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ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
 Posted: 22-09-2013 13:11 Post subject: |
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Link was faulty, corrected.
| Quote: | Imperialism: More than Syria in its sights
There has been a dramatic change in the politics of the Middle East, writes Yassamine Mather
The events we are now witnessing in the Middle East, the “United States’ accidental diplomacy” regarding Syria1 and renewed talk of the resolution of Iran’s nuclear programme were unexpected a few weeks ago. Having declared that the use of chemical weapons was the “red line” the Syrian leadership should not cross, the US has now accepted Russian proposals for a ‘diplomatic solution’.
If the original decision to launch a ‘limited military strike’ was unpopular, retreating from it has proved as unpopular and, both in the US and beyond, critics claim that the climbdown is an expression of indecision, of weakness. Of course, there are no guarantees that the agreement between the US and Russian foreign ministers struck on September 14 will lead to any kind of the resolution. Disarmament is a conflicted process at the best of times, but in the midst of a civil war, with both sides accusing the other of unleashing chemical weapons, with the state and sections of the opposition unleashing gratuitous violence against civilians, it is unlikely that the current deal will be the end of the affair.
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http://www.hopi-ireland.org/c/imperialism-more-syria-its-sights |
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| Jonfairway Great Old One Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Total posts: 1185 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 23-09-2013 13:23 Post subject: |
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This isn't happening the way THEY wanted it, first we didn't play ball in the UK, then it got bogged down for the US to weigh in big time, now Assad seems to be doing what he needs to... to stop military action.
i can see something else happening to cause an outrage again very soon.. |
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Spookdaddy Cuckoo Joined: 24 May 2006 Total posts: 3923 Location: Midwich Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 23-09-2013 14:07 Post subject: |
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| Jonfairway wrote: | | ...i can see something else happening to cause an outrage again very soon.. |
There's a civil war on - outrages are standard. |
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| Jonfairway Great Old One Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Total posts: 1185 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 24-09-2013 12:54 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Jonfairway wrote:
...i can see something else happening to cause an outrage again very soon..
There's a civil war on - outrages are standard. |
so ... will US attack or not ? spooooky one ? |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 05-10-2013 00:22 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Saudi black op team behind Damascus chem weapons attack – diplomatic sources
http://rt.com/news/syria-sarin-saudi-provocation-736/
Published time: October 04, 2013 13:14
Edited time: October 04, 2013 17:58
A man, affected by what activists say is nerve gas, breathes through an oxygen mask in the Damascus suburbs August 21, 2013 (Reuters/Ammar Dar)
Download video (47.13 MB) Share on tumblr
The August chemical weapons attack in the Syrian capital’s suburbs was done by a Saudi Arabian black operations team, Russian diplomatic sources have told a Russian news agency.
“Based on data from a number of sources a picture can be pieced together. The criminal provocation in Eastern Ghouta was done by a black op team that the Saudi’s sent through Jordan and which acted with support of the Liwa Al-Islam group,” a source in the diplomatic circles told Interfax.
The attack and its consequences had a huge impact on the Syrian situation, another source said.
“Syrians of various political views, including some opposition fighters, are seeking to inform diplomats and members of international organizations working in Syria what they know about the crime and the forces which inspired it,” he told the agency.
Liwa Al-Islam is an Islamist armed group operating near Damascus headed by the son of a Saudi-based Salafi cleric. The group claimed responsibility for the bombing of a secret governmental meeting in Damascus in July 2012 that killed a number of top Syrian officials, including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, his deputy Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani.
The allegations mirror a number of earlier reports, which pointed to Saudi Arabia as the mastermind behind the sarin gas attack, which almost led to US military action against Syrian government. Proponents of this scenario say intelligence services in Riyadh needed a false flag operation to provoke an American attack in Syria, which would tip the balance in favor of the armed opposition supported by Saudi Arabia.
While the majority of Western countries say they are certain that the Syrian government carries the blame for the attack, Damascus maintains that the rebel forces must be behind it. Russia shares this conviction too, calling the incident a provocation.
United Nations vehicles are seen leaving the hotel in Damascus (AFP Photo / Louai Beshara) United Nations vehicles are seen leaving the hotel in Damascus (AFP Photo / Louai Beshara)
Back in March US President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons would be a ‘red line’ for the Syrian government, crossing which would prompt America’s intervention into the bloody Syrian conflict. After the August attack, which the US believes has claimed some 1,400 lives, the president was called on his words by many supporters of the Syrian opposition both at home and outside of the US.
Earlier a UN report concluded that nerve gas had indeed been used “on a large scale” in August. However, the consistency of the findings is under question.
According to the report, none of the environmental samples the UN collected in Western Ghouta tested positive for Sarin, while biomedical samples, taken from affected people, all tested positive.
RT’s Worlds Apart host Oksana Boyko has spoken to Angela Kane, UN high representative for disarmament affairs, who has just returned from Damascus.
“If you read the report, the report comes out and says sarin was used. It is also a matter that maybe in the environmental samples they took there was no sarin found, but that does not mean that sarin was not used,” Kane told Worlds Apart. “It was there in the human samples. If they had more time to go around they would have found different samples. It was a limited collection that they did, but the collection was conclusive. I think, it was very comprehensive, therefore, we shared all of those samples with the Syrian government.”
At the same time, there have been concerns voiced that witnesses the UN team spoke to were brought by the opposition from different regions and did not live in Western Ghouta.
“I think it is not possible to say ‘We brought them all from a different area.’ To my mind that is inconceivable. You can come up with the theory, but this does not mean the theory is correct,” Kane said.
When asked if the UN team had requested examining dead bodies to take more samples, Kane said they had not, because “there was no need to exhume dead bodies” as victims’ accounts “are much more powerful.”
“Dead body can’t tell you anything. The dead body can’t tell how the person dies, how the person was affected, how the person suffered. A living person can tell you that,” Kane said.
After the UN team left Syria on Monday, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) experts arrived in the country. They are currently making preparations for the disarmament.
The OPCW team will start conducting tests on October 7. |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 07-10-2013 18:11 Post subject: |
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Funny business from the BBC. Not funny ha ha! Funny peculiar.
| Quote: | http://wingsoverscotland.com/you-cant-just-do-this/#more-42113
You can’t just do this
Wings Over Scotland. by Rev. Stuart Campbell. October 07, 2013
It’s not directly related to Scottish independence, but we were disturbed to be alerted by former UK ambassador Craig Murray to a piece of recent BBC coverage. A friend of ours has helpfully cut down the video footage in question to just the important parts, and saved it in case of sudden disappearances. You should probably watch them.
Both clips are from BBC reporting of a chemical attack in Syria, for an episode of Panorama. The first one appears here, and the key section is this one:
http://youtu.be/8IWzGD2lfMg
The second one is from this page, and this is the extract:
http://youtu.be/Q5g9FwXhfoo
You’ll note that both feature the same woman, wearing a protective mask and apparently speaking live. There’s no audible cut as she speaks and of course you can’t see her mouth, but the two clips have her saying different things.
VERSION 1
“…it’s just absolute chaos and carnage here, erm we’ve had a massive influx of what look like serious burns, er seems like it must be some sort of chemical weapon, I’m not really sure…“
VERSION 2
“…it’s just absolute chaos and carnage here, erm we’ve had a massive influx of what look like serious burns, er seems like it must be some sort of, I’m not really sure, maybe napalm, something similar to that…“
(Our emphases.)
Now, in this particular instance it happens that the underlying meaning hasn’t been significantly changed. Napalm IS “some sort of chemical weapon”. But here’s the same woman, in the same footage, apparently saying two different things. We’re sure we can’t be the only licence-fee payers who find that more than a little troubling.
News reporting is about trust. The BBC is the UK state broadcaster. All we’re saying is, maybe bear these two short pieces of video in mind the next time it shows you a suspiciously short clip of someone speaking and then tells you what they said. |
The difference between the two clips does look quite odd. |
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| Ronson8 Things can only get better.
Great Old One Joined: 31 Jul 2001 Total posts: 6061 Location: MK Gender: Male |
| Posted: 07-10-2013 18:49 Post subject: |
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| Don't know why they're saying it's the same footage when it clearly is not. |
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| Spookdaddy Cuckoo Joined: 24 May 2006 Total posts: 3923 Location: Midwich Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 07-10-2013 21:35 Post subject: |
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| Ronson8 wrote: | | Don't know why they're saying it's the same footage when it clearly is not. |
Yes - you're right. I've just had to edit out two posts which massively overcomplicated the issue.
They've had two runs at the same report, very close together - and she's come out with slightly different lines in each, which given the circumstances might not be that surprising. (The position of the guy in the hi-vis and glasses is a giveaway - and the arm blocking him in one bit of footage, and not the other.)
What I'd mentioned in my abortive posts was that if this was all about the BBC apparently editing out the word 'napalm' then the claim was inaccurate, as it's mentioned in both source pages and also in the footage where she doesn't mention it - by the narrator, just a few seconds before. Editing in the phrase 'chemical weapon' would have taken more explaining - but the fact that it is different footage means it doesn't actually have to be.
Edit: It's maybe worth pointing out that film reporters are trained to deliver multiple reports in the same manner, position, inflection etc - so that they can be cut together if necessary, and won't look disjointed. I suspect that's why some of what she does say and do in each report is similar enough to almost, at first glance, be mistaken for the same. |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 07-10-2013 22:40 Post subject: |
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| Fair enough. I see what you mean. There's a certain staginess to both clips, but they are quite different. One does wonder whether the doctor was prompted in one or the other of the takes in some way, though. |
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