DEBKAfile as a source of information

Ed

Philosopher
E
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http://www.debka.com/

I think that they are Jewish leaning. That notwithstanding, what do y'all think of them in terms of accuracy?

I don't read it regularly enough to know, my only specific recollection is when they breathlessly reported that Saddam and his guys rented a resort in Syria .. this while Saddam was in a hole in Iraq.

Thoughts?
 
Ed said:
http://www.debka.com/

I think that they are Jewish leaning. That notwithstanding, what do y'all think of them in terms of accuracy?
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What makes you think they're Jewish leaning? Is it all the flashing stars of David, or the Maccabee warrior in their logo? :D

I think their accuracy is on par with Matt Drudge. They get a lot of misses, but their hits are pretty good.
 
Mycroft said:
I think their accuracy is on par with Matt Drudge. They get a lot of misses, but their hits are pretty good.
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That's exactly what I was going to say. Extremely well connected to good sources and simultaneously extremely well connected to poor sources, which are sometimes the very same sources. And one can never tell which information is good and which is bad except in retrospect. Definitely worth reading so that one can connect the dots more quickly when something happens, but equally definitely not worth relying upon.
 
pretty much what I thought. Some of their stuff is pretty juicey though.

Hey, how do I get that flag image to appear in my sig line? (stole it, Manny. Sorry)
 
Ed said:
http://www.debka.com/

I think that they are Jewish leaning. That notwithstanding, what do y'all think of them in terms of accuracy?

I don't read it regularly enough to know, my only specific recollection is when they breathlessly reported that Saddam and his guys rented a resort in Syria .. this while Saddam was in a hole in Iraq.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I read it most days. Sometimes prone to heavy speculation, even conspiracy buff stuff, but they seem to have inside sources and often beat the NYT for breaking stories.

By Jewish leaning you mean Israeli? No kidding:cool:
 
Check it out

REPORT (Breaking News):
On the Debka Front Page -- datelined 1-31-2006 4:20pm (GMT +2:00)

Nidal Abu Sa’ada (Islamic Jihad) killed by IDF commandos.

Now, go find that information elsewhere... I have discovered that no major news outlet is covering the story.

This guy was Israel's equivalent of al-Zarqawi and yet, not a whisper from the media right now.

AP?
CBS?
CNN?

nada....
]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Ok, I have found a mention in an article on overnight IDF activity
(from al_jazeera)
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B510DD34-2D1F-4F9B-9938-414B6353649A.htm


Still nothing in the Jerusalem POST, and no update on the story in Ha'aretz.

I gotta give this one to Debka, no question about it, congratulations! SCOOP!!!
 
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webfusion said:
REPORT (Breaking News):
On the Debka Front Page -- datelined 1-31-2006 4:20pm (GMT +2:00)

Nidal Abu Sa’ada (Islamic Jihad) killed by IDF commandos.

Now, go find that information elsewhere... I have discovered that no major news outlet is covering the story.
Click to expand...


Making the world a better place one man at a time.
 
OK, Mycroft, what about the OP topic?
Do you find this story, as it breaks on DEBKA, something that the major media should be focusing on? Or is it so trivial as to be left alone by editors (who, after all, have so much going on, and what's another Israeli raid, more or less?)

This was a really, really big deal for the IDF. They sent in 20 armored vehicles, and sustained causalties (still not being confirmd by the IDF spokesperson, although an IDF chopper med-evac'd from the scene of this operation).

Why is this a DEBKA front page story, but not even a peep anywhere in the mainstream? Are the newsmedia just asleep this late at night?
 
Still no word..

Nope, the headlines in Israeli newspapaer Ha'aretz are focused on the AMONA clashes. I think this story of Nidal Abu Sa’ada will just slip under the media radar...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/ShTickers.html

and wouldn't you agree, 24 hours is an eternity to wait for a major news item to break!

Now, one of two things is happening here:

1. the story is incorrect, and therefore not being repeated...
2. the story is correct, and the media has become so numbed by the events that they just consider this to be "more of the same " and not news deserving of mention!

We are discussing DEBKA as a reliable source.

This is one heck of a great example of seeing DEBKA in action, so I am quite amazed that this thread isn't focusing on what I consider a real-world issue of what we are being fed by the mainstream media, while being deprived of factual reporting of what is happening, as 'filters' (of editors) keep it off the news ticker...

Go to MSN. That is mainstream, in the extreme.
They now are linking to a two-paragraph 'developing story' from ARUTZ SHEVA, which is not even as detailed as the al-Jazeera report.
And MSN indicates this is from 23 hours ago...

I am particulary unimpressed with our fine news-gathering industry today.
 
webfusion said:
I am particulary unimpressed with our fine news-gathering industry today.
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I agree with you to some extent, but the story is being reported in the MSM.

New York Times

WEST BANK: ISRAELI FORCES KILL ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADER Israeli troops killed two Islamic Jihad militants, including the group's West Bank military commander, Nidal Abu Saada, in a firefight near Jenin. An Israeli soldier was wounded. Islamic Jihad has carried out the last six suicide bombings against Israel and did not take part in Palestinian legislative elections, won by Hamas. Islamic Jihad urged attacks against Israel in response. STEVEN ERLANGER (NYT)
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LA Times

Israeli Army Kills 2 Militants in West Bank
Israeli troops killed two members of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad near the West Bank city of Jenin in the first deadly clash since Hamas' surprise victory in parliamentary elections. Islamic Jihad said one of the dead, Nidal Abu Sada, was a senior commander in the West Bank.
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Washington Post

ABC News

BBC

Reuters

I tend to agree our media doesn’t do a very good job of following stories like this. I think part of the problem is just an inability to deal with Arabic names. So far I’ve found four different variations on this guy’s name, and that doesn’t even factor in that to the western ear, it all sounds like Muhammad Al-Falafel.
 
webfusion said:
OK, Mycroft, what about the OP topic?
Do you find this story, as it breaks on DEBKA, something that the major media should be focusing on? Or is it so trivial as to be left alone by editors (who, after all, have so much going on, and what's another Israeli raid, more or less?)

This was a really, really big deal for the IDF. They sent in 20 armored vehicles, and sustained causalties (still not being confirmd by the IDF spokesperson, although an IDF chopper med-evac'd from the scene of this operation).

Why is this a DEBKA front page story, but not even a peep anywhere in the mainstream? Are the newsmedia just asleep this late at night?
Click to expand...

Some of them will certainly report it, but only on the basis of quoting the calls for revenge against this crime, by the Palestinians.
 
not news

I know exactly why the story is only worthy of a two-paragraph brief --

it's just not news anymore and it doesn't sell papers.

Here is a headline from June 2005:

>Islamic Jihad leader killed in clashes with IDF troops
  • >By Amos Harel, Arnon Regular and Nir Hasson, Ha'aretz Correspondents,
    and Reuters
    >
    >An Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank was shot and killed in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday morning, according to Palestinian sources.

Anyway, I was glad that DEBKA covered the story yesterday as soon as it broke. That's the kind of stuff that makes me glad DEBKA is out there, and doing a great job.
 
webfusion said:
Anyway, I was glad that DEBKA covered the story yesterday as soon as it broke. That's the kind of stuff that makes me glad DEBKA is out there, and doing a great job.
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But isn't that just the way it goes with scoop hunter sites.....they get a phonecall from an insider saying "Olmert has just found Abbas pilfering his wine celler and has killed him in a fistfight!" They may run it because if it turns out to be a fairytale...so what!! They can point at all thier "hits" and laugh off the "misses" as a risk of the business.....Mainstream are always going to be behind because they need to confirm and protect a different sort of reputation....
 
Elind said:
Like the NYT I suppose?:rolleyes:
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I'm not american so I'm not really up on the reputations of your various publications....have they been stung a few times reporting "scoops" that turn out to be fairytales?
 
The Fool said:
I'm not american so I'm not really up on the reputations of your various publications....have they been stung a few times reporting "scoops" that turn out to be fairytales?
Click to expand...

Sure, it happens all the time, everywhere I suppose, but the NY Times has had a few doozies in the recent past, and that is supposed to be grandaddy of all the newspapers. I won't list the details here at the risk of getting something wrong without research, but you can take my word for it, right?:D
 
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