A telling second scan of the little chairman's little brain has been postponed (France requires two null scans to certify death):
SECOND BRAIN SCAN ON ARAFAT DELAYED
The Percy military hospital, where the ailing leader was taken from the West Bank on Oct. 29, did not respond yesterday to queries from the Sunday Telegraph about the second scan. However, a senior Palestinian adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeina, denied that Mr. Arafat was beyond recovery, saying his condition remained critical but not hopeless. [See below.]
And hope springs eternal, as it must if Mr. Arafat is already dead (Hat tip: E-Nough!):
French president Jacques Chirac’s patience with the Palestinians’ desperate maneuvers to cover up Yasser Arafat’s demise has run out. DEBKAfile’s Paris and Washington sources reveal exclusively that Friday, November 5, exactly a week after Arafat was admitted to the Percy military hospital near Paris, the French president put in a call to the White House and informed President George W. Bush that it was all over.
Read the whole article for more on the Arafat NIMBY funeral circus.
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, former Iraqi Tarateer, says he's heard Mr. Arafat's fit as a fiddle and plays hacky sack for hours on end with the orderlies at l'hôpital militaire Percy de Clamart, consistently beating all comers with his remarkable toe-work and indefatigable joy of sport. Mr. al-Sahaf's report could not be independently confirmed. Even the PNA said this was a little much. But not by much:
[Dahlan and Arafat's spokesman Nabil] Abu Rdeneh denied that Arafat was in a coma but said the veteran Palestinian leader "is under strict medical observance. We hope that in the coming few days we will be able to know exactly what he is suffering from. [Death. -- ed.] So far, nobody could diagnose the situation."
(Story filed Saturday 11.06.04, apparently little chairman was much improved the day after his demise.)
The inimitable "W" over at ¡No Pasarán! commenting on Mr. Arafat's French healthcare:
French hospitals are like roach motels. You check in but you can't check out.
