Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
« Back to the grid | Next story »

Nobel Laureate Downplays 9/11

Posted Oct 23, 07 9:03 AM CDT in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Freshly minted Nobel laureate Doris Lessing said the 9/11 terrorist assault on the World Trade Center “wasn’t that terrible” in comparison to violence wreaked by the IRA in Britain. "Some Americans will think I'm crazy," she said in an interview in Spanish daily El Pais. "Many people died, two prominent buildings fell, but it was neither as terrible nor as extraordinary as they think. They're a very naive people, or they pretend to be." 

Lessing also applied her Nobel-cited “skepticism” and “vigor” to Bush and Blair. She dismissed Blair as “a little showman” and called Bush “a world calamity,” adding, "Either he is stupid or he is very clever, although you have to remember he is a member of a social class which has profited from wars." Lest she be taken for anti-West, she added “I hate Iran, I hate the Iranian government.” As for herself? “I have a cough, a little diarrhea, and cystitis, but otherwise very well, thanks.”

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon
British writer Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature, smiles as she talks to members of the media, shortly after the announcement of the award, outside her home in north London,...   (Associated Press)
British writer Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature, talks to members of the media, outside her home in north London, Thursday Oct. 11, 2007. Lessing, who turns 88 in just over...   (Associated Press)
British writer Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature, smiles as she talks to members of the media, outside her home in north London, Thursday Oct. 11, 2007. Lessing, who turns 88...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

George W. Bush • Tony Blair • Ireland • IRA • Nobel • Doris Lessing


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »