Lord Of The Rings: One Facebook Thread To Rule Them All

 RT had a report on Salafist supporters of Syrian revolution in Lebanon from which the opposite conclusions can be drawn from those that RT do.

 Living less in a fantasy world, here's Lord of the Rings on Facebook.

Moscow Mules

 Wyatt Cenac reports that Russia's opposition to intervention in Syria is really just an attempt to regain its status as the Evil Empire.

Open letter to the Stop the War Coalition (STWC), or real solidarity is needed!

 "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."

Assad circle 'could be charged with crimes against humanity'

 'Fresh evidence has emerged that members of President Bashar al-Assad's family and inner circle are directly ordering the commission of crimes against humanity in Syria.

Experts in international law consider it "preposterous and completely implausible" that Assad himself would be unaware of the systematic and widespread killing and torture.'

 No shit.

The Art of Insurrection

Leon Trotsky

 About Syria.

 "But if it is true that an insurrection cannot be evoked at will, and that nevertheless in order to win it must be organised in advance, then the revolutionary leaders are presented with a task of correct diagnosis. They must feel out the growing insurrection in good season and supplement it with a conspiracy."

Does al-Qaeda have a foothold in Syria?

 'If the West did not come to their aid, he worried the jihadis would find an opening.

"I tell the UN and the UN Security Council, the Syrian people can't take it anymore," he said.
"Our children killed; our women raped; our houses destroyed. If no-one helps us, we will turn to the devil himself." '

 Good BBC report. About the only thing to disagree with in the latter half of Paul Wood's report was this line:

 "Many rebel fighters are deeply pious. But there is a moderate tradition of Islam here at odds with al-Qaeda's harsh ideology."

 It doesn't make sense to portray al-Qaida's political beliefs as occupying an exclusive part of the religious spectrum. After the intro on the 10 O'Clock news and the short interview with Alastair Crooke I thought this might be a Russia Today style hatchet job on the opposition, whereas it is an exposure of the government's lies.

Berri: Dissociation policy to continue despite mounting pressure

 'Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in remarks published Tuesday that Lebanon will hold fast to its policy of dissociation regarding events in Syria no matter the pressure.'

 According to Wikipedia:

 'Dissociation is a term in psychology describing a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from one's immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from one's physical and emotional reality.'

Nasrallah, Assange and injustice in Syria

 "Once everyone is around a table, what happens? Not much. The security edifice of the Assads will remain intact, while the opposition will have to end all military operations, or risk being accused of torpedoing the Annan plan. The regime will go around in circles, perhaps eventually offering the opposition the ragged bone of limited representation in a new government. This will be hailed as a victory for peace, but no Syrian government of the past 42 years has ever held power. By the time Assad’s pliant interlocutors realize this, the game will be up and the Syrian president will have dodged a bullet."

 I think the writer has his own issues with Hezbollah, but in terms of Syria the argument seems faultless. [Though I think "held" should read "shared" or "relinquished"]

 [Note Jan 2025: I now realise Michael Young means that the official government never held real power under the Assads]

Asma al-Assad as a hope for peace because she wears Louis Vuitton? Pah

 "A fixation on the Syrian dictator's wife western appearance has seen an absurd

petition gain traction. She is complicit in tyranny."


 Put not your trust in princes. Or princesses.

Britain considers blocking Syria’s Olympic head, an Assad aide, from attending London Olympics

 Well, good. Could make a point about other sporting events, but can't be arsed.

Bankers

 Stephen Mangan hosting Have I Got News For You:

 "Asma al-Assad used to be an investment banker, one of the few bankers to move onto something even more evil."

Nothing else lasts long enough

 "But I do fear you, Envoy. I fear those who sent you. I fear liars, and I fear tricksters, and worst I fear the bitter truth. And so I rule my country well. Because only fear rules men. Nothing else works. Nothing else lasts long enough."

 Argaven to Genly Ai in Ursula le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, rather than Assad to Annan as you might expect.

George Galloway On Syria

 George Galloway says:

 "Assad Must Go."

 Now I think this is a change in his position, and that the call for negotiations with Assad are a year too long into a massacre to be feasible or desirable. And there's some stuff on Libya at the start of the video (hopefully this should start about 8 minutes in) that I very much disagree with;still, the website where I found this claimed it shows "once again this piece of shit supports the most murderous and tyrannical regimes in the world and now supports Assad", I don't think they can have watched it.

Hezbollah's Syria Policy Puts It at Risk

 "Most of all, Hezbollah won respect by sticking to its principles, even among rival sects and the leftist cafe regulars in Beirut who are skeptical of its religious conservatism. Now it is paying a price for its politics of pragmatism in Syria."

 I'm not sure about the subtitle given here:

 "Hezbollah could find itself caught up in a sectarian war between Iran, the region’s Shiite power, and Saudi Arabia, a protector of Sunni interests"; the idea that there is a regional sectarian conflagration between Sunni and Shia seems mostly to be a propaganda tactic by those who want to present those opposed to Assad in Syria as being nothing more than Saudi agents. Otherwise the article seems very good.

 Having said that, this does seem the way the Saudi monarchy sees it:

 "The Saudi stand on Syria, unlike on Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, is to support the uprising. Lest there be a doubt about its motive in castigating President Bashar al-Assad’s repressive policy, the Saudi Prince, Turki al-Faisal, explained it thus: “The impending fall of Mr. Assad’s barbarous regime provides a rare strategic opportunity to weaken Iran. Without this vital ally, Tehran will find it more difficult to foment discord in the Arab world. Today, there is a chance for the United States and Saudi Arabia to contain Iran and prevent it from destabilising the region.” The quote is an open admission; even an assertion. The Saudi path to Iran runs through Syria."

 [http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3263432.ece...]

Syria Opens Fire On Refugees In Turkey

 There seems to be a consensus that if the Syrian government pulls its troops out of urban areas, it is now so politically weak that the opposition will take over all those areas. Rational if evil. But this seems like an attempt to drag Turkey into the conflict, or the desperate actions of those whose grip on power and reality are fast loosening.

 "Syrian forces have opened fire at a refugee camp inside Turkey injuring at least three people, a Turkish official has said."

Syria says no pullback without guarantees

 'The Syrian government will not withdraw its forces from Syrian protest hubs without “written guarantees” from the opposition, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.'

 I've gone with the earliest report, which also seems to give the most detail of the statement.

Bertolt Brecht > Quotes

 “General, your tank is a powerful vehicle”

 "Activists reported tank fire in at least three urban centres on Friday - the town of Douma near Damascus, the restive city of Homs and Rastan, north of Homs."

 Let's hope the drivers start to think about what they are doing.

The Syrian League returns

 "Matches are currently being played in empty stadiums", at least is quite hard to use them as prisons in that case.

 Note 19/4/15, I see this story is actually from December 2011.