Why is James Taranto still working for The Wall Street Journal?

Arab News ^ | 8-2-02 | John R. Bradley

[SJackson]

The article I published last Friday in Arab News, "James Taranto’s private agenda on OpinionJournal.com" , revealed Taranto as a right-wing bigot and a dangerously unrestrained Arab-hater who has hijacked The Wall Street Journal’s "Best of the Web" website to promote a private, extreme anti-Arab agenda.

Taranto makes his living by insulting on a daily basis the religion and culture of more than a billion of the world’s population — that is, when he is not openly excusing atrocious Israeli war crimes.

When is The Wall Street Journal going to wake up to the fact that Taranto is single-handedly trying to ruin its reputation for providing objective, serious news coverage?

Arab News has received e-mails from many American readers who were so disgusted when they visited OpinionJournal.com after reading the article about Taranto that, as a result, they have promised to cancel their subscription to the print edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Many others have promised to register their complaints and outrage about Taranto with the newspaper’s main editor in chief.

Arab News is today alerting the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Muslim Alliance and the National Association of Muslim Journalists to the anti-Arab drive behind Taranto’s website.

In his first response to my last article, published on OpinionJournal.com, Taranto could find absolutely no fault whatsoever with the substance of what I wrote about him, because he knew it was all true. So instead he tried to discredit me by saying I was a liar in having written that I am the author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Saudi Arabia.

When it was brought to the attention of his superiors at The Wall Street Journal that this statement was libelous because factually incorrect (I am indeed the author), Taranto had to eat humble pie by issuing a retraction when OpinionJournal.com was updated.

I suppose Arab News should be grateful for small victories.

But let us stay focused on the more important question: Since Taranto cannot even get such basic facts right, indeed can issue a statement calling someone a liar and then have to retract it after admitting he was completely in the wrong, I repeat: Is it not time that the powers that be at The Wall Street Journal did the right thing and gave him the boot, for the sake of its own integrity if not for the general good of higher journalism?

Consider another of Taranto’s remarks in his second posting: that I "write obituaries for The Associated Press". Wrong again, despite his army of researchers! I am "a writer" for The Associated Press who happened on one occasion to write "an obituary" for that news organization. There is a world of difference between the two jobs, although at least on this occasion Taranto did not quite manage to libel me.

If Taranto cannot even get the basic facts right, how is it that he has been promoted from total obscurity to the editorship of this massively read website? Could The Wall Street Journal really be happy to be known the world over as providing this discredited nobody with a platform to promote a private agenda of stirring up prejudice against Arabs and Islam?

Are there really no checks and counter-balances anymore in American journalism?

Taranto has never been to Saudi Arabia, and I wrote in my last article how I would bet a billion dollars he would argue that his ignorance of the Kingdom is unimportant. For since when has a total lack of information and experience mattered to a fifth-rate bigot getting high on putting the boot into his victims? Taranto not only confirmed that prediction, but even managed to excel his previous arrogance by stating in his reply that he had absolutely no desire to visit the Kingdom or to learn more about it.

Blissfully wallowing in ignorance and stupidity, he is too busy madly promoting his private anti-Arab agenda even to take a quick critical glance at himself.

And let us repeat, just in case we have not yet been heard in the editorial offices of his superiors: The Wall Street Journal is doing nothing to rein in this zealot.

Taranto will stop at nothing in his attempt to ridicule and distort the voice of Arabs, and Westerners who are not pro-Zionist. Robert Fisk, John Pilger and me seem to represent for him at the moment a kind of axis of evil. At the same time, he quotes obsessively every possible bit of offensive material about Islam and Arabs he can get his hands on.

Since publishing a full retraction about his Lonely Planet error, Taranto has been providing a link to a hate-mail oriented, extreme right-wing website that acts as a kind of magnet for Arab-haters. It is largely devoted these days to launching personal attacks on me, since I am what the posters seem unable to comprehend: A Westerner who lives in Saudi Arabia, has Saudi friends, and genuinely likes the life here. The posters appear particularly to loathe everything Saudi Arabian, although none of them have ever been here. Almost needless to say, the hate site itself has oh-so-conveniently blocked all access to those surfing the Net in Saudi Arabia. As I wrote before, Taranto is using the OpinionJournal.com site to promote extreme opinion without reason, accountability or responsibility.

And, finally, consider the rank hypocrisy of, on the one hand, Taranto’s quoting endless streams of articles out of apparent sympathy with their claim that Westerners in Saudi Arabia are vulnerable to constant attack from anti-Western factions, while on the other providing links to a number of other sites he (albeit mistakenly) believes will make this Westerner more vulnerable here.

To what depths will this vile Arab-hater have to sink before the decent-minded readers of The Wall Street Journal finally wake up and, by resurrecting the voice of American reason and decency, insist that this newspaper get rid of the unethical Taranto once and for all?

***

(John R. Bradley is News Editor at Arab News and author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Saudi Arabia.)

[SJackson]

The Saudis complained and a week later he's not fired yet. Shocking.

Here's Taranto's column, Best of the Web.

[ken5050]

Beter question: Why is Al Hunt's awful screed carried in the paper. every Thursdat, I carefully open my WSJ to the editorial pages, and cut out Hunt's column, and crumple it up, and flush it down the crapper...Since the WSJ changed their format, it's actually easier to do, becausenow there's no copy on the back page, just ads....so you're not missing anything..

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Al Hunt is still waiting for Algore's inauguration.

[Catspaw]

Arab News is today alerting the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Muslim Alliance and the National Association of Muslim Journalists to the anti-Arab drive behind Taranto’s website.

Bradley forgot to notify CAIR, the Nation of Islam and the faculty, staff & students at UC-Berekely.

[Koblenz]

Taranto has never been to Saudi Arabia, and I wrote in my last article how I would bet a billion dollars he would argue that his ignorance of the Kingdom is unimportant. For since when has a total lack of information and experience mattered to a fifth-rate bigot getting high on putting the boot into his victims? Taranto not only confirmed that prediction, but even managed to excel his previous arrogance by stating in his reply that he had absolutely no desire to visit the Kingdom or to learn more about it.

As Taranto has written in BotW numerous times, you cannot visit SA as a tourist. You must have a business visa with a letter from the firm you are doing business with OR you must be a muslim. If you are not a muslim, you cannot visit Mecca or Medina.

The Fact is that SA is a country that on the surface appears to be pro-Western, when actually the populace and the government have deep sympathies to Osama bin Laden and other Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists.

This is a country that hates Jews so much that it blocks its citizens from accessing the home page of the Anne Frank house.

As for the Lonely Planet thing, all Taranto did was say that at Amazon, there's no Lonely Planet guide to Saudi Arabia, and there was none on the Lonely Planet website. Furthermore, there was a guide to the Gulf states, but that book did not include Saudi Arabia. Apparently this guy wrote a chapter for an upcoming book. Taranto did not call him a liar.

BotW is a very informative site because Taranto exposes SA as being no friend of the USA.

[dighton]

Taranto has never been to Saudi Arabia, and I wrote in my last article how I would bet a billion dollars he would argue that his ignorance of the Kingdom is unimportant. For since when has a total lack of information and experience mattered to a fifth-rate bigot getting high on putting the boot into his victims? Taranto not only confirmed that prediction, but even managed to excel his previous arrogance by stating in his reply that he had absolutely no desire to visit the Kingdom or to learn more about it.

Too funny. Even if James Taranto wanted to look around, the Wahhabi Wonderland DOES NOT ISSUE TOURIST VISAS.

[zip]

Pathetic drivel. It is too ridiculous to even rate a MEGA Barf Alert. The Israeli atrocities comment is on a par with "I'm sorry I hit your fist with my nose".
BTW, there is no reason for a guide to Saudi Arabi for non Muslims, they are not allowed to visit (exceptions are military and international business personnel)

[o_zarkman44]

POOOOR Awabs can't get their way. They are a bunch of arrogant crybabies who cannot stand it when someone tells the truth or speaks against them. Kick em out of America, all of them!

[dennisw]

James Taranto just got the best endorsement possible. He's doing something right if the Arab news is complaining. Notice how the lazy bones Arabs have an Anglo editing their website ...... John R. Bradley. LOL!

[Shryke]

Hey guys? Can't we look at the silver lining in this story? Please?

It just warms my heart to hear that the Nigerians are now scamming Saudis out of their "hard-earned" (HAHAHAHAHA, ROTFL) money by baiting them with anti-semitism.

[Young Werther]

Muslim "religion and culture"?

Heh!Heh!Heh!Heh!Ho!Ho!Ho!Ho!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!GASP!

[SJackson]

As you both have pointed out, you don't need a tourist guide to a country that doesn't allow tourists, not even plane connections so theres no need for an airport guide.

Of course, that doesn't mean this guy wasn't paid to write a travel guide, probably a very nice one.

[denydenydeny]

Here's an interview with the psycho who wrote this article.

[OldPossum]

My wife and I both read "The Best of the Web" and enjoy its humor. The fact that this is a popular column would seem to indicate that his opinions--and those of his fairly large staff--are shared by many people

Mr. Bradley seems more than a bit self-important. Where's he from? What's his education background and professional experience? Anyone know?

[white trash redneck]

So which journalist are you going to trust? Taranto or Bradley? Is that even a choice?

[dighton]

Thanks.

Enjoy this Arab News grovel-fest.

(Special bonus: centerfold).

[tomswiftjr]

The friend of my enemy is my enemy.

[general_re]

Supersauditerroristicfatbathrobeisnoxious...

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Supersauditerroristicfatbathrobeisnoxious... Even though the sound of it is something quite obnoxious...

[wife-mom]

I love Taranto and the only thing wrong with Best of the Web is that it doesn't run Saturday or Sunday.

Arab News is on a par with other Arab "news" papers in that it is full of typical muslim lies and delusions.

Also, if this jerk has an editor, the editor does not know much about English grammar.