India's deadly heat kilsl over 1800

The fifth deadliest heatwave in recorded history with an infinite number of deaths no counted as due to the heat.

Older and young people are the most vulnerable with children not developing sweat glands until about the age of five as Paul Beckwith taught me this week on Radio Ecoshock.

To understand more about what makes these deaths happen and why we will see infinitely more as we march from 0.85C above baseline relentlessly toward 6C learn about Wet Bulb temperature.

---Kevin Hester

Earth's 5th Deadliest Heat Wave in Recorded History Kills 1,826 in India

Jeff Masters

Wunderground,

MAY, 2015

The death toll from India's horrid May heat wave has risen to 1,826, making this year's heat wave the second deadliest in India's recorded history--and the fifth deadliest in world history. According to statistics from EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database, India's only deadlier heat wave was in 1998, when 2,541 died. With over 400 deaths recorded in just the past day and the heat expected to continue over India for another week, the 1998 death toll could well be exceeded in this year's heat wave. However, death tolls from heat waves are very difficult to estimate, since excess heat is typically not listed as the primary cause of death in cases where the victim has a pre-existing condition such as heart or lung disease. For example, the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) lists the total direct deaths from the U.S. heat wave of 1980 at 1,260, but estimates that the combined direct and indirect deaths (i.e., excess mortality) due to heat stress was 10,000. Below is the list of top ten deadliest heat waves in world history as compiled by EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database, which uses direct deaths for their statistics, and not excess mortality.The 10 Deadliest Heat Waves in World History

1) Europe, 2003: 71,310
2) Russia, 2010: 55,736
3) Europe, 2006: 3,418
4) India, 1998: 2,5415) India, 2015: 1,826+
6) U.S. and Canada, 1936: 1,693
7) U.S., 1980: 1,260
8) India, 2003: 1,210
9) India, 2002: 1,030
9) Greece and Turkey, 1987: 1,030

Note that the EM-DAT database may not be entirely reliable; for example, they list no heat deaths in the U.S. for the 1988 heat wave, while the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) lists 454 direct deaths and 5,000 combined direct and indirect deaths. The 2010 Japanese heat wave, which EM-DAT gives a death toll of 170 for, disagrees with the 1,718 total from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera alleges that the deadliest and most brutal heat wave Chinese history, in Eastern China in the summer 2013, had thousands of deaths which were not reported by the Chinese authorities. The official death toll was merely 40.

Figure 1. A young Indian child pours water on himself as he tries to cool himself off in New Delhi on May 28, 2015. Image credit: MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images.It's the heat and the humidity

Temperatures across much of India have been 5°C (9°F) above average this May, with very high humidity. In many of the hardest-hit areas of eastern India, the heat index dropped below 100°F for only four hours each night for several consecutive days this week. This sort of day-after-day heat stress is very hard on vulnerable people, and leads to high mortality. For example, in Channai (Madras) on May 24, the high temperature reached 108°F and the heat index topped out at 123°F, and never dropped below 97°F the entire day. Far more extreme heat index values have been observed in some areas. For example, on May 23 at 14:30,  Bhubneshwar recorded a temperature of of 42.2°C (108°F) with a dew point of 29.3°C (84.7°F), giving an astonishing heat index of 62°C (143.6°F.) According to weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera, a heat index of up to 65°C (149°F) has been measured at some stations in eastern India during the heat wave.

Figure 2. Progress of the monsoon towards India as of May 28, 2015 (green line) has been close to its average pace. If the monsoon follows its usual pace, it will move through the province hardest hit by this year's heat wave, Andhra Prahesh (shaded in yellow), by June 5. This province recorded 1,334 heat deaths as of May 29, 2015. Image credit: India Meteorological Department .

The monsoon is coming

This is the time of year when India's 1.2 billion people look beseechingly southwards, toward the advancing southwest monsoon. The monsoon's arrival brings rains that cool India's scorching May heat, and the monsoon's rains give life, providing 70 - 80% of the year’s total rainfall in just four months. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is forecasting that the arrival of the southwest monsoon at the southern tip of India will occur this weekend, on May 30. This is two days ahead of the average arrival date, June 1. The monsoon should move through the province hardest hit by this year's heat wave, Andhra Prahesh, by June 5. However, IMD is alsoforecasting a roughly doubled chance of below-average rains during the summer monsoon period, and predicts only 91 percent of the usual rainfall will occur. The problem: the atmospheric circulation patterns brought on by an El Niño event usually cause much reduced monsoon rains. The current borderline weak/moderate El Niño event is forecast to intensify this summer, and this is likely to cause a significant reduction in monsoon rainfall over India. According to EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database, more than 4.2 million people died in India between 1900 - 2014 due to droughts from failed monsoon rains, primarily during El Niño years. The five worst Indian monsoons for rainfall deficit:

1) 1877, -33%
2) 1899, -29%
3) 1918, -25%
4) 1972, -24%
5) 2009, -22%

Up until the late 1960s, it was common for the failure of the monsoon rains to kill millions of people in India; the 3-year drought that began during the strong El Niño event of 1965 killed at least 1.5 million people. However, since the Green Revolution of the late 1960s--a government initiative to improve food self-sufficiency using new technology and high-yield grains--failure of the monsoon rains has not led to mass famine in India. For example, the fifth worst drought in India's history occurred in 2009, but did not result in serious food shortages--and neither would a similar failure of the monsoon this year. However, a weak monsoon could affect India’s fragile power supply, since the country is heavily dependent on hydropower. In 2012, a weak monsoon forced farmers to use huge amounts of power to pump groundwater to make up for lack of rain. The resulting strain on the power grid helped trigger a blackout that affected 600 million people. Fortunately, many reservoirs in India are above their 10-year average level heading into the summer.Climate change and India

This year's deadly heat wave in India was made much more probable by the fact that Earth is experiencing its hottest temperatures on record--the past twelve months were the warmest twelve-month period in recorded history, and so was the January - April 2015 period. According to the India Meteorological Department, a warming climate increased heat waves in India by a third between 1961 to 2010. As the planet continues to warm due to human-caused global warming, heat waves will become more frequent and more intense, and heat-related deaths will soar unless we take strong measures to adapt. An April 2015 paper published in Regional Environmental Change, Intensification of future severe heat waves in India and their effect on heat stress and mortality, warned that "heat waves are projected to be more intense, have longer durations and occur at a higher frequency and earlier in the year. Southern India, currently not influenced by heat waves, is expected to be severely affected by the end of the twenty-first century." Perhaps a bigger concern for India with climate change is drought, though. Many climate models show that climate change might increase the average rainfall in India from the monsoon, but when dry years occur, the hotter temperatures accompanying the dry years will drive much more intense droughts capable of causing significant challenges to growing food in India.Links

The May 27, 2015 post by Eric Holthaus of Slate discusses the India heat wave and climate change.

Wunderground's climate change blogger Dr. Ricky Rood wrote a nice 3-part series about the challenges India faces due to climate change after he completed a 2009 trip there.

Bob Henson will have a new post on the Texas/Oklahoma flood situation on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Jeff Masters

From India's the Hindustan Times today

Torrential downpours to heat wave: May has been a month of extreme weather around the world

More on football politics

In the context of this excellent article, What irony. For years FIFA corrupt as can be. Then, for once, they do the right thing & all of a sudden ………. it has to be asked what the hell has been going on behind the scenes, what threats have been made?

Palestinians drop FIFA suspension demand

A pro-Palestinian protester interrupts Blatter's speech. (Photo: AFP)

Jibril Rajoub cancels vote on suspending Israel from football association at last minute following frantic negotiations; vote to form inspections committee to resolve complaints passes 165-18.

Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub announced during FIFA's congress in Zurich on Friday that he was cancelling a vote on his proposal to have Israel expelled from the international soccer organization.

Rajoub said that protecting Palestinian players involved three main issues: freedom of movement, racism, and Israeli teams playing in territory beyond the Green Line. He called for a United Nations discussion on suspending these teams.

Hamas slams Palestinian football chief for dropping FIFA bid against Israel

Palestinians take to social media to express criticism over Rajoub's decision to backtrack

Hamas criticized Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub over the weekend for his decision to drop a motion to suspend Israel from FIFA, saying that it showed the Palestinian Authority leadership’s true attitude toward Israel.

Rajoub, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), withdrew his association's bid to have FIFA suspend Israel from international competition before shaking hands with his Israeli counterpart Ofer Eini at the association's annual congress in Zurich on Friday.

Hamas spokesman Hussam Badran said that the move showed Palestinians that they can no longer trust the PA’s promises to file “war crime” charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court.

Other Palestinian critics of Rajoub took to social media over the weekend to express their anger at his decision, with many of them sharing cartoons showing the PFA chief in a negative light.

For clarification, Pravda.ru is not related to the old Soviet Pravda and is not mainstream Russian media

Nuclear strike hits Yemen. Video

PRAVDA.RU

29 May, 2015

Saudis have begun to wipe Yemen off the map. Tactical strikes have hit the city.

Shocking video reveals proton bombardment from a neutron bomb.

Israel is reported to be the one to deploy such neutron bombs.

Any doubts about the nuclear attack on Yemen attributed to Israel, as evidenced in two Israeli F16s shot down and forensically identified, are now gone.

Forbidden strikes have brought about a storm of worldwide protest.

Obama has recently promised to provide every assistance including US military force to any "external threat" the rich Arab states of the Gulf may face.

Pravda.Ru




Read more on the subject HERE

Neutron Bombing of Yemen May 2015
Confirmed

Football politics and zionism

America doesn't care a damn about corruption in a sport it doesn't even play, and the suddenly there are raids in Switzerland and demands for extradition. Why?

The football body were about to do the right thing for a change AND BAN ISRAEL.

This is simply the best thing I’ve seen written on this subject

What irony. For years FIFA corrupt as can be. Then, for once, they do the right thing & all of a sudden ……….

Michael Aydinian

GMMuk.com,

29 May, 2015

In most countries Soccer is by far & away the No 1 sport. I’m not saying this because it’s my favorite sport because if it was, I’d tell you. Soccer for me doesn’t make the top 3. An oddity perhaps being a sport enthusiast yet the most popular one doesn’t rank in one’s top 3? Soccer remains the No.1 sport in most countries but one country in particular could take or leave Soccer. What the rest of world did was up to them – the U. S of A. Some irony eh when you think what’s occurred in the past 20 years. Americans were brought up on Baseball, the Gridiron & Basketball. It was highly unlikely Soccer could ever replace the big 3 but to be fair to US sport fanatics, Soccer at least established a firm base in America.

There’s more than a tinge of irony too when I say when it comes to sport, in terms of organisation, quality of play, value for money & above all, refereeing so that a strict adherence to rules could be applied, from what I could see, US sport administrators were in a different league to the idiots

that ‘ran’ Soccer. (I can’t bring myself to use the word govern). This is what put me off. Almost every game had glaring officiating errors that affected the outcome. When America was to host the 1994 World Cup, senior US officials had talks with FIFA specifically regarding tweaking some of the daft rules. Typically FIFA didn’t want to know. It was if ‘who are these yanks to tell us how to run our game!’ Soccer is massive business yet the archaic manner in which it’s officiated, as far as I’m concerned, qualifies as a wonder of the world! However, the point I wish to emphasise, if there was one powerful orgainisation America never gave a damn about, it was FIFA.

All of a sudden……. America gives a damn! The past couple of days mainstream news channels announced – Washington DC has got the raving hump with the rampant corruption in Soccer’s world governing body FIFA. What? Did I hear that right? Yes & this is no smear campaign because yesterday morning, FIFA’s offices in Zurich were raided & several officials were arrested. All hell has broken loose. Well blow me down. Now I really have heard it all! US power brokers concerned about corruption….. & in Switzerland to boot? What in the blazes is going on? This is tantamount to Merchant Bankers announcing their conscience is bothering them; here’s all the money we ripped off; we beg for forgiveness! You have got to be kidding me!

For starters, Gargantuan hypocrisy aside, where’s America been all this time? Mafiosi style decision making has been common practice for these so-in-so’s in FIFA & it’s been common knowledge for donkey’s years! The US never gave a damn & to be honest, why should they? Most Americans have no interest in the game. Yet, out of the blue, they decide to make themselves busy? The media too. 

They could have turned the screws on FIFA any time they liked….. & they bloody well should have done. It’s their duty to inform the public of flagrant abuses of power. For them FIFA corruption was hardly ever a talking point. All of a sudden, FIFA is US public enemy No 1 & the media play along as if it’s business as usual but crucially neglect to ask the key question. I mean we’re talking about a change of heart that makes a U-turn look straight – what took you so long & why now?

I know most of the people who’ll read this have a fair idea of what the coup is. It is the same old story. Once you realise who’s really behind this, everything falls into place. What I feel I should do though is explain this for the benefit of those who are unaware or to those who perhaps smell a rat but do not know who the chief protagonists are. One thing for sure – both the media & US government are in collusion. Why do I know this? Because the media never questioned the timing & most significantly, failed to mention what FIFA were planning to do. The programming is well & truly underway. First though, I’d like to put my head on the chopping block & say, this is what will happen –

FIFA will remain a corrupt organisation. Almost every decision will involve massive back-handers. It is anything but a dead duck. Nothing will change on that front. However, those involved will be punished……. but not because of any corruption. They over-stepped a line. No. Not a pathetic red one. This one is the dreaded line where many never live to tell the tale, while others find their careers in tatters & their status destroyed. Those punished will be told in no uncertain terms that even if they try to talk to the media their story will never hit the air-waves & doing so could prove fatal. These people are finished & it’s a cast-iron guarantee those replacing them will NEVER MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!

So what’s actually happening? The bosses of Corporate media have decided this issue requires a severe dose of public programming. We have to be steered into believing what’s occurring is just & fair, after all, we know FIFA is rotten to the core. However, the public must never know the true reason why the big-wigs in FIFA are being taken down. As per usual, we only get to hear what they want us to hear. Many people have no idea how powerful the media is. Put it another way, most people believe they & only they decide when & what makes them feel concerned, upset or angry. What if I told you, this is a myth. Believe it or not, this is indeed the case. THIS is how powerful the media is!

So, you have a choice. You can carry on as you are believing you’re in complete control of your thought process while being programmed or you can free your mind, rid it of any bias & allow yourself to think. The first step is to take in all you hear. Now the integral reason we have this problem with the media is, for most people the process stops here. What you should do is treat this as evidence. The next step is the all-important one – ask questions. Quite how anyone can take for gospel what the media says is beyond me. This much we know. We do not live in a world where truth & justice is the norm. So who are the chief protagonists & what’s this all about?

We know FIFA is the target; we know the media has neglected to ask why America has suddenly made this an issue when for aeons they never cared. Therefore, one is obliged to ask who has the power & influence to coerce America into exerting it’s authority? Answer – dual national Zionists whose allegiance is to Israel. Fact is, you have to be living in cloud cuckoo land not to know this. I stated earlier, the media & America were working in unison. Well, Zionists also control the entire corporate media apparatus. Don’t take my word for it. Just because I’ve done the research, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Therefore, in our quest for the truth, we can safely say FIFA must have done something to incur their wrath. So far, so good. In the meantime, we will be led to believe America is doing this. The media will never mention the Z word. The Zionist role has to remain strictly under the radar, hidden from public gaze. Gilad Atzmon hit the nail on the head when he said “Jewish power is the ability to silence discussion on Jewish power.”

So, what dreaded line did FIFA’s bosses cross? They were on the verge of banning Israel from participating in any international soccer matches because of their horrendous treatment of the Paslestinians. What irony. Finally FIFA makes a good decision & wallop – they’re in the dog-house! One hardly needs to explain what would occur if FIFA were left free to make good on this promise. The Zionist controlled media is now in a catch 22 situation – opposing the ban would make things worse; chances are more people would realise the media must be under their thumb. Supporting the ban? This is not even an option! In short, the Israelis would have nowhere to go because the implementation of the ban would inevitably lead to other organisations following suit. Israel would become more & more isolated, while the plight of the palestinians would become more evident. Israel would find itself in a corner & finally would be left with no option but to do what they despise – OBEY INTERNATIONAL LAWS! A ball is now rolling…….

Israel would have to concede to the creation of a Palestinian state. This in turn would finally allow its people the fundamental rights, we in the West take for granted, such as borders, government, army, navy, air-force, ports & airports. Not only would the systematic theft of Palestinian land come to an abrupt end, Israel would be forced to return what they’ve stolen. Israeli checkpoints would disappear opening the way for humanitarian aid. I can go on & on. Ironically, if all this became reality, most people on the planet would never know what the Israelis really want to do. Wiping out the Palestinians is only the tip of the iceberg. They’ll take over the entire Middle East. Their power base will continue to grow even though it’s already enormous. The governments of America, the UK, Canada. France, Germany, Australia are all under their whim as well as the entire mass-media. What’s more, if they have their way, forget about writing articles like this – they will eliminate anyone who so much as looks boss-eyed at them!

And since I’m on this subject who do you think’s responsible for ISIS? Let me give you the low-down. You reckon ISIS is an Islamic terrorist group. Most people do because that’s what the newspapers & TV keep saying. Okay. So let’s assume everything the media has told us about ISIS is accurate – they are an Islamic terrorist organisation currently operating in the Middle East & they’re in the business of inflicting untold chaos, carnage & death. So I ask you – which country should ISIS be targeting?………….. Now if your desire for the truth is genuine then I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re somewhat tongue-tied & twisted because it makes no sense. Yet this is what the media will have us believe – ISIS is an Islamic terrorist mercenary group that so far has destroyed Libya, Iraq & Syria. It’s now moving into Lebanon. The only people being slaughtered by ISIS are Arabs & Muslims.

For God’s sake, how can anyone fall for such tripe? It’s bad enough our politicians & media are feeding us monstous lies but when the evidence stares us squarely in the face that what they’re saying makes no sense? Think. Use your brain for crying out loud. Ask questions. Here, I’ll ask you one – am I being opinionated, unreasonable, even anti-Semetic simply pointing out ISIS has never laid a finger on an Israeli? What kind of a fanatical Islamic terrorist group does that? One that’s deaf, dumb, blind & got its wires seriously crossed! Give me a break! They get away feeding us this cock & bull drivel, so no surprise they’re prepared to push the boat out further still with the ludicrous notion this terrible Islamic terrorist threat is coming to our shores. For this reason alone Cameron wants to further erode our civil liberties. What a load of bollocks! No one ever puts this lying toe-rag on the spot. If I had the chance I’d say “hang on a minute buster. Let’s get this straight. We’ve been fighting this so-called war on terror for 13 years & now you’re telling us there’s a heightened terrorist threat? So, at what point Mr. Prime Minister can we conclude that you’re absolutely fucking useless at fighting terrorism?” Of course, no one is telling us the laws this traitor wants to bring in will give him the power to sling anyone in jail, without charge, without trial, without any legal representation. His justification, excuse, reason for stripping us bare – ISIS!

Are you beginning to see the picture? One thing is certain. FIFA overstepped a line no one wants to cross. Whether people know it or not, Zionists will do whatever it takes. They have the resources & their knives are well & truly out & we’re talking pressure from another planet because this will not stop until FIFA is crushed. The stakes are enormous because if the true reasons are ignored & from what I see even RT Moscow never mentioned FIFA’s imminent threat to ban Israel from international football. I mean if RT neglects to inform their viewers, I guarantee, no one else in mainstream media will. Yet, no rocket science is involved. It’s just a question of connecting dots. The problem is most of us don’t think. We think we think but that’s because we’re cognizant creatures. We’re alive. I’m alive so I must be thinking. Sure, we’re allowed to think about soap operas & sport, big brother, x-factor & all the rest of the crap on TV. What we don’t realise is our thought process is manipulated in order for it to remain confined within the region that’s deemed acceptable. Our spectrum of thought has limits.

If all this is news to you, chances are you’ll dismiss this as rubbish. You might even say ‘this geezer Michael whatever what ‘is name is – ee don’t know what ee’s ucking talkin’ about!’ You may laugh but if I told you the amount of times I’ve heard this. Ignorance may be bliss but I’d like to bet if the unitiated were given an Einsteinian brain for 24 hours, the last thing they’d want is to revert back to the ignoramus zone. If you’re not sure about this, think for a while. Mull over it. Read the piece again. Ask yourself, what have I got to gain? Is it not possible I’m just an ordinary guy who cares about right & worng? I think all the time. That’s why I suffer from Chronic insomnia – I CAN’T STOP THINKING! So…. think. Ask – am I making any sense? Perhaps you may have inadvertently started a process where in the near future you’ll concede that you fell foul of a system that’s designed to suppress thought. The dawning realisation that you may not have had full control of your faculties can be psychologically & emotionally rather unsettling. It’s no big deal. We all live & learn. We just do it at different speeds. Being awake to reality at least allows one the opportunity to plan ahead & prepare. Trials & tribulations? Who knows what’s in store. It’s taken us 100’s of years to get ourselves well & truly into the khazi. There’s always a price to pay. What I do know, I’d rather be awake than experience a rude awakening.

A warming planet increasing the intensity of tropical cyclones

Climate change makes a rare appearance in the NZ media

Super typhoons to increase in strength with climate change

NASA

Typhoon Maysak as it strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane in March 2015.

Stuff,

30 May, 2015

A warming planet is already stoking the intensity of tropical cyclones in the north-west Pacific and their ferocity will continue to increase even with moderate climate change over this century, an international research team has found.

A study covering 850 typhoons in the region found the intensity of the damaging storms has increased by about 10 per cent since the 1970s, said Wei Mei, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and a co-author of the study published in the journal Science Advances.

Using 20 models and a mid-range projection of carbon dioxide emissions, the researchers found the peak intensity of storms such as super Typhoon Haiyan, which tore through the Philippines in November 2013, will become even stronger and more common.

NASA   Super Typhoon Haiyan as it approached the Philippines in November 2013.

Such storms will be 14 per cent stronger by 2100, equivalent to adding another category to the current top severity rating of 5, the study found.

Research on tropical cyclones – known as hurricanes in the Atlantic basin – has sought to identify whether factors contributing to more powerful events such as warmer sea surface temperatures might be countered by changes to ocean or atmospheric circulation that may hinder the storms' genesis or force. Warming in the top 75 metres of the oceans will dominate other influences, the researchers found.

"This projected increase in typhoon intensity is largely due to [sea surface temperatures] warming," the study found, adding that the findings are "at the high end" of previous projections.

This tanker ran aground, landing in the middle of houses, as typhoon Haiyan ripped through Philippines.

'HEIGHTENED THREATS'

More storms such as Haiyan could have significant impacts on regions in their path. Haiyan left more than 6200 people dead and 1785 missing in the Philippines alone, clocking sustained wind speeds of 315 kmh, the fastest ever recorded.

"The strengthened typhoon intensity poses heightened threats to human society and marine/terrestrial ecosystems," the paper said.

"Meanwhile, the intensification of these powerful storms may accelerate ocean warming and affect heat transport in both the ocean and the atmosphere," the researchers said.

That accelerated warming is because ocean mixing is increased, Mei said.

"Strong storms generate intense mixing in the upper ocean, cooling the surface layer while warming the subsurface," he said. "Thus the net effect of the storm passage is to pump heat downward from the surface to the subsurface ocean."

"This warming effect becomes stronger as the storm becomes stronger, because stronger storms can generate more vigorous mixing and thereby pump more heat into the ocean and to a greater depth."

INTENSITY OUTLOOK

Mei said the increase may be more than 14 per cent if greenhouse gases rise faster than the RCP (representative concentration pathways) 4.5 climate model used for the study. The model projects carbon dioxide-equivalent levels will reach 550 parts per million by 2060, up from about 404 ppm now.

"We believe the intensity will be even stronger" with a higher CO2 concentration, he said.

Mei said the study did not examine other basins, such as the south-west Pacific.

EL NINO INFLUENCE

El Nino years are likely to foster stronger typhoons in the north-west Pacific because the region they form in tends to shift - along with the warming surface waters - further southeast towards the central Pacific.

That move gives storms a longer period to intensify before they make landfall or reach cooler waters, Mei said.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology earlier this month declared an El Nino to be under way and this week said the event was intensifying.

Al Jazeera accused of whitewashing the Syrian conflict

Al Jazeera Attempts to Whitewash Al-Qaeda’s Syrian Branch

The Al Jazeera news network has displayed surprising editorial standards in the past, facing multiple accusations of whitewashing the Syrian conflict. The network has now gone to new extremes, interviewing and promoting the leader of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s arm in the region, and a recognized terrorist organization.

Sputnik News
29 May, 2015

"We are only here to accomplish one mission, to fight the regime and its agents on the ground, including Hezbollah and others," al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani told Al Jazeera as part of an exclusive.

Al Jazeera’s sympathies are clear throughout the interview, as its paints the terrorist leader as moderate figure, even as he makes not-so-veiled threats against Western governments and Syrian minorities like.

"Our options are open when it comes to targeting the Americans if they will continue their attacks against us in Syria," Golani said. "Everyone has the right to defend themselves."

Golani also contradicts his own claims about not seeking revenge against the Alawite minority, supporters of the Syrian government.

"The battle does not end in Qardaha, the Alawite village and the birthplace of the Assad clan," he said, adding that members of the Alawite sect should lay down their weapons and renounce the Assad government in order to be safe.

The al-Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, is the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria and Lebanon. Described as one of the most aggressive factions in the Syrian Civil War, it is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, as well as Russia and the United States.

© AFP 2015/ FADI AL-HALABI

Supporters of the Al Nusra Front take part in a protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the international coalition in Aleppo on September 26, 2014

Published on the Qatari-owned network’s English-language site, the interview has already raised a number of eyebrows. Syria’s United Nations ambassador, Bashar al-Jaafari, said it was used to "promote terrorism and make threats to the government and people in Syria."

He also noted that it was a clear indication of the Qatari government’s interest in influencing the Syrian conflict.

"It is clear that the Qatari regime is seeking with this interview, with the head of a terrorist group as listed by the UN Security Council, to clean up the image of Nusra Front," he said.

A History of Manipulation

This isn’t the first time that the Qatari network has faced criticism for its slanted coverage of the Syrian conflict. In 2012, a number of high-profile employees, including the managing director, correspondent, and producer from the Beirut office, quit over Al Jazeera’s coverage.

They alleged that the network refused to publish pictures of al-Nusra’s clashes with Assad’s government forces, and also deliberately ignored a Syrian constitutional reform referendum which saw a 57% turnout with 90% voting for change.

Other former employees have provided testimony indicating that Al Jazeera has even played a direct role in fueling the conflict. Speaking to RT, Ali Hashim, a former correspondent for the Qatari network, says he resigned because "the channel was taking a certain stance on one side."

"…We were able to spot these militants and we took some footage of those people, and later on the channel refused to air these pictures and I was asked to forget about these militants and I was asked to leave the whole area…" Hashim said.

Syrian-based investigative reporter Rafik Lotf found that the channel was manipulating footage of smoke, making it look like amateur video recording an explosion. He also uncovered behind-the-scenes video of Al Jazeera producers coaching interviewees.

"The activists who become journalists try to make their shows as hard as possible," Lotf told RT. "The more blood and death the higher the price."

There is also a clear conflict of interest in that al Jazeera’s Syrian coverage was led by the brother of a Syrian National Council member, as evidenced through a series of hacked emails recovered from the network’s servers. These emails were published by al Akhbar.

© REUTERS/ HOSAM KATAN

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front prepare to fire a mortar towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in al-Mallah farms, north of Aleppo, February 18, 2015

"[The emails] also confirmed an allegation Ibrahim had reportedly made in one of her emails," al Akhbar reports. "That Ahmad Ibrahim, who is in charge of the channel’s Syria coverage, is the brother of Anas al-Abdeh, a leading member of the opposition Syrian National Council. He allegedly stopped using his family name to avoid drawing attention to the connection."

The bias appears to have had a major impact on al Jazeera’s audience. A poll conducted by the network earlier this month shows that a confounding 81% of viewers support the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group.

Al Jazeera’s credibility has been gradually sinking ever since the Syrian conflict began. A Western diplomat stationed in Doha said that the Golani interview was proof of a new push by the Qatari government to present al-Nusra as national movement.

These sentiments were echoed by As’ad Abukhalil, professor of political science at California State University, and author of the Angry Arab News Service, who spoke to Sputnik.

"It is very clear that Qatar is now the official sponsor of An-Nusrah Front," Abukhalil said. "The interview was quite significant in that Qatar is now openly advocating on behalf of Nusrah and trying to draw an artificial ideological line between Nusrah and ISIL while both drink from the same ideological and philosophical well."

"Golani basically spoke of unofficial understanding that his organization has with the West," Abukhalil added. "That they will spare West of attacks provided they continue to receive Gulf arms and money, and even indirectly Western arms and money."

Al-Nusra Front 'Not Focused' on Attacking the West

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abu Mohammed al-Julani said al-Nusra Front was focused on toppling Bashar al-Assad's Syrian government, and not on attacking the West