There are moments when even the most gifted satirist must admit that reality has become too absurd to encapsulate.

Today, even Jonathan Swift or Joseph Heller would surely be reduced to awestruck silence at the extraordinary ceremony at the White House, when George W Bush is due to present Tony Blair with the presidential medal of freedom in recognition of his efforts to promote "democracy, human rights and peace abroad".

The ceremony takes place against the background of the barbaric Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, in which both men have been complicit.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/46275,opinion,tony-blairs-accolade-for-human-rights-defies-satire