Democalypse 2012 - We Missed NLCS Game 7 for This

 'Listen to these guys duet on Syria.'[2m31s]

HE'S BEHIND YOU

 'And now as the Arab Spring unfolds and reveals the true chaos and messiness of the real world – above all the horror of what is happening in Syria - we find ourselves completely unable to understand it or even know what to do.'

 Adam Curtis is far too Platonic* about how ability to distinguish the shadows on the cave wall; last year he wrote**, "Nobody knows what is going to happen in Syria today. The optimistic view is that a new generation is emerging who really want a proper representative democracy in which all groups can negotiate with each other without violence. The pessimistic view is that those sectarian divisions, encouraged by the French - and then incubated further by the Assad family - will re-emerge. In truth no-one knows," which is now only a claim supported by those who oppose the Syrian people controlling their own destiny (and the genuinely ignorant), but he's always very interesting.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave
**http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/2011/06/the_baby_and_the_baath_water…

Damascus

 ' "After doing so many benefits for Palestine, for Iraq, for Haiti, now I'm doing them for Syria," he said over lunch in Hollywood. "But at the same time, it's an amazing time to be Syrian — people are saying things that you haven't heard there in 50 years." '
[http://www.latimes.com/…/la-et-ms-syrian-rapper-omar-offend…]

Syrian rebels advance into Aleppo

 Remember this was an endless civil war?

 No wonder Assad wants a ceasefire.

Will al-Hassan’s killing spell end for Assad?

 'Just like the overthrow of Saddam’s ugly Baathist regime in Iraq, it is the right of the Syrian people to topple the Syrian Baath regime too. This is the desire of the majority of Syrians and they have declared it with their blood, and it was not the desire of the Gulf states or an American agenda. On the contrary, these countries supported Assad at the beginning of the revolution in order to persuade him to absorb the demonstrations.'

Life in Marea - a rebel-controlled Syrian town at war

 ' "The new Syria will be a Syria without corruption, without bribery - we won't have a system like Baath where everyone is corrupt - we want justice," says Abu Ra'ed, the black-bearded electrician who leads the battalion defending the town.'

On Syria

Luna17

 Alex Snowden does one of the least bad accounts of Syria I've seen from the anti-revolution left. The first paragraph here is bang on; the answer to the second in the first instance is to support the demonstrations of Syrian revolutionaries rather than those who support Assad, as his organisation Counterfire has done. If they really believe that imperialism (Western, they don't seem to recognise any other type) is the main enemy in Syria right now, they should be showing open support for Assad's military, rather than pretending to be on the other side.

  'Seymour’s argument is that the internal class struggle inside Syria – regardless of any kind of imperialist dimension - is the "dominant antagonism" here. Therefore the ‘strategic priority’ – the thing that dictates what we should ‘bend all of our words and efforts around’ – flows from recognising ‘the principal contradiction is the class struggle in Syria.'

 What does this mean in terms of our practical activity in this country? I have no idea. But if ‘practical activity internationally, including antiwar activism, should be based on this understanding’ then we presumably shouldn’t be focusing our energies on campaigning to stop Western intervention. What we should be doing remains a mystery.

In Syria's Idlib, tired rebels try siege tactics to gain ground

 'The rebels' changed approach has brought some successes. Several towns and checkpoints have fallen into insurgent hands after being besieged for about a week.
It is an easier way to make advances while sparing lives and saving ammunition, said Lieutenant Ali al-Ali.'

 That they can besiege suggests that they are winning.

Syria booby-traps ammunition to take out rebel fighters, weapons

 'The primary source for doctored ammunition has been the Syrian government, which mixes exploding cartridges with ordinary rounds on the black markets through which rebels acquire weapons, the commanders said.

 Some booby-trapped ammunition may have entered Syria from Iraq, where the Pentagon and the CIA secretly passed doctored ammunition to insurgent groups, several US veterans and officials said.'

Prelude And Fugue In A Minor

 'Mehmet had deserted the army and fled Westward, but the smugglers had sent him to sea on a dangerous boat. His favourite music was the preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach.'

 Syrian refugees in Izmir remind the BBC's correspondent of the mess the British and French left in former Ottoman territories.
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ng09d]

Why lie to the Syrians?

 Abdulrahman al-Rashed:

 "Supporting the rebels will secure the downfall of the regime and put an end to the Syrian people’s tragedy, and the time has come to stop the lies about mediators, envoys and promises."

Syrian rebels make own arms

 ' “Our revolution, as God knows, is a poor revolution. We have arrived at one year and eight months, and our people are being struck by the... highest types of weapons, you know, MiG aircraft, helicopters, missiles, tanks, and artillery,” Abu Hurriyah said.'

Tales from a Syrian jail: Filmmaker witnesses regime's 'cruelty'

 'A liberated Syria will swing toward "those who saved the people in need," Nyrabia explains. "Qatar gives us $55 million in humanitarian aid when the US promises to give us only 15. The West says it is preventing the Islamist danger by not intervening, but the result will be the opposite.”

 But what was really striking was that most of his cellmates (65 out of 80) were soldiers in their twenties without any political conscience who had been held for two, five or seven months, suspected of “thinking about deserting” or accused of “criticizing the shelling of their village.”

 For Nyrabia, the confusion stems from the fact that there is no communication among the regime’s four main security entities. Military intelligence, air force intelligence, political security, and state security are even fighting each other for Bashar Al-Assad’s favor.'

The charm of telesalafism

 'Mr Arour has now paired up with Mustafa Sheikh, a secular-leaning leader of the Free Syrian Army, and has spoken of a need to channel funding through military councils in order to reduce rivalry among the myriad rebel groups. Criticising the involvement of foreign jihadists, he has also denounced suicide-bombings as criminal. His blood-curdling video threat to Alawites is often taken out of context, since he directed his meat-grinder rant only at those Alawites who were actively suppressing the revolt; any of them who stayed neutral, he insisted, should be protected as equal citizens.'

A Homegrown Arab Alliance to Settle Global Nerves

 Rubbish like this gives support to the enemies of change in Syria.

 'As an evolving constitutional monarchy, Morocco is in the unique position of offering political support to transitioning democracies as well as trust to its GCC partners who are at a more junior stage of reform.'

Beyond the Violence

 'The liberalization of the economy over the past decade resulted on the one hand in modernization and progress, yet this has also led to the impoverishment of large sections of the population, especially in rural districts. Economic misery in combination with massive corruption and political stagnation developed into an explosive mix that could no longer be diffused with mere rhetoric of future reforms.'

Syria Business Squeeze

 'Assad has so far been able to keep his head above water with financial support from top ally Iran, he noted. "The question is whether this is sustainable in the longer term and I don't think it is," Skinner said. "What Assad is counting on at present is a bare-bones economy that is able to fuel his armed forces." '

Syrian Rebels Burn Down a Marijuana Field on Facebook

 Not helping.

 'The incineration of the weed underscores a basic problem for the U.S.’s approach to Syria’s bloody civil war. No, not because the U.S. suddenly decriminalized marijuana. It’s because the Farouq Brigades, generally considered a competent and media-savvy rebel militia, is promoting its willingness to destroy a drug crop. That’s an action usually identified more with Islamic militant groups than secular ones.'

From books to bullets: Syria students on front lines

 'Abu Abdu Sahari, 20, studying electrical engineering at Aleppo University, at first only engaged in non-violent protests against Assad's regime.

 But after he was arrested and detained for a month he joined the armed rebellion.'

Syrian rebels in Aleppo mostly poor, pious, rural

 'The blend of poverty, religious piety and anger could define the future of Aleppo, and perhaps the rest of Syria, if the rebels take over the country's largest city, which is also its economic engine. They may be tempted to push their own version of Islam, which is more fundamentalist than what is found in the city. Their bitterness at the business class may prompt them to seek ways of redistributing the wealth.

 "Those who have money in Aleppo only worry about their wealth and interests when we have long lived in poverty," said Osama Abu Mohammed, a rebel commander who was a car mechanic in the nearby town of Beyanon before he joined the fight.'

Syria's revolutionary cartoons

 'A group of artists, Comic4Syria, are producing comic strips on Facebook in response to the brutality in their country'

Rebel fighters capture historical town of Azmarin in 3-day battle

 ' “This was Captain Shardi, a three star commander in Assad’s army,” said the town's rebel commander Dr Hassan Ghnnam as he pointed at the body of a hefty man in a blood stained army uniform that lay in a side street. “He burned many houses in this town. The people were so afraid of him.”
Dr Ghnnam worked as a urologist in Azmarin before taking command of rebel forces in the town.'

Gunmen kill 4 on factory bus in Homs

 'Syria's state news agency says a suicide bomber crashed an explosives-laden sedan into a coffee shop at a Damascus residential neighborhood, causing damage but no fatalities.'

 They hate our freedom, they hate our coffeeshops.

 Very similar to this tale from August, 'SANA says that an explosive device detonated in a car in Jaramana on Monday killed its driver. It says the device was attached to the car by an armed "terrorist" group. Another car blew up in the area overnight, also killing the driver. No further details were immediately available.'

Cluster Bomb Usage Rises Significantly Across Syria

 'Over the last few days there's been a marked increase in the number of cluster bomb remains being filmed in Syria, and until today most were filmed around Maarrat al-Numan, along the main highway that connects central Syria (Hama, Homs, then Damascus and Daraa) to northern Syria (Idlib, Aleppo), which has recently come under opposition control. The concentration of reports from that area suggested at first that the use of cluster bombs was related to attempts to regain an important supply route to Aleppo.'

You've got it all wrong, says Salafi Sheikh with the 'moderate' views

 To get a balanced view on Hezbollah, you have to go to the Salafists.

 ' “Let Hezbollah explain this strange coincidence: Nobody supports the Syrian regime except the Shia of Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. Explain this coincidence to me. If the Syrian regime considers itself secular, why has it become sectarian in the eyes of political Shiism and Hezbollah?“

 Despite his antipathy to “political Shiism,” the sheikh stresses he supports Hezbollah’s resistance against Israel. “Anyone who resists Israel is honorable, and we support anyone who resists this enemy regardless of their beliefs, even if they are Marxist,” he says. “We wish the Lebanese would unite against this common enemy.” '

Free soldiers and controlled minds

 'Neither the West nor oil has anything to do with the chaos that Syria is in, except what allows all external teams — Arab or Iranian or Western — to support the side that concurs with them politically. It is not strange that the regime promotes its conspiratorial explanations for the conflict. But when senior officers and young soldiers defect, after crossing the border, we hear them repeating the same arguments they read in newspapers such as Tishreen.'

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Tough Cats

 'The men joked and chuckled while telling the most horrific stories.'

 The Aleppo segment has men describing their torture by the Syrian régime. But I was struck in the first segment the way the MDC has been tamed having been seen to save Zimbabwe from civil war by power-sharing with Mugabe: that is much like what what those who refuse support for a revolution in Syria seem to wish on that country. And there are some tough cats in Jerusalem apparently.

Al Jazeera speaks with PKK rebel leader

I think he may be a bit disingenuous about the PKK's links to the Syrian government, but does seem to be genuinely distancing from them now, probably because he doesn't think Assad can last much longer.

Self-government takes shape in the land of the Free Syrian Army

 'The youth group has proudly emphasized unity among different sects and ethnicities in Syria – including Alawites – through a biweekly publication and with public demonstrations, but the fact is there is pressure from conservative members of the community.'

Syria: who's backing who?

 'Regime can rely on supply of weapons from Russia, while material support for rebels is mostly fragmented and scarce'

 Despite the point made in the subtitle, that it is the Syrian government that is well-armed in this conflict, the first four comments don't seem to care about reality.

FSA threatens to take fight to Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut

 I don't think the leader of Hezbollah has been shown to be anti-semitic, but that doesn't mean I can't understand why the FSA would feel justified in taking him out.

Syria Conflict: FSA on the Attack - Bdama

 'Alex Crawford reports from the north of Syria where the Free Syrian Army is pushing back government forces.
- via Sky News.'

 "The rebel fighters are on the move, and on the up. They're taking towns and villages in the north at a pace not seen before in the Syrian revolution."

 Good for Murdoch's minions.

Masasit Mati-Top Goon

 "To Gayath Matar and all our martyrs, to all our brave detainees... Free Syria"

 Syria: Despite the war 'creative resistance' thrives

 'In Syria you die, and prisons are full. But this revolution was started by a group of peaceful young people and it is a revolution that defends human rights. If people have chosen to take to arms then it is an act of defence, against a brutal regime", says 27 year old Orwa Al Mokdad, author of 'Top Goon, Diary of a Little Dictator,' which parodies Syrian president Assad. Orwa spoke of the dilemma faced by himself and other co-authors between peaceful protest and violent struggle.

 "We have tried to overcome fear with irony", said Orwa, who was himself imprisoned and tortured in Damascus without being identified as one of the series authors.'
[http://www.ansamed.info/…/Syria-Despite-war-creative-resist…]

'Saudi weapons' seen at Syria rebel base

 Hooray for Ukrainian merchants of death, and Saudis or someone who has read Frederick Forsyth and knows how to forge an end-user certificate.

 'What was in the crates is unknown, as is how they ended up there. But their presence clearly suggests that someone in the Gulf is actively helping the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.'

Citing US Fears, Arab Allies Limit Aid to Syrian Rebels

 'While they have publicly called for arming the rebels, they have held back, officials in both countries said, in part because they have been discouraged by the United States, which fears the heavier weapons could end up in the hands of terrorists.

 As a result, the rebels have just enough weapons to maintain a stalemate, the war grinds on and more jihadist militants join the fray every month.'

Learning To Fly

 I still don't think a No Fly Zone will help in Syria, but many Syrians disagree.

 'Alon Ben-Meir of New York University's Center for Global Affairs argued in a recent Turkish press interview that direct action was becoming both unavoidable and desirable, and that the best way forward was a no-fly zone. He said:

 "Now that Turkey is asking for this, if Nato goes along with it and the United States goes along with it, that's a change in attitude. Turkey did not have the legal legitimacy to intervene. But now they also realise that everybody is intervening.

 Iran is intervening by sending military advisors. Russia is intervening by sending weapons on a regular basis. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are intervening by sending money and some weapons. And the United States is intervening by sending communications gear and some weapons and money indirectly. So everyone is interfering, but they talk about no interference, which is cynical …

 The Assad regime is finished. When it might happen depends on what other powers do and when they do it. If after the [US presidential] election the United States along with Turkey, in particular these two countries, decide that the time has come, then they will be able to accelerate his demise." '

Syria's Revolution: bloodied but unbowed

 'Since its outbreak the revolution has faced many dangers: the scale of the repression and bloodletting, the fear of sectarianism, the meddling of Western powers and the collapse of the country. Yet this revolution has proved to be remarkably resilient and has maintained its independence.'

Syrians are standing strong

 "Syrians are standing strong. When we started this revolution we said we’d finish it by ourselves. Now 32,000 have died and millions have been displaced inside and outside the country. So there are no more shades of grey.People have picked a side and many have picked the revolution—and that is our most powerful weapon."

Up In Smoke

 The British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported four bomb attacks - three in the Saadallah al-Jabri Square and a fourth at the nearby Chamber of Commerce, a few blocks to the south-east. Most of the dead and wounded were soldiers from an officers club and a security branch that were targeted.

[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A4RM5InCcAAmBed.jpg]

The Manbij Experiment: Rebels Make a Go of Governing in Liberated City

 'In the space of a week, we see more Che Guevara T-shirts (two) than al-Qaida flags (one). Even the handful of hardened Islamists talk about elections.

 Manbij has made the most progress among Syrian cities, but it isn't an exception. In the embattled major city Aleppo, the leaders of the largest units consisting of more than 4,000 troops have come together to form a military council.'

As civil war rages across Syria, Assad's own community may pose new challenge for regime

 'Some commentators say a local dispute may mark the beginning of a new front against the president – one launched by his own Alawite brethren.'

American influence on the Middle East is past its peak – someone should tell them

 'There is something deceptive about David Cameron implying that Russia and China are responsible for the slaughter of Syrian children.'

 Cameron may be deceptive about a lot of things*, but the liar here is Patrick Cockburn.
There might be some value in his analysis, but after reading the above I don't care.

*His speech at the UN was weaselly, saying the UN to blame, but especially some countries, was to claim he was a righteous man who would save the situation if only it wasn't for the Russians and Chinese, and has a slimy 'I say us, but I mean you' structure. But he isn't denying the murder of Syrian children.