Hugo Rifkind Hugo Rifkind

Shared Opinion | 10 January 2009

Why do we feel so comfortable criticising Israel, but we never mention Hamas?

issue 10 January 2009

What are we to make of the disquieting information that Ehud Barak’s favoured pastime, when not waging war, politicking or dressing as a woman, is the dismantling and reassembling of clocks?

‘That’s really creepy,’ I said to the wife, when somebody on Newsnight mentioned it while we were watching it in bed. ‘It makes him sound like Sylar.’

Sylar, of course, is the super-powered serial killer from the hit US series Heroes. Prior to discovering his powers, he was a watch repairman. These days, he can fling you across a room with a twitch of his hand, shoot flames from his palms, and use a finger to open your skull like a can of soup.

‘Not so,’ said the wife, who was reading a book, but had heard enough. ‘Sylar is a professional. This sounds like more of a hobby.’

‘Fine,’ I said.

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