One man's terrist is another woman's Friedman Fighter


The silliest man on the planet. - Alexander Cockburn on Thomas L. Friedman

A rich asshole who butchers the English language and is not particularly bright. - Gawker on Thomas L. Friedman

Intellectual and moral atrocities. - Pankaj Mishra on Thomas L. Friedman

[He] occupies the same position in the cultural and political landscape as that once held by Walter Lippmann—which will confirm for any independent-minded person that our civilization has utterly collapsed ... [He has a] peculiar propensity to be at once hokey and pretentious ... [and] says in twelve words ... what a competent writer could say in—actually, wouldn't say at all. - Benjamin Schwarz on Thomas L. Friedman

How did [he] ever pass himself off as a journalist? - Paul Craig Roberts on Thomas L. Friedman

The Mustache of Understanding. - So-titled blog on Thomas L. Friedman

A dangerous fraud [full of] contradictions, incoherence, jingoism and inane aphorisms ... [one is] amazed how a clown could rise to such dominance in American culture and how such drivel could pass for insight, and what that implies about us ... [many of us have had] aneurysms in reaction to his every latest bloviation. - Nir Rosen on Thomas L. Friedman

If He did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. - Voltaire on G-d Thomas L. Friedman

From the new fashion, beauty and geopolitics blog for ladies, Friedman for Her (tip: Abbas Raza at 3 Quarks Daily):

Mr. Friedman, could I serve as your next rhetorical device?

-Mei, Beijing

Mr. Friedman, is it your broad shoulders that allow you to so gracefully bear the White Man’s Burden?

- Budiwati, Jakarta


Mr. Friedman, as per your suggestion, NATO bombed my father back to 1389. Is there any way to recover him?

-Danica, Belgrade

Are you there, Friedman? It’s me, Margaret.

-Margaret, New Jersey

Mr. Friedman, how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

- Saffo, New York

Mr. Friedman, has there ever been a war between two states that both have strip clubs?

- Masha, Kiev

Mr. Friedman, will I ever find someone who understands my country, my faith, my culture, our traditions, my community, my family, my life, and what it’s like to be me the way you do?

- Amal, Misrata

Mr. Friedman, how can I acquire a German work ethic?

-Maria, Corinth

Mr. Friedman, do I have to comply every time a man tells me to “suck on this”?

-Belén, New York

Mr. Friedman, my olive tree grove was destroyed by settlers. How do I start a Lexus dealership?

- Rawda, Beit Ummar

From the FAQ page at Friedman for Her:

What is yet more proof of Thomas Friedman’s indispensability to ladies worldwide?

A young Saudi woman wrote an email to Friedman in 2002, not a question but a statement of profound truth. It’s excerpted in Longitudes and Attitudes: “I dream of the day when I become independent and have my own car. I dream of having all my rights as a human being. Saudi women need your pen, Mr. Friedman.” [h/t Belén Fernández]

What other qualifications does Mr. Friedman possess for dispensing advice to women?

Friedman can empathize with the female predicament because he himself has also given birth. When Friedman’s jaunt to Israel in 2001 was interrupted by the 9/11 attacks, he procured a room at the beachfront Tel Aviv Hilton and went into labor during a late-night walk by the sea: “It was there, massaged by the Mediterranean breeze, that my head started to clear and I finally gave birth to the thought that had been bothering me most: ‘What kind of world are my two girls going to grow up in?’”

How do I add a lady question of my own for Mr. Friedman?

Ladies (and men getting in touch with their inner Friedwoman) may submit questions on this page. Non-tumblr users can tweet questions at admins@kierafeldman, @WideAsleepNima, or @mariabelen_fdez.

*See also, from the Mustache of Understanding blog,

THE THOMAS FRIEDMAN OF [INSERT FIELD/AREA] AWARD

  • Bernard Henri Levy - The Thomas Friedman of Philosophy
  • Michael Beschloss - The Thomas Friedman of TV Presidential Historians
  • Charles Leadbeater - The Thomas Friedman of British Journalism I
  • Gerard Baker - The Thomas Friedman of British Journalism II
  • Time/Newsweek - The Thomas Friedmans of Current Affairs Magazines
  • Benjamin Barber - The Thomas Friedman of Political Theory
  • Jeffrey Sachs - The Thomas Friedman of Economics I
  • Richard Layard - The Thomas Friedman of Economics II
  • John Grisham - The Thomas Friedman of Fiction
  • Joseph Nye - The Thomas Friedman of International Relations

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