Putin & Trump and Journalists

[rich]

the question though is who is this propaganda for at this point with Assad
here to stay. most of us thought he was on his last legs a few years ago,
like father like son we all thought. obama's line in the sand was one of
those showing toughness knowing full well not much would be done beyond
that. he risked face for scoring political points, an easy slam dunk, with
no skin in the game, which I would think is unofficial american policy
(unless michael flynn isnt coralled under Trump)--let the drones and
handfuls of CIA paras and special forces handle it.


assad stays, russia aids the iranians indirectly, all part of the region's
proxy war b/w iran and saudia arabia (a way again for russia to poke a US
ally). and oddly enough, who benefits the most from all this: Israel who
one would think enjoy the arab world at each other's throat and not at
theirs. is this why the settlements are growing even quicker?

I think I'm in agreement with your sentiments, Thomas. I just wonder at
this stage in the game, w/r/t to Syria, propaganda seems to have worn out
its welcome. our side is bad, their side is bad, who side is who on, who
knows?

rich

On Fri, Jan 27, 2017 at 5:46 PM, Thomas Eckhardt <
thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de> wrote:

> 'The real reason that reporting of the Syrian conflict
>> has been so inadequate is that Western news organisations have almost
>> entirely outsourced their coverage to the rebel side.'
>>
>
> This is certainly true but does not go far enough. The "activists",
> "civilian defense workers" and "citizen journalists" who provide
> information to the Western media are not only embedded with the rebels but
> have been prepared for this job and are paid enormous sums by the West to
> perform it.
>
> The Western mainstream media duly report everything these embedded citizen
> journalists or first responders tell them as fact. The White Helmets have
> produced hundreds of fake photographs of children "pulled from the rubble".
> Even if it isn't explicitly mentioned, through their publication by
> supposedly respectable newspapers like the NYT, the Guardian or Die Zeit
> these fake photographs have become documents of Russian and Syrian
> barbarism in the public perception. Politicians then quote from the
> newspapers and add some buzzwords: Guernica, Ruanda, Srebrenica. A German
> talkshow host even managed to mention the Holocaust...
>
> This is war propaganda of the highest order, provided as a public service
> by an enormously sophisticated and well-oiled propaganda machine. It is
> Frank Wisner's "mighty Wurlitzer" on steroids.
>
> http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/how-white-helmets-
> became-international-heroes-while-pushing-us-military
>
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/aleppo-f
> ake-footage-children-five-peopele-arrested-egyptian-police-a7486541.html
>
> http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/24/middleeast/mannequin-chall
> enge-white-helmets-syria/
>
> http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/09/20/exclusive-aleppo-media
> -centre-funded-by-french-foreign-office-eu-and-us/
>
> (Beeley is partisan, so take that last link with a grain of salt as far
> as her take on the actions of the Syrian government are concerned. Her
> research on the sources of funding for the White Helmets and the Aleppo
> Media Center is solid. Please note also that, while many of the photographs
> taken by the White Helmets are certainly fakes, some are not. Nobody denies
> that many children have actually been wounded and killed during the bombing
> of East Aleppo.)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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