Syria - Mainstream Media Lie About Watchdog Report On The 'Chemical Attack' In Douma
Some mainstream media are outright lying about the OPCW report on the alleged 'chemical attack' in Douma.
The Washington Post writes:
[A] global watchdog concluded that chlorine was indeed used in the city of Douma a day before rebel forces surrendered there.
...
In an interim report released Friday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its inspectors had discovered traces of “various chlorinated organic chemicals” across two sites it inspected.
The OPCW did not conclude at all that "chlorine was indeed used". It found some chemical compounds which have chlorine, carbon and hydrogen in various configurations as their main elements. There are hundreds if not thousands of "chlorinated organic chemicals". A plastic pipe made from polyvenylchlorid (PVC = (C2H3Cl)n) is made of the same elements. One could call it a "chlorinated organic chemical". Burning something made of PVC will releases various compounds many of which will themselves be "chlorinated organic chemicals". But finding residues of a burned plastic pipe or isolation in a home does not mean that chlorine gas was used in that place. Several of the compounds the OPCW found result from using chlorine to disinfect water. They can be found within the chlorinated water and about anywhere where chlorinated water was used.
The BBC made a similar 'mistake'. It headlined "Syria war: Douma attack was chlorine gas - watchdog".
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The Daily Beast headlines: Watchdog: Chlorine Was Used in Syria’s Chemical Attack
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons determined that chlorine was used in the chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, but found no evidence that nerve agents were involved.
That is an outright lie. The OPCW report does not say that chlorine was used. It mentions chlorine only twice and only in relation to previous incidents.
The Independent, AlJazeerah, the Australian ABC News and others offer the same lie to their readers.
A possible reason why so many outlets made this 'mistake' is the British news agency Reuters which first distributed this false claim:
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Reuters has since changed the headline and text of that item from "chlorine" to "chlorinated chemicals" but attached no note of that change. Moreover it does not explain that "chlorinated chemicals" will be found about anywhere.
It is doubtful that these 'mistakes' were made out of sloppiness. The writers likely intend to create the false impression that Syria was responsible for a 'chemical attack' that did not happen. They would otherwise have to expose the lies they published and told about the incident:
Senior US officials expressed confidence Saturday that both chlorine and sarin gas were used in Syria's alleged chemical weapons attack on the Damascus enclave of Douma last week -- a conclusion that went a step further than Vice President Mike Pence did in his remarks earlier Saturday.
They would further have to explain that the U.S., France and the UK illegally launched a large cruise missile attack on Syria without any reason.
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Previous Moon of Alabama coverage of the Douma incident:
Posted by b on July 7, 2018 at 18:48 UTC | Permalink
And, as b noted yesterday, chlorine is commonly added to tap water. So, those kids hosed down at the hospital could have gotten "chlorinated" right then and there. ;-)
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 7 2018 19:29 utc | 2
I agree with # 2, and why hasn't anyone else caught that, the water used to hose down the "kids"? Mistakes from the instigators, caught with their pants down. Will they be brought to the bar of justice? Of course not, the fogs of war.
Posted by: Eugene | Jul 7 2018 19:37 utc | 3
ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!!
I'm looking for any alternative news websites or alternative websites in general. If you've got anything at all, please tell me. Give me everything. I'm always on the hunt for more alternatives news sources or alternative websites, so please notify me of any. Again, I'm looking for alt-media websites. I'm always on the lookout for alt-media. Please notify me of any.
Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good day wherever you are. Please help me out.
Someone should warn these reporters that they are being exposed to these same scary chlorinated chemicals every time they swim in a pool. And they most likely have a stockpile of it in their own basement in a white jug labeled Bleach.
Posted by: UserFriendly | Jul 7 2018 20:09 utc | 5
thanks b... pointing this out is an ongoing task... the big msm outlets revise there headlines after the fact and are not in any way apologetic about any of it either... they are carrying water for the propaganda specialists, paid for by the usa/uk and most ''backward western'' countries, canada included... that is why white helmet data is given regularly without any questions asked... hey - if i was paying millions of $ for what the white helmet type groups were serving up, i would want the msm to peddle it for me too! problem is - many more people are onto these lies and blatant propaganda organizations... they are falling behind in their ability to convince anyone..
Posted by: james | Jul 7 2018 20:16 utc | 6
Chlorine gas is literally the easiest thing in the world to make. Practically guaranteed to if you blow up a janitor's closet. Mix bleach with anything acidic, toilet bowl cleaner, rust remover (CLR), mildew remover, ammonia, even vinegar. https://www.thoughtco.com/mixing-bleach-and-vinegar-609281
Posted by: UserFriendly | Jul 7 2018 20:24 utc | 7
Some guy @ 4
That's a big question there are many paths up the mountain!
Have a look through previous posts here, recently good ones mentioned! Good luck
PS this one is the best.
Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 7 2018 20:54 utc | 8
Ian
What a game though, good effort by Russia that were better and deserved it, but missing the goal...that cant be happening, I feel bad for him even though he made the 2-2 goal, hopefully the team is happy they made it this far though.
I think Belgium will win eventually.
Posted by: Zanon | Jul 7 2018 21:27 utc | 10
SomeGuy @ 4
Ten Best Conspiracy Websites _ Cabal Times
http://www.cabaltimes.com/2009/07/31/ten-best-conspiracy-websites/
Posted by: Suzy | Jul 7 2018 21:27 utc | 11
ot - frankly @4 goes ot, leaves a connection to whatever site is attached to his name and gets people to respond.. any bozo with an internet connection can figure out whatever they are looking for... as for his purpose - giving us his link! i ain't touching it... basic stupid ot stuff needs to be ignored..
Posted by: james | Jul 7 2018 21:33 utc | 12
James @ 12: I agree - something about his shouty approach suggests this fellow might be a call-centre troll.
BTW, thanks for your support of my comments.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 7 2018 21:38 utc | 13
Jen @ 13
Don't worry.
I'm not here to be a troll. I just want to learn more about this stuff. I only put the opening part of my post in all caps just so I could get peoples' attention here.
I've been searching all over Google, going from page to page, just so I could find out more sites. But other than that, I don't know exactly where to start.
So I decided that I could try asking around here for any pointers on where to go. I've already gone to a lot of alt-media websites, but I'm looking for more places to go to.
james @ 15
I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I've been going through this website recently to scour for any other alt-media websites I can go to. Other than that, I don't know where else to go at the moment, so I decided to try my luck asking questions.
Again, sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully, we can get along.
I just saw a Tweet that sums it up really well.
@ihattetwitter:
So #Novichok is deadly but hasn't killed anyone, should kill in seconds but takes 5 hours to show symptoms, can survive 4 months in the wilderness but can't survive a baby wipe, lives next door to Porton Down but came from Russia. Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 7 2018 22:20 utc | 17
Soon they will charge Russia with use of another deadly chemical weapon of mass intoxication called oxygen as being only possibly produced in Russia.
It is Orwellian; as slavery is freedom, bleach is chemical weapon of mass destruction or mass cleanliness however you slice it it is criminal and little children may suffer from clean clothes syndrome.
Posted by: Kalen | Jul 7 2018 22:37 utc | 18
Notwithstanding the counter-evidence and the strong counter-arguments, the decision by the OPCW to include references to 'chlorinated chemical compounds' guaranteed that the 'attack' scenario would continue to be advanced.Is it possible that the UK, US and/or France put pressure on the OPCW to make the inclusion so they would not have to admit they were wrong and that they were fooled?
The fraud of the White Helmets should have been exposed by the OPCW inspection, but this interim report will give them continued life.
Posted by: chet380 | Jul 7 2018 23:03 utc | 19
On the clorine thing:
As SF pointed out, and as many ppl will remember from their coverage of the Douma OP, the "rebels" hat several labs that hat clorine and other chemicals stocked, together with the lab etuff to produce CW.
So it is most likely that THIS is meant by clorine, and now Mainstream media will try to blame SAA for the "rebels" CW labs!!!
Posted by: SteLe | Jul 7 2018 23:14 utc | 20
These scribblers that devoted many years devoted to the propaganda required to maintain the crumbling petro dollar will soon be out of a job. With trumps threats of secondary sanctions against any country trading with Iran, no exceptions, he has commenced the irreversible destruction of the petro dollar.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Jul 7 2018 23:22 utc | 21
SteLe @20. Yes, I remember seeing several labs discovered in Douma... some apparently for explosives, some possibly for chemicals, but lots of chlorine no matter what the intent.
Sharmine Narwani had video of herself and the CNN TV crew at one of those sites, and asked whether CNN would show those labs. Of course, they didn't.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 0:07 utc | 22
@13 jen.. thanks! ditto!
@16 some guy.. thanks.. if you want to ask ot questions and hijack a thread - do it on the open thread instead where you might get some helpful answers..
@20 stele and @22 daniel.. here is an article from march with pics and everything.. too bad opcw didn't follow this up, but they are working for the empire at this point.. Terrorist capabilities laid bare in an Eastern Ghouta chemical lab
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2018 0:14 utc | 23
This is an interesting explanation of why SAA was able to advance so quickly in the south.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 0:17 utc | 24
Yes James @23. That's a Sharmine Narwani article. She's been the most reliable journalist on the war against Syria since the very start in 2011.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 0:18 utc | 25
The circumstances of those hosing-off pictures was also investigated. We know which sources not to believe. Those who did their homework know the story. Note "isolation in a home" should be "insulation". Good reporting.
Russia's TASS has it headlined:
Chlorine used for chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Douma - OPCW interim report
Posted by: ken | Jul 8 2018 1:34 utc | 27
@ 4 someguy: https://www.counterpunch.org/
Here's two, but, if you come back to MoA regularly you'll find many more..
Don't take everything you read with out a grain of salt. Sites take years sometimes to establish their validity..
b and MoA have done that. Have a good one:)
Posted by: ben | Jul 8 2018 1:37 utc | 28
B- it's such a pleasure to read your articles - refreshing amidst all the lies put out there. Your coverage of the Skripals/Novichok baloney is great. I wonder what shite they will come up with now that England moves forward to the semi finals for the World Cup. As badly behaved as England footballers are I'm still hoping they win it as that should just stick it to the UK governmen. How much more ridiculous can they get about their poisoning fairy tale. Off Guardian has an open thread going and some of the comments there are pretty amusing too. Cheers and keep up the fantastic work
Posted by: Cat | Jul 8 2018 1:40 utc | 29
Troll or not, BFD, who cares? Be civil. Time will reveal all...
Posted by: ben | Jul 8 2018 1:43 utc | 30
OPCW seems to have, by extension, declared that no attack took place.
I wish I had the means to study wind patterns, as well as possible exposure by local fauna to contaminated areas within the Porton Downs facility, just on the off chance that some toxin went rogue. Also of note, in both UK instances, the victims are couples.
As far as Douma is concerned, whose head will roll? Had I been the client of the White Helmet troupe, I’d want a refund. Bad show.
Posted by: Stumpy | Jul 8 2018 3:43 utc | 31
ken @27. Thanks for pointing out that TASS article (well, that and the time will tell observation.... almost always good advice).
What do you make of that? TASS is the official house organ of the Russian Federation. Far more so than RT or Sputnik. Why would they make that claim in the headline and the (very short) article?
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 3:49 utc | 32
James @23 . The OPCW FFM did visit a warehouse and suspected chemical weapon facility ...but dismissed them both rather quickly.
"2.7 Based on the equipment and chemicals observed during the two on-site visits to the warehouse and the facility suspected by the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic of producing chemical weapons, there was no indication of either facility being involved in the production of chemical warfare agents. "
So when did the OPCW start putting out "interim" reports ? It appears to be both a confession and a plea (to their main sponsors). A confession that they haven't got anything at all to back up the original "Sarin attack" stories and a plea to any possible "experts" out there who may be able to bend the flimsy evidence they have into evidence of a chlorine attack. The media is just jumping the gun, probably in the knowledge that those "experts" will be found before the final report comes out.
These are issues upon which circumstances of war or peace can turn. The OPCW is a disgrace and discredits itself by being equivocal with language. The authors of its reports know damn well what the consequences of imprecise language can be and how a glib turn of phrase can inspire a holocaust response to a civilian population confined to a city where a belligerent warmonger state can leap on their reports and rain devastation.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Shame on the OPCW for publishing a document that has been immediately twisted. Shame on every senior scientist and every senior administrator for allowing this to happen.
It would have taken no time at all to use text that was tight enough to leave no room for gaming by belligerent media and state actors. This is a disgusting performance by a critical party on which the whole world relies for competency.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 8 2018 8:06 utc | 35
Maybe some of the journalists are being dishonest but I see mainly confirmation bias.
The mainstream 'knows' that Assad uses chemical weapons. The mainstream also makes a distincion between formal and informal thinking. Example about the Yemen war. in general the war is seen as a proxy war with Iran, but even now I encounter articles which mention this as claims or suspicions. This is not because there are doubts, but because they are trying to get things right formally. On this type of formal statements the press is often willing to be corrected, but it will not change any minds because it's just about the distinction between 'strictly speaking' and 'extremely plausible'.
So in this case the OPCW mentions something about chlorine, but it leads nowhere. Well, OPCW are being formal, so they can't state hard conclusions. Informally the hint is enough to conclude(confirm) that even though there is no hard proof chlorine weapons were used. Strong confirmation bias at work. Maybe you can just call this bad journalism. I prefer to see it as a proof that the commonsense of the mainstream is way off.
Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Jul 8 2018 9:52 utc | 36
@SomeGuy
I think you'll find that the reputation of the reporter, journalist and/or analyst is more important than the site you visit to get your news. Some sites -- those I consider to be corrupted (e.g., TruthDig)-- will publish articles from many different authors, only a small fraction of which are reliable truthtellers and not misinformers/ disinformers/ propagandists/ self-censorer-for-job-security. I understand that this is a little pedantic, but I just want to be clear: you should specifically be asking who to go to rather than where to go for news and information.
Individual preferences will vary based on where you're from, what langauge(s) you speak and what your interests are. As a layman and US expat residing in Germany, I've whittled my primary sources of English geopolitical news down to b at Moon of Alabama, Craig Murray, and Opinion contributors at RT English. For the awful state of US affairs, I read RT, look out for stories by Ray McGovern and Philip Giraldi, Glen Ford and Margaret Kimberley, Chris Hedges, The Saker and Ron Unz. Unz Review links to several of the above sources in its "Alternative Media" list near the bottom of its homepage. A quick internet search can lead you to the others.
In general, Western truthseekers must follow the money: stay away from authors funded by Western governments, media, NGOs, and billionaire philanthropies/foundations/organizations. Most Western truthtellers are freelancers that establish and maintain their own websites and rely only on reader contributions or supplement their income with book sales and speaking engagements.
Posted by: Tom in HD | Jul 8 2018 9:55 utc | 37
SomeGuy | Jul 7, 2018 4:01:44 PM | 4
Farsnews, Sputnik, Southfront, MoA, Katehon, Press TV, Fortruss, The Greanville Post, World Socialist Website, Russia Insider, The Duran, and Strategic-Culture.org to name a few (12).
They all have their strengths and weak points, but for the most part, solid reporting.
Posted by: V | Jul 8 2018 9:57 utc | 38
SomeGuy | Jul 7, 2018 4:01:44 PM | 4
And for crying out loud, dump the junk, google is crap! Yahoo is crap!
Use Yandex browser for searches.
I've been using it for years as are others here.
Posted by: V | Jul 8 2018 10:06 utc | 39
Thanks for the valuable content you place on the site
It's really great
Thank you so much
Posted by: ریخته گری دقیق | Jul 8 2018 11:47 utc | 40
james @ 23
It wasn't my intention to "hijack" the thread. I simply came here because I've been looking around for alt-media websites and I decided to ask questions here. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I hope that we can get along. I'll try using the Open Thread thing.
ben @ 28
Thanks. I already know about Alternet and Counterpunch, but thanks nonetheless.
Tom in HD @ 37
Thank you. I'll keep this all in mind.
V @ 38
Wow, thanks. I know a lot of those websites, but there are others on your post that I haven't gone to. Again, thank you. If you've got anymore, please notify me.
V @ 39
Also, I've used Yandex before, but maybe I should use it more often. Again, thank you.
someGuy
Welcome, dont bother with that paranoid troll accusing you of false stuff.
Here is some sites,
RealNewsNetwork
BSnews.info
theduran
off guardian
Posted by: Zanon | Jul 8 2018 12:33 utc | 42
SomeGuy @ 14:
Thanks for the reassurance.
As to the various alt-media websites and blogs you want to know about, this depends on your interest. If you are interested in news on Syria for example, the go-to people include Eva Bartlett, Vanessa Beeley, Rick Sterling, Max Blumenthal (sometimes), Tim Anderson and Ziad Fadel at Syrian Perspective. Tim Hayward also has an informative blog although he hasn't posted anything for a while as of today (8 July).
Sasa Wawa's blog "Who Attacked Ghouta?" features an investigation of the chemical weapons attack incident in East Ghouta in August 2013 and you may find the whole blog interesting as an example of information sharing and shared analysis.
If you are interested in news about the Skripal poisoning case, then MoA, Craig Murray, Rob Slane's The Blogmire and Off-Guardian are your best sources. The Skwawkbox is starting to come into its own on news about the couple poisoned in Amesbury.
I suggest you also check out the Clarity of Signal blog for links to videos and other audiovisual material on issues not covered in the mainstream news media. Also go to Youtube and look up the short news videos by ReallyGraceful. I used to visit the StormCloudsGathering blog but that's had a few disruptions (service attacks). The Corbett Report has good videos too.
For general news, in addition to The Duran and Katehon that others have recommended, I would add Stephen Lendman's blog. Lendman has been ill lately which I guess is to be expected of someone of his age (he's in his mid-80s) but he still manages to keep up-to-date on most developments.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 8 2018 12:52 utc | 43
SomeGuy @ 14:
I know some people have recommended World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org) but I'm suspicious of Clara Weiss's reporting on Russia-related issues. See here a link to an article she co-authored:
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/06/14/puti-j14.html
Weiss and her co-author leave out the context behind the reduction of hospitals and clinics in parts of Russia (some areas have lost population, others have gained population, and hospitals and clinics need to move to areas where the need is greatest) and the reduced numbers of paediatricians (in a country where birthrates are at some of their lowest levels because the generation of people entering their childbearing years is also low, thanks to Yeltsin's policies in the 1990s). Vneshekonombank is a state bank founded to fund infrastructure and other major projects - of course it receives billions of rubles each year from the Central Bank. Offshore havens in the Russian Far East and Kaliningrad? - more likely these are places set up to attract more business by offering lower taxation and other investment incentives not found in the rest of Russia.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 8 2018 13:10 utc | 44
I think it iikely that chlorine was used in Douma - by jihadis, for the gas chamber-like murder of the civilians whose bodies were photographed in the basement of the "death house" where the two yellow cannisters were also found. Please see:
Posted by: Mark McCarty | Jul 8 2018 14:44 utc | 45
>>>> Mark McCarty | Jul 8, 2018 10:44:27 AM | 45
If you wanted to kill a few people with chlorine, you don't need a lab to do it. A plastic bucket and a few bottles each of bleach and Harpic toilet cleaner and you're good to go. At my local Asda, a part of Walmart, you'd probably have change from a twenty pound note.
BTW, the Guardian hasn't said a word about the OPCW interim report, not even to claim that it was chlorine that the SAA used. well because of the chlorinated organic compounds. Meanwhile that scumbag Sajid Javid has stepped by stating that the British government "won't jump to conclusion" but honest, it was the Russians. That the British government openly lied about Douma will largely discredit their claims about the Skripal incident. If Jeremy Corbyn has the balls he should demand answers from that shitbag May at the next PMQ.
Posted by: Ghost Ship | Jul 8 2018 15:35 utc | 46
Well put b.
However in document, amognst the other alternative facts and policies creating it - it mentions Russia predicting exactly what is happening. How Freudian body that created this document must feel now..
Posted by: laserlurk | Jul 8 2018 16:00 utc | 47
@33 al-pol.. thanks.. was that published somewhere that you know and have a link to?
@35 uncle tungsten.. i agree.. why are the loose with the language? it makes their organization look very bad and that they are playing politics..
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2018 16:10 utc | 48
Zanon @ 42
Thanks, Zanon. I don't want to call anybody names, so I'll just move on. But I'm glad that you gave me some suggestions. When the Open Thread starts, we should all share the alt-media websites that we know of.
Jen @ 43
Wow, that REALLY helps. Thank you. And you were very in-depth about it too. Thanks. I'm really progressing in my path to know more about the world and about what's really going on. Some of these I already knew about like the Corbett Report, but for the most part, you gave me a lot of new material to work with. I'll lend some of what I know in the Open Thread later today, I think. Think of it as a reimbursement for the help you've provided me. Anyway, this Moon of Alabama place seems to have a lot of smart people in it. I'll be sure to drop by here and there because I really want to be apart of the discussion.
Jen @ 44
Regarding the World Socialist Web Site, I already know about it. And while I understand your concerns, allow me to defend it in this case. Simply put: it's run by Trotskyists. No, not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but you gotta understand that they're very… ideological. They're hardliners. They see themselves as the legacy of Lenin, Trotsky, Debs, and Cannon. They think that they're ideology is the one true ideology and that's that. As far as they're concerned, anything that doesn't subscribe to it, be it the Russian government or the American government, is in the wrong. They've attacked China. They've attacked Russia. They've attacked Iran. Just like they've attacked the United States government.
However,
That doesn't mean that they're bad people. If anything, they have analysis that you don't see anywhere else. They have news that you don't see anywhere else, even in the alt-media. They've talked extensively about the "CIA democrats" and Google's censorship of anti-war or leftwing websites and Obama's role in the Sri Lanka coup back in 2015. That's something you often don't see in the alt-media, at least from what I've seen. They've talked about all the connections between various companies and the CIA extensively and much of the deep state. The way they've attacked political correctness and identity politics is something to behold.
It's just that their views are, well, I would say pretty extreme. They believe in open borders (can't say I believe in that) and the Iranian government or Chinese government are automatically bad in their estimation because they're not up to their specifications. And they sometimes fall back on typical mainstream media tropes in regards to other nations that are the the US's "enemies," even if they equally hate the US government in its current form as well. I can sort of understand why they would view Russia and China with a sense of criticism: it's not their job to choose sides. Their job is to create a world socialist revolution based on Trotskysim and that's that.
I'm not saying that it makes everything they say "right" or that it justifies their trashing of various governments foreign to the United States, Canada, Europe, and their various "allies," but it is what it is. That doesn't mean that they aren't good at what they do. They're just incredibly biased. And they've been really helpful in informing me about various developments. But again, they're not perfect.
No alt-media site is…
pat lang has a new post up on the ocpw intern report.. No nerve or other chemical agent at Douma - OPCW
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2018 16:31 utc | 50
speaking of a lying media - how about wikipedia? when do they change the lies on their pages?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2018 16:44 utc | 51
james @51 reasonably and importantly asks,
"how about wikipedia? when do they change the lies on their pages?"
From the page from that hasbara/propaganda site you linked:
"This page was last edited on 8 July 2018, at 15:47 (UTC)."
Really? What new information has been discovered about Sarin this weekend? Maybe they added "reported to..consistent with":
"2018: Douma chemical attack victims reported to have symptoms consistent with exposure to sarin and other agents."
With Wiki it really is a case of "you can tell they're lying because their lips are moving."
At best, the references they cite can be checked for validity.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 17:55 utc | 52
LOL. I see BBC is today reporting:
"Almost all the Syrians who fled to the border with Jordan from an army offensive have now returned to their homes, a top UN official says."
Just days ago they reported that "The offensive in Syria's south-west had earlier forced more than 320,000 people to flee," and were bleating that Jordan should open their border and let them all in.
Today "Anders Pedersen, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Jordan, said that "around 150 to 200 people (are) right now at the border".
320,000 became <200 in a matter of days. LOL
So, once again we see that the civilians were fleeing the fighting, NOT the Syrian government. And once the SAR regains control of an area, almost everyone returns.
Well, at least BBC online did sort of admit it.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 18:07 utc | 53
@52/53 daniel - wikipedia is soft propaganda... some like it soft, lol... it is the same bullshit non the less!
i see the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs hasn't changed it's stance of 325,000 refugees in southern syria either... they act much like wikipedia and even when the facts are presented, ignore them and continue on with the lying.. this report from july 6th at the link is a continuation of same..
i guess the revenue they receive directly from the usa/uk and other western gov'ts helps seal the deal..
Posted by: james | Jul 8 2018 18:25 utc | 54
@SomeGuy 49
A very good description of the purpose and the content of the WSWS site. I like that you included a description of their ideology as they see it, and that they're very open about the fact that they promote that ideology on their site.
I would only add that they also do a very good job of monitoring labor unions around the world and blowing the whistle on those that sell out their members to the corporate bosses.
Posted by: AntiSpin | Jul 8 2018 18:43 utc | 55
AntiSpin @ 55
Oh yeah, the fact that they're so involved in revealing the state of labor in the United States and the rest of the world is truly something. But more than that, as you say, they also reveal a lot of the corruption in today's labor unions. Maybe labor unions before were the go-to organizations if you wanted to fight corporate corruption, but now? They're basically sell-outs. They work with the management, not against it. And that's the story that you see in the WSWS that you don't really find in the rest of the alt-media. The betrayal of labor unions.
Another thing that I would add is the fact that they talk about all the phony "socialists" that go prancing around talking about Marx like they truly believe in what he preached. They call out organizations like the ISO and individuals like Bernie Sanders, which I find immensely refreshing. These people aren't the socialists that you typically find on a college campus; they're actually hard-core about what they believe.
But like I said: they aren't perfect. In fact, when Russia and China makes a mistake or do something wrong, they automatically fall back on old tropes that you would find in the mainstream media without really seeming to question them or they condemn the entire government and everything about it. Again, as far as they're concerned, everything the world powers do wrong, whether they are the United States, Russia, or China, is proof of the rightness of their ideology. You have to understand that these people are true believers. Their job isn't to make friends with Russia or China or Iran; their job is to create a world socialist revolution.
They're all smart as a whip, thats for damn sure, but at the same token, they clearly have their own faults.
Even though I'm not a socialist, I respect them.
Exciting new product intro from Max Blumenthal: Maddow's Tears™, a new formula that produces soothing, cooling moisture in politically convenient circumstances.
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 19:35 utc | 57
Interesting case of honesty from The Guardian:
“I am at a loss to see what motive the Kremlin might have to commit murders on foreign soil during the buildup, let alone the enactment, of a sporting event that is of mammoth chauvinist significance to Russia."
"The most obvious motive for these attacks would surely be from someone out to embarrass the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – someone from his enemies, rather than from his friends or employees. But once again we have no clue."
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 8 2018 20:25 utc | 58
Here's the New York Times telling similar lies in fancy video form from June 24th:
Based on this leaked version of the report, which doesn't prove anything more than the final version:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/world/middleeast/un-syria-eastern-ghouta.html
PDF:
Surprised MofA didn't comment on these inventions.
Posted by: Yaj | Jul 8 2018 21:41 utc | 59
The OPCW report included a helpful table showing its "biomedical" test results. Apparently they took plasma samples. All negative for all chems.
Posted by: Harry | Jul 9 2018 1:54 utc | 60
USA=ISIS
Israel=Saudi Arabia
Jews=Muslim terrorists
Putin=Netanyahu=Trump
European Union=Rothschilds
You=piece of shit
For making the above happen.
Posted by: Art Best | Jul 9 2018 12:49 utc | 61
The headline of BBC's story has been edited to "Syria war: 'Possible chlorine' at Douma attack site - watchdog". (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44746147)
I don't know whether its text has been edited too. IMHO, it is confusing:
"A chemical weapons watchdog says chlorine may have been used (my emphasis) in April's attack on the Syrian city of Douma.
The interim report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said "various chlorinated organic chemicals" had been found but there was no evidence of nerve agents .
. . .
The report said two samples from gas cylinders recovered at the scene tested positive for chlorine."
I'm not able to find anything in the interim report that confirms the last sentence. Did I miss something?
Posted by: YNT | Jul 9 2018 13:47 utc | 62
You people are just as fucked up as you always were. The OPCW report says it found the residual chlorinates on the god-damned cylinders in the building where the 34 casualties were found. If you at least took the trouble to read the report, maybe you wouldn't come across as such ignoramuses.
Posted by: Louis N. Proyect | Jul 11 2018 23:34 utc | 63
#63 yuk yuk... where is the sarin and nerve agents? you can't keep on lying to yourself publicly like this..
Posted by: james | Jul 12 2018 0:11 utc | 64
Not to mention that it's entirely possible that those canisters had chlorine in them. After all, something killed all those innocent people who were locked in the basement, and later scattered around the stairways and kitchen. Although, at least one of them was really badly decomposing, so must have died some days earlier. I guess your White Helmets get paid by "body count."
As the OPCW report makes clear, they cannot understand how those canisters crashed holes through steel-reinforced concrete roofs, and yet one landed softly as a teddy bear on a bed, and the other apparently bounced into the air, and landed right back in the hole it made, but fortuitously enough, it caught a piece of the rebar so it wouldn't fall through.
Why does this Proyect creature even come here?
Posted by: Daniel | Jul 12 2018 1:51 utc | 65
Chlorophenol is one of the chemicals that results from the degradation of tistrinitrotoluene (TNT)
It is a "chlorine compound"
Posted by: Cyrus | Jul 16 2018 23:55 utc | 66
The comments to this entry are closed.
Liars and known liars.
The nice thing is that they are so easily caught out and evidently forced to change their tune.
Maybe some hope.
Posted by: adamski | Jul 7 2018 18:55 utc | 1