"The damage was irreparable. The former intelligence agent, Yu Junshi, rushed home and stuffed a bag with 1.2 million renminbi, or nearly $200,000, to take to a bank with Ma Biao, the other businessman, known for his girth." ("Leader's Fall in China Put Allies in Peril")"Known for his girth"? Was that absolutely necessary? The answer, by the way, is No, it wasn't necessary--at least based on the remainder of the article, which in no way refers again to Mr. Ma's "girth."
Perhaps this reflects a change in the Times's editorial policies; perhaps from now on people featured in news articles will all have such questionable descriptive details added: "The unnaturally-tinged Speaker of the House, John Boehner, known for a propensity to weep like a depressive toddler, today introduced a bill re-authorizing the defense department. . . ." "Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, known for her spectacular backside, signed on to star in an upcoming Stephen Soderbergh film. . . " "Former President George W. Bush, a moron, traveled to Canada over the weekend. . . ."
Maybe this was an editorial oversight. Perhaps in an earlier draft, the reporter included a paragraph's worth of fat jokes that got left out of the final version: "Ma Biao is so fat! When he gets onto a China Air flight, he's sitting next to everybody!" "When Ma Biao sits around the Great Wall of China, he sits around the Great Wall of China!" "Ma Biao so fat, he joined the Communist Party 'cause he thought they'd be serving cake!" "Ma Biao so fat, Chinese Buddhists worship him!"
(WOS: Are you done yet?
(SOL: Uh. . . One more!)
"You know Ma Biao had some special fortune cookies made up? They all say, 'You will eat another cookie!'"
(WOS: You're really obsessed with this, huh?
(SOL: Yeah, a little.)
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