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2004-11-05 Israel-Palestine
Sources close to Arafat deny he is "brain dead,' kept on life support
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Posted by Steve White 2004-11-05 12:00:31 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Steve, what are the chances he can stay 'alive' for months in an ICU?
Posted by phil_b 2004-11-05 12:34:23 AM||   2004-11-05 12:34:23 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Actually not so good. Intubation and mechanical ventilation could be due to a number of reasons, but most of the ones applicable here aren't conducive to survival beyond a couple weeks at the most. Anytime you're intubated for beyond a couple of days, the risks of complications (infection, barotrauma, etc) increases substantially. Plus other organ systems tend to start shutting down, complicating things even more.

It's possible to be intubated and ventilated for years -- I have patients like that. But not like this situation. If he's not dead already, he's gone soon.
Posted by Steve White  2004-11-05 12:40:40 AM||   2004-11-05 12:40:40 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Thanks Steve. That means we face the edifying prospect of a paleo election. It looks a lot like a gun battle just with more international observers.
Posted by phil_b 2004-11-05 12:59:03 AM||   2004-11-05 12:59:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 BTW, paleo 'constititution' sez they must have an election within 60 days.
Posted by phil_b 2004-11-05 1:20:42 AM||   2004-11-05 1:20:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 I think he is about as alive as Franco.
Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom  2004-11-05 1:38:30 AM|| [http://www.slhess.com]  2004-11-05 1:38:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Thank you for the analysis Dr. White. Most edifying thing I've read today.
Posted by Classical_Liberal 2004-11-05 1:58:48 AM||   2004-11-05 1:58:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Overheard in a corridor:
"He's starting to smell, Suha!"

"NO! Not until we've given Dr. Mengele's BrainSuck device a try! I MUST HAVE THOSE CODES!!"
Posted by mojo  2004-11-05 2:08:55 AM||   2004-11-05 2:08:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 "...Reanimation Machine!"Shouldn't that be deanimation?
Posted by raptor 2004-11-05 7:27:58 AM||   2004-11-05 7:27:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 "Chairman Arafat is not dead! It is, in fact, the doctors that are beginning to commit suicide all around him!" -- a certain former Info Minister
Posted by eLarson 2004-11-05 8:05:02 AM|| [http://larsonian.blogspot.com]  2004-11-05 8:05:02 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 "he's not dead, he's only mostly dead"

Seriously, with total lack of brain activity, he's probably formulating the Paleo progress plan...
Posted by Frank G  2004-11-05 8:19:13 AM||   2004-11-05 8:19:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Brain Dead! How can you tell the difference?!?
Posted by Douglas De Bono  2004-11-05 8:20:04 AM|| [http://www.DouglasDeBono.com]  2004-11-05 8:20:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Arafat was said to have been well enough Wednesday to welcome Bush’s winning a second term...

Proof positive that he's in a coma.
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 8:36:03 AM||   2004-11-05 8:36:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 Steve, I still don't understand how they can tell he's brain dead. A little lethargic, perhaps. What changed?
Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-11-05 9:07:04 AM||   2004-11-05 9:07:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 This vigil has gone on so long now, the wax from my candle keeps dripping onto my hand. Anyone here have some ointment?
Posted by Seafarious  2004-11-05 9:13:50 AM||   2004-11-05 9:13:50 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 time for Bob Woodward to do an interview
Posted by mhw 2004-11-05 9:32:09 AM||   2004-11-05 9:32:09 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 is he done yet?
Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom  2004-11-05 9:47:51 AM|| [http://www.slhess.com]  2004-11-05 9:47:51 AM|| Front Page Top

#17 He is just waiting for that special place in hell to be built just for him.
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-11-05 9:57:36 AM||   2004-11-05 9:57:36 AM|| Front Page Top

#18 There are several factors that will influence when Arafat is declared dead.

First, under Islamic law he must be buried within 24 hours of death. There is a lot of negotiation going on re: where he will be buried.

Second, under Palestinian law an election must be held within 60 days of his death. Since he deliberately scuttled any succession planning, and no election mechanisms, officials or processes are in place, officials will want to hold off announcing his death as long as possible while they form cliques, negotiate with one another behind closed doors and figure out how to run an election.

I suspect there is strong pent-up demand for elections, given that he has postponed them for 8 yrs via declarations of emergency. Add in the Hamas, Hizbollah and PFLP guys ready to launch terror attacks to gain street cred, and it will be very chaotic and dangerous indeed.
Posted by rkb 2004-11-05 10:14:21 AM||   2004-11-05 10:14:21 AM|| Front Page Top

#19 rkb - all out scramble for the $ and power will delay the announcement as well...
Posted by Frank G  2004-11-05 10:21:34 AM||   2004-11-05 10:21:34 AM|| Front Page Top

#20 re: rkb. Loks like they got that wall finished just in time.
Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-11-05 10:39:44 AM||   2004-11-05 10:39:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#21 
"He's starting to smell, Suha!"

What do you mean "starting"??? ;)
Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-05 11:38:44 AM||   2004-11-05 11:38:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#22 Second, under Palestinian law..

Haaahahahahahaaa, that's a good one, Palestinian "law"......hahahaha
Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-05 11:41:13 AM||   2004-11-05 11:41:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#23 At 12:05 EST,Debka is reporting that he died a few minutes ago.
Posted by Dakotah 2004-11-05 12:07:31 PM||   2004-11-05 12:07:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 I can sympathize. Planning a big funeral, a civil war, cutting the pie and a sham election is tall order of business to do in 60 days.
Posted by Shipman 2004-11-05 12:11:24 PM||   2004-11-05 12:11:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 Arafat is just finally completing the corruption he pursued all his life. Neither alive nor dead, this fiendish enity of evil is now simply UNDEAD.
Posted by Scooter McGruder 2004-11-05 1:09:57 PM||   2004-11-05 1:09:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#26 Is he dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 1:14:00 PM||   2004-11-05 1:14:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#27 "surviving to discharge (a standard measure) is about 1%. Coma, mechanical ventilation"

Damn. I hope Arafat is gone for good. And this comes from someone who WAS in a coma and on mechanical ventilation last year. (I had so many chest xrays, I was my own nightlight for months after I got out)
Posted by Dave 2004-11-05 1:16:28 PM||   2004-11-05 1:16:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#28 Is he dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 1:24:47 PM||   2004-11-05 1:24:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#29 Remember that poor girl who choked on her own vomit, brain dead, and was on life-support for 11 years?

Which will happen first? 2008 election or the disconnection of Arafat..
Posted by BigEd 2004-11-05 1:35:20 PM||   2004-11-05 1:35:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#30 Is he dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 2:04:28 PM||   2004-11-05 2:04:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#31 [span class=SoccerMom]
tu3031, stop pestering me while I'm driving or I'll pull this minivan over and give you such a thrashing! I'm warning you, young man, I'm serious! Don't make me do it!
[/span]
Posted by Mike  2004-11-05 3:03:37 PM||   2004-11-05 3:03:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#32 Is he dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 3:10:48 PM||   2004-11-05 3:10:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#33 This just in:
The latest statement by hospital spokesman, General Christian Estripeau, gave little away to the growing band of media assembled outside the gates.

"The state of health of the President Yasser Arafat has not deteriorated," he said. "It is considered as stable compared to the last bulletin we issued. Thank you very much."

"He can't get any deader"
Posted by Steve  2004-11-05 3:27:54 PM||   2004-11-05 3:27:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#34 He's not dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 3:46:57 PM||   2004-11-05 3:46:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#35 "'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-ARAFAT!!"

Yeah, I know, I've been beating it into the ground. But it's still very, very relevant to the situation.

Posted by Sgt. Mom 2004-11-05 3:48:03 PM|| [http://www.sgtstryker.com]  2004-11-05 3:48:03 PM|| Front Page Top

#36 Well, okay. Let me know when he dies.
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 3:51:21 PM||   2004-11-05 3:51:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#37 I'll bet The Mossad is under the hospital bed.
Posted by Shipman 2004-11-05 3:55:42 PM||   2004-11-05 3:55:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#38 Why have we not heard from our Fearless Newz Leader Dan Rather? If Arafat was a frog with side pockets, he would be packing a handgun, or something like that. Just throwing out these ideas for discussion.
Posted by Alaska Paul  2004-11-05 4:01:04 PM||   2004-11-05 4:01:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#39 "Bring out the Zionist Reanimation Machine!"

"Look out! They're gonna turn him into a Golem!"

"Keep your shirt on Charlie... They can't do that. He's not Kosher, for one thing."

"Oh!... Yeah... You're right, I feel much better. Can't think what I was worried about."

"You see... now, maybe a zombie. Anybody got any kettledrums?"
Posted by Old Grouch  2004-11-05 4:31:35 PM||   2004-11-05 4:31:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#40 --“There have been examinations and results are positive,” ---

Translation:

WE FOUND THE BLACK BOOK!!!!!!
Posted by anonymous2u 2004-11-05 7:59:59 PM||   2004-11-05 7:59:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#41 Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that Arafat died in hospital. "[He] passed away 15 minutes ago," Juncker told reporters on arrival at a European Union summit in Brussels when asked what he knew about Arafat's condition.
Posted by Mark Espinola 2004-11-05 9:35:28 PM||   2004-11-05 9:35:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#42 Is he dead yet?
Posted by tu3031 2004-11-05 9:40:30 PM||   2004-11-05 9:40:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#43 Do we have the GPS coordinates for some Tomahawk "surgery"? We can blame it on the French, saying we gave them one to test. The Arab Street is so stupid, they'd probably believe it. No matter what happens, no matter when he "dies", half the paleos will accuse Israel of killing him.
Posted by Old Patriot  2004-11-05 10:09:30 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm]  2004-11-05 10:09:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#44 Remember the bit about the 72 hours after he died, we are still in the cycle if my Israeli sources are correct.
Posted by Mark Espinola 2004-11-05 10:25:44 PM||   2004-11-05 10:25:44 PM|| Front Page Top

17:21 CrazyFool
17:21 CrazyFool
16:30 CrazyFool
16:30 CrazyFool
05:26 Ptah
23:42 Big Sarge
23:38 Rufus Lee King
23:23 Rufus Lee King
23:23 anonymous2u
23:18 Barbara Skolaut
23:18 anonymous2u
23:13 lex
23:12 lex
23:01 lex
22:59 Bomb-a-rama
22:59 Mark Espinola
22:56 Bomb-a-rama
22:42 whitecollar redneck
22:41 Pappy
22:38 anymouse
22:34 Jarhead
22:33 Mark Espinola
22:29 Mark Espinola
22:27 Old Patriot









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