

I'm almost afraid to check out the freeper frenzy over this...
posted by LordSludge at 9:49 AM on July 13, 2007

Isaac Asimov died of AIDS. He wasn't gay either.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:52 AM on July 13, 2007

Yeah, a headline like "Arafat Died of AIDS, Fellow Terrorist Says" and a story that includes "As with so many basic facts about this utterly vile human being" don't exactly inspire confidence in the reporting. Get back to us when a reputable news organization says this.

FLASH: Arafat was Two-Headed Alien Monster, Ate Babies, Says Fellow Two-Headed Alien Monster!
posted by languagehat at 9:53 AM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

First of all not everyone with AIDS is gay

According to Ion Pacepa, he did in fact had sex with men quite openly within his inner sanctum, for what it's worth (not much in my book). But he's probably a filthy neocon too.
posted by loquax at 9:55 AM on July 13, 2007

Wait, who cares?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:55 AM on July 13, 2007

Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But given that the Powerline guys are adamant that the Democratic party is secretly allied with muslim extremists, I'm not really too interested in their analysis.
posted by COBRA! at 9:56 AM on July 13, 2007

BRIAN:
Are you the Judean People's Front?
REG:
Fuck off!
BRIAN:
What?
REG:
Judean People's Front. We're the People's Front of Judea! Judean People's Front. Cawk.
FRANCIS:
Wankers.
BRIAN:
Can I... join your group?
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:56 AM on July 13, 2007

delmoi, First of all not everyone with AIDS is gay. Yes, of course that is true.

There were other closted things about Arafat's life, including his finances: "In 2003 a team of American accountants — hired by Arafat's own finance ministry — began examining Arafat's finances. The team claimed that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion — with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the U.S. and the Cayman Islands. The head of the investigation stated that "although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat."
posted by nickyskye at 9:58 AM on July 13, 2007

I would just like to say that 'Fellow Terrorist' will be the name of my next band.

Thank you.
posted by ImJustRick at 9:59 AM on July 13, 2007

Lord Sludge no need to check out the freeper frenzy. It's been delivered to the front page.

CNSNews and Powerline
posted by srboisvert at 9:59 AM on July 13, 2007

...he did in fact had sex with men quite openly within his inner sanctum...

If you are going to have sex with men, the inner sanctum is the usual place.

Also: It's a little homophobic to leap so quickly to the defense of AIDS when it is associated with homosexuality.

Also also: I like how Arafat is a vile human being, but abortion clinic bombers are heroes. Double standards much?
posted by DU at 10:03 AM on July 13, 2007

Another reputable news source broke this story way back in 2002: Sexual Tension Between Arafat, Sharon Reaches Breaking Point.
posted by ourobouros at 10:04 AM on July 13, 2007

Arafat was, by nearly all accounts, a pathological liar, a crook and an unmitigated disaster for the Palestinian people. This rumor has been circulating for a few years now, as has the one about his penchant for boys. But given what a polarizing figure he was and the obvious interests at work on both sides, I'm inclined to set the burden of proof fairly high here. Medical records or testimony from a doctor who treated him. Or photographs. *shudder* Anything less is hearsay and most likely crap.
posted by felix betachat at 10:04 AM on July 13, 2007

the Palestinian Authority announced

Where?

Surely you are aware that the PFLP and Arafat weren't exactly best buddies. And it is quite a surprise to see the freeper crowd give any credence to Hizbollah's Al-Manar TV channel.
posted by Skeptic at 10:07 AM on July 13, 2007

I like how Arafat is a vile human being, but abortion clinic bombers are heroes. Double standards much?

Easy to hate the ones who you dehumanize. Arafat isn't exactly the spitting image of the Aryan Christian ideal.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:07 AM on July 13, 2007

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the new legs this old story is enjoying doesn't have something to do with the Fatah/Hamas struggle. Seems Hamas would have much to gain by casting aspersions on the sainted memory of Abu Amar.
posted by felix betachat at 10:09 AM on July 13, 2007

I hope that when I die the headline reads: "ND¢ Died of Awesomeness, Fellow Awesomist Says" and that there are rumors that I took people back into my inner sanctum and engaged in awesomeness with them.
posted by ND¢ at 10:15 AM on July 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

Arafat isn't exactly the spitting image of the Aryan Christian ideal.

Whereas Joseph Israeli is?
posted by DU at 10:16 AM on July 13, 2007

9758;
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 10:17 AM on July 13, 2007

I hope that when I die the headline reads: "ND¢ Died of Awesomeness, Fellow Awesomist Says" and that there are rumors that I took people back into my inner sanctum and engaged in awesomeness with them.

FYI awesomy is banned in several states.
posted by Krrrlson at 10:20 AM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Tangentially related article on homosexuality in Saudi Arabia in The Atlantic Monthly; I imagine some of what the writer says applies elsewhere in the Arab world as well.
posted by TedW at 10:22 AM on July 13, 2007

militantly in the closet

What delmoi said in the first comment. AIDS is not a "gay disease." Far from it. The title of this FPP is ill-informed and insulting.
posted by ericb at 10:23 AM on July 13, 2007

delmo wrote: First of all not everyone with AIDS is gay, especially in the third world. Making the connection between the two is really disgusting.

Not just the third world. There is a public inquiry currently taking place in the UK concerning the HIV-contaminated blood imported from the US in the 1980s. At least 1,757 people died.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:25 AM on July 13, 2007

Some mischievous Jewish humor in video form if one Google's Yasser Arafat _ Kiss. It's of him vigorously kissing a Jewish leader, who seems to be reciprocating enthusiastically.
posted by nickyskye at 10:30 AM on July 13, 2007

so he was made of fail and AIDS.
posted by quarter waters and a bag of chips at 10:33 AM on July 13, 2007

*Googles, without the apostrophe.
posted by nickyskye at 10:36 AM on July 13, 2007