I'm seeing a lot of comments appearing below the line on websites and blogs stating that it has now been proved that the apparent chemical attack on a suburb of Damascus was caused by the rebels, not the Assad regime - a startling claim. Oddly, few links seem to be appearing alongside those comments to back them up.
After scouring the internet, this looks to be what people are talking about. It’s a report from a newish U.S. online news organisation called Mint Press News:
It hasn’t been reported much elsewhere – except by the Russian and Iranian press, who are reporting it quite extensively, and by websites like Daily Kos and Anti-War. The rest of the world’s media appears to be ignoring it, maybe with good reason.
The lead reporter, however, is Dale Gavlak, who also reports for the BBC (mainly about Jordan). So it’s from a mainstream reporter, who also reports for AP and NPR.
It looks credible – but whether it is or not, who knows?
If true, it’s dynamite. But if it is, why are no mainstream media organisations beyond Russia and Iran reporting it, as far as I can see. Presumably, they think it’s complete rubbish.
Update: A shaft of light into this foggy affair comes from Adi at Biased BBC - though it doesn't entirely dispel the fog.
U.S. conservative website PJ Media dismisses the story and describes Mint Press News as a Shia-advocacy site - anti-American, anti-Saudi, anti-Israel, with a distinct #Occupy-style tinge. The Anti-Defamation League are on their case, PJ Media says.
If Mint Press News is as bad as PJ Media say, why's an experienced freelance/BBC reporter (whose work has also appeared in places like The Times of Israel) writing for such an outfit?
Update: A shaft of light into this foggy affair comes from Adi at Biased BBC - though it doesn't entirely dispel the fog.
U.S. conservative website PJ Media dismisses the story and describes Mint Press News as a Shia-advocacy site - anti-American, anti-Saudi, anti-Israel, with a distinct #Occupy-style tinge. The Anti-Defamation League are on their case, PJ Media says.
Correspondents and staff writers include writers and analysts with experience contributing to Iran’s Press TV, J Street, Russia Today, Al-Jazeera, Occupy Wall Street, AlterNet, TruthOut and Electronic Intifada. The site promises to run stories through a “social justice” lens.
Yahya Ababneh, who shared a byline on the story with Gavlak, is a contributor to Al-Quds Al-Arabi [Abdel Bari Atwan's old paper], an anti-U.S., anti-Saudi pan-Arab newspaper that praised the 9/11 attacks as “the end of the U.S. empire” and called Osama bin Laden just “half a terrorist.”If so, that still leaves me wondering about Dale Gavlak, a reporter BBC website articles frequently describe as "the BBC's Dale Gavlak" - such as here (from June this year), here (from April this year), here (from March this year), here (from January this year) - to cite only examples from this year.
If Mint Press News is as bad as PJ Media say, why's an experienced freelance/BBC reporter (whose work has also appeared in places like The Times of Israel) writing for such an outfit?
