Man bites newspaper:The Guardian loses its cool

Scott Burgess of The Daily Ablution has written a devastating point-by-point rebuttal of the Guardian's bizarre follow-up to the firing of Dilpazier Aslam. Mr. Burgess uncovered Aslam's connection to Hizb ut-Tahrir after Aslam's by-line appeared on a piece describing the young, deadly Islamists of July 7 as "sassy." Once Burgess's discovery caught the attention of the blogosphere and mainstream media, and once Aslam refused to renounce Hizb ut-Tahrir's more noxious views, the Guardian had no choice but to let Aslam go. On Friday they announced their decision with uncharacteristic dignity, but the professionalism was short-lived. Another article published Friday in the Guardian's media section amounts to a thinly disguised verbal assault on Burgess, describing him as an American "recently" transplanted to London who "spends his time indoors posting repeated attacks on the Guardian." Talk about a cheap shot. Why didn't they throw in "unshaven and in his bathrobe" for good measure? Burgess quotes their piece extensively in his measured and highly professional response (which I've heard he wrote indoors). If you want to read the entire, uninterrupted version of the Guardian's vicious attack on Burgess and the blogosphere, use this link instead of the one on Daily Ablution (which presently leads to a registration page and then a subscription page).