Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs

Jun 26, 2012

A tribute
by Pepe Escobar

First there was the unstoppable rush of unbounded sadness. Then the effort to take it the Buddhist way; he's got to have so much good karma he's bound to enjoy some sort of Coolness - wherever he is. Still, sadness prevailed. He was not only a first-class newsman, he was an Angel of a Man. And solid as a rock; for over a decade, from wherever I was on the planet, the message would pop up minutes after I sent a piece; "thanks Pepe, got that". I could always picture his good-natured smile as he typed it. And then, this past weekend, there was a Dragon Boat Championship in Hong Kong - with 2,500 paddlers. A true dragon boat race celebrates the death of Qu Yuan, a statesman and poet who lived in the Chu kingdom in China more than 2,000 years ago. This one was different. I saw it celebrating the life of a great newsman. Finally, at the end of the race, I could picture who the winner was. "Thanks, Tony, got that".

Pepe Escobar, The Roving Eye.

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(Jun 22-24, 2012)

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