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 them now, probably because he doesn't think Assad can last much longer.

Demonstrators hold opposition flags during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, after Friday prayers in Sermada near Idlib

Note 16/4/15, this was posted three weeks later, but I'm guessing it may be of the same demonstration. Original link: [http://www.trust.org/news-in-pictures/?mediaInode=b6a313a9-514b-437b-a933-7e68e0a68428]

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.
*See previous post, [http://notris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/nasrallah-said-what-ejh-said-right-on.html]

Nasrallah said what?

Nasrallah said what?

ejh said,
"Right, on not speaking up. As seasoned observers know, I have a certain distaste for the politics of conversion, by which people join organisations for millenarian reasons, then abruptly reverse direction and spend the rest of their lives denouncing their former comrades, organisations and politics in what is often quite an obsessive manner."*
I was reading through
Nikolas Kozloff - Syria and the moral decline of the American Left** when I came across this passage:
"The Left has never really come to terms with the thorny issue of anti-Semitism, and refuses to call out either Ahmadinejad or Hezbollah's Hasan Nasrallah (who once charmingly remarked that "Jews invented the legend of the Holocaust") for their awful record on this score."
Because sometimes its just a lie.
I was going to spell out the problem in detail, but my brother does it succinctly above.
The Kozloff piece may be good to some in pointing out the villainies of some on the Left, but the way Kozloff ties it together is undermined by such falsities.
[I realise the quote taken down below is not be the same one alleged in the article]

*http://tinyurl.com/9mnq9yr
**http://tinyurl.com/8hb2thy

The Syrian revolution poses a severe test for Turkey's rulers

 Alex Callinicos not as his clearest. Has he been possessed by the spirit of Judith Orr?

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."