Does the New York Times Make Things Up?

 This blog was the first or one of the few blogs and news outlets that pointed out that the "august" and "respected" NY Times had put a false quote in the mouth of the Pope. The NYT article, supposedly reporting on Mahmud Abbas' visit to Pope Francis in the Vatican, had quoted Francis as calling Abbas "an angel of peace." That did not sound right. So I went into some Italian news sites, La Stampa [which covers the Vatican extensively] and others, and I saw that Francis had said [in Italian, the regular language of the Vatican] to Abbas that "You might be" [or "You could be" -- "Lei possa essere"] an angel of peace if he made peace with Israel. The words are not the same, so how could the NYT journalist have made such a mistake?

Be that as it may, I got the same feeling when reading an article about the reaction of Chinese business men to the recent Chinese Communist Party congress where Xi Jinping had reinforced his control of the Party and the country. This NYT journo claimed that after Xi's speech at the Congress, "the founder of an asset management firm in . . . Shenzhen .. . contacted me hours after the congress ended," saying, "My last,  lingering hope was dashed"

The journo, Li Yuan, went on in the same vein. A "tech entrepreneur in Beijing texted me" that the new situation was "absolutely terrifying," And "China's stocks plunged, and its currency, the renminbi, fell in value. I am hearing it ['political depression'] in the voices and messages of the many businesspeople I  have spoken to in recent weeks . . ."

The present political and public atmosphere in China may be as described but why does there seem to be something phoney here? 

China is reputed to be a police state. And a friend who often goes to China on business told me and others that the government of China is relentless and cruel when it wants to obtain some end. Now in such a situation, such a repressive atmosphere, would Chinese businessmen  knowingly contact a NY Times journalist to complain about their own government? Would they not be suspicious that their phones may be tapped? At this point, I would add that wiretapping goes on in many countries, including in the West and in the United States, among Western states. So if they fear their own powers that be, would not well informed Chinese be all the more wary of contacting precisely a journalist for the NY Times which is notorious for being the house organ of the American Establishment, also given that the USA is widely considered an adversary of China?

Hence I doubt that Mr Li Yuan got the quotes that he relays or reports or alleges in the way that he says he did. 

Indeed, towards the end of the article, the NYT journo confirms that Chinese business people are wary of electronic eavesdropping performed by their own government against them. Li Yuan writes: "At social gatherings, hosts are asking friends to surrender their phones [mobile phones in this case] to be kept in a separate place for fear of surveillance." These Chinese business people are afraid of electronic surveillance. They fear that the Chinese authorities might learn how they really feel and think. Or these Chinese authorities might see their frank conversations as conspiracy. Therefore, these people would be most unlikely to simply contact an NYT journo to complain about conditions in their country. Hence Li Yuan indirectly confirms my suspicions that the quotes are made up or came to him in ways other than the ways he claims they reached him. Or perhaps he altered and improved quotes that he received in ways other than what he claims. Or maybe the quotes are wholly made up. In the case of any of these possibilities, this NYT journo makes things up and the NYT publishes them.

[Quotes come from New York Times, "China's Business Elite See the Country that Let Them Thrive Slipping Away," 7 November 2022; "Chinese Business Leaders see country slipping away," NY Times Int'l edition, 10 November 2022, p 9; emphases added]

Israeli Medic Tried to Treat Abu `Ayn But He Was Pulled Away by His Friends & Followers

Link added at bottom 12-12&13-2014

One of the ironic aspects of this sordid affair, replete with lies and hypocrisy as it is, is that Abu `Ayn might have been saved if the Israeli medic had been allowed to hook him up to intravenous injection of medications which could have helped him avoid death due to his coronary infarction.

First, although the efforts of the Israeli medic have been generally overlooked in this episode, they were reported, albeit sketchily, by Le Point, the French weekly, using a report from Agence France Presse [AFP]:

Ziyad Abu `Ayn collapsed on the grass while holding his chest, a  photographer for AFP reported. An Israeli woman soldier [a medic] tried to supply him with first aid before he was brought to the hospital [in Ramallah] where he passed away. [Le Point from AFP 10 December 2014]

Ziad Abou Eïn s'est affaissé dans l'herbe en se tenant la poitrine, a rapporté le photographe de l'AFP. Une soldate israélienne a tenté de lui apporter les premiers secours avant qu'il ne soit emmené à l'hôpital, où il a succombé. [Le Point from AFP 10 December 2014]

Now here is a video that shows, in two places, hands in blue gloves rubbing one of Abu `Ayn's arms in order to prep [prepare] it for an injection or infusion. She is either looking for a suitable spot for a needle or rubbing the arm with surgical cotton soaked in a disinfectant. An injection would probably be some sort of blood thinner or anti-coagulant used commonly in heart attack cases. An intravenous infusion might include blood thinners, anti-coagulants and/or heart beat regulators etc. As you watch the video, look out for the blue hands in two places.

It appears that some of the film in the video is repeated. That is, some scenes are shown twice. But besides the hands in blue gloves, what is significant is that while the medic is prepping his arm, Abu `Ayn's "friends" pull him up and away from the medic so that she cannot continue treating him. Ironically, as said above, by preventing treatment at a critical time, his "friends" and followers may have made his death certain.

Why did they pull him up and away from the medic? It seems that they wanted to bring him before the press so that the press photogs and reporters could see how badly the Israelis had supposedly treated him.
- - - - - - - - - - -
See our previous posts on the Abu `Ayn Affair: here & here

Sky News asked the obvious question that I asked: Could Abu `Ayn have been saved if the medic had been allowed to do her work?:  http://news.sky.com/story/1389277/palestinian-minister-dies-after-row-with-soldier
Hélène Keller-Lind: "Ziad Abu Ein, ou comment une manipulation éhontée fait de la mort d’un homme souffrant de cardiopathie ischémique un crime" [ici]