That piece of reporting by Friedman is simply grotesque.. How a journalist for a major paper like the Times could not only let himself be so visibly bamboozled by a murderous, corrupt autocrat like this particular prince but openly describe how he's being greased up for good PR and then call it straight reporting is laughable. Looks like some NY Times reporters keep the old Walter Duranty tradition safely alive. despicable.
He's an opinion columnist, which means you can say pretty much anything, without regard to journalistic standards. Opinion columnists only lose their jobs to bad scandals - you can advocate for awful wars or policies that kill millions no problemo.
