A Lebanese colleague wrote on Facebook yesterday: he predicted that the Saudi and Qatari media will spin the Bashshar's visit to Moscow this way: that Bashshar was summoned to Moscow to be rebuked and humiliated by Putin, as fanciful as that may sound. But sure enough, not only the Saudi and Qatari media produced that spin, but Anne Barnard (who faithfully carry to readers whatever is produced by March 14 media on Syria) spun the same tale. By her telling, he was basically taken on a Russian military plane (almost against her well) and her story about him being taken on a Russian military plane is "reportedly" (and as you know "reportedly" is one of the most reliable source for Western correspondents in Beirut) and of course she threw in some "Western diplomats and sources" for extra effect: but what would a story about Syria be without the source in Carnegie center and without an expert in WINEP? When will someone write a long piece about US media coverage of Syria from Beirut for Columbia Journalism Review? I mean, think about the premise of this story: Putin invited Bashshar to Moscow and met him like a head of state with all the fanfare and then made sure that the pictures are released to the press all for...rebuking Bashshar and to signal the distance between the two. Forget about journalism: where is common sense?