Peace, man.
 

That guy looks like one of the bad guys in the "Hitman Codename 47" game -- sinister and evil looking. Hehehe.. pretty ironic picture.

I have a lot of compassion for Arafat. He's not perfect, and he's made a lot of mistakes, but he's not evil either, like Israel paints him.

I don't really know anything about him, so I can't comment on his character. It's just how the photo appeared to me. :]

Current news coverage of Yasser Arafat:

http://yasserarafat.newstrove.com/

Look at his beady black eyes! What is he, a pod-person?

Is that even his arm?
 

Are we sure this isn't just some trick of a telephoto lens that just happened by mistake?

I don't think it is, personally - the hand is too small. But maybe that's just from my perspective.

Photo Source & Credit:

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat flashes the victory sign to his supporters during a rally in the West Bank City of Ramallah, December 31, 2001. Arafat lit a torch in downtown Ramallah hours before start of the new year. Israel's killing of six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip drew threats of revenge on Monday from militants, defying President Yasser Arafat's call to halt attacks on Israelis. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
- Dec 31 12:19 PM ET

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/...arafat%22&b=11

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...001085900a.jpg

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat gestures during a rally in the West Bank City of Ramallah, December 31, 2001. Thousands of Palestinians expressed solidarity with their leader on the 37th anniversary of his Fatah movement's foundation. REUTERS/Osama Silwadi

Source: http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/...arafat%22&b=11

Another Reuters photographer also took a picture from a different angle. One or the other of these photos may have been flipped as the gesture appears to be done by both left and right arms. In fact it may have been one occurance. Looking closely at the facial features, which appear correct in each, I would guess that these are two different shots.

BTW, Osama may be using an assumed last name for security reasons.

Two similar AP photos were also taken by Nasser Nasser -- one of each arm up in the gesture.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat gestures to supporters during a rally to comemmorate the founding of the Fatah faction of the PLO in 1965, in the West Bank town of Ramallah Monday Dec. 31, 2001. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Source: http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/...arafat%22&b=31

Recent situations in the middle east being reported in the news bring into question the prospects for lasting peace in the region.

Yeah, well... Flavius Josephus reported the same damn thing almost 2,000 years ago. Some things never change, I guess.