BREAKING: Assad Shot By Bodyguard – Hospitalized in Damascus

[Pharaoh]

According to Arab media www.eltira.org , Bashar al-Assad would have been seriously wounded by gunfire last night Saturday, March 23 by his bodyguard but is not dead. He is currently hospitalized, between life and death, Shami Hospital in Damascus which the streets were closed.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/03/breaking-assad-shot-by-iranian-bodyguard-hospitalized-in-damascus/

[jwirr]

1. Any idea what this is going to mean for this ongoing war?

[leveymg]

8. Probably very little, as it's essentially a religious civil war that's gone regional.

Too many conflicting parties in too many countries, and too much mass murder has occurred, for this to be solved by the life or death of any one man.

The fate of Assad really isn't the goal of the US or any of the western countries, anyway. It really has a lot more to do with the conflict between Sunnis, with their center of power in Saudi Arabia, and the Shi'ia, led by Iran.

[sufrommich]

2. Israeli and Arab media say it's a rumor.

But online updates said the Syrian leader’s shooting was false and that he was alive and in high spirits. The conflicting reports highlight the chaos that continues to engulf the country, which has been mired in a bloody civil war for two years.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/rumors-assad-shooting-highlights-syria-chaos-article-1.1297939#ixzz2OUXeYAez

[YoungDemCA]

5. Too early to tell, huh?

[Cooley Hurd]

3. This might not be true:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/rumors-assad-shooting-highlights-syria-chaos-article-1.1297939

Online reports of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s death appeared greatly exaggerated Sunday.

Arab media said Assad was purportedly shot by one of his Iranian bodyguards Saturday night and was in serious condition.

He was supposedly taken to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus, where surrounding roads were closed off.

Israel News One’s website even reported that Assad had been “assassinated.”

But online updates said the Syrian leader’s shooting was false and that he was alive and in high spirits. The conflicting reports highlight the chaos that continues to engulf the country, which has been mired in a bloody civil war for two years.
</snip>

[bluedigger]

4. The paragraph at the linked source is near gibberish.

I'll wait for a mainstream source.

[DCBob]

6. no reports on MSM.

waiting for confirmation.

[WillyT]

7. NY Daily News... Cannot Be Confirmed At This Time...

Link:http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/rumors-assad-shooting-highlights-syria-chaos-article-1.1297939

[itcfish]

11. Thank you

I just posted that link and was blocked because the administrator said the NY Daily News was a tabloid Newspaper.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

9. "He is currently hospitalized, between life and death...?"

What, he can't even afford a private room?

[Marr]

12. Yes-- its the middle ground between light and shadow; between science and superstition.

And it lies between the pit of man's fears... and the summit... of his knowledge.

This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

Or ICU. Whichever you prefer.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. Well played!

[backscatter712]

10. Hopefully, this monster's getting closer to death than life. n/t

[malaise]

13. WTF???? n/t

[backscatter712]

14. What else can I say? Assad's a murderous dictator.

He butchered tens of thousands of his own people to stay in power.

[malaise]

15. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld?

Like I said WTF????

That's offensive.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

26. Yes, here's plenty of monsters around the world

[RZM]

16. He's not a good guy

Sooner or later he's going to go down with the ship. The sooner that happens, the better.

[JaneyVee]

17. Bullshit source. I'll wait for more.

[IDemo]

18. Hmmm....

I'm seeing DU, FR and a host of links to the story on Google, but none whatever from a valid news source.

[SidDithers]

19. Sounds like Creative Speculation to me...nt

Sid

[OKNancy]

20. this is some wild internet rumor. it is false

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. I seriously doubt the validity of this.

It appears to be little more than a rumor at this point.

[arely staircase]

23. how sad

[SidDithers]

24. The gatewaypundit is one of America's nuttier right-wing blogs...

Last edited Mon Mar 25, 2013, 08:10 AM - Edit history (2)

It's a right-wing, birther, conspiracy website that is not an appropriate source for DU. It's run by Jim Hoft, who MediaMatters calls "the dumbest man on the internet"
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2010/09/21/jim-hoft-dumbest-man-on-the-internet/170927

Other examples of Hoft's right-wing nuttery include:

"Shameless… Obama’s Celebratory Obamacare Statement Is Chock Full of Lies"

"Critics: Obama’s Latest Long-Form Birth Certificate Is a Fake …Update: More Expert Opinion"

"Obama’s New Campaign Slogan “Forward!” Is a Hitler Youth Marching Tune (Video)"

And, to top it off, their news scroll on the side of their site is from Newsmax.

This is the kind of sourcing you bring to DU?

Sid

[SidDithers]

25. Today At CPAC: Chronically Dishonest Blogger Jim Hoft To Receive Accuracy In Media Award

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/03/14/today-at-cpac-chronically-dishonest-blogger-jim/193063

They just loved your right-wing source at CPAC.

Sid

[SidDithers]

27. thegatewaypundit, ladies and gentlemen....

where they posted that Lara Logan is to blame for her sexual assault in Tahrir Square 2 years ago.

"After Sexual Assault & Beating... CBS Reporter Logan Learns That Political Correctness Is a Killer"

Sid

[SidDithers]

28. "Progressive Policies Are to Blame for the Mass Shooting in Sandy Hook" - thegatewaypundit....nt

Sid

[SidDithers]

29. "OBAMA FIDDLED AS BENGHAZI BURNED" - thegatewaypundit...nt

Sid

[SidDithers]

30. "Jim Hoft's history of race-baiting and his ties to white supremacist groups"...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/09/24/904846/-Jim-Hoft-s-history-of-race-baiting-and-his-ties-to-white-supremacist-groups

Sid

[SidDithers]

31. "Just like Barack Obama, Nicolae Ceausescu, Saddam Hussein, and Fidel Castro...

also released criminal prisoners." - thegatewaypundit

Sid

[SidDithers]

32. "Obama Joins the Gun Grabbers: Socialist Stalin, Socialist Hitler, Socialist Obama" - Jim Hoft...nt

Sid

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. Did you abandon your own thread, or are you embarrassed about the source?

[muriel_volestrangler]

42. Pharaoh is unembarrassable

Either by their sources, or by their unwillingness to discuss the imaginary stories they post here. This is mild compared to some of the stuff they've tried to post here.

[Tarheel_Dem]

44. Then one is left to wonder where one has to go to find these discredited sources in the first place.

Hmmmmmm..........

[pintobean]

50. Just out for a little fun

[Blue_Tires]

51. You might just make it as a FAY-ROH yet, boy...

[SidDithers]

34. "Charlie Rangel Wins New York Primary …(Democrats Love Their Crooks!)" - gatewaypundit...nt

Sid

[SidDithers]

35. "Now She Tells Us… McCaskill Comes Out for Gay Marriage ...

Typical Democrat. Typical Liar." - gatewaypundit

Sid

[bullwinkle428]

36. Right-wing blogger identifies the wrong Assad.

As well as the wrong attempted assassination method (car bomb), but other than that...NAILED IT!

[Rowdyboy]

37. Even Freepers aren't stupid enough to believe this bogus internet bullshit but here on DU it gets

treated SERIOUSLY? Seriously?

Come back when you have a real story to discuss, not what you read in the far right "media". Pathetic.

[randome]

38. I think a lot of us WANT to believe it's true.

There's too much killing going on in Syria and Assad should have stepped down long ago for the good of the country.

[Rowdyboy]

40. I WANT it to be true but it isn't-at least not yet. I want the supreme court to say

same-sex marriage is legal but they haven't and if someone posted a story saying they had I'd be just as pissed over it. Sorry, fake, lying headlines are a real pain-in-the-ass and the "new and improved" DU seems to think they're just fine.

[WilliamPitt]

39. Dewey Defeats Truman

and a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can pull its pants on.

[SidDithers]

41. "Donald Rumsfeld: “Clearly” Barack Obama Belongs to the ‘Blame America First’ Crowd " - Jim Hoft.nt

Sid

[TroglodyteScholar]

43. If this is true, the bodyguard will have to explore other professions.

Wild stuff!

[SidDithers]

45. "Syrian Embassy: Assad Not Dead – In Fact, He’s Alive and in Good Spirits" - gatewaypundit...

Sid

[SidDithers]

46. "What Sequester?… Joe Biden Blew $321,665 on Limo Rides in Paris, Too" - gatewaypundit...nt

Sid

[Rowdyboy]

47. Meanwhile, in the reality based universe, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead....

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=franco+is+still+dead&view=detail&mid=B7F6AB5D9E9FEBF1BE2AB7F6AB5D9E9FEBF1BE2A&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. The sources I found were either of the end of the world variety

Or far right Israeli media...

And it was never confirmed anywhere.

[SidDithers]

49. "Your Tax Dollars at Work: Propping Up Commies and Socialist Youth Groups" - gatewaypundit...nt

Sid