Carbon unit (I go to bed just as the sun comes up in Homs) ABOUD my poor baby you’ve been OUTED! You’re Homsi no more! your cover is blown! your uncessant propaganda is exposed on this board.

Now go pick on someone your size like ANN. Show her what kind of a man you are!

The regime security forces will be worrying more and more as each day passes. Not only do they have their hands full dealing with protestors, if reports are to be believed they will be worrying about defectors fighting back and greater likelihood of soldiers refusing to obey orders and turning their guns on those issuing orders.

Shabeeha will also be feeling insecure.

All this before any real shift to an armed uprising.

Guys, what does “uncessant” mean?

Oh wait, Jamal meant to say “incessant” LOL! What did I tell you about the cookie cutter menhebaks all making the same spelling mistakes.

Menhebak trip ups…the gift that just keeps on giving 🙂

By the way professor Landis, I’m surprised you left out the GCC council’s condemnation of the regime out of your news line up;

“Gulf states condemn Syria ‘killing machine’ ”

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/2011911192321627917.html

Do any of the menhebaks still believe in the myth that the Gulf states had done a U turn on Syria? LOL! These people will grasp at any straws.

Full quote from Van Dam

“NIKOLAOS VAN DAM: Well, I think in the end he will not survive but he can still stay in power for quite a long time.”

The rest of the interview consisted of equally depressing predictions for Besho.

So the best case scenario for Besho, is that he is only delaying the inevitable. Not the nicest of futures to look forward to.

Talking about Reem Haddad (on previous post).

On 9th May on BBC Radio 4’s Reem Haddad put the phone down during an interview on the Today programme (BBC’s flagship agenda setting radio news programme.)

lol. Worth a listen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9478000/9478510.stm

Free Officers’ Army asks for international protection and Turkish support to establish a Syrian Benghazi in Jabal Az-Zawiya, 2011/09/1
http://www.sooryoon.net/?p=32740

And it appears that the alliance between Islamic Fundamentalists, Berber and Kabylian Separatists, Tribal Groups, Al Qaeda Elements and pro-Western groups is deteriorating rapidly.

After Gaddafi is fully ousted it’s going to get a lot messier.

At least 12 people have been killed and many more wounded when two groups of fighters opposed to Muammar Gaddafi turned on each other in Libya’s west, two officials say.

Disclaimers
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.
Karl Marx

“It should be added that the alliance was created in large to respond to the push by the Bush administration to “reform the larger Middle East.” Once Obama came to office, the National Salvation Front seemed fated to disintegrate as Khaddam and the Muslim Brotherhood had little in common other than the desire to bring down the Assad regime.”

I’m not so sure about this. I mean, these things are obviously related, but the breakup of the NSF seems more related to Saudi Arabia and the Hariris, Khaddam’s main sponsors. When they began to prepare for a compromise settlement over Lebanon with Bashar, in 2008-2009, Khaddam seems to have been told to stand down. It wasn’t just that there was a split with the MB, he also shuttered his satellite channel and basically went out of active politics (until 2011).

As for the MB, whether they picked their course in 2009 (“suspending opposition”) for tactical reasons or because they, too, faced pressure/promises from KSA or other external actors — who knows?

In any case, the official explanation, that it was all about attitudes to Gaza, doesn’t hold water at all. That’s just the MB trying to save face.

ROFL Uzair8 🙂

What can I say…nawar.

Most of the shabiha are people who were caught smuggling drugs, stealing cars and robbing houses. They were let out on the condition that they work for the Athadites, and murder unarmed civilians. It’s called “probation” in Athadstan.

@ Jamal

“I go to bed just as the sun comes up in Homs”

do you mean the real Homs or the torturing basements of Homs?

@ “uncessant”, I hope this would help http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/incessant

Ohhh don’t feel bad, maybe one of your (2) working cells had some issues lol

Qurd lak Jamal (Amal) 6a3metei el baQarat elyom?

@ ABOUD

Jamal said “ABOUD my poor baby”

Yuck you’ve just been called “baby” be a guy actually by an Alawi guy yuck!!! How revolting

#502 Aboud,

Aboud, There are two bad entities in Syria. The first entity is struggling for their survival, the Assads mafia.

The second is the shabeeha and their likes, they can be my next door neighbour, those who derive pleasure from humiliating the vulnerable. This group of people are a spit image of Israeli soldiers who takes pleasure by humiliating Palestinians at checkpoints or anywhere, and by any means. They are troubled.

We have a few here, they have no empathy, let alone sympathy.

Tyranny will end in Syria and justice will be served. In one day 25 people died, their only crime is their chanting for ” justice, dignity and freedom”, like 27 year old Ghiath Matar, and the thousands before him.

The most noble of our countrymen will not stop, until, Mr. Najati Tayara and all those apprehended, freed, and Syria’s despicable mafia is ousted and brought to justice.

As survival does not entitle Israel to ethnically cleanse a people, by deportation, massacres and land grab, the same applies to junior and his killing machinery. His survivor does not entitle him of murdering his people.

“3. Aboud said:
Guys, what does “uncessant” mean?
Oh wait, Jamal meant to say “incessant” LOL! What did I tell you about the cookie cutter menhebaks all making the same spelling mistakes”

uncessant is old english,it means”incessant”
UNCESSANT = Continual;incessant. [The latter is the word now used.]
Amal,don,t mind the generic humanoid carbon unit,his head is leaking…..
stay fearless!

@ 10. N.Z.

Nicely put, but I would not separate between Shabeeha & Assad mafia.

Carbon unit (MATE MENHEBKES) desperately wanna be a Syrian imposter TRUE.

Your attempt at humor is nauseating! Need to hold on to your day job posting nonsense on this board for a red penny a post.

You’ve been OUTED you are NOT a Syrian.

Off The Wall,

“Sadly, the one person who could provide the necessary treatment you have kindly recommended has been kidnapped by regime thugs”

Maybe Shaabana can help the Dr.’s husband, she will tell him, these things do not happen in Syria, the same way she denied that Maher Arrar was tortured by her master, junior.

Their days are numbered, it is 2011, the year of The Arab Awakening.

@ 11. Afram & Jamal

Ohh how cute “Menhebaks” are backing each other

C’mon Afram don’t be shy, take the Jamal out for a ride

Déjà vu

I swear I read this before, it is uncessantly haunting me

History repeats itself, first as a tragedy (Hafez Asad), and then as a farce (Bathar Athad)

Carbon unit (MATE MENHEBKES) desperately wanna be a Syrian imposter TRUE.

Does your mom know what you do on your computer?!

Don’t you have a homework to do MENHEBKES?!

Syria: Testing Time
by John Cherian

Syria remains relatively calm as efforts to destabilise its government through orchestrated attacks by rebels fail.

Life in the Syrian capital, Damascus, seems to be continuing as normal. The streets and the mosques are crowded after the devout break their Ramadan fast in the evening. The security presence is minimal. In fact, there are more armed police and paramilitary men in central Delhi than in the heart of Damascus. This does not mean that all of Syria has suddenly become calm. Although the two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, have not witnessed any major anti-government demonstrations or violence so far, smaller cities such as Homs, Jisr al-Shughour and Deraa continue to be rocked by intermittent protests and violence.

The Syrian Army has withdrawn from the smaller towns, but there are reports about civilian casualties every other day. Many of those killed have been victims of sectarian clashes. The government in Damascus does not want to publicise this fact as it gets busy dousing the fire. One of the slogans preferred by the militant groups ranged against the government is “Alawites to the grave, Christians to Beirut”. Alawites and Christians constitute sizable minorities in Syria. The Sunni population is around 60 per cent.

Relative calm has now returned to the town of Hama though tensions are still visible. On a visit to the city in the last week of August, this correspondent saw the impact of the violence unleashed against the government by organised gangs of militants. The government had responded by briefly sending in troops to restore order. Many people lost their lives. Among them were policemen and security personnel. Government buildings, especially those housing the security forces, were specifically targeted.

The newly appointed Governor of Hama, Anas Abd-Alrazeq, presented evidence to the media about the well-planned and supervised mayhem that was witnessed in the city in July and early August. Hama, like nearby Homs, has been a stronghold of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. In 1982, President Hafez al-Assad had crushed a revolt in the city. The death toll at the time was estimated to be between 10,000 and 20,000. Obviously, the scars left behind by that grave episode are still to heal.

Outside the hall in which the Hama Governor addressed the visiting mediapersons, a small group of anti-government demonstrators, including young men and women, were boldly shouting slogans and airing their grievances. The police and the security forces made no attempts to stop them. The demonstrators complained of torture and other abuses by the security forces during the course of the recent events. One activist said he would welcome any kind of help from America. His argument was that Russia and China were propping up the Syrian government by supplying weapons. It was obvious that the young protesters had been trained well in the art of propaganda warfare too.

The walls of Hama were full of anti-government graffiti, much of it crudely painted over. The fact that the government is also allowing small protests to be staged and publications critical of its policies to be printed is seen as a welcome sign. On the streets of Damascus, English-language magazines such as Syria Today and Forward containing articles critical of the Syrian government and its handling of the protests are available freely.

The most graphic instance of the brutality exhibited by the anti-government rioters in Hama was the dumping of the bodies of three tortured government soldiers from a bridge over the river Orontes. Bloodstains were still visible on the spot from which the bodies of the soldiers were dumped into the fast-flowing river, when this reporter visited the site. The video of the heinous act is available on the Internet. The Hama Governor said that the local populace helped the civic authorities clear up the barricades and the mess that weeks of turmoil had created. In many parts of Hama, the local people who had suffered many days of lawlessness welcomed the army with flowers. The Governor said that stories that the military was still present in the city and widespread protests were continuing were canards spread by vested interests controlling media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

Abd-Alrazeq added that the two media outlets had gone to the extent of spreading false information that the army tanks had flattened mosques and hospitals. This correspondent found that the only institutions destroyed were police stations and government buildings that were gutted in the town centre. Diplomats based in Damascus are also of the view that much of the reportage by the two Arab satellite channels was highly biased and politically motivated.

The story about Syrian naval ships allegedly firing on a Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Latakia, first aired by the two Arab channels, was picked up by the Western media and given credibility. Syria immediately issued a denial. Diplomats said that the Syrian Army had requested the leaders in the densely populated Palestinian camp to hand over a few militants hiding in their midst. Latakia had witnessed large-scale violence in July in which protesters and soldiers were killed. When the Palestinian community leaders conveyed their inability to get the militants out of the camps, the Syrian Army had no other option but to send in troops. There were a handful of civilian casualties in the operations that followed.

Syria had housed the Palestinians on prime real estate in the Mediterranean town after they were expelled from Libya following the Oslo Peace Accords in the mid-1990s. The former Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, was resolutely opposed to the peace treaty with Israel.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which own the two television stations, are being suspected of materially helping the anti-government groups, which are increasingly resorting to armed insurrection. More than 500 Syrian security forces have been killed so far. The United Nations has put the civilian casualties at around 2,000 since the upsurge in the violence began more than five months ago.

In late August, there was yet another attack targeting the armed forces. Thirteen soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the recent attacks in the governorate of Homs and further north in al-Rastan. Senior Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, are not yet ready to reveal the names of the militant groups involved in the orchestrated attacks on the security forces. The Hama Governor only went to the extent of saying that those involved probably belonged to “Salafist” (militant Sunni) groups. The Swedish media have said that 80 to 90 per cent of the funding for the Salafist groups comes from Saudi Arabia with the United States’ tacit support.

The Hudson Institute, a leading American think tank, has said that the Barack Obama administration has decided, along with Turkey, to back the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. In July, Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, convened a meeting on Syria. Most of the Syrian invitees belonged to the Brotherhood. The secular opposition, which includes a wing of the Syrian Communist Party, was ignored. “Missing from the invitation were Kurdish leaders, Sunni liberals, Assyrians and Christian spokesmen,” the Hudson Institute report said.

According to various reports, the U.S. State Department made a deal with Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood either to share power with President Bashar al-Assad to stabilise the government or to replace him if the effort failed. In Egypt, too, the Obama administration seems to be in favour of a deal between the still powerful Egyptian Army and the Muslim Brothers, currently the largest political force in that country.

Walid Muallem, who met a small group of Indian journalists in his office, said that the government was carrying out a thorough inquiry into the attacks and would soon provide evidence about those involved and the sources of their funding and arms supplies. He conveyed his government’s happiness with the “objective position” taken by the Indian government at the U.N. Security Council and other international fora. India, along with China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, has been opposing outside interference in the internal affairs of Syria and want the Syrians to sort out their own problems.

President al-Assad, in an interview aired on Syrian television on August 21, warned against any outside intervention in the affairs of his country. He said that Syria’s geopolitical position and military capabilities would guarantee “greater consequences” for those who dared to carry out a military intervention.

The U.S. and the European Union had demanded that al-Assad step down. The President emphasised that such a demand was not even worthy of a response, adding that he was elected by the Syrian people and not appointed by the West.

Syria will need more consistent support from countries such as India as it braces itself for immediate pressure from the West in the form of a more punitive Security Council resolution. India was among the countries that abstained during a recent vote at the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on a draft resolution criticising Syria for human rights violations. The resolution called on the Syrian government to put an immediate end to the excessive use of force and stop the intimidation of peaceful protesters. Russia, China, Cuba and Ecuador were the only four countries that stood by Syria and voted against the proposed resolution. The Russian envoy to the UNHRC described the resolution as “politicised and lopsided”. Russia is planning to present a draft resolution of its own in the coming days at the Security Council.

The Western media had talked of mass graves near Deraa, where the current unrest has its origins. Human rights groups found only six bodies. Walid Muallem said the militants had been burying their dead in unmarked graves so as to avoid identification. The other allegation against the Syrian government was that it was implementing a scorched earth policy in the cities that had witnessed massive anti-government protests and violence. “This is total misrepresentation. The West is going to absurd lengths to vilify the regime,” said a senior Asian diplomat based in Damascus.

Walid Muallem said the government would allow a UNHRC fact-finding mission into the country only after the investigations by Syria’s own Human Rights Commission was over. He said other human rights groups had been given permission to visit Syria. He said many foreign powers were behind the Hama violence. “The Hama protests are under investigation. Many outside powers are behind it. The American embassy in Damascus is also instigating the protesters,” the Foreign Minister said.

The American and French Ambassadors had made unauthorised visits to Hama at the height of the recent violence and had even met the protest leaders there. Walid Muallem said the American Ambassador was in direct contact with certain elements in the opposition.

He warned Turkey against interfering in the internal affairs of his country. Syria and Turkey share an 850-km-long border. A motley crowd of exiled dissidents have set up a “transitional council” in Istanbul. “We urge Turkey to respect our sovereignty,” the Foreign Minister said. Until the crisis erupted earlier in the year, the two countries had managed to build excellent bilateral relations. But now, with Washington urging Ankara to play a lead role in the destabilisation of Syria, relations have once again deteriorated sharply. In 1998, the two countries were on the verge of a war as Turkey accused Syria of providing bases for the rebellious Kurds.

Walid Muallem was also critical of the additional sanctions imposed by the West on Syria. “Economic sanctions are an act against the well-being of the Syrian people,” he said.

The government is angry with the way some U.N. agencies have been compiling the civilian casualty figures based on speculative satellite television reports. They do not bother to reconcile their reports with hospital records released by the government.

The West wants to use the alleged instance of widespread human rights abuse to corner Syria in the Security Council. This was the game plan the West adopted against Libya, first persuading the Security Council to impose a “no-fly zone” and then using the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to facilitate regime change. Describing the present constitution of the Security Council as “an instrument of the U.S.”, Walid Muallem warned that “no country is immune from destabilisation”. He accused many Arab countries of having a “special relationship” with the U.S. and Western Europe and helping in the efforts under way to destabilise Syria.

The Americans, according to Walid Muallem, are encouraging these efforts, as they think they will be able to isolate the two main resistance movements in the region, Hizbollah and Hamas, and in the process help their principal ally, Israel, to ride roughshod over the Palestinians. Both Hizbollah and Hamas have strong links with the Syrian government. Today, after the fall of Qaddafi, Syria and to some extent Lebanon are the only countries to have independent foreign policies opposed to American hegemony in the region.

“The geographical location of Syria in the region is very important. The Americans want to prevent Syria from playing a meaningful role. They want to divide Syria and the neighbouring states into smaller states to implement their blueprint for the region,” the Foreign Minister said. This was the original plan of the Bush administration after the 2003 Iraqi occupation was completed. A senior George W. Bush administration official had said at the time that Syria was a “ripe fruit ready for the picking”.

According to Walid Muallem, immediately after the Iraq war ended, the then U.S. Defence Secretary, Colin Powell, visited Damascus and presented President al-Assad with six demands, which included cutting off links with Hizbollah and Hamas and distancing his government from Iran, with which it traditionally had close links. Al-Assad refused to kowtow to the demands of the U.S. The Bush administration immediately started accelerating its destabilisation efforts by pumping in funds for anti-government groups and “pro-democracy” activists.

Walid Muallem said that the recent decisions of the Syrian government had shown that the well-being of the people was of utmost importance. He reiterated the President’s commitment to hold free and fair elections by February 2012. This would make Syria a “shining example for the rest of the region”, he said, acknowledging that “certain demands” of the opposition were legitimate and had prompted the government to implement reforms. “We will allow political parties to function freely and let them have their own media forums.”

But it takes two hands to clap. To make free elections a reality, the cooperation of the opposition is necessary. The opposition, bolstered by the support of the U.S. and its allies in the region, is in no mood to compromise on either negotiating a peaceful end to the protests or participating in the elections. As Walid Muallem told this correspondent, the protests in Syria are attempting to take the shape of an “armed insurrection”.

However, the Foreign Minister sought to point out that any comparison of the situation on hand with that in Libya was misplaced. “We don’t have enough oil to be as attractive to the West as Libya. We are not divided like the Libyans were, nor do we have an open revolution. We have only some religious and sectarian groups out on the streets. Damascus and Aleppo, the two main cities, are calm,” he said.
John Cherian, who was recently in Damascus and Hama, is Associate Editor of Frontline in India. This article was first published in the 10-23 September 2011 issue of Frontline; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes

@ 11. Afram & 13. Jamal

“stay fearless”

Looooooool let’s see about that, even your God betho is scared to death hiding like rat inside his hole surrounded by his Alawi Militias

“posting nonsense on this board for a red penny a post.”

Mmmmm sorry to disappoint ya but I don’t work for Rami Makhlouf or 225 division so not sure who would pay me, ahhhh hold on a second you’re the same GUY who once accused ABOUD of getting paid by George W.Bush eh!!! Talking about Déjà vu

“You’ve been OUTED you are NOT a Syrian”

There you go another typical Baathi horn with their famous national identity test, say hi to aunt Bouthaina & Hasan 3ado-allah

Coup in Syria is unlikely, because it depends on surprising the regime, the regime is recruiting their units,who are on full alert, and the presence of security forces and Shabbiha.
mass defection is more likely, but it will depend on a support from outside.
The people in Syria are calling for international help, this can be done without Russian approval,but it seems to me the west is waiting for Bashar to ripe more,.
The end of Bashar could mean the end of other Arab leader, such as Nouri Almalki,or KSA king,or Jordanian king
Arming civilian will take time to train them to fight like a soldier,otherwise they will shoot in the air

And yet another menhebak experiences an online meltdown. Jamal joins a long list of Athadites who just plain…lost it 🙂

“Yuck you’ve just been called “baby” be a guy actually by an Alawi guy yuck!!!”

Indeed. I try not to encourage he’s attempts at flirtation, but he seems “uncessant” LOL!

Here is the GCC condemnation of the Athadite killing machine, again.

“Gulf states condemn Syria ‘killing machine’ ”

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/2011911192321627917.html

Carbon unit (I go to bed just as the sun comes up in Homs) ABOUD my poor baby you’ve been OUTED (post 419 last thread)!

I just love your naive sexist condescending comments! What can I say, (deleted for sexual content) 😉

SO Zorro, are you going to tell this board who you really are?!

“SO Zorro, are you going to tell this board who you really are?!”

I told you, I’m really Asma LOL!

Alas poor Miss Athad, no more shopping trips to Paris. She’s lost the “rivalry” with Queen Noor. Only a sad future shuttling between Tehran and the Hague 🙂

By the way, why do the menhebaks love to use exclamation marks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“What can I say, baby you make me wet!”

Ewwwwwwww. Considering the intravenous drug use and gay prison sex among the former-criminals-shabeeha, I think the chances aren’t good that you’ve managed to avoid picking up some nasty disease.

Menhebaks get an STD and then blame it on Al Jazeera 🙂

Where my (edited for sexual insult, this is a warning) little boy KHALID TLASS?!

My superior French speaking and oh so lebanese boy?!

(deleted)

Regarding # 18

John Cherian should be careful consuming Indian moonshine, he could turn completely blind…. Well, from the article above, it seems that this media fairness watcher is swallowing SANA’s B.S to the hilt. No wonder, his FRONTLINE Magazine is owned by the HINDU. This fairness fella cites no other than Walid Muallem 11 times and the “newly appointed” governor of Hama six times, but fails to interview or cite anyone from the opposition except through the eyes of a continent eraser and a regime member. He even failed to document (several sources) about the US support for the MBs. Speaking of fairness.

The piece, both morally and from a journalistic POV, is nothing but rubbish.

I want to say to this word thug, reading his BS “But it takes two hands to clap” I would humbly add “and a larynx to say what you believe about the fraudulent reform you are being offered”. He forgot to ask Muallem why are Bashar hyenas so obsessed with removing the larynx of certain victims.

ABOUD and TRUE

Sorry but I have to say this, why are you letting these characters control the tone of the discussion in sophomoric blabber. Just ignore them. Please stay focused on the things they have no access to, logic and thoughtfulness.

@ 22. Jamal

Sounds like you’re still “fearless” lol

“SO Zorro, are you going to tell this board who you really are”

I like the “Zorro” I might start using it from now on, but I hope it would not keep you wet all the times.

So did you celebrate Betho’s birthday? I’m sure he gets you wet with his sexy accent sorry (acthent)

Aboud,

In the previous thread, you objected to my observations on the figure of 20,000 to 40,000 defections.

I must point out that the “eyewitness” that made this claim stated “defections” and not “desertions.”

Even so, for either classification it is common for such a high number to take with it vehicles and weapons. You saw this in the high numbers of desertions during the Cuban revolution, the recent Libyan civil war, and the Iranian revolution.

Where are the photos or videos of large numbers of abandoned armor, vehicles and weapons? Where are the pics of defecting units with such?

I ask again: anybody have any pics of this?

Carbon unit (I go to bed just as the sun comes up in Homs) ABOUD my poor baby you’ve been OUTED (post 419 last thread)!

My sweet sweet baby. Tell me my love. Does your name start with jeffrey and end with feltman?

You do sound very arrogant and oh so very superior like him 😉

???

amal

I,also go to bed just as the sun comes up in Homs!?
but my bed is based and fixed in yankees land.Amreeeeka

(deleted for insult)

Regarding Ahmadinejad’s comments, Western narratives are typically interpreting this as Iran throwing Bashar under the bus, or that Iran is being hypocritical in its approach to Syria when compared to its own unrest following the ’09 election (which appears likely to have been am unsuccessful sedition effort, after all).

The Iranians’ new, more nuanced approach toward Syria appears to be an effort to exert a level of influence in easing the strife in the Syrian situation. It should be obvious that a stable Syria with a maintained, independent foreign policy is in Iran’s interest.

So, SS is turned on while Jamal is feeling wet

( deleted for sexual content)

A visit to Damascus

Iraq: Shiite Pilgrims Executed
QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA 09/12/11 06:20 PM ET

BAGHDAD — Gunmen forced their way onto a bus of traveling Shiite pilgrims Monday and shot all 22 men onboard as they traveled through western Iraq’s remote desert on a trip to a holy shrine, security officials said.

The bodies were discovered late Monday night, hours after the gang of gunmen stopped the bus at a fake security checkpoint and told all the women and children to get off, according to one security official who interviewed a survivor.

The gunmen then drove the bus a few miles (kilometers) off the main highway between Baghdad and the Jordanian border in Iraq’s Sunni-dominated Anbar province. The pilgrims were ordered off the bus and shot one by one, the security officials said.

“The terrorists stopped the bus at gunpoint and killed 22 men,” said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Hadi Rizayig, the provincial police chief.

He said the highway is protected by the Iraqi army.

Shiite pilgrims have been a favorite target for Sunni insurgents who are trying to revive the sectarian violence that brought Iraqi to the brink of civil war just a few years ago. Monday’s attack comes fewer than four months before U.S. troops – who surged into Iraq in 2007 to stem the religious killings – are scheduled to leave the country.

In Anbar in particular, many insurgents have launched attacks while posing as soldiers or other security guards. And on Monday, one of the women who was forced off the bus told officials that there were four gunmen who were dressed in military uniforms and stopped the bus at a fake checkpoint.

An Iraqi army patrol found the deserted women, weeping and wailing, by the side of the highway. Iraqi soldiers found the deserted bus a short distance away and loaded the women and children back on, and headed back to Karbala. None could be reached immediately late Monday.

Two Iraqi security officials and a political leader from the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, where the pilgrims were from, confirmed the shooting details. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The pilgrims were on a trip to the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Damascus. Officials gave conflicting accounts as to whether they were headed to Syria or returning.

Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq, but deadly shootings and bombings still happen nearly every day.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/12/iraq-shiite-pilgrims-executed_n_959123.html

@ 26. OFF THE WALL

“He forgot to ask Muallem why are Bashar hyenas so obsessed with removing the larynx of certain victims”

For freedom seekers it’s much better to have their larynx removed rather working as horns for Betho and his thugs

@ Jamal

Where did you go?

Seems like you’re not able to counter back without using odious sexual content lol ( only 1 functional cell)

Typical low class horns

Qurd ya Jamal sho ma yQulu 3ana, Qawes ya Jamal Qawes

Yil3an ro7ak ya Hafiz wo Allah ya’7dak ya Betho

President Assad Patriotism is the Savior of Humanity,his elimination of (edited for discriminatory language. Discussing specifics is allowed, hateful discriminatory language is not) makes him a hero.

Pirouz

“Where are the pics of defecting units with such?”

Great. When people show you pics of the vehicles in Abu Kamal, you guys say its a fake. When they don’t show you pics, you still claim there are no defections whatsoever.

I’m in Homs, and I can tell you that only one in ten defection gets caught on video. Now, regarding the tens of thousands who defected up north. Did you get the impression that they all defected at once? That would have been an awesome sight. I got the impression the defectors traveled in trickles to the areas up north.

Off the Wall

“Sorry but I have to say this, why are you letting these characters control the tone of the discussion in sophomoric blabber”

But I like the line I came up with. Menhebaks get STD and then blame it on Al-Jazeera 🙂

I mean, look at the way Jamal is desperately throwing himself at me. I’ve heard of desperate love-sick people looking for love online, but this really must be a new low for cyber-geeks everywhere. I guess their love for Besho isn’t enough to fill up the empty hole in their soul 🙂

Aren’t we all so glad that the level of conversation has been elevated so highly by banning the words scum and turd?

“You do sound very arrogant and oh so very superior like him”

If I appear to you to be a giant, that’s because you are a termite 🙂

Now, regarding Indian John’s article. Not even SANA quotes so directly from so many regime sources. Johnie displays the usual Indian inferiority complex towards the Gulf countries by repeating the tired line that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are behind events in Syria. Take a look at Indian English language newspapers; it’s filled with anti-Saudi chauvinistic trash.

And JNA, what does Iraqis killing each other have to do with Syria? So the Shias were going to Damascus. So what?

“President Assad Patriotism is the Savior of Humanity,his elimination of virulent nonsensical dictates of pagan MB political religion called Islam makes him a hero.”

When the regime goes looking for shabihas in the prisons, repeating this line ten times gets one time out for good behavior. Hehehe.

In Athadstan, letting drug smugglers and car thieves out of prison to kill civilians, is called “probation”

Athma Athad’s website just got hacked 🙂

http://www.asma-alassad.com

It’s just one khazoq for the Syrian Electronic Army after another. I think this is the second time Mrs Besho’s website got hacked hehehe.

Moderator and Josh,

Homophobic comments should also be classified as discriminatory hateful comments and should be banned.

@ 36. Afram

““President Assad Patriotism is the Savior of Humanity,his elimination of virulent nonsensical dictates of pagan MB political religion called Islam makes him a hero.”

Are you an advocate of genocide and ethnic cleansing?

Does your stand represent the regime mentality of handling things?

True

“Does your stand represent the regime mentality of handling things?”

Yes it does. This is a mentality that calls beating up a 60 year old cartoonist “fighting terrorism”, and beating up a mosque’s Imam as “maintaining security”.

@ 39. ABOUD

“Athma Athad’s website just got hacked”

Good job buddy lol

(deleted for personal attack)

“In fact, there are more armed police and paramilitary men in central Delhi than in the heart of Damascus”

See people, a country that is actually fighting a terrorist gang has police and troops everywhere. But a regime that only has to deal with civilian demonstrators does what the Baathists do; hides its goons in government buildings and schools until such time as they are needed to beat up civilians.

Looks like Indian Johnie might be of some use after all…..

Mamnhebaks

Hi guys/gals. We are doing a bad job posting articles that support our revolution. Ann is hard at work finding pro regime and propaganda articles from obscured websites and they are left unopposed. I encourage all mamnhebaks to post anti regime articles he or she likes so we can have a balanced “press news round up”.

447. ABU UMAR said:

Dear Abu Umar (It should be Abu Omar), It appears you have not considered my last recommendation to you. It appears you are in the UK, here is what I suggest for you and Mr Tlass to do:

Drive up to the lakes district, trek up that beautiful mountain with a back-pack. Make sure you have a few bottles of ice cold beers. I recommend Australian beer, Cascade brewed from virgin clean and crisp Tasmanian water as God has intended it to be.

While you are on top of the mountain, listen to the cascading water falls and absorb the scenic beauty around and below you, while having the beers off course, and take in life as the creator would have wanted you to do. I recommend you stay at one of the many Bed and Breakfast places and do some fishing.

You see Abu Omar, you are to fixated on death and you are not enjoying the beauty of the life cycle, what a shame that only the thought of death is always on your mind.

“No and a thousand no to Assad”

http://www.aawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=640198&issueno=11977

لا وألف لا.. للأسد!
حسين شبكشي
الثلاثـاء 15 شـوال 1432 هـ 13 سبتمبر 2011 العدد 11977
جريدة الشرق الاوسط
الصفحة: الــــــرأي

اعتادت بثينة شعبان على لعب دور «الماكيير»، أو المزينة، لوجه النظام السوري القبيح، فهي أول من تصدى لمهمة التعليق على المظاهرات التي قام بها الثوار الأحرار في سوريا يطالبون بالحرية والكرامة، وحاولت رشّ الكلمات المعسولة والعبارات المنمقة المليئة بالوعود والآمال، واستُغرب وقتها عدم ظهور الرئيس أو نائبه أو رئيس الوزراء ولكنها كانت محاولة جهد إعلامي للدكتورة بثينة «اللي بتحكي مينيح» لتتولى هي هذه المهمة، وطبعا لم يقنع أي أحد، واستمرت المظاهرات بل وزادت، وهو نفس الدور تقريبا الذي كانت تقوم به الدكتورة نجاح العطار أيام كانت وزيرة للثقافة في عهد الأب حافظ الأسد، وهي حاليا بالمناسبة «نائبة» رئيس الجمهورية ولكنها ذات دور شرفي بحت.

بثينة شعبان كانت تواصل محاولات تخفيف «حدة» الوضع القاتم للنظام الدموي في سوريا، فبينما صرحت مصادر تابعة للأمم المتحدة بأن عدد القتلى في الثورة السورية بلغ 2700، قامت هي بالتصريح بأن العدد في واقع الأمر هو 1400 (وكأن الأمر تفاوض على السعر في سوق «الحميدية» بدمشق)، والأدهى أنها وصفت القتل بـ«الخطأ»، وكأن المقصود وصف ضحايا حادث سير. الكل بات يعلم ويرى ويفهم القتل بدم بارد وبأبشع الطرق وعن قصد وعن ترصد من قبل أنظمة الدولة الموتورة، وحقيقة (وهي الأقرب للتصديق) تشير مصادر حقوقية إلى أن رقم القتلى هو أقرب لـ15 ألفا. وطبعا تأتي هذه التصريحات الشعبانية بمثابة محاولات جديدة لإضفاء «روح» لنظام مات سريريا!

سوريا دأبت عن طريق نظامها البعثي الأسدي أن تتدخل في الشأن العروبي القومي وترفع الشعارات الرنانة بخصوص الدول العربية، فمعروف موقفها من لبنان وتبنيها «القهري» للساسة اللبنانيين والقضية اللبنانية، وكذلك دخولها في «حرب» ضد الطوائف اللبنانية كافة بلا استثناء، وكذلك كان للأردن نصيب، والعراق والفلسطينيون ومصر جميعهم ذاقوا مرارة «التدخل» البعثي الأسدي في شؤونهم بالقوة العسكرية أو بالدسائس والمكائد، وها هم اليوم أبناء الشعوب العربية يجمعون في حراكهم ضد النظام السوري ويؤيدون الثوار الأحرار في حراكهم لإسقاط هذا النظام الذي أجرم في حق شعبه لأربعة عقود ولا يزال.

إن ما يحكم سوريا اليوم ليس بالنظام السياسي التقليدي ولكنه منظومة عائلة هي الأقرب لتركيبة «الأسر» الموجودة في العالم السفلي من الجريمة المنظمة، كل فرد له دور منظم والغاية الأعظم هي الحفاظ على الرأس الكبير مقابل عوائد مالية مجزية (كلٌّ وذكاؤه وشطارته)؛ فرامي مخلوف مثلا واجهة الاقتصاد في سوريا طوال سنوات الرئيس الحالي، تنازل «ظاهريا» عن أرباحه في شركاته لـ«يتفرغ» للعمل الخيري وبعدها تعرض لمجموعة عقوبات هائلة من الولايات المتحدة الأميركية والأمم المتحدة والسوق الأوروبية، ولكن مؤخرا «تفتق» ذهنه لأن يقوم بمشاركة (بالقوة) للعديد من أبرز تجار حلب ودمشق في الأسابيع الأخيرة، وذلك دون إظهار اسمه ودون أن يسدد قيمة المشاركة، وبذلك «يذوب» وجوده الاقتصادي في السوق ويحافظ على سيولته ولا يغرق وحده ولكن يغرق معه رموز الاقتصاد السوري كله، حتى في شركته الرئيسية «الشام القابضة» عين الكثيرين من التنفيذيين الجدد حاملي الجنسية اللبنانية والأوروبية ليظهر للناس أن الشركة محترفة ومهنية وليست «له» بالمطلق حتى يطمئن المستثمر الأجنبي للعودة والاستثمار معه مجددا، ولكن كل هذه المعلومات وصلت وبالتفاصيل إلى اللجان المعنية بالعقوبات الاقتصادية وستصدر قائمة جديدة قريبا فيها أسماء المتواطئين اقتصاديا مع النظام، تماما كما فعل النظام باستخدام الذكاء الزائد على اللزوم وقت زيارة الوفد الأممي والوفد التركي ووفد الصليب الأحمر لسوريا.. قام مندوبو الأمن بتغيير أسماء الشوارع وأسماء المدارس وأسماء المساجد وأسماء المستشفيات التي شهدت أحداثا دامية وتمت زيارة «لها»، ولكن سرعان ما فضحهم بعد ذلك المقارنة التي تمت مع ما تم توريده من معلومات لهذه الوفود عن طريق خرائط «غوغل» وما شابهها.

كعرب نقول لنبيل العربي ولقادة العرب وللعالم الحر: نحن لا يشرفنا استمرار هذا النظام في العالم العربي، فهو لا يمثل العرب ولا الإسلام ولا سوريا. لا وألف لا لبشار الأسد ونظامه. اعتاد السوريون أن يقولوا مجبرين «نعم وللأبد»، للأسد.. الآن استبدلوا بها «ارحل يا بشار»، والمعنى وصل ومفهوم!

hussein@asharqalawsat.com

SYRIA: Activist’s death shakes opposition as casualty count jumps
September 12, 2011
LA Times.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/09/syria-death-activist-opposition-crackdown.html

The body of well-known Syrian opposition activist Ghaith Mattar was delivered to his family over the weekend by security forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Mattar was on the run for three months before he was arrested in a suburb of Damascus early last week.

Mattar, 26, originally from the Damascus suburb of Daraya, was admired for his innovative ideas when it came to the organization of peaceful protests in his town, activists said.

In a statement released Sunday night, the prominent activist network Local Coordination Committees, along with four other networks, condemned the “slaying” of Mattar, accusing security forces of torturing the young man for three days between his arrest and the day his body was handed over to his family.

“Gaith and his friends in Daraya were advocates of nonviolent struggle. He was the one who came up with the initiative of facing security fire and violence with bottles of water, flowers and bouquets,” the statement said.

Yahya Sharbaji, also an activist from Daraya, was arrested with Mattar and allegedly killed by security forces.

The crackdown against peaceful antigovernment protesters continued Monday with fresh military assaults in Hama. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 19 activists were killed across the central cities of Homs and Hama as well as around the Damascus suburbs.

Mass arrests were also reported in Aleppo, the largest Syrian city known for being generally absent from the scenes of protest.

“I woke up to plainclothes security forces closing in on us. I noticed that communication was cut and the city was under siege,” said one resident of Hama who goes by the honorific Abu Zeid.

According to the Local Coordination Committees, ambulances and medics were prevented from reaching the wounded. At least two people were killed by security forces in Homs when live ammunition and heavy artillery were used to shell residential building, activists reported.

“Bullets rained down on us with a vengeance for hours at a time. It was impossible to leave your house, not to mention your room,” said Majed, a resident and activist in Homs.

Military offensives and mass arrests intensified in the midst of widely attended protests across various cities on the evening of Assad’s birthday. In the video above, residents of the Kiswa suburb of Damascus burned Russian and Chinese flags in condemnation of the political and diplomatic support the two countries have given the Assad regime.

Protesters sarcastically lighted a cake in commemoration of Assad’s birthday, calling it “the day of international misery.”

“Sept. 11 was a day of disaster for the United States, and a disaster for us with the birth of the butcher,” one banner reads in an effort to appeal to American sympathy. Other banners also called for support from the United Arab Emirates.

Anti-regime protestors clapped their hands, their arms flapping against the dark background of midnight, “Victory is the father of martyrdom,” they sang.

— Roula Hajjar in Beirut

Ghaith Mattar called for peaceful, nonviolent protests. And what did the regime do? Cut his throat.

This is why there can be no dialogue with the Alawite junta.

Arabic and international press should start discussing different scenarios of armed resistance and international protection of civilians. The regime may fall through non- violent means however, discussing other scenarios is now warranted. Opposition as well as people on the ground do lack experience and political maturity and perhaps must be educated about their future options. They should be made aware of different methods of protection and what can be provided in case it comes to armed resistance. Some people are still shying away from asking for measures from the international community to protect civilians afraid of being called traitors. It should be emphasized that traitors are those who killed their own people. Time my have not come yet for people to take up arms but the matter of armed resistance against the regime should be discussed at length.

Horrifying clips are running on Aljazeera showing Alawi thugs beating up a teenage as I
am writing this post that making my blood boils. I will try to find it and post it later.

444. ABOUD said:

“Ah, excellent. So what you’re saying is that you’d like history to be taught in an intellectually open and honest way, where there are no taboos and no sacred cows?”

Yes Aboud.

“Splendid sentiments. I’d go even further and demand that intellectual honesty and frankness not just be applied to the educational sphere, but to discussions of all political, economical, and social matters.”

I agree Aboud.

“See, I want to be able to tell people that the Baath has been an abject failure, that for 40 years all it did was enrich a few Alawites and some Sunni lackeys, that socially the Alawites are committing self suicide by allowing themselves to be pawns in the regime’s murderous plans. I’d like to say all this, and so much more.”

How come the Sunni majority did not write accurate books that reflect actual history and change the school curriculum. Did Baathists and more importantly the Alawites stop them?

“Frankly, I don’t think the Alawites will ever be ready for a society where frank, intellectually honest discussion is permitted. Everything taught in Syrian schools today is sanitized to a greater degree than ever existed under Stalinism. There are so many sacred cows to the Baathists, they might as well make Hinduism the official religion of their party.”

Do you think the Sunni majority who are far more conservative are interested in having the frank open society that you are dreaming of? Who is stopping that?

Do we have any books or programs that taught actual non sanitized history before Baath or Alawites came in. I am talking about actual books that taught real history that would put everything on the table like the west does?.

You did not answer this question:

In the ME, you can be killed by insulting the Messenger himself, do you agree with that Aboud?

Time For Assad To Go
Chris Bowers (British consul general in Erbil.)
12/09/2011 02:46:00

http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/3966.html

After months of resorting to brutal military force against his own people, including the killing of approximately two thousand civilians and the detention and torture of thousands more, it is clear that President Assad and his regime are not committed to delivering the reform demanded by the Syrian people. We in the UK believe that Assad has lost all legitimacy and can no longer claim to lead the country. And that it is in the best interests of the Syrian people for him to step aside. We have not come to this overnight. This follows months of us calling for Assad to either reform or step aside. He has failed to deliver on the much promised reforms and the bloodshed has continued unabated. We believe the time has now come for a peaceful transition to a different type of regime in Syria.

Those who watch the plight of Kurds in Syria will know all too well that Syria has been anything but a garden of roses for some time. There are between 300,000-400,000 stateless Kurds in Syria. In April 2011, President Assad signed a decree granting Kurds in Hasaka (approximately 40,000 people) citizenship rights. Granting citizenship is not a favour or a concession. It is a right.

Kurds in Syria face persecution. Human rights groups say that Kurds in Syria are not able to use the Kurdish language, are not allowed to register children with Kurdish names, are unable to start businesses that do not have Arabic names, are not permitted to build Kurdish private schools, and prohibited from publishing books and other materials written in Kurdish. That is quite a list.

What next in Syria? It is, of course, for the Syrian people to choose their own government. The most important step Assad must take is simple: stop the violence. As long as the killing and detentions continue there can be no discussions about a way forward.

We agree with the general consensus that some form of transitional arrangement will be necessary in Syria before genuinely democratic and free elections – certainly for a new Parliament, and perhaps for a new President – can be held. We’re encouraging and supporting the Syrian people and Opposition groups to outline and deliver a coherent and credible plan for a peaceful transition to make this vision a reality.

A transition has to happen but it is for the Syrian people to lead it. But we will support them – and engage with key players across the political spectrum. We will also continue to explore ways to increase the pressure on Assad to bring an end to the brutal violence, working with EU to develop further sanctions and continuing our diplomatic activity with partners in the United Nations.

Some people are concerned about a potential power vacuum were Assad to step aside.

We want to see an end to the violence and a peaceful transition to a more representative form of government. It is time for Syrian people to take charge of this process. Syrian opposition groups are making rapid progress to deliver a coherent and credible transition strategy to win over the middle-ground of Syrian opinion. This is despite the incredible level of repression, intimidation and violence directed against them and their family members by an increasingly desperate Assad regime. With our encouragement and support, the Syrian opposition can help to bring about the vision of a more stable, representative and secure Syria, without Assad.

In this, we, countries in the region and in the wider international community, are adding our voice to those of ordinary Syrians who have made it abundantly clear they want Assad to leave. I don’t think there can be much doubt that this is what the Syrian people want. Getting the Assad regime to step aside is the main unifying factor behind this groundswell of Syrian people and opposition groups. Whilst there is no agreed manifesto that represents all of the opposition or protestors on the street, this initiative is fast developing. The goal of achieving change to a more democratic, free and open society is shared by all those opposing the government.

People have asked me why the UK is not doing in Syria what it did in Libya. My first response is to say comparing one country to another and therefore our response is rarely helpful. Each situation is different. Clearly, there is not the same level of international support. In the case of Libya, the Arab League issued a call for intervention to the rest of the world through the United Nations Security Council, which passed a resolution authorising the protection of civilians. No such consensus has been achieved in the case of Syria. It is also clear that just because we can’t act everywhere, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act somewhere. Our principles remain the same: Governments need to respond to legitimate aspirations with reform not repression to enhance long-term stability and prosperity. That is all Syrian people want. It shouldn’t be much to ask.

“In the ME, you can be killed by insulting the Messenger himself, do you agree with that Aboud?”

Yes. And more people have been killed for insulting Besho.

“How come the Sunni majority did not write accurate books that reflect actual history and change the school curriculum. Did Baathists and more importantly the Alawites stop them?”

What an idiotic question. The Sunni majority are out protesting to get rid of Besho and his sanitized school books. And what is the result? People like Ghaith Matar getting their throats ripped out.

“Do you think the Sunni majority who are far more conservative are interested in having the frank open society that you are dreaming of? Who is stopping that?”

In Syria, the Baathists and their Qurdaha goons, people stick stuck in a 1960 coastal village mentality.

“Do we have any books or programs that taught actual non sanitized history before Baath or Alawites came in”

Another idiotic question. What books existed in Syria in the 1960s were of course sanitized. Just like today’s books in the West are a big improvement over what they taught in the 1960s. We will never know what a non-Alawite regime might have made of Syria in the 40 years this thug of murderers ruled the country. But we know the disaster the Qurdaha thugs made of it.

In 40 years, the murderous Qurdaha gang of thieves has not bought one single atom’s worth of freedom or liberal thought to Syria. They had their chance, and they failed. Miserably. Now the Alawite junta is headed for war crimes tribunals.

Just watched auntie Buthina Shaaban on TV talking to the Russians. She looked like الساحرة الشريرة. Only wicked people can defend what the regime is doing. I hope she does not show up in my dreams today.

UN rights chief says death toll in 6 months of Syria unrest has reached at least 2,600

By Associated Press, Published: September 12

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/un-rights-chief-says-death-toll-in-6-months-of-syria-unrest-has-reached-at-least-2600/2011/09/12/gIQAwfkmMK_story.html

GENEVA — At least 2,600 people have died in the six months of unrest that has swept Syria, the U.N.’s top human rights official said Monday, as a panel was named to investigate abuses in the Arab country.

The figure released by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay adds to evidence that Syrian leader Bashar Assad is continuing his crackdown on anti-government dissidents despite international pressure.

“According to reliable sources on the ground, the number of those killed since the onset of the unrest in mid-March 2011 in that country has now reached at least 2,600,” Pillay said. She added that her office continues to be denied access to Syria.

“The situation in Syria is still dire,” Pillay told reporters after a speech at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Last month, the Geneva-based body held an emergency meeting at which it voted overwhelmingly to demand Assad’s government end its bloody crackdown.

“From the time that the Human Rights Council passed its resolution and the Security Council has addressed the matter, the situation in Syria has worsened and peaceful protesters have been killed,” Pillay said, adding that she was “shocked” by the rising death toll.

The council on Monday named three independent experts to lead an international investigation of allegations of human rights abuses in Syria.

They are Turkish women’s rights expert Yakin Erturk; former U.N. investigator for Myanmar Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil; and Karen Abu Zayd, a U.S. citizen and former head of UNRWA, the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees.

LOL Tara! The Wicked Witch of Athadstan

UN Human Rights Council appoints experts to probe Syrian violence

12 September 2011

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39516&Cr=syria&Cr1=#

The United Nations Human Rights Council today appointed three experts to probe alleged abuses in Syria, where the number of people killed since the start of the Syrian Government’s crackdown on protesters earlier this year has now reportedly reached at least 2,600.

Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil will chair the independent commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in Syria since March, when the pro-democracy protests began.

Mr. Pinheiro, a former professor and human rights expert for the Council, will be joined by Yakin Ertürk of Turkey, who is currently a professor of sociology and former UN official dealing with women’s issues, and Karen AbuZayd of the United States, who most recently served as head of the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees.

The Geneva-based Council decided three weeks ago to dispatch a commission of inquiry after considering the report of a fact-finding mission by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The report outlined a litany of Government abuses ranging from murder, enforced disappearances, deprivation of liberty and the torture even of children to an apparent “shoot-to-kill” policy against protesters with snipers posted on rooftops.

As the Council opened its 18th session today, UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay told the 47-member body that, according to reliable sources on the ground, the number of those killed since the onset of the unrest in mid-March has now reached at least 2,600.

In addition to investigating the alleged human rights violations, the commission is tasked with establishing the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and, where possible, identifying those responsible to ensure that perpetrators of violations, including those that may constitute crimes against humanity, are held accountable.

The commission is due to make public its findings to the Council as soon as possible, but no later than the end of November.

Very worrying news: Syrian dissidents on Thursday will present the list of members of a “National Council”.

Dear Joshua:

I seems the the “The Struggle on Syria” has started again, even before the Assad leaves. It is very worrying. I am in extreme pain.

Dear Ma-Menhebak people:

I beg you to read my article entitled “المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي بين الإنقلابات ومضادتها” at http://haytham-khoury3.blogspot.com/
because it is more relevant than ever. You should know and understand what is going on. You should take a stand.
You should know that this night I won’t sleep.

Dear Menhebak people:
Please go sleep till we settle our internal problems

Haytham, how long does it take the USA to elect a president? When you factor in primaries for each party’s candidate, and the presidential campaign itself, the process is around 18 months. And this in a system that has already been thought out, and used for decades.

So if the selection of the National Transitional Council is less than perfect, then fine. Remember, “Fast – cheap – good: you can have any two.”

Dr Landis,

You posted a story about President Ahmadinejad talking about the developments in the region, including those in Syria, and put the title “Iranian president says that Assad must stop the violence…”

I’m not sure where you got that from the link you posted. You made it sound like Iran was criticizing Bashar even though, from the beginning, Bashar acknowledged there were legitimate demands and his offers of dialogue were shunned by opportunist “prominent opposition figures” that didn’t want to join the dialogue to avoid being exposed as irrelevant on the Syrian street.

Only Western and Gulf propaganda machines claimed such a title as yours, and they were set straight by Iranian state-run Press TV. Iran and Lebanon (mainly the south) are the only real friends that Syria and the Syrian people can count on and all parties know their well-being depends on each other. In other words, to all the hallucinating abadayat in sha77a6at, keep dreaming 😉

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/198799.html

‘Ahmadinejad remarks on Syria distorted’

Iran’s Presidential Office has slammed Western media for distorting the remarks by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with regards to the recent developments in Syria.

A statement released by the Presidential office on Monday said that media outlets backed by the global arrogance and the international Zionism, in a coordinated and hostile measure, distorted the Iranian president’s remarks on Syria in order to weaken the Islamic resistance front.

Iran’s Presidential Office criticized and expressed regret over the stances adopted based on these distorted reports that show their animosity towards the Islamic Republic and its anti-arrogance president.

In a September 8 interview with Portugal’s RTP channel, Ahmadinejad criticized foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs and said NATO’s meddling in other countries as well as resorting to military options would not be helpful to resolving problems.

“Governments and nations must resolve their problems through negotiations, and other [countries] have no right to interfere in their internal affairs,” Ahmadinejad said, adding that regional nations can assist Syria in implementing essential reforms.

The Associated Press, however, blatantly distorted the Iranian president’s remarks and wrote, “Syrian President Bashar Assad should back away from his violent crackdown on protesters and enter talks with the opposition, Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.”

In a September 8, article The New York Times also misrepresented Ahmadinejad’s remarks, saying “President Ahmadinejad of Iran became the most recent, and perhaps the most unexpected, world leader to call for President Assad to end his violent crackdown of an uprising challenging his authoritarian rule in Syria.”

Aljazeera website wrote “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president has called on Bashar al-Assad, his Syrian counterpart, to back away from the regime’s violent crackdown on dissent and open dialogue with the opposition.”

Iran’s Presidential Office website went on to invite all in doubt about the Iranian president’s position on Syria to refer to his remarks which were made during a meeting with a group of Kuwaiti media managers on September 9.

“Muslim countries must achieve a consensus to help resolve Syria’s problems independent of foreigners,” said Ahmadinejad, adding that “unfortunately some countries send weapons into Syria that this definitely does not help resolve the problem.”

“There is authentic information that the US and its allies have plotted extensive schemes against the regional countries… even for countries that send arms to Syria today.”

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The US and the European Union have criticized Damascus throughout the unrest. They recently went so far as to urge Assad to give up power and threatened the country with further sanctions.

Aboud

Unfortunately, by Thursday we will have two.

Today, I will send many e-mails. I will see what I can do.

Expectedly , Betho has appointed Assef Shawkat (brother in law) as Deputy Minister of Defense David Rajha. Initially, Shawkat was operating as Deputy Chief of Staff before the promotion of Rajha from the Chiefs of Staff to the Ministry of Defense.

Shawkat could not maintain his old job (Deputy Chief of Staff) because he held a higher rank than the rank of the new Syrian Chief of Staff Gen. Fahad Jassem Freej

Did anyone talk about nepotism and Assad mafia business here?

I was waiting for a shabeh to bring up the tieless-one’s comments.

Ahmadinejad’s comments were reported accurately. But as is the norm for Persian and Qurdaha hypocrites, they say one thing to the Western press, and something else entirely to news medias in their own language. Witness Besho’s infamous Wall Street Journal interview.

The dream, ya Persian, is that a certain segment of leaders will stop being such Januses when they find themselves giving interviews to Western media.

As for Iran, who told you anyone was relying on the Persians for anything? If they want to go down with Besho, it will be our pleasure.

“Unfortunately, by Thursday we will have two.”

Well, diversity is good. It will serve to keep each party on its toes. Monopolies are a bad thing, especially in politics. But I don’t think any supposed political rivalry will outweigh the desire of both parties to be rid of the Qurdaha gang of thieves.

Remember how many different groups the Zionists had before 1948. Multiple parties and groups do not spell doom to a political movement.

(While the menhebaks sleep and dream dreams of Giraffe Neck, I’m up and posting comments. Hehehe)

At 1:27 of the Imad Moustapha NPR interview that Josh posted, the ambassador says that the war in Syria is “between the Syrian army and the Syrian police” before quickly replacing the second group with “militant extremists”. Major Freudian slip.

Haytham

I hope that is not true. We all happy with Bourhan Galioun leading the National Transitional Council and Opposition should all rally behind him. More and more we are looking like Lebanon: more leaders than people to be led.

Haytham,

Do you wonder why you get more dislike than like when most the other opposition get more like than dislike at the same time?.

To #27. Pirouz,
I was the one posting the 20 to 40 thousand defections, but I clearly stated that this was just word of mouth and through the grape vine. Nothing in this whole bloody conflict can be 100% confirmed or verified, except that the people want freedom and the regime wants to keep sucking money out of Syria at all cost.

“Valeria the American Business Owner” is gonna have to sell or close down her business. Paying taxes to the Syrian government is a no-no for American citizens.

Maybe Besho can make her an honorary shabeha.

http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2011/09/12/ofac-issues-libya-syria-general-licenses/tab/print/

OFAC Issues Libya, Syria General Licenses

September 12, 2011, 5:20 PM ET

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released a set of general licenses late Friday governing transactions with entities in Libya and Syria.

Regarding Libya, OFAC authorized transactions (pdf) with subsidiaries of the Libyan National Oil Corp., except Zueitina Oil Co., “provided that such transactions do not involve the Libyan National Oil Corp. or any persons whose property and interests in property are blocked other than the authorized subsidiaries.”

Though the license doesn’t limit authorization to a specific list of subsidiaries, a number of those named in the document were placed under U.S. sanctions in March, among them Arabian Gulf Oil Co., Azzawiya Oil Refining Co. and Brega Petroleum Marketing Co.

U.S. persons doing business with the Syrian government prior to Aug. 18 have until Nov. 25 (pdf) to conduct any transactions that wind down their contracts, according to a license issued by OFAC.

Under the license, the U.S. person has to file a detailed report with OFAC within 10 days of completing the transaction that includes the date and value of the transaction.

OFAC said Friday that international organizations such as the United Nations, its specialized agencies and contractors can continue their business in Syria (pdf) and still comply with the Aug. 18 executive order sanctioning the country, provided they meet some specific conditions.

U.S. individuals living in Syria are authorized to pay day-to-day personal expenses “that are ordinarily incident and necessary to their personal maintenance within Syria” such as the purchase of personal goods, housing costs and taxes under a license issued Friday (pdf) by OFAC.

However, those day-to-day expenses cannot include paying debt on an account or institution blocked under a previous executive order; transactions involving property blocked by previous sanctions on Syria; or employment or a new business venture in Syria.

Those not named by the set of U.S. sanctions on Syria that have accounts in U.S. financial institutions can continue to operate their accounts (pdf) provided they are for a personal nature and do not involve transfers that were prohibited by previous OFAC licenses.

@64 Evan. Excellent job on catching that. We will be having lots of fun with that one.

Haytham
I read your article, and I still do not understand why naming such council worry you?
Burhan seems to be acceptable by the majority of Opposition, the future of Syria is intended to be democratic,pluralistic,where any goverment will include all groups in Syria, also this council is temporary, the future elected council will determine future goverment,I am not worried,Bashar and his goons and supporters should be worried,the important thing now, is to get rid of this regime and its suppression and brutal loyals who are killing syrian citizens, they already killed over 7000, and his Father,killed over 30,000, I think as a supporter of this revolution, should encourage such council formation,please explain your worry clearly.

Dear MajedKhaldoon:

The council that Bassma is talking about is different than the Ghalioun’s one. Bassma’s group are the one that I said they are pushed by the US. That means on Thursday we will have two. That means They are destroying the revolution.

Aboud “I was waiting for a shabeh to bring up the tieless-one’s comments”.
Khoury “Please go sleep till we settle our internal problems”

Will go to sleep.
I just have to finish my Australian wine while enjoying the seen. Its good to be above there looking down on politics for a while. Keep the good work, keep entertaining us.

Burhan will have the majority, and Basma will ,later, join Burhan,I would not worry.

@ 60. Haytham Khoury

Not to worry mate, just bear with me for a second and try to look at it from different perspective.

After 40 years of discrimination and oppression you would not expect Syrians to be professional politicians, would ya?

It’s very ordinary and healthy to go through this trial & error process till we reach the needed maturity and come up with a good selection of representatives who’re able to drive our case politically all the way to the stars.

Mate we’re not making some salad here, it’s not as easy as chucking a bit of each ingredient and magically there you go Bon appétit!! not at all It’s really a complicated process to unite and fit all different components with different agendas and backgrounds into one path. And always Keep in mind that the boys on the ground are the judges of any formed council and we MUST keep trying till the ideal council formation emerges.

Keep the hopes up buddy

@ 64 Evan , 69. ABOUD SAID:

Good spotting mate!

Unless someone who enjoys fabricating videos will put his magical touch on it eh

“That means They are destroying the revolution.”

My friend, nothing can be further from the truth. No political party can possibly appeal to every person under the sun. It is against human nature (something Besho seems ignorant of, when he gives himself a 99.9999999% approval rating).

As long as each bloc does not consider the other a worse rival than junior, they should get along fine. And trust me, everyday the regime gives the Syrian people more reasons to hate it.

America is not weaker for having a two party system (personally I think it needs more). The UK has gotten along fine with multiple parties.

Actually, the only ones who seem to have made a mess out of having too many parties are the Israelis. Seriously, how can a bunch of religious kooks, who get less than 5% of the popular vote, get to set national policy is beyond me.

Now, of course the question will arise; who is the “legitimate” leadership. I think within time both parties will come to an accommodation. Until then, each politician will have to prove himself. The one who eventually leads Syria on the DAB is the one who has proven himself the most committed, the most media savvy, and the most able to attract a following. It is as politics should be.

I almost feel bad for the cheerleaders of the abadayat in sha77a6at with rousiyyat. The Western and Gulf media propaganda are giving you guys so much hope that you’re going to fall into a state of deep depression when you realize your abadayat are weak and without public support. Notice how in all other Arab countries (Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain), except Libya, the protesters came out against foreign interference. But in Syria it is encouraged!

From the start we saw abadayat holding banners asking for foreign support. We see some abadayat in sha77a6at flying our old flag, which normally would not be a bad thing, except they are trying to emulate the Libyan scenario with the flags (maybe they don’t understand our current flag’s origins are pre-Ba3th?). Those abadayat in sha77a6at remind me of this (hoax) photo (http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/bombus.asp).

How do people go from “Sale7 al-3ali Friday” to “international protection Friday”? What would Yousef al-3azmeh say if he were alive today to see “Syrians” asking for foreign bombs and feet on Syrian soil? Those abadayat are a total farce! When people “ask” for “international protection” for internal matters, that shows you that they’re weak and don’t have popular support on the ground in Syria. You guys are living in a media bubble and I sleep well at night knowing that once that bubble pops, you couch activists will be severely depressed. The Syrian people, aka shabbi7a, could not ask for better payback.

Allah Souria ash-sha3b w bas

“Keep the good work, keep entertaining us.”

Did I tell you the joke about the Homsi who was stopped at the checkpoint?

The security guy asked him his name. The Homsi replied in a hoarse voice.

Security guy *suspicious* “What’s wrong with your voice? Tired from demonstrating all night?”

Homsi: “What? Me? No way, I don’t demonstrate. My voice is fine”

Security guy:” Ok prove it. Sing”

Homsi: “YA DAR3A NEHNA MA3AKI LEL MOOOOT!”

True

Correct but, Libyans were oppressed for as many years as the Syrians yet they settled on a leader in 12 days. It is not the time now to come up with perfect representation. Differences can be dealt with afterwards. We need a unified body to represent the revolution and to have a road map. The longer it takes, the more people are killed and tortured. I do not want to say anything negative about us Syrians but we do have some bad personality traits that may hinder our progress.

I hope all of you are right and I am wrong. Anyway, we will see.

“What would Yousef al-3azmeh say if he were alive today to see “Syrians” asking for foreign bombs and feet on Syrian soi”

Ah, typical substandard comprehension of events, the kind we have come to expect from the drug-addled shabiha. Again and again, the opposition has said it rejects foreign intervention. “Protection of civilians” can be carried out in numerous ways; international observers, sanctions on the murderers, cutting diplomatic ties. All nonviolent, but which scare Besho as much as the thought of Israeli warplanes over his Latakia palace. Does he still flinch when he hears warplanes above him? LOL

What would Yousef al-3azmeh had said if he saw the Syrian army being used to murder its own people. Tsk tsk.

“I sleep well at night knowing that once that bubble pops”

Wow, you got alot of waiting to do. It’s been six months and the only thing that has popped is your X-Box president’s standing, strength, and reputation. Everyday, is a day closer to the Hague for him, Cro Magnum Maher and Butthaina.

“that shows you that they’re weak and don’t have popular support on the ground in Syria”

Then go ahead and hold an election, right now, if you are so sure that Besho can get enough votes from his drug smuggling and car thieving shabihas to win an election. But we both know that free and fair elections would be the end of junior. Heck, just sending the army back to its barracks would be the end of junior. Just look what happened in the cities that protested before the thugs were sent in; Hama, Deir el Zour, Latakia, Idleb, Telkelakh, Dar’a, Homs, Baniyas, Rastan, Talbisi….need I go on?

Now, sleep tight, and when you wake up, you can look up fake Al-Dunya videos that try to present a beating in Lebanon as an atrocity in Syria. Only menhebaks fall for that LOL!

“Correct but, Libyans were oppressed for as many years as the Syrians yet they settled on a leader in 12 days”

It helped that a massive part of Qadafi’s army, government and diplomats split away early on. They had somewhere to split to. If someone had defended Dar’a or Hama the same way that Mesrata and Bengazi were defended, this would have been over a long time ago.

If it wasn’t for NATO, the Libyan revolution would have been crushed. The Syrian revolution does not have the benefit of an armed resistance or outside powers, but it is still going strong after six months. Frankly, I know who I respect more.

Haytham Khoury

I read your article, and while I agree with most of what you said I truly think you’re over looking the way this council came to be … you said it yourself, the council was dead on delivery, trying to make it work simply won’t do it, and from what I gathered this new council will have much more legitimacy and most opposition factions are in agreement about this point, if you have information to the contrary please do share.

Do you know if Mr. Ghalioun is communicating with other opposition groups, specifically those trying to form the new council ? could this new council be the polished version of the 1st one ?

Dear Aboud

Hey, My name is Tara. You forgot again?

Libyans settled on a transitional leader before the NATO interfered. It is indefensible that opposition has not yet united in my opinion. Ghalioun is an acceptable figure to most and other opposition leaders should concede and rally behind him for the time being to save lives.

@ 79. Tara

“It is not the time now to come up with perfect representation”

Very true statement but the Libyans got the whole world and most importantly TAL behind them in no time eh.

Now if Arabs and the international community give this luxury (support) to Syrians (i.e. freezing Betho’s membership in TAL and imposing UN sanctions under Chapter VII) then we’ll have it done in less than 12 days for sure.

Dear NK @83:

Ghalioun is communicating with other opposition groups. However, I do not know exactly if he talked to the ones in the US. I sent some e-mails to investigate what is going on.

I’m sure Dr. Ghalioun would love to listen to your concerns and thoughtful ideas

I have his full contact details if anyone wants to get in touch although I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to post them online

Graphic video that I must share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzKS06AihiQ&feature=player_embedded

Poor soldier happened to have two videos of protests on his phone, gets whipped and beat mercilessly by his superior officers.

Can we document these thugs faces so that we can try them, and see their corpses hanging in Marjeh Square!!

And if anyone one does not believe in the authenticity of this video tell me, I will gladly come over, whip you the same way, video tape it, and then we can compare your reaction to this brave souls.

True

“Very true statement but the Libyans got the whole world and most importantly TAL behind them in no time eh.”

You forget how deeply unpopular Qaddafi was. He had no friends among the Arab League. On the other hand, until this day the sectarian Hizboll-shaytan lead government in LebaNONE are willing poodles to their Baathist masters. Not to mention the sectarian Persian loving poodles in Iraq.

Russia would never have gone along with UN resolution 1973 if they had known the part NATO would play in the war. And those pathetic 3rd rate powers South Africa, Brazil and India have nothing better to do than to stick it to the West to demonstrate their “independence”; those three countries wouldn’t vote with the West to save the world from a killer asteroid.

So no, I do not hold to the view on this forum that somehow the Libyans are more competent or better than the Syrians. The Libyans would have gotten their asses handed to them by Qadafi were it not for the saving grace of NATO, while Syrians have to build everything from scratch. Not one satellite channel reported the Homs New Clock demonstration, and only belatedly reported the subsequent massacre.

This shows you how far people inside Syria have come. We’ve come this far alone, we can go further. And if some people expected that there wouldn’t be any bumps on the road, then now is a good time for them to recalibrate their expectations.

I’m so glad the Egyptians never paused to think to themselves; “damn, the Tunisians had it easier”. Nor did the Libyans give up and say to themselves “Damn, the Egyptians had it easier.” And some day, some other Arab country will look to what the Syrian people did with envy. Most people under dictatorships would give half their lives for a chance to do what we are doing.

Sheila,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my inquiry.

By nature I’m a skeptic seeking evidence. As you imply, for a variety of reasons this is in short supply during the ongoing Syrian situation.

57 and other related. Dear Haytham Khoury,
Thank you for linking us to your analysis on of the national council, and I share your hope for a speedy and a more successful attempt and I agree with Aboud’s assessment on the need for more time and accommodation of various forces of the Syrian society.

Two of the main drawbacks of previously announced versions of National Councils, as you noted, were the lack of both a concensus on their representation and transparency of the selection process.

I am pleased to hear that those very issues are being addressed in the ongoing attempt.
In her statements to AFP, Ms Qudmani said:
– The aim of the council is not to eliminate other groups but to offer a “national framework” for the whole opposition”
– Once it is announced, the council will remain open to all remaining opposition forces,”
– Members of the council were selected by consensus according to their “personal qualifications” from a list of 700 names representing a wide range of opposition forces”
End of Qudmani’s statement.

Having two councils announced on Thursday, as you and Tara fear could happen, might actually be just perfect!
All they have to do then would be a last touch editing by clicking (merge) …… and voi la we have one encompassing council!

The ongoing “Natural Labour”, prolonged and agonizingly painful as it has been, would be the healthiest of choices for delivering the long awaited offspring of this revolution, the National Council..

“Hey, My name is Tara. You forgot again?”

What did I do this time? 🙁

Oh darn sorry, forgot to put people’s names when I reply. Sorry.

I never knew this group of Muslims exist in north Africa
http://www.alarabonline.org/index.asp?fname=%5C2011%5C09%5C09-12%5C428.htm&dismode=x&ts=12-9-2011%2016:32:46
The quality of posting on this forum continues to deteriorate,but this will help me go to bed. Many posts are more suitable for kids chat except for the objectionable language..

well this certainly is interesting

http://all4syria.info/web/archives/27564

علقت بين التجار ازلام النظام والشركات السورية
بواسطة
admin2
– 2011/09/12نشر فى: أخبار محلية

قال رئيس غرفة الصناعة بحلب فارس الشهابي :” نعتزم في غرفة الصناعة بحلب إصدار لائحة سوداء بالمصارف والشركات السورية التي تتبرع من تلقاء نفسها وتفرض عقوبات خاصة على شركات وصناعيين سورين بحجج واهية ودون أي مستند قانوني”

و أضاف الشهابي: ” ندرس هذا الموضوع من كافة جوانبه، واللائحة السوداء تشمل المصارف الموجودة في سورية ، و التي استفادة من الحكومة السورية ومن خير سورية والآن عندما وقع الكثير من الصناعيين في دائقة تخازلت هذه المصارف و أدارت ظهرها لنا لا بل حاولت فرض عقوبات على صناعيين شبيهة بتلك العقوبات الأوربية ومن دون وجه حق، لذا لن تتهاون في فضح تصرفات أي مصرف أو شركة تعمل من أجل الإساءة لقطاع الصناعة السوري أو للاقتصاد الوطني” .

و أشار الشهابي :” بعد دراستنا لهذه اللائحة السوداء سنعلم المصرف المركزي بهذه المصارف المسيئة، و من ثم نفكر بنشر أسماء هذه المصارف للرأي العام وفي أقرب فرصة ممكنة “.

DARRYL @ 45
Abu Umar is much closer to the real pronunciation than Abu Omar. Abu Umar is claiming his name from the Orintalists who could never pronounce the accented letter ع.

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/2544/escaping-mumanaa-and-the-us-saudi-counter-revoluti

– Jadaliyya: Visions of democracy (Interview with Fawwaz Traboulsi)

“With international pressure having reached a stage where the U.N. Security Council can intervene, there will probably be some attempt at a political interlude and renewed talk about reforms. That will be an opportunity for the opposition to push for concrete demands, like a military withdrawal from urban areas, the release of political prisoners, and a serious search for the three thousand Syrians who have gone missing in the course of the uprising. I expect they will demand that the army play no role in the security forces. But if the regime simply responds with its platform of Ba‘thist “reforms,” I don’t think it will satisfy the Syrian people in any way. And I think peaceful demonstrations will continue, whether repressed or not.”
…
“I think the Syrian regime knows this uprising is not a conspiracy and that foreign intervention is very limited. So, the regime is using the pretext that the unrest is being caused by armed groups in order to occupy towns and control the civilian population. The idea is to frighten people by shooting at them and arresting them (an estimated twenty thousand political activists are in detention) to make sure that the peaceful, civilian part of the revolution, which is the most important, is frightened. That is the Syrian regime’s policy.”

258. Revlon said: From Previous post
251. “Revlon @ 158
“Ugarit News | أوغاريت الإخبارية
أوغاريت || داريا ريف دمشق :: الآن انتشار للجيش في المدينة والأمن يطلق الرصاص على أي شخص يحضر للتشييع وهناك انشقاق في صفوف الجيش واطلاق النار ما بين الأمن والمنشقين وهناك أنباء عن اصابات
وأحد المنشقين أورد أنه غداً يوم الأحد سوف يتم اعدام 57 عسكري منهم 17 ضابط انشقوا في الايام السابقة في مطار المزة العسكري , ويقول ايضاً هناك الكثير من الشهداء في مطار المزة تم اعدامهم خلال اأيام الماضية والاعدام كان باشكال فردي من قبل الشبيحة في المطار”
You commented:
Same goes for this one, complete fallacy!
I say:
Dear MNA, How do you know that the information was false?
– Do you work at Mazzeh airport.
– Do you have access to their security branch comminques?
– Are you omnipresent at every warehouse, basement, or cell aall at once, in that vast military air base?
I drop my case regardles of how you answer any of the above!
For answering by YES would make you a bad witness,
While answering by NO would render you too underinformed.

Dear Revlon,

It is not a yes or no answer. As I mentioned to you in my previous email, my apt overlook the entire Mezzeh airport, it is very close to it. I was home when the news networks were reporting the defections and reporting that loud explosions were heard. I went out to the balcony and did not hear explosions or fire arms and everything seemed very normal. I got in my car and drove by the main entrance of the airport to witness if there were any irregular checkpoints or anything and there was none. Unless this was a silent defection, I do not think it really happened.

257. Revlon said: From previous post
249. Dear MNA:
“Revlon @ 217 “FSA downs a regime’s copter over Darayya, early this morning. Such confirms their aquisition of anti-aircraft weapons.
You commneted:
I live at the end of the Southern Belt Highway or Al-Muta7aleq Al-Junubi overlooking the Mezzeh Airport and about less then a mile away from Darraya.
I m also renting a warehouse in Darraya and have an employee who lives there 24/7.
I m there almost everyday and I can assure you with 200% certainty that none of that took place.
The same goes for the army split/ defection in Mezzeh airport that has been talked about for over a week now.)
I say:
– Members of the FSA reported that they shot a copter and there were defections at Mazzeh Airport!
– You and your employee did not see or hear that.
Dear MNA, you share many basic and good things with the men who shot and reported the downing of a copter and the defections in your area.
You are all professional and have good intentions for their country.
Basically you are decent.
Therefore, I do believe that both you and FSA were honest about what they witnessed.
Cheers!

Dear Revlon,

Thank you for the kind words. However, it is not about intentions. It is not about me, the FSA etc… It is about relaying the right information to people. The news of downing a copter would spread like fire if it really happened. I spoke to many people in Daryya, some of whom ,I m certain, participate in the daily demonstrations. None confirmed the incident. Many denied it happened.
I think the purpose of this roamers and others like military fighter jets over flying Hama and Homs is to push the security council to adopt a no fly zone over Syria.

Of course the article in the NY Review of Books offers no perspective on the Gulf states and no mention of Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, who also witnessed strong demonstrations including violence in January.
Are we supposed to wait until the US is a monarchy, on the model of the UK, The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain? Is this the only “stable regime” we should hope for? From apes to ‘subjects’ ?

Abood,

I have to say that I respect your dedication to this blog!
I see another all nighter for you Man; 12:07 AM to 7:51 AM, Homs time.

Wow. hats off!

*** A MESSAGE FROM YOUR ARAB SPRING LEADER ***

Al Qaeda releases video supporting Arab Spring – 3 Hours Ago

http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-releases-video-hailing-9-11-attacks-033653546.html

DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda has released a message in which Osama bin Laden’s successor as the group’s leader, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, said al Qaeda supported the Arab Spring.

The hour-long video was released to mark the 10th anniversary of al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The SITE Monitoring Service, which tracks jihadist statements, quoted al-Zawahiri as saying he hoped the protest movements that have overthrown leaders in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya would establish what he called true Islam.

The video was posted on jihadist websites on Monday and titled “The Dawn of Imminent Victory,” SITE said.

Al Qaeda, which called for the violent overthrow of secular Arab governments, lost a great deal of relevance as a result of the political upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa.

The video also included a message that al Qaeda said was recorded by Osama bin Laden before his killing in May by U.S. special forces, in which he warns Americans against “falling as slaves” to the control of major corporations.

Turkey says flotilla raid was ’cause for war’ – 14 Hours Ago

http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-says-flotilla-raid-cause-war-102228781.html

Erdogan’s visit to Egypt coincides with increasingly troubled ties between Cairo and Israel following an attack on the Israeli embassy there. Israel fears that it is being left increasingly isolated by the Arab Spring, which is changing the power dynamics in the region, alongside tense relations former ally Turkey.

“The Israeli-Egyptian relations are undergoing change. Israel cannot afford tensions with both Turkey and Egypt. It will have to review its security policies in the Middle East.”

“Right now, there is no question of my visiting Gaza,” Erdogan told a news conference before flying to Cairo on Monday night. “But I would like to clearly say that I am longing to visit Gaza. I am longing to visit to Gaza as soon as possible.” He did not elaborate.

“I know that my brothers in Gaza are waiting for me. I too long for Gaza,” Erdogan told Al-Jazeera. “Sooner or later, if God allows it, I will go to Gaza.

Russia dooms Western hopes for tough UN action against Syria

Western countries including the US say the United Nations needs to get tough on Syria for its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. But Russia appeared to block those plans Monday.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2011/0912/Russia-dooms-Western-hopes-for-tough-UN-action-against-Syria

Washington

The United Nations said Monday that more than 2,600 Syrians have died in the Assad regime’s repression of pro-democracy protests, but the grim report seemed unlikely to boost prospects for international sanctions against the Syrian government.

The reason? Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday expressed publicly his opposition to any UN Security Council resolution on Syria that includes sanctions.

RECOMMENDED: 4 attributes of Assad’s authoritarian regime

That leaves Russia and Western powers including the United States poles apart on Syria – and suspicious of the other side’s motivations.

Russia sees the West’s hardening stance towards the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and worries that tough Security Council action could open the door to the kind of armed intervention that NATO has undertaken in Libya. Western countries consider Russia’s historic ties to Syria and wonder if it isn’t trying to preserve a foothold in the Middle East – a suspicion bolstered by recent reports of a percolating Russia-Syria arms deal.

Mr. Medvedev said that any new resolution “mustn’t automatically involve sanctions,” adding that, “There is absolutely no need now for any additional pressure.” Later, in a meeting with British Prime Minster David Cameron, Medvedev said a resolution was possible but would have to be “balanced.”

RECOMMENDED: Seven reasons Syria’s opposition hasn’t toppled Assad

With Russia one of five permanent Security Council members who wield a veto over council action, Medvedev’s statements appeared to doom a resolution the US and European powers proposed last month. The resolution calls for an arms embargo and other sanctions aimed at stopping what the State Department has called Assad’s “despicable violence” against his own people.

On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said it was a “scandal” that the UN had so far failed to act on what he called a “terrible crisis.” He also acknowledged that Russia and other Security Council members including France remain divided over what action to take toward Syria.

With many world leaders gathering in New York later this month for the annual fall opening of the UN General Assembly, the US and its Western partners had hoped to avoid an embarrassing perception of inaction on Syria.

On Monday, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told reporters that the Syrian government’s unrelenting attacks on civilians demonstrate that international sanctions on Syria are overdue. “We continue to think it is past time for the council to take action,” she said.

Russia says that while it does not oppose all council action on Syria, it wants any resolution to be “balanced” by sounding “tough” on both the government and the “extremists” – or “terrorists,” as Medvedev calls them – whom they believe are fomenting violence against the government.

Medvedev also says that the West “exceeded the mandate” of the Security Council’s resolution on Libya that called for protection of Libyan civilians, and he wants to be sure any Syria action would bar any outside military intervention.

The wrangling over UN action came as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that at least 2,600 Syrians have died in more than six months of repression there. Syria has barred Ms. Pillay’s investigators from entering the country and has turned away other international monitors, but Pillay told the council that the new UN death count is based on “reliable sources on the ground.”

Syrian officials responded with figures of their own, saying that 1,400 Syrians have died in the violence – with half of those being security forces under attack from “insurgents.”

Turkish premier threatening civil war in Syria – Sep 13, 2011

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1662645.php/Turkish-premier-warns-of-civil-war-in-Syria

Cairo – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of the danger of a civil war breaking out in Syria if the government did not stop its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, in interview remarks published Tuesday.

‘I am afraid it will end in civil war between the Alawites and the Sunnis,’ Erdogan told the independent Egyptian daily al-Shorouk.

The Syrian government and army are dominated by members of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite sect, a Shiite Muslim offshoot, loyal to al-Assad and his ruling Baath party, which has ruled Syria since the 1963 coup.

‘We see no hope for an exit from this crisis as long as the Syrian president keeps those around him, who support repression of the Syrian people,’ Erdogan said, adding that if al-Assad did not change this, then ‘President Bashar will personally pay the price.’

409. ann said:

Darryl, how do you highlight your name in green color?

September 11th, 2011, 11:57 pm
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=11924&cp=all#comment-272806

418. Darryl said:

Dear Ann, I am embarrassed to say I do not know, it could be some default setting on my system or the moderator targeting my post? I will investigate for you.

Escapees of Nukheib massacre reunited with their relatives

9/13/2011

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default.aspx?page=article_page&c=slideshow&id=144821

ANBAR / Aswat al-Iraq: At least 18 children and a woman, who were able to escape the massacre of Anbar’s al-Nukheib area, which left approximately 25 men who were travelling on a buscarrying pilgrims coming back from Syria to Iraq on Monday night, were reunited with their relatives in different Iraqi provinces, an Anbar Police source reported on Tuesday.

“The Army and Security forces have handed over on Tuesday morning 18 children and a woman, who escaped the massacre of al-Nukheib bus, attacked by a group of terrorists,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

He said security forces from other provinces had arrived in Anbar to receive the said children and a women, including 6 from Karbala, 5 from Falluja and Ramadi, 4 from Salah al-Din and 3 from Baghdad, adding that they were handed over following the completion of investigation with them, as eyewitnesses to the incident.

An armed group had kidnapped a bus, carrying about 30 persons, coming from Syria in Wadi al-Qadhir, 70 km from al-Nukheib township in Anbar Province, forcing women and children to get off of the bus and shooting dead 22 men.

To 409. ann said:

Darryl, how do you highlight your name in green color?

September 11th, 2011, 11:57 pm

418. Darryl replied:

Dear Ann, I am embarrassed to say I do not know, it could be some default setting on my system or the moderator targeting my post? I will investigate for you.

September 12th, 2011, 1:11 am
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=11924&cp=all#comment-272815

The reality is :
The color comes when one fills the website field in the form

Disclaimers
My little contribution to Syria 2.0

Syrian opposition upscales demands during national dialogue

2011-09-13

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/13/c_131136448.htm

DAMASCUS, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — Syrian opposition has raised the ceiling of their demands during the national dialogue sessions in a number of provinces, local al-Watan newspaper reported Tuesday.

Participants at a session held in the southern province of Daraa called for reins in security apparatuses, an end of detention, and a chance for all political parties in an evenhanded competition, according to the paper.

Discussions at the Damascus sessions focused on the service and social issues, and the need to amend the constitution and formulate a new modern one.

Combating corruption and implementing economic reforms were the main topics brought up during the dialogue sessions in the northern province of Aleppo, the paper said, adding that opposition figures have boycotted all dialogue sessions in the northeastern province of Hasaka and the northwestern province of Latakia.

The national dialogue sessions on the level of provinces started on Sept. 5, in an effort to achieve the widest popular participation in the dialogue on the future vision for Syria in the political, economic and social fields, and to follow up the overall process of reform.

The sessions, which gathered representatives of parties, government officials, independents and opposition figures, in addition to other political, social and economic personalities representing the civil society, aimed to discuss three main issues, the political life and political reform, the current socioeconomic situation, and requirements of the provinces.

Erdogan is flexing his muscles in Turkey.he is trying to be Rambo of the middle east. MB members in Egypt are so happy and delightful. They are willing to have Egypt be part of turkey, that speaks about their nationalism.Erdogan is shifting from zero problems with his neighbors policy to 100% problems with neighbors policy. He has threatened Syria and Israel. Right now Egypt is his sweetheart tomorrow god knows.he is killing the kurds in the eastern part of his country and goes around to other countries either threatening them or teaching them democracy.MB clawns in Egypt are showing the world how inferior there are.it’s a shame that the country like Egypt will be run by people who have no self-esteem.

`erdogan is a paper tiger who lives in a very expensive glass house

The Spann and AP NewZ Report

News Round UP (12 Sept. 2011) – Turkey as Emerging Leader of the Resistance

Professor Josh,

It’s not too late for you to take the spotlight. I think you would do a bang-up job, especially since you have this website at your disposal…

I encourage all mamnhebaks to post anti regime article he or she likes so we can have a balanced “press news round up”.

Tara,

You can count on me! BTW, what is the difference between mamnhebaks and Menhebak?

Syrian soldiers executed for refusing to target activists

Eight soldiers were executed in the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday for refusing to fire on protesters, activists have claimed.

Analysts say the number of soldiers defecting from the Syrian army seems to be increasing, but this poses little threat to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime because there is no sign of senior figures deserting or heavy weaponry being lost.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/syrian-soldiers-executed-damascus-barracks

http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/09/13/368894.htm
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad on Monday discussed with the Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn cooperation and coordination between the Syrian and the Lebanese armies.

President al-Assad expressed appreciation of the Lebanese Army’s great efforts in coordination with the Syrian counterpart to monitor the borders between the two countries which helped foil several weapons smuggling attempts targeting the two countries’ stability and security.

The Syrian Defense Minister Dawood Rajiha attended the meeting.

In the same context, General Rajiha and Minister Ghosn discussed cooperation relations between the two brotherly armies and means of enhancing them.

The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff Fahd Jassem Al-Freij, senior officers and the delegation accompanying the Lebanese Minister.

Raqqa Customs Seize 300 KG of Cannabis after Armed Clash with Smugglers

Sep 12, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Raqqa Customs Department personnel on Monday confiscated 300 kilograms of cannabis transported in a Kia Rio car on the road of Hasaka-Raqqa.

After suspecting the car, the customs patrol followed it and the smugglers in the car opened fire at them. The smugglers were engaged, leading to injuring the head of the patrol, a guard and a civilian.

The car and the items inside it were confiscated and referred to the proper authorities.

yria Ranks Second in Cotton Production and Third in Asia in Organic Cotton Production

Aug 23, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The Syrian cotton is one of the best cottons around the world due to its high productivity and its good fiber type, as Syria is considered a world pioneer in cotton production.

Cotton production is closely related to other vital sectors which provide job opportunities to thousands of people, starting from planting the crop until it reaches to cotton gins and spindles.

Syria ranks second around the world in producing cotton with regard to planting area and the third in Asia in producing the organic cotton which is planted without depending on chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

The government pays great attention to this sector, realizing the vitality of it, providing facilities and establishing specialized institutions to supervise the sector process.

Ministry of Agriculture works in its plan for 2011-2012 on increasing the planted areas, as the total area allocated for the irrigated cotton is 192,430 hectares compared with 183,657 hectares during the previous season. 165,462 hectares were implemented with an execution rate of 90%. The production plan for the next year is set as 770 thousand tons compared to 714 thousand tons in the last season.

Head of plant production department at the Ministry, Abdul Moen Qadamani, said that Syria has made advanced strides in the field of biological control by national expertise, depending on safe biological control without the need to use harmful or poisonous chemical pesticides.

Head of Aleppo Cotton Office, Nayef al-Salti, pointed out that cotton plantation faces some obstacles including the frequent drought waves and pests that affect crop, noting that the environmental condition during July and August of 2010 in addition to the insects affected the productivity of the crop.

Syria first started exporting the organic cotton in 2008 and now it exports it to 18 countries. There is developed cotton textile industry around Syria, particularly in Aleppo which is well-known for its high quality textiles.

Anti-Money Laundering Commission… No Sale of Foreign Currency without Economic Justifications

Aug 15, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Anti-Money Laundering and combating the Financing of terrorism Commission on Sunday issued a note to all banks and exchange institutions who deal with the foreign currency not to sell foreign currency except for an economic justification.

The Commission which is affiliated to the Central Bank of Syria obliged the banks and exchange institutions not to sell the foreign currency for travel purposes for more than twice per year and before one day of the date of travel.

The note allowed for the banks only to sell the Syrian citizen foreign currency with maximum one thousand USD per month and for 3 times per year without asking an economic reasons.

The Central Bank move comes in the framework of other measures to meet the demands of citizens who need foreign currency according to economic reasons to put an end to manipulation in the currency market and speculation with the Syrian pound.

Petroleum Company Official: Work Continuing Normally in Syria

Aug 03, 2011

LONDON, (SANA) – Director of Communications and Cooperative Development at Gulfsands Petroleum Ken Judge said on Wednesday that work in the field of petroleum in Syria is continuing normally.

Judge said that armed men infiltrated protests and attacked government buildings and facilities related to the petroleum industry without causing any damage to these facilities, affirming that work will continue.

Gulfsands owns 50% of the contract for investing Area 26 in Syrian oil fields. The company decided to increase its output from 21,000 barrels per day to 24,000 by the end of the year.

Judge said that Syria is among the leading countries in the Middle East in terms of investment facilitations, noting that it took him only 8 days to get the contract to excavate for oil for 35 years.

He added that production costs are low in Syria, and that his company and several others are expecting to receive licenses to work in Syria by the end of December 2011.

Assi: Work underway to Attract More Russian Tourists

Aug 18, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Minister of Tourism Lamia Assi said that the Ministry is working to make Syria among the important tourist destinations for the Russian people and increase the number of Russian tourists in Syria through organizing activities that highlight the tourist attractions in the country.

The Minister’s remark came during her meeting on Thursday with a Russian delegation that includes a number of journalists, artists and investors.

Assi underscored the importance of activating inter-tourism between Syria and Russia, pointing out to the increase in the number of Russian tourists from 18,000 to 55,000 after 2010.

“It is important to develop relations between the two countries, attract more investments and increase the number of tourists in both directions,” said Minister Assi, noting that the Ministry is preparing to organize tourist activities to promote Syria in Petersburg and Moscow.

Waddah al-Jendi, deputy head of the Russian community in Syria, said the delegation’s visit aims at acquainting different spectrums of the Russian people with Syria and giving them a true image of what is happening in the country.

The delegation members expressed their sympathy with the Syrian people in the face of the crisis, highlighting the volume of misinformation and exaggeration exercised in reporting news on Syria.

They called for paying more attention to tourism in Syria, particularly beach tourism as it is favorable for the Russian tourist.

Syrian Football Union Resigns after FIFA Ban Syria from World Cup 2014 Qualification

Sep 11, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Syrian Olympic Committee on Sunday accepted resignation of the Syrian Football Union following a meeting held in Damascus, headed by Chairman Mouafak Jomaa.

The resignation came after the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) had banned the Syrian national football team from taking part in the 2014 World Cup qualification.

FIFA objected the participation of player George Murad with the Syrian national team in its game against Tajikistan on the pretext that he was playing for Sweden.

Disclaimers
Trouble are always coming with Syrians from Sweden like the Syria Revolution 2011 Facebook MB owner

100 “Abood; I see another all nighter for you Man; 12:07 AM to 7:51 AM, Homs time).

If he was indeed in Homs we would have added some chicken meast on him to comlpete si7′ shawarma. 2500 syrian lost, it would be okay to add a homsi to this number. I do not think the UN would do anything if Aboud was added to that number. However, he claims to be very busy during the day demonstrating, and then he stays all night (Homs time); meaning he never sleeps. Aboud is in the US and writing from the US as its easy to figure that from his IPO.

” 45. Darryl said:

447. ABU UMAR said:

Dear Abu Umar (It should be Abu Omar),”

Someone named “Darryl” teaching the correct pronunciation
of Arabic!

” It appears you have not considered my last recommendation to you. It appears you are in the UK, here is what I suggest for you and Mr Tlass to do:”

Actually, I am closer to Syria.

“up to the lakes district, trek up that beautiful mountain with a back-pack. Make sure you have a few bottles of ice cold beers. I recommend Australian beer, Cascade brewed from virgin clean and crisp Tasmanian water as God has intended it to be.”

Enjoy your effete snobbery and arrogance. You and your ilk will be in a permanent exile when Fashar falls.

“While you are on top of the mountain, listen to the cascading water falls and absorb the scenic beauty around and below you, while having the beers off course, and take in life as the creator would have wanted you to do. I recommend you stay at one of the many Bed and Breakfast places and do some fishing.”

Since you’re down under, why don’t you go snorkel in crocodile-infested waters?!

“You see Abu Omar, you are to fixated on death and you are not enjoying the beauty of the life cycle, what a shame that only the thought of death is always on your mind.”

When your regime slaughters tens of thousands of my people, then yes, I will be fixated on revenge and toppling your beloved regime. I am pretty sure if the shoe was on the other foot, your tone would be totally different. Why do you expect the Syrian Sunnis to go their graves like sheep so that you can have peace of mind? Also, you’re the last person to be talking about open-mindedness as your people are among the most extreme sectarians in the Arab world and aren’t known to engage in self-criticism. You’re no different than the hypocritical Jews who call on the Arabs and Muslims to engage in self-criticism, while they demand absolute loyalty to Israel.

Free comments on the New York Review of Books article
Remarks for Malley and Agha
– The Tunisian revolution was the result of the maturity of a society where education is obligatory for males and famales until the age of 16. The French influence (through TV) led the whole society to refuse living in a medieval state where an absolute monarch and his family and wife’s family concentrate all privileges and businesses.
– The MB in Egypt did not step in AFTER the fall of Mubarak on 11th. They directly led to it by finally joining the protests some 3 days before his fall. This changed dramatically the figures on the ground. They stepped in only AFTER the greenlight was given by Qardawi on al Jazeera. Before that, they had refused to participate to protests (since in Saudi Arabia they would have termed it Ibda’, and duly passed a law to forbid them before it was too late.) No one on Tahrir had requested Qardawi’s comments but al Jazeera did invite him everyday at 8 PM from about a week or ten days before Mubarak’s fall, and he started to give fatwas explaining that Mubarak was just the same tyrant as the Pharaoh of the Bible/Quran. The religious tone given by Qardawi to the uprising was quickly imitated by the Lybians, who were given some TV space by al Jazeera, instead of allowing more coverage of the protests in Iraq and Jordan, which were already strong. Yemen also served in this purpose. No one ever seems to ask what happened with Omar Suleiman, the mubkhabaraat guy who became vice-president of Egypt and started to organise talks with the MB.
– Why writing “whether Bahrain will drift from Saudi Arabia’s influence” (totally impossible: secret agreements have been signed to transform Bahrein in a de facto Saudi province, see R. Fisk’s article, and renewal of the agreement with the US has also been signed), but omitting “will Yemen drift from Saudi Arabia’s influence”?
You criticize Lenin’s quote as irrelevant, but it is actually more relevant than ever: only the MB, a politically organised party, is able to make gains and transform uprisings into concrete revolutions. Where there is no such strong organisation (Yemen, Syria), there is no way into success. Now powers are trying to figure out a way to cooperate with the MB into actual states (promoting the new KSA-Turkish model of manufacturing TV soaps for export that promote freedom, same-sex love, etc. while maintaining a strong puritanist society at home.) This is a guarantee for: Israel (a religious, and non-secular state), and having a toy to play with against Europe, which have thousands of people registered in semi-religious Muslim parties on the making. When needed, these will be easy to manipulate for local elections.
The Houthi and South secessionist movements in Yemen have been the crux of the problems for years and among the reasons people took to the streets (united betwen Shiis, Sunnis, pro-Houthis or not). It is watching their own governement bombing these Yemeni folks with the help of the US that led to protests, as much as Saleh’s stupid idea of promoting his son as the next president. As for the parallels you draw between ‘civil war’ in Yemen but not yet in Syria, turn it the other way round: there is already a civil war in Syria: security forces and segments of the society who are with the regime and consider everybody else as an Islamist (it reminds of Turkey and Algeria not too long ago) versus the youth, the idealists and the guys paid by Khaddam and/or KSA and/or Hariri.
For people who won’t read the NRB article, here is the cherry on top: “The model they will hold out will be closer to Erdogan’s Turkey than to the ayatollahs’ Iran or the Taliban’s Afghanistan though, since they lack Turkey’s political culture and institutions, the model they eventually build will be their own. Quietly, the Islamists might present themselves as the West’s most effective allies against its most dangerous foes: armed jihadists, whom they have the religious legitimacy to contain and, if necessary, cripple; and Iran, whose appeal to the Arab street they can counteract by not shunning the Islamic Republic and presenting a less aggressive, more attractive, and indigenous Islamic model. There are precedents: in the 1950s and 1960s, Islamists in the region sided with the West and Saudi Arabia against Nasser’s Egypt; not long ago they supported Jordan’s monarch against the PLO and domestic dissidents; and, today, Islamist Turkey is both in Washington’s good graces and an active NATO member.”
Now you know exactly what to expect from the US-Israeli think-tanks…
The presentation of Iran as a monolithic state is far from accurate. There are many currents there too and a coming presidential election in the Autumn where Ahmadinejad can’t run because he has already done his two mandates.

Regime change: Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, why can’t we read about the concrete situation of the people there?
Bombing countries who crash on opponents: why not Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, while you are at it?

Killed without trial

As the crowd scattered, Y****, a 30-year-old protester, became separated from his activist friend, ……

When Y**** didn’t come home that evening, his mother and brother grew worried.

Y****’s body was later found in some bushes in ????, his hands and feet bound, and his neck bearing the marks of strangulation,

“At first we thought security had kidnapped and killed him,”

“Then a group from ?????, an area nearby, said Y**** was a shabeha [pro-regime thug] working with security forces… and they noticed him when they were protesting in ??????.”

The ???? group has never admitted to killing Y****. His activist friend said he doesn’t know whether Y**** was an informer or not. Now, no one will ever know.

“These awainiyya website pages are really bad,” said the activist friend

“I have always been against disseminating the names of informers because they could be killed,” said the activist friend.

Disclaimers

How is the UNHRC counting a alleged shabeha “peaceful protester” killed by other alleged peaceful protesters .

“However, he claims to be very busy during the day demonstrating,”

The demos are held at night during the week.

Guy’s, what’s an IPO? Do I have a tech start up that I don’t know about and that’s about to go public? ROFL! 🙂

Keep stewing menhebaks. I love being the center of your obsessions 🙂

Every post I make, is a khazoq up Besho’s scrawny behind.

You’ve been exposed as a fraud, and you’re still posting your anti-Syrian agenda/propaganda with smiley faces!

France fails to twist China’s arm on Syria – 4 hours ago

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkQleiqXX_-IY96fff5Iqx5BiB0A?docId=CNG.1e459e20bd0257072dac77599408e5c5.551

BEIJING — French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he made little headway Tuesday in convincing Beijing to back a tough United Nations resolution condemning Syria’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The visiting Juppe met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and discussed the need for a resolution condemning the military crackdown on protesters, he told journalists.

But asked if he had the impression that China’s position had changed, Juppe said: “Not really.”

For weeks France and Britain have tried to get a UN resolution, but Moscow and Beijing, both veto-wielding members, and numerous other members of the Security Council have refused to come on board.

“I said that our relations are excellent, but this does not mean that we are in agreement on everything,” Juppe said.

The US said Monday it wanted “stronger” United Nations action on Syria and will push the Security Council for a resolution that has sanctions with “teeth.”

Russia has opposed attempts by Western governments to push through a resolution directly targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has waged a deadly six-month crackdown on protesters.

Juppe also said there was only a small chance of avoiding a confrontation over Palestinian statehood at this week’s meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is expected to formally submit a request for United Nations membership to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 20.

The bid is opposed by Israel, which calls it a unilateral move that undermines peace efforts, as well as Washington.

“There is a small chance that there will be an effort at reaching a resolution that is acceptable to a large number of nations,” Juppe said when asked about the Palestine question.

China has voiced support for Palestine statehood and its membership to the United Nations.

122 HSyrian
The UNHCR can count anything you want as long as it avoid mentioning the 20,000 deaths of the NATO Lybian campaign (and showcase, as brilliantly termed by Pepe Escobar in the Asia Times). They will keep counting the 2000-3000 ++ Syrian dead that include the loyalists with no doubts in their super clean consciousness.

On the Regime and the Opposition in Syria
by Nabil Fayyad

Despite my very negative position on the regime for private and public reasons, the truth is that the regime is very strong, and neither the outside nor the inside were able to make it change its usual stances. This strength does not come from a vacuum. The regime has a broad popular base that supports it at home and abroad, whether out of conviction or opportunism. And ignoring this issue on the part of the Transitional Council is the first indication that the opposition does not know yet the true meaning of democracy. . . .

Nabil Fayyad, an expert in comparative religion and biblical criticism, is a Syrian intellectual who is an outspoken critic of the Syrian regime. He has been arrested and detained by the Syrian authorities in the past. The original Arabic note by Fayyad was first published on a Facebook page administered by Fayyad’s supporters on 29 August 2011. The English translation above was adapted from Sate Hamza’s translation published in his blog Syrian Musings on 30 August 2011. Cf. As’ad AbuKhalil, “Syrian Opposition Council” (Angry Arab News Service, 29 August 2011); Kate Seelye, “Why Can’t the Syrian Opposition Get Along?” (Foreign Policy, 1 September 2011); Aziza, “#Syria activsts have labelled next Friday as ‘Day of Rage’ against #Russia. Does this mean they are losing hope of winning w/o foreign help?”

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/fayyad130911.html

On the Regime and the Opposition in Syria – Nabil Fayyad

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/fayyad130911.html

Despite my very negative position on the regime for private and public reasons, the truth is that the regime is very strong, and neither the outside nor the inside were able to make it change its usual stances. This strength does not come from a vacuum. The regime has a broad popular base that supports it at home and abroad, whether out of conviction or opportunism. And ignoring this issue on the part of the Transitional Council is the first indication that the opposition does not know yet the true meaning of democracy. . . .

Nabil Fayyad, an expert in comparative religion and biblical criticism, is a Syrian intellectual who is an outspoken critic of the Syrian regime. He has been arrested and detained by the Syrian authorities in the past. The original Arabic note by Fayyad was first published on a Facebook page administered by Fayyad’s supporters on 29 August 2011. The English translation above was adapted from Sate Hamza’s translation published in his blog Syrian Musings on 30 August 2011. Cf. As’ad AbuKhalil, “Syrian Opposition Council” (Angry Arab News Service, 29 August 2011); Kate Seelye, “Why Can’t the Syrian Opposition Get Along?” (Foreign Policy, 1 September 2011); Aziza, “#Syria activsts have labelled next Friday as ‘Day of Rage’ against #Russia. Does this mean they are losing hope of winning w/o foreign help?”

Norman

“I want freedom for all Syrians, but not willing like you to kill one or many to save one”

I’m not sure I understood that sentence. Did the demonstrators who first come out in Dar’a kill anyone? What about your home town of Hama? Do you subscribe to the regime’s line that it was taken over by armed gangs who burned down every single state institution, even though every reporter who had secretly been there, and the US Ambassador, all clearly stated that no such gangs or burning of police stations ever happened.

“Does this mean they are losing hope of winning w/o foreign help?””

Yet another nawari interpretation of events. If Besho so popular, let the army stand down for one day. But he doesn’t dare, it would be the end of him. Crushing peaceful demonstrations with tanks is as much a sign of strength, as funding an opulent lifestyle through massive borrowing is a sign of wealth. Only a nawari would call beating up a cartoonist “strength”. It’s a Qurdaha mentality that is outdated in this modern world.

So, where is the desperate Jamal these days? Hitting on the butt ugly Persian women on Shiachat? LOL!