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An interview with Bassam Alkadi, President of the Syrian Women Observatory

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

An interview with Bassam Alkadi, President of the Syrian Women Observatory
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Posted by Camille Otrakji for Syria Comment.

Bassam Alkadi is President of Syria’s main women rights organization. A relentless fighter for human rights in Syria. Although he has been fired from his job, arrested, jailed and forbidden from traveling, he continues to be driven by logic and not revenge. He rejects dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Instead calling for dialogue that follows some prerequisite, even if partial, implementations of some of the announced reforms announced by the Syrian government.

In this interview he shares his with us his concerns and fears of the conflict in Syria as well as his hopes for a new democratic, secular Syria.

Q1. In your view, if free parliamentary elections were to be held later this year, which of the parties would win popular support? Would it be the Baath, the Syrian National Socialist Party, the Communist Party, new parties …?

Bassam: This proposition is flawed from the get go. We can’t talk about “free parliamentary elections” as of today. For elections to be “free,” all necessary tools and mechanisms must have been made available for all parties for an adequate period of time prior to holding any such election. How can the vast propaganda and media machines of both the Ruling Party and of the Islamists be effectively countered? Any such elections will not be “free” in a meaningful way until the anticipated new democratic laws (Party Law, Media Law, and Free Assembly Law) have been in effect for at least a full year.
Anything less and elections would be limited to only the blindly pro-regime and the blindly anti-regime camps.

Q2. What would be a reasonable time frame for the anticipated reforms presented by President Assad in his third speech? And do you support the President’s preference of involving representatives of the people in formulating these reforms, as part of a National Dialog initiative? Or do you have a different model that you would prefer?

Bassam: Absolutely, I support the regime’s declared intention of involving true representatives of the Syrian People. Elitists, and Opposition figures have proven themselves to be failures and irrelevant for quite some time now, but especially so during the current crisis. Proving this particular point may require a dedicated article, even though it is easily provable.
The real leaders of the Street (Loyalists and Opposition) are the ones that count, when it comes to National Dialog.

Further, the reforms that have been launched since the lifting of the State of Emergency, really need years to be fully realized and implemented, and any talk otherwise by Western leaders can only be interpreted as pushing [the country] toward more and more tension. Let those who are pushing present a workable plan for realizing even a quarter of the promised Reforms in a full year, if they think they can.

Having said that, significant implications of those reforms can be made visible before too long, even if incomplete. This would be very important as a confidence building measure.

Q3. As president of the “Syrian Women Observatory” which monitors and promotes Women’s rights in Syria, and which is dedicated to non-violence, and one who used to meet with Western NGOs and diplomats, you recently wrote a letter expressing your anger and distrust of the real motives behind the close follow up by the US and the EU, of events in Syria. You are also a critic of Turkish intervention in Syria’s affairs. Do you believe that Syria today is still capable of maintaining its independent foreign policies, and how?

Bassam: I object to describing what the West is doing (especially the US, French, British, and German governments) as “close follow up”. On the contrary, their intervention is a deliberate provocation of the crisis with one goal, and that is to coerce the Syrian People to adopt the Libyan Scenario, or to force the regime to surrender to the West’s political agenda. They [the West] have not only ignored facts on the ground, but have recently started exerting open pressure on the Syrian People, by punishing state-owned institutions and companies that tens of thousands of Syrian families depend on for their livelihood.

Yes, Syria is capable of maintaining its independence. The regime today has to conduct critical surgery at its most fundamental levels. This, in a way, is the beginning of its demise as the regime that once was; the end of it as a system, but not necessarily the end of any individuals. One problem which the regime seems to have recently recognized is its need to employ public and open diplomacy, instead of its previously preferred secrecy and non-transparency. Public Opinion is now more important than ever before, and can only be addressed through open and public diplomacy.

Q4. Can Syria remain (or become) a secular country if the Middle East (including Israel) witnesses a continued strengthening of extremist religious influence in political decision making as well as in society?

Bassam: Syria has never been a secular country. And it has never been a religious state in traditional perceptions either.

The Syrian street today, away from the manifestation of the anger that drives some to shout extreme sectarian slogans, is more aware than ever of the danger of the religious extremists.

More importantly, any country cannot ignore the forces of civil society, and if the Syrian civil society previously used the state of emergency and other issues as an excuse to avoid involvement, after this crisis it doesn’t have any excuse not to get involved. Let civil society (the truly civil one) face the religious extremists, then any system will be forced to take that into account.

The type of relationship [between leadership and people] in any country does not turn into a regime and its herd unless the civil society and its organizations relinquish their responsibilities, whatever the reasons and justifications.

Q5. You called on others to renounce violence as a means to create a healthy society and you are one of the first Syrians who condemned the violence since the beginning of the recent events in Syria. Through your experience in dealing with issues of violence, how it is possible in these circumstances that all the parties involved can adopt the statement of renouncing violence and using the language of dialogue as the only means to reach solutions, keeping in mind that you personally refuse to sit at the negotiating table today. What is the solution?

Bassam: After walking in the streets of many Syrian cities, and through my vast relations with the real people, I know very well that the overwhelming proportion of them renounce violence in all its forms. Without accepting this fact of our society, we would not be here today; Syrian society would have exploded into a devastating civil war over a month ago.
Armed militias (religious radicals and others) are a small, but highly dangerous, minority. Hence I publicly supported ‘precise surgical operation’ by the regime against those militias.

Dialogue does not mean people sitting at one table in a hotel! It is rather the outcome of a number of measures and mechanisms that allow people to define their forces, crystallize their thoughts and perceptions, and then elect their representatives. This is how dialogue can be a dialogue and not just talk.
When this takes place, neither I, nor the majority of the Syrian street today, would refuse to sit at the table for dialogue.

What is happening today, what was announced, has nothing to do with a table for real dialogue. It is rather an attempt by some to reserve seats on the next train instead of the real people of Syria being empowered to build the train of their future.

Give me the laws for associations, political parties and truly democratic media, and immediately amend the law of demonstrations today, and you’ll see an entirely different picture of Syria within a short time. A picture that does not only frighten the regime, but it frightens the “opposition” to the same extent.

Q6. what is your personal vision for the future of Syria? What are the solutions that can be put forward to the current complex state of affairs?

Bassam: Ending the crisis today is not directly related to shaping the future of Syria.

In my opinion the future of Syria is simple: A democratic civil state that is both secure and stable. This is what many people, even within the regime, are well aware of as our only hope.

Exiting the crisis today will not be possible without a basket of actions and mechanisms that allow people to move from the current fragmentation and marginalization, to the state of civic participation. This is not an illusion. Forces of the Syrian street did not learn to speak like as intellectuals, and did not learn to organize the way the elite do. Therefore it is urgently in need of help to grow.

Here I particularly want to point out the real danger threatening the protest movement today, which is the danger of disintegration. They went through three and a half months of non-focused movement, under the real slogan expressing their anger and feeling oppressed, and not by the slogan heard more directly (down of the regime), even if some of the Syrians living in exile claimed otherwise. Moreover, the regime did not recognize them and did not provide them with a mechanism for the advancement of their movement in a civil manner. Finally, there are multiple forces, internal and external, seeking to exploit this situation. All this reduces the movement’s ability to get organized, get rid of the impurities and to advance toward a well-organized and sustainable civil movement. Thus it (the disintegration) might allow each of the other forces (including: criminals, insurgents, thugs, bullies, or shabbiha ..) to take the leadership platform of this movement, and In that event, it will be really too late to the extent that we may have to pay a heavy price.

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Many thanks to Jad and Averroes for their help in conducting and translating this interview. The original Arabic text follows.
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بسام القاضي، رئيس مرصد نساء سورية. يعمل ويكتب من أجل حقوق الإنسان في سورية. سرح من وظيفته ،اعتقل، سجن وممنوع من السفر،لا يزال مدفوعا بالمنطق في كتابته وآرائه وليس بالانتقام.

هو يرفض الحوار من أجل اللاشيء وبدلاً عن ذلك يدعو إلى الحوار بعد تطبيق إصلاحات أساسية ولو جزئياً من قبل الحكومة السورية

في هذه المقابلة شاركنا مخاوفه من الصراع في سورية فضلا عن آماله من أجل سوريا ديمقراطية، مدنية وربما علمانية جديدة.

بأعتقادك فيما لو جرت انتخابات برلمانية حرة في وقت لاحق من هذا العام، أي من الأحزاب الموجودة حالياً أو الجديدة سوف تتمتع بأغلب التأييد الشعبي، حزب البعث ، الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي، الحزب الشيوعي، احزاب جديدة؟
بسام: يبدو لي هذا السؤال خاطئا من الأساس. فلا يمكن الحديث عن انتخابات برلمانية “حرة” اليوم. لأن شرط أن تكون حرة هو أن تتوفر كل الأدوات والآليات المناسبة قبل حدوثها. فكيف يمكن اليوم مواجهة الآلة الدعائية والإعلامية لكل من النظام والإسلاميين الذين سيطروا على كل وسائل الإعلام وآلياته عبر عقود؟
أي انتخابات لا يمكن أن تكون “حرة” بالمعنى الدقيق قبل مرور سنة على الأقل على إقرار قوانين ديمقراطية الأحزاب والجمعيات والإعلام.
وما تبقى سيكون فقط انتخابات الأمر الواقع الذي يشمل جانبين، الموالاة العمياء، أو المعارضة العمياء. وكلاهما في المآل نفسه.

ما هو الاطار الزمني المنطقي للإصلاحات المتوقعة كما طرحها السيد الرئيس في خطابه الثالث، وهل تؤيد تفضيل الرئيس لإشراك ممثلي الشعب في تشكيل هذه الإصلاحات جزء من حوار وطني) أو لديك تصور آخر لوضع وتنفيذ الاصلاحات)؟
بسام: بكل تأكيد أؤيد توجه النظام إلى ممثلي الشعب الحقيقيين. فالنخب وشخصيات المعارضة أثبتت فشلها وخوائها منذ زمن، خاصة في هذه الأزمة. ويحتاج إثبات هذا إلى مقال خاص. رغم توفر كل البراهين.
لكن هذا الإشراك لا يمكن أن يكون صحيحا ومفيدا وحقيقيا إلا إذا سارع النظام إلى إقرار كل الآليات التي تسمح للشارع بتنظيم نفسه وانتخاب ممثليه. وأول شروط هذه الإمكانية هو تقديم ضمانات فعلية على أمن كل شخص منهم أنه لن يحاسب ولا يلاحق.
قادة الشارع (معارضة ومولاة) هم المعنيون الحقيقيون بالحوار، وليس غيرهم.
والإصلاحات التي أطلقت منذ رفع حالة الطوارئ حتى اليوم، لا يمكن إنجازها إلا بسنوات. وكلام القادرة الغربيين عن غير ذلك لا يعدو أن يكون دفعا للأزمة إلى المزيد من التوتر. وإلا فليقدم أي منهم خطة لإنجاز ربع هذه الإصلاحات في سنة كاملة لنرى إن كان هذا ممكنا فعلا.
مع ذلك، بعض آثار ونتائج هذه الإصلاحات، يمكن أن يحقق بسرعة، وإن بشكل ناقص. وهذا مهم جدا اليوم في بناء وترميم الثقة المفقودة.

كرئيس لمنظمة نساء سورية التي تعنى بحقوق المرأة في سورية و المناهضة للعنف، كنت تجتمع مع دبلوماسيين غربيين ومنظمات غير حكومية، كتبت مؤخراً رسالة مفتوحة اعربت فيها عن غضبك وعدم ثقتك في النوايا الحقيقية وراء المتابعة الوثيقة لما يجري في سورية اليوم من قبل كل من للولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وأوروبا، وأنت أيضاً ناقداً للتدخل التركي في الشؤون السورية، هل تعتقد أن سورية اليوم قادرة على المحافظة على سياستها الخارجية المستقلة وكيف؟
بسام: أعترض أصلا على تسمية ما يقوم به الغرب، خاصة الحكومات الأمريكية والفرنسية والبريطانية والألمانية، بأنه “متابعة وثيقة”! بل هو تصعيد مقصود للأزمة بهدف واحد هو إجبار الشعب السوري على الانتقال إلى سيناريو ليبيا، أو إجبار النظام على الاستسلام لمطالبهم السياسية. فهم لم يكتفوا بتجاهل الحقائق على الأرض، بل بدؤوا مؤخرا بالضغط المكشوف على الشعب السوري عن طريق معاقبة شركات تابعة للدولة وليس لأشخاص، وتعيش بسببها عشرات آلاف الأسر السورية.

نعم، سورية قادرة على ذلك. النظام السوري مضطر اليوم إلى إجراء عمليات جراحية دقيقة في طبيعته كنظام. وهو ما يشكل فعلا بداية النهاية له كنظام (أي كرؤية في الدولة وآلية لإدارتها وإدارة المجتمع، وليس كأشخاص محددين).
المشكلة التي يبدو أن النظام قد بدأ ينتبه إليها أنه استخدم الدبلوماسية العادية، شبه السرية، خلال الوقت الماضي، فيما كان بحاجة ماسة إلى ممارسة الدبلوماسية العلنية. فالرأي العام الآن فائق الأهمية، ولا يمكن مخاطبته بغير الدبلوماسية العلنية.

هل من الممكن أن تبقى أو أن تكون سورية بلداً علمانياً إذا كان الشرق الأوسط ككل (بما فيه إسرائيل) يشهد مواصلة تعزيز لنفوذ المتطرفين الدينيين في صنع القرار السياسي وكذلك في صنع القرار الاجتماعي؟
بسام: سورية لم تكن يوما بلدا علمانيا. لكنها لم تكن أيضا دولة دينية بالتصورات التقليدية. والشارع السوري اليوم، بعيدا عن تجليات الغضب من النظام الذي يدفع البعض إلى شعارات متطرفة دينيا، يعي أكثر من أي وقت مضى كم هو خطر المتطرفين الدينيين.
ولكن الأهم أن أي دولة لا تستطيع تجاهل قوى المجتمع المدني. وإذا كان المجتمع المدني السوري يتذرع سابقا بحالة الطوارئ وما إلى ذلك، فبعد الازمة لن تجد ما تتذرع به. فليعمل المجتمع المدني (المدني حقا) في مواجهة المتطرفين الدينيين وغيرهم، وحينها سيكون أي نظام مجبر على أخذ ذلك بالحسبان.
العلاقة في أي بلد ليست نظاما ورعية إلا عندما يتخلى المجتمع المدني ومنظماته عن مسؤولياتهم، أيا كانت الأسباب والمبررات.

بسام القاضي أنت من المنادين بنبذ العنف كوسيلة لإنشاء مجتمع سليم وكنت من أول المنددين بالعنف منذ بداية الأحداث في سورية، من خلال خبرتك في التعامل مع قضايا العنف كيف من الممكن في ظل هذه الظروف أن تستطيع الأطراف كافة اعتماد خطاب نبذ العنف وأستخدم لغة الحوار كوسيلة وحيدة للوصول إلى حلول مع أنك ممن يرفضون الجلوس إلى طاولة الحوار اليوم فما هو الحل؟
بسام: من خلال جولاتي المتعددة في الشارع في أكثر من مدينة سورية، وعلاقاتي الواسعة مع الناس الحقيقيين، أعرف جيدا أن النسبة الغالبة منهم تنبذ العنف بكافة أشكاله. ولولا هذه الحقيقة لما كنا هنا اليوم، بل لكان المجتمع السوري قد انفجر قبل أكثر من شهر في حرب أهلية لا قرار لها.
المسلحون (أصوليين وغيرهم) قلة قليلة ولكنها خطرة. ولذلك أيدت علنا “عملية جراحية دقيقة” من النظام ضد هؤلاء.
والحوار ليس جلوس الناس على طاولة واحدة في فندق! بل هو محصلة لجملة من الإجراءات والآليات التي تسمح أولا للناس بأن تؤطر قواها، ثم تبلور أفكارها وتصوراتها، ثم تنتخب ممثليها. حينئذ سيكون الحوار حوارا وليس مجرد نقاش.
وفي هذه الحالة، لا أنا، ولا الأغلبية من الشارع السوري اليوم، سترفض الجلوس على طاولة الحوار.
أما ما يجري اليوم، وما يتم الدعوة إليه، فلا علاقة له بطاولة حوار حقيقية. بل هو محاولة لحجز مقاعد في القطار القادم قبل أن يتمكن الناس الحقيقيون من بناء قطار المستقبل الحقيقي.
أعطني قوانين جمعيات وأحزاب وإعلام ديمقراطية حقا، وعدل قانون التظاهر اليوم وفورا، وسترى صورة مختلفة كليا في سورية خلال وقت قصير. صورة لا تخيف النظام فحسب، بل تخيف “المعارضة” بالقدر نفسه.

ما هي رؤيتك الشخصية لمستقبل سورية بمعنى أنه ما هي الحلول التي من الممكن طرحها للخروج من الوضع المعقد الذي وصلت إليه الأمور؟
بسام: الخروج من الوضع الآن لا يرتبط مباشرة بمستقبل سورية.
برأيي مستقبل سورية هو واحد: دولة مدنية ديمقراطية وآمنة ومستقرة معا. وهذا ما بات الكثيرون من الناس، وحتى داخل النظام، يعونه جيدا بصفته أملنا الوحيد.
أما الخروج من الأزمة اليوم فلن يكون بدون جملة الإجراءات والآليات التي تسمح للناس بالانتقال من حالة التشتت والتهميش الحالية، إلى حالة المشاركة المدنية. وهذا ليس بوهم. فقوى الشارع السوري لم تتعلم “الكلام” مثل المثقفين، ولا “التنظيم” بطريقة النخبة. ولذلك هي بحاجة ماسة إلى ما يساعدها على النهوض.
وأود الإشارة بشكل خاص هنا إلى خطر حقيقي بدأ يهدد حركة الاحتجاجات اليوم، وهو خطر التفسخ. فثلاثة أشهر ونصف من الحركة غير المحددة، تحت شعار يعبر عن غضب وقهر وليس عن معناها المباشر (إسقاط النظام) حتى لو قال بعض الهاربين من سورية غير ذلك،
وعدم اعتراف النظام بهم، وعدم تأمين آلية للنهوض بحركتهم مدنيا، وتعدد القوى التي تسعى إلى استغلال هذا الوضع (داخليا وخارجيا)،
كل ذلك يضعف قدرة هذه الحركة على التنظيم والتخلص من شوائبها والنهوض نحو حركة مدنية منظمة بشكل جيد وقابل للاستمرار طويلا. وبالتالي هو يسمح لكل تلك القوى (ضمنا المجرمون المسلحون، أو الزعران، أو الشبيحة..) أن يعتلوا منصات القيادة في هذه الحركة. وفي حال حدوث ذلك سنكون فعلا قد تأخرنا إلى حد قد ندفع فيه ثمنا باهظا.

Comments (323)

abughassan said:

I hope we do not start reading condemnation posts about Mr Al-Qadi because he dares to be a moderate voice today.His calls for ending the violence from all sides speak about his vision and intentions.
He also makes it clear that real measures on the ground is what may eventually convince people that the regime is not playing a waiting game (he did not use that term,I did).

July 3rd, 2011, 3:59 pm

Syrian Commando said:

God bless this man. I have nothing to add. This man said it all.

If there’s any way to support him/his organisation please let me know.

July 3rd, 2011, 4:06 pm

Mina said:

I am very anxious to read Tara’s comments. Very interested in her reaction to say the least.

July 3rd, 2011, 4:13 pm

majedkhaldoon said:

He said he participated in these demonstrations and found the overwhelming are peaceful,the question is ,why did he refuse to participate in the meeting that was held in Samiramise hotel?
He said it will take a year to get reform, actually at this pace the regime is asking for one or two generation.
The question about dialogue as the only way to get a solution, Is this true?is it the only way to get a solution to this crisis?
I agree with him that the people in the street need to organize,this I said it before.
I disagree that the movement is in danger of disintegration,infact it is getting more and widespread.
He is right in saying the regime is ignoring the people on the street, infact the regime continues to arrest and kill people, and HAMA demonstration was massive and was peaceful, what the regime did, they fired the govermnor,and brought tanks,to surround Hama, How this measure would gain the TRUST of the people in the regime?
The questions are leading,and guided,alltogather he is a good person,but still full of FEAR.

July 3rd, 2011, 5:13 pm

OFF THE WALL said:

MAJED
I believe that the questions were trailing and not leading.

ABUGHASSAN
For you, I will not voice my all of my concerns, albeit, I have quite few serious ones. That said, I have a lot of respect for Bassam and for what he had to say.

On more general notion. There is fear, but it is not fear from the regime, it is more fear from an illiberal society that may emerge as a result of this uprising. This explains a sizable portion of the anti-revolution rhetoric that is being manipulated by the regime to its advantage. However, those attempting to ensure a secular society, are also proposing an illiberal form of democracy, and a transition that may not be consistent with the vision of those in the street. Bassam manages to avoid some of that pitfall, but not fully. He still comes as most of us are, an elitist, despite of his call for the voice of the street to be heard.

July 3rd, 2011, 7:08 pm

Norman said:

OTW,

What the people in the street want is anarchy not democratic reform.

July 3rd, 2011, 7:18 pm

Dear O.T.W.
A statement like this
“and using the language of dialogue as the only means to reach solutions”
I felt like such statement,leads to a conclusion that Dialogue with the regime is the only solution.
Would you explain yourself when you say the questions are trailing?

July 3rd, 2011, 7:55 pm

Abughassan said:

It is the violence I have a problem with,not peaceful protests. I am also worried about the economy and the well being of average Syrians,this is why we need to be ready to give more to needy Syrians than before. Bassam and civilized people like him can only thrive and grow in a secular democracy,he will be chewed alive by the Baathists and the islamists alike if he starts looking like a real political threat to them. The pressure in the streets is what forced the regime to start working towards “reform” and I am not sure how the regime will respond if that pressure is lifted. Despite what we hear and see,the reality is that people are still getting arrested and subjected to harsh treatment without being charged with any crime,this does not build trust,it creates distrust and makes anything the regime “doves” say look hollow and tasteless. I will be the FIRST to dance when our political prisoners are freed and no new prisoners are “collected”. The country that gave so much to civilization needs to treat its citizens the same way a mother treats her kids even when they “misbehave”…

July 3rd, 2011, 9:11 pm

N.Z. said:

This Friday’s protest In Hama proofed for once and for all there are no armed militias. You can disagree all you want, and appease all you want, the only armed gangs are the security armed men.

Why on earth will he excuse the mayor from his duty, while he, junior, allowed peaceful protests a couple of weeks ago?

Over 50 000 protesters, we won’t say 400 000, passed peacefully. Was this bad or good?

Why did they bring tanks and armed .

Is this move not mind boggling?

Talking about fear of illiberal society if change took place, are you truly fearful?

A tank and snipers from top of building aiming at masses asking for there basic rights, is deadlier than a man with a beard or a woman with a scarf.

Bassam always emphasize on this point, and I fully agree with him, Syria has never been a secular society, the words he used here are a bit different, anyway, our family laws are based on religious law….. The point is those who keep on bringing their fearfulness of Islamic take over, they must ask themselves who is this Qubaisi woman in Damascus who use to congregate women in the 80’s when the father was apprehending our youth, imprisoning them, torturing them, thousands are still missing, adding to it the Hama massacre all in the name of MB?

The phenomenon of hijab came with the Baathist, look at TV. Clips from the 60s and 70s do you see women covered or men bearded?

A new page in Syria will not be scarier than it is today. They do not seem to want to change any of the father’s plan, neither are the protesters.

July 3rd, 2011, 9:37 pm

Revlon said:

Dear Mr. AlQadi,
I commend you for showing courage and taking pains and risk to speak up your mind!

You said:
“ Further, the reforms that have been launched since the lifting of the State of Emergency, really need years to be fully realized and implemented”

I exclaim:
The state of emergency has been lifted!!
– More than 1000 civilians, including children have been killed and mutilated since that lifting of the SE.
– More than Ten thousands are either imprisoned or incommunicado.
– Tens of thousands have been tortured.
– Millions of Syrians, inside and outside Syria are at risk of being spied on, arrested, tortured and killed, without due process.

So, if you believe that SE has been lifted and such was a reform, Are you saying people need to wait for years for it to be fully implemented and realized, and for arrest, torture and killing to stop?

Your position in this statement is non-professional and is in conflict with your mission as a leader in human rights.
You are advancing personal political interpretations over concern for human rights.
No professional human rights activist can maintain credibility while asking abused human beings to give time for his abuser to implement his kinds of reforms!

You said:
Let those who are pushing present a workable plan for realizing even a quarter of the promised Reforms in a full year, if they think they can.

I wonder:
who is going to be the judge on whether the plan is adequate, acceptable, and workable?
Do you mean to the demonstrators, whom you consider the true representatives of this revolution?
Well, they have accepted the Antalya group plan of action!

Detailed workable plan is neither possible, nor necessary to stop the blood shed and start the process of gradual transition to freedom and democracy.

People on the streets are, instinctively and rightly, not worried about how Syria would or should become 1, 2, 5, 10 or 100 years from now.
Their main concern is to get rid of the criminals who have ruled their lives for the last 40 years.

If you can not feel or see that, your neutrality would be biased by dissociation from street reality, where you claim you come from.

Please be patient with me, for I may visit your other statements!
Later!

July 3rd, 2011, 10:04 pm

Pretending that Islam is not a power in Syria is a joke, most of us are Muslims and the whole Arab world is becoming more,not less,islamized as more Christians leave and more Muslims turn to Islam to help them cope with the reality of unemployment,poverty and oppression. This phenomenon brought comfort to many but it also helped an extreme version of Islam to thrive and grow. The seculars’ fear of political Islam is justified and you can see its effects in Egypt,Iran,Jordan, northern Lebanon,etc.
The fact that nobody got killed in Hama last Friday is something we all have to be thankful for,it means that the Hamwis on that day did not use violence but it also means that security forces did not fire on protestors. Saying that Hama protest proved that there are no armed militias in Syria is simply untrue,however,I realize that the issue was magnified by the regime for obvious reasons. Insisting that the only party that used violence is the regime casts doubts on the objectivity of some on this blog. As a secular Syrian who is opposed to both Baathists and islamists I find myself in a camp that gets smaller by the day,but in this particular case bigger is not better 🙂

July 3rd, 2011, 10:10 pm

873 said:

The model for Syria option is still moving ahead in Libya.

Partition of Libya Underway?
July 3, 2011 by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, VOLTAIRE NETWORK

TRIPOLI, LIBYE –The arrival of the first group of Libyans who left the Benghazi hell to rejoin their families in Tripoli was photographed by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, for whom this event could signify that a political division of Libya is in progress.
The Ionis, a ship from Benghazi that docked in Tripoli on June 26, 2011, was carrying over 100 people who wanted to leave Benghazi to be unified with their families in Tripoli. This is a significant number for a population of 6 to 6.5 million people.
The arrivals from Benghazi were also mostly visible supporters of Colonel Qaddafi. Some were holding his pictures and others had the green flag of Libya. Others were praising Colonel Qaddafi.

The arrival of the Ionis passenger ship in Tripoli was significant. It is a symptom that the political partition of Libya is underway. When families and individuals are being shuttled to different sides of Libya, it is an indicator that some sort of dividing line will be drawn either temporarily or permanently.

July 3rd, 2011, 10:33 pm

Dialogue works if there is democratic and free enviroment,never there was a dictator who gave his people freedom, Dialogue was not there when Russian overthrew Caezar, no dialogue between french rebels and LouisIV at the time of french revolution, no Dialogue in Tunisia,nor in Egypt, Dialogue did not get rid of Saddam or the Shah of Iran, Dialogue should be after the dictator leaves.

July 3rd, 2011, 10:36 pm

Ah see, anarchy is what they want INITIALLY. After the obtain anarchy, which is the means, the ends will be some new order which is certainly not democracy. In all likelyhood they want theocracy. a3r3ouristy or whatever.

—

And now for the comedy section:

N.Z.,

So the countless videos showing armed gangs just vanished due to yesterday’s protest.

Yet another clown post.

Captain Majed,

>Dialogue was not there when Russian overthrew Caezar

I don’t think the Russian revolution is going to help your case, but I guess your side is ignorant of all aspects of history. Typical!

Note just how NEGATIVE the x-opposition (well, TERROR ENABLERS) are towards this interview. Please pause and notice how impossible these savages are to reconcile.

#11 ABUGHASSAN,

It was magnified by the regime for obvious reasons. May you please explain?
I really will like to understand!

July 3rd, 2011, 11:04 pm

why-discuss said:

With all my respect that is a very disturbing and counterproductive interview

Bassam alKadi points out to the core of the problem. The opposition in 3 month has learned nothing, they are gradually been infiltrated by all kinds of people and is going nowhere. He makes the assessment that both the regime and he opposition are stuck. He sees no solution on short or medium term. He views the attempts of dialogs as doomed. His only recommandation to the regime is:
“Give me the laws for associations, political parties and truly democratic media, and immediately amend the law of demonstrations today, and you’ll see an entirely different picture of Syria within a short time. A picture that does not only frighten the regime, but it frightens the “opposition” to the same extent.”

It is a very depressing vision and I hope he is wrong and that the dynamics of dialogs will move on with some helping hand to break the glass between the opposition and the government.

Wasn’t Hama the place where the security building was attacked and a security person was hanged ,So much for peaceful, the only reason there was no violence is because the security and the police emptied the buildings and left town, otherwise they would have been killed,and that is the real reason for non violence in Hama last Friday.

July 3rd, 2011, 11:05 pm

Majedalkhaldoon

All these revolutions ( no dialog with a dictator) ended up with worse authoritarian regime: Soviet Union, Khomeini etc..
Good luck!

July 3rd, 2011, 11:07 pm

I will rather have them empty the building and leave the town, than lay siege on the town and kill the inhabitants.

Why was the official excused from his post?

July 3rd, 2011, 11:14 pm

Norman

What are the Hama people expecting? a million peaceful protesters in Hama and zero in Damascus and Aleppo? where do they think these demonstrations will lead or maybe they are just not thinking, they are enjoying their ‘freedom’ and the illusion they are participating in a real revolution that would change the country.
Bassam AlKadi says it, the opposition is stuck in a circle and it is turning on itself until it crashes.
They just have shown that they have no capability of doing anything else than protesting. Are they waiting for Godot?

July 3rd, 2011, 11:15 pm

WD,

I agree, any reach of power done through violence will end up with a dictatorship of some kind people who do that feel entitled and suffered so they deserve to rule.

July 3rd, 2011, 11:16 pm

The “revolution” was dead on arrival. It never took off.

Hama’s brainless youth are out on the street whenever a3r3our be3r3ers and tells them to go cut people up and feed them to dogs.

July 3rd, 2011, 11:18 pm

We should not fear the truth even if it was painful. There are thugs in Syria and there is no shortage of thieves and criminals. High unemployment rate,oppression and corruption made Syria a fertile ground for an uprising and unrest,but all of that combined is less dangerous than civil war and partition,this is why I condemned any action from any side that would have brought us closer to
becoming another Iraq. Those who refuse dialogue must give us a clear and sensible alternative because it is not enough to say NO and it is not enough to topple the regime which,like it or not,still has a measurable support among Syrians and,like it or not,still in charge of a huge army and security apparatus that is largely loyal and unified despite few cases of defection. Repeating the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions in Syria is simply undoable without transforming Syria into a battle ground. I may indirectly borrow this line from an Israeli politician: our opposition must love Syria more than it hates the regime,and I am not by any means implying that the opposition does not love Syria,we all do. My humble recommendation: keep the pressure but stay away from violence and sectarian behavior,Bassam is right,and those who attacked him are unwilling to compromise,they are mostly young,inexperienced,militant or a combination of all of that.
(one fellow asked about what I meant by saying the regime magnified the issue of armed resistance,I think this is self explanatory)..

July 3rd, 2011, 11:30 pm

NZ,

He was fired because he did not abide by the law that he is supposed to uphold .

Syria no kandahar said:

Revlon is stating that all (revolutionists)have accepted Antalya plan.So 100%have accepted it.we are moving from Albaath 99%to MB 100%.So Revlon Afandi have checked with ALL the gangs and ALL have agreed on Antalya plan.بقص ايدي if 5% of the gangs on the street knows any thing about Antaya’s idiots meeting.
Revlon you are not worth bassam’s nail,don’t through your destructive fire in his intelligence heaven.

July 3rd, 2011, 11:31 pm

NZ
Why was the official excused from the post?
Can you ask your friends in MB anima mafia:
Why was the official executed on the post?

July 3rd, 2011, 11:42 pm

SYR.Expat said:

Another great accomplishment of the Baath party and the Assad dynasty.

Syria, a country “full of history and culture” and a country with great potential, has made it to the Worst of the Worst 2011 list of the world’s most repressive societies.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/101.pdf

July 3rd, 2011, 11:48 pm

daleandersen said:

“…Give me laws for associations, political parties and truly democratic media and immediately amend the law of demonstrations and you’ll see an entirely different picture of Syria, a picture that does not only frighten the regime but it frightens the opposition…”

That is such a deep and profound statement…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Dale_Andersen/syria-forces-kill-protesters_n_888482_95252297.html

July 3rd, 2011, 11:50 pm

What was the law that he did not abide to? I will really like to know!

July 4th, 2011, 12:00 am

Alex said:

Syr Expat

Ask Freedom House to remember to include Israel next time, then we’ll take their lists seriously.

July 4th, 2011, 12:05 am

No demonstration without permission, He should not have abandon the city to the demonstrators.

July 4th, 2011, 12:09 am

Strong “rumors” about a major shuffle in the leadership of albaath party,not that I think such a move is a game-changer. Leaks from a proposed new political parties law indicating a clear departure from article-8 may be just a test balloon but I tend to believe that the days of free ride in Syrian politics are gone for albaath,a party that was supposed to lead,and look at where we are today after being “led” …
The elephant in the room is not albaath,after all,albaath was just a vehicle….
Syrians want term limits for the president,free elections and a strong and independent judicial system that can control security forces and not the other way around.

AIG said:

Alex,

Seems you did not read the report. Israel is ranked as a free country.
In addition, both Gaza and the West Bank are ranked, and both rank HIGHER than Syria. So yes, Israel is on the list and so are the West Bank and Gaza, but Syria is less free than all three of them.

July 4th, 2011, 12:15 am

>Seems you did not read the report. Israel is ranked as a free country.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh man—bahhahahahahahahaha

Oh my tears.

July 4th, 2011, 12:20 am

Abughassan,

The problem is not the Baath party, The problem is the members of the Baath party that joined for political and economic gains, the single party system has corrupted the Baath party, with multi party system the Baath party will get itself from the opportunists that it has and become what was meant to be an Arab nationalistic party that speaks to the dreams and the aspiration of the Arab people.

July 4th, 2011, 12:27 am

Some math,away from politics:
23 kids were born to the jusr alshoughor free meals seekers in Turkey,in about a month:
276 in 12 months for 10000 people
27600 in 12 months for 1 million
276000 for 10 million people
635000 kids for 23 millions in one year.

So 635000 new mouths every year,needing food,education,jobs ….etc
That is almost 7 millions every 10 years
So year 2021 Syria will be 30 millions people

With such a growth rate no democracy or freedom or Ba’ath or Aroor or MB or
Sunni or Alawi or Druz or any thing will matter ….will be going backwards .syrians have to keep there zippers on sometimes to be able to survive.

July 4th, 2011, 12:35 am

Jad said:

بلشت العرعرة، عفواً الصرصرة:

شـبـكـة أخـبـار حـمـاه | H.N.N
عاجل | حماة – الآن |
قطع الطرق من قبل الأشخاص الذين يقومون بالتظاهر يوميآ في منطقة الجراجمة و جنوب الملعب و الحاضر و دوار حلب… مع حرق للإيطارات، أعمدة الدخان تتصاعد في في محيط “دوار السباهي”.

وسنوافيكم بالمزيد فور وصوله

Abughassan

I really don’t know anymore what the people want. They say they want to topple the regime, they say they want Bashar out, they say they want freedom. They say they want a leader who is a true moslem, they say they want to demonstrate without permission. None say they want reforms. The opposition intellectuals want reforms, but who in the street is listening to them? Their voices is totally covered by the call for a lawless country
If they don’t get that, why would they stop? and who would stop them?

July 4th, 2011, 12:47 am

# 37 It looks like the new mayor/in charge has swung into action!
The relieved one did not show such theatrical capabilities!

July 4th, 2011, 1:13 am

Dear Majed
What I meant by trailing was that the interviewers had very good knowledge of Bassam’s views on things, and the questions were designed to highlight several statements, that were already made by Bassam in different articles he has published recently. Questions therefore, trailed previous statements and were designed with answers being expected. There was only one deviation. The interview could have easily been substituted by excerpt from the interviewee’s recent articles. And thus it trailed and did not yield much new insights into Bassam Alkadi’s ideas except for confirming, to me, that Mr. Alkadi seems to have abandoned his role as civil rights worker and is now wearing the politician’s hat. I have no problem with that, and in fact I see it as a positive development because politicians with civil rights background are better than without.

N.Z.
When I wrote about illiberal society I was describing what I sensed from the article, not my own feeling.

I still reserve the right to bring up my other points at later time, but I would argue for now, that of all of us, ABUGHASSAN takes the prize for being the least ideological and most capable of seeing with both eyes. However, we have debated the mistakes of Arab Secularists on Syria Comments, and I think that debate should be re-opened sooner than later.

July 4th, 2011, 1:55 am

Simon said:

Positive article, wishful thinking,a real acknowledgement of pulling powers in this transitional time,needs more explanation about the way of achieving Secularism.

July 4th, 2011, 2:23 am

Why Israel must smear the Muslims, Muslims arent just on to Israel but exposing it. Al Jazeera was put on sale years ago, with Israeli sayanim being top bidders.

July 4th, 2011, 2:40 am

Usama said:

I added the following on an earlier post before noticing this new one. Sorry for the repeat if you have already read it.

This second conference at Samiramis was not an “opposition” conference. It was composed mainly of past and current independent members of Parliament (Majlis ash-Sha`b) (I think around 80 seats are reserved for independents). I don’t know who that person is who was talking about toppling the regime, but he had angered a lot of people earlier by insulting the army al-Jazeera style. People didn’t do anything when he did that and kept quiet until he decided to unilaterally declare that the “people” want to topple the regime.

Even though everyone in Syria wants to see change, it is very naive to start assuming that everyone in these conferences wants to go as far as toppling the regime. Chanting for Bashar does not mean rejection of a more representative Parliament with free elections.

By the way, a current independent member of Parliament, Habash (I forgot his first name) did the same with insulting the army’s role and has been doing so for over a month now, and even on state TV! He hasn’t been beaten… yet, lol. I think anyone who wants to undermine the army’s role, and especially during the current crisis, should be viewed with suspicion. Not beaten (yet), but watched.

Also I don’t think the owner of Samiramis will accept to host such meetings anymore.

July 4th, 2011, 2:48 am

Today in history…

Iran mourns 1988 airliner downing by US warship
By NASSER KARIMI, AP Sun Jul 3, 2011

BANDAR ABBAS, Iran – Iranians mourning a 23-year-old airline tragedy tossed flowers in the Gulf on Sunday at the site where an Iranian passenger plane was downed by a U.S. warship, killing all 290 aboard in an incident Washington describes as a mistake but many in Iran consider a deliberate attack.

More than 80 relatives of those killed in the July 3, 1988 downing of the Iran Air A300 dropped red, white and pink flowers into the sea. More flowers cascaded down from helicopters.

The USS Vincennes shot down the Dubai-bound airliner shortly after it took off from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. Washington said the Vincennes mistook the airliner for a hostile Iranian fighter jet. Iran maintains it was an ordered attack — a month before the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

“The crime by the United States is never forgivable. The stain will remain on the U.S. forever,” said Hesameddin Ansari, 34, who lost his father in the crash.

Abbas Barati, a resident of Bandar Abbas who was 16 years old when the plane went down, said the city was overwhelmed with the bodies pulled from the sea.

“There was not enough space in the forensic center to keep bodies of victims,” he said. “Many of them were kept in any available cold place.”

The anniversary has become an annual outpouring of anger at America and has drawn wider coverage in state media in recent years as the standoff deepens over Iran’s nuclear program. On Sunday, Iranian television repeatedly showed 1988 footage of the remains of the victims’ bodies.

Iranian divers put a model of the plane in the nearby waters. In Tehran, a 50-foot (15-meter) picture of the Airbus was set in a major junction.

Tehran has called for the commander of USS Vincennes at the time, William C. Rogers III, to be brought to trial. In 1990, then-President George H. W. Bush awarded Rogers the Legion of Merit for his service as a commanding officer, without mentioning the Airbus downing.

In 1999, Iran said that it had received $130 million from a 1996 settlement that included compensation for families of the victims.

July 4th, 2011, 3:12 am

>I think anyone who wants to undermine the army’s role, and especially during the current crisis, should be viewed with suspicion. Not beaten (yet), but watched.

I think they should be deported to Israel or Saudi Arabia where they belong.

July 4th, 2011, 3:14 am

#36

This is the problem with uneducated and poor people. As well as criminals. They will multiply at a higher rate than educated, wealthy and non-criminal families.

July 4th, 2011, 3:35 am

Tara said:

” give me the laws for association, political parties and truely democratic media and immediately amend the law of demonstrations today, and you will see an entirely different picture of Syria within a short time. A picture that does not only frighten the regime, but it frighten the ” opposition” to the same extent. ”

What a climax!

True indeed. This is one of the most profound statement I have enjoyed during this crisis. “The true Syrian bride”. A Syria that is free and proud. A syria that is democratic and secular. A Syria that provides equal rights to it’s citizen. A Syria without taboos and without fears. A Syria the celebrate it’s diversity instead of trying to homogenize it. A Syria where Arooris and sectarian”pseudo-secularists never have a chance. A Syria that gives it’s own citizen a chance to do well and excel just as they do well and excel in the west.

But how do we get there?

What we have now is a street that is continuing on revolutioning, Internal opposition by invitation only, external opposition with non- visionary vision wanting to replace the regime with another thug but Sunni this time ( AKA, Farouk Sharaa) and perhaps does not mind foreign intervention that would force the future Syrian bride to conform to the west political agenda so she is not that proud anymore, and finally some loose but impotent intellectuals here and there.

Agree that the protest movement may become at risk of disintegration. The irony is the regime stupidity ( no offense) is sustaining it with more blood and therefore it ain’t going to disintegrate. Hama ‘s massive peaceful demonstrations were social gatherings where people coming out and enjoying their Fridays. These peaceful demonstrations are peaceful only because security forces pulled out so there were no killings. However these demonstration/ social gatherings would not get us anywhere and they are the demonstrations that may disintegrate…Nevertheless, I hear they are not going to be peaceful any more with the tanks rolling in.

Agree immediate free election will not be meaningfully free until the anticipated new democratic laws have been in effete for a year. I look at internal and external opposition figures and I ask Tara, the proud revolutionist, who does she want to be her future president? When tara takes them at their face value, she does not see any handsome guy to fall for and the appearance is all what she knows about them. She does not know their real agenda and I just am not interested in replacing Jr with a perhaps worse dictator. And therefore, some time need to elapse before Tara can cast an informed vote in regard to any potential candidate.

Finally, mean Tara can not help to not hurt the feelings of the “wallah menhebak ya Bashar. Remember my opinion about the third ” historical speech” being a historical Blah Blah Blah of nothing? All these talks about reform are good ( assuming genuine interest) but we are not waiting for reform to be established while the killing machine is still going on. Bashar would’ve made history had the third historical speech included a paragraph where (yes) he touched our heart with an apology first, and then a short term immediate plan to stop the killing, stop the torture, curb the security apparatus, exile Maher, try key criminal figures, and really allow demonstrations to take place. He must also promise a future term limit and indicate that 12 years is enough for him and he would not run again. To save face, he could’ve offer few excuses for the killings such as mistakes do occur , lack of experience with riot control or whatever. Tara would forgive and only then would have hailed his speech as historic.

Are we stuck? I am still looking for فارس الاحلام to come on his white Arabic horse to free the ” true Syrian bride” and live happily ever after.

Now, I must go shopping. And no I am not buying a Chanel bag.

July 4th, 2011, 4:08 am

abbas said:

Why is the president of the Syrian Woman Observatory… a man!!!

July 4th, 2011, 4:09 am

Yazan said:

Dear Tara,
Perhaps this speech of the wonderful Mamdouh Odwan, can help us understand why we can’t seem to “trust” those good people trying to reform the country. 1981, he says everything I wanna say in 2011. Shame.

July 4th, 2011, 4:15 am

#49 Dear yazan, Thank you for posting the link to this precious piece of Syrian history archive.

July 4th, 2011, 4:47 am

I agree. We should stop calling it a revolution and just call it a demographic explosion. Same phenomenon at the beginning of the demos in Yemen with mainly 12 years-old playing the “heroes in Gaza” with not much else to do but to wait the evening and watch themselves on al Jazeera news.

July 4th, 2011, 4:54 am

Tara,

I found your friends demonstrating peaceful in Homs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSAHIC09yaw

Such a lovely bunch. Why, I would gladly have them over for a cup of tea and a calm reasoned discussion.

Peaceful protestors for all! I hope every country against Syria gets their own “peaceful” protestors to promote “democracy” in their nation.

July 4th, 2011, 5:09 am

I have a new song for revolution lovers:

Menhebak menhebak wallah menheback ya a3r3our
wo menheb al erhabi, al salafi wa sarsour
Menheb al saroukh wo menheb al rashash
3atini al masari la3no anna hashash

Not copyrighted, sing it publically to your hearts content. Just put down the RBG so that you don’t hurt the other “peaceful demonstrators” behind you!

July 4th, 2011, 5:28 am

YAZAN
Thanks for the link. What a mind. I think Mamdouh Adwan’s comment can be complemented by Azmi Bishara’s words, which boil to the following:

The regime lies, not to create a new narrative, for it knows that no one believes it, but primarily to confuse truth with fiction and to create so much noise so that the two can barely be distinguishable.

Brace yourself for attack on Azmi.

July 4th, 2011, 6:06 am

Yazan& off the wall,

Hi guys. Sneaking a wi fi opportunity. Great exchange as usual.

Yazan, I am glad you ok. You know I get worried about disappearances.

July 4th, 2011, 6:14 am

Why,

Your last comment addressed to Tara was quite disappointing. You, why, could do much better…

Not to admit oppression is present in Syria and this is not a “bread revolution” is wrong and I know you know it.

July 4th, 2011, 6:18 am

Off the tangent, TARA,

Care to look at the video of your comrades? Or too scared to see the truth?

>Azmi Bishara

HAHAHAHAHA, you mean the guy that was caught getting bribed ON AIR by al khanzeera.

OF THE WALL INDEED, you fell to the floor and your brain jumped out of your head.

July 4th, 2011, 6:21 am

TarA said:

Jad,

Agree the 31 mil $ is not a lot. Agree I can’t judge Bashar out of context of more corrupt ME. Agree I am influenced by the western standard.

I hope out of respect that we do not hear about further bank accounts.

And finally , jad, thank you for your contribution. Although we hold different views, I have nothing but respect for you

July 4th, 2011, 6:23 am

Just because you ignore a video doesn’t mean everyone can’t see it.

It works for a child though, they think people disappear when they cover their eyes.

People are fed up, the traitors have gone on for too long. I expect the population to start turning on the government if the traitors and terrorists are not dealt with in short order. This is probably part of the enemy’s plans.

July 4th, 2011, 6:38 am

33. AIG said:
“Seems you did not read the report. Israel is ranked as a free country. In addition, both Gaza and the West Bank are ranked, and both rank HIGHER than Syria. So yes, Israel is on the list and so are the West Bank and Gaza, but Syria is less free than all three of them.”

Freedom House? LOLOL isnt that another AIPAC treason outfit? Or was that B’nai B’rith?
Free Gaza Gulag, where emaciated kids live on less than $1.00 per day while across the TSA checkpoints of Erez, Rafal etc, Israelis are so fat their food garbage disposal problem is that of a much larger fiefdom.

Freedom is all in the mind and the wallet. (Or ‘whats mine is mine and whats yours is mine’)
“When a jew has a gentile in his clutches, another jew may go to the same gentile, lend him money and in his turn deceive him, so that the gentile shall be ruined. For the property of a gentile (according to our laws) belongs to no one, and the first jew that passes has the full right to seize it.”– Shulchak Aruk, Law 24

When a jew makes a deal with a gentile, and another jew comes up and deceives the gentile no matter in what manner, whether he give him false measure or overcharge him, then both jews must share between them the profits sent them by Jehovah.”–Schulchak Aruk Law 27

“It is always a meritorious deed to get hold of a gentile’s possessions.”- Law 55

And in an observation so contemporary to 2011 America, it could have (and should have) been asked by the jew-controlled SEC and Fed Reserve- before the goyim were parted with trilions of bailout cash, aka a ‘Gift from Jehovah’

“By what miracle did whole provinces of France become heavily mortgaged to the jews, when there are only 60,000 of them in the country?”– Napoleon, 1806

Freedom House, like IRI, NED and Carnegie think tanks are privatized coup event planners for the One World Gov owners. . Absurd.

July 4th, 2011, 6:50 am

Dear OTW,
Mamdouh Odwan is one of those last great men who parted with us this past decade. Such a loss, truly. Odwan, Maghout, Ojaily, Munif; all in the space of a few short years. May they rest in peace.

Dear Tara,
I’m always lurking* around, don’t worry.

*Lurking, aka, mundass.

July 4th, 2011, 6:54 am

khananel said:

I’m always astonished when liberals and people of that ilk who talk about ‘democracy’ as if a sountry like Syria exists in a vacuum…
Iran more or less supports Syria. Israel and Saudi oppose Syria. Washington wants regime change. Assad and the Allawites and the Elites hold the centre. As a result of this most people have food on the table, a roof over their heads, and a reasonably stable if suffocating system of govt. This is the ME not Europe. The dynamics of power are different.

In the most recent events, not one single Arab regime OF CONSEQUENCE has actually fallen. Libya is teetering. All changes have occurred internally. Iran has probably gained more than most.

Assad in Syria will hold I think because there is noone strong enough either to usurp him or to take over Syria effectively and succefully. Iran supports him.

Turkey will not go against Iran as Iran supplies 1/3 Turkish oil. These are thre realities of power in Syria as far as I understand it. I’m willing to be corrected/enlightened…

July 4th, 2011, 7:04 am

Messianic Christian Couple in Israel Accused of Converting Minor
A neighbor confronts 16-year-old Donna Lubofsky about her faith.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews harass, threaten pair even though 16-year-old has not converted.

JERUSALEM, July 2 (CDN) — A hard-line Jewish ultra-Orthodox group in Israel that singles out Jewish Christians known as Messianic Jews for harassment and abuse is taking aim at a couple it claims is manipulating minors into becoming Christians.

The group, Yad L’Achim, this week placed leaflets around the home of Serge and Naama Kogen, 37 and 42 respectively, in Mevasseret Zion, a suburban community located just west of Jerusalem. The same week someone took out a full-page ad in a local newspaper giving the couple’s address and telling residents they were part of a missionary group “targeting” the community. The Kogens are native Israelis and hence not part of any missionary group.

The advertisement invited the public to a protest planned against the Kogens, and on Sunday (June 26), about 20 of the group’s supporters demonstrated outside the couple’s home, where they denounced them over megaphones for 90 minutes.

The protests came after Yad L’Achim lost a court case against the Kogens and their congregational leader, Asher Intrater. The group had accused them of “proselytizing” minors.

July 4th, 2011, 7:31 am

Dear YAZAN

I agree, these, and others of their contemporaries (الطيب صالح) are irreplaceable loss. But they left us wonderful work that will continue to inspire generations.

Te value of their works will be further compounded when the dark age of despotism is over and when despots are gone with the wind.

Until next time, lurk carefully.

Dear TARA

This is probably as fundamental as the where to question. I think Bassam only spoke about the laws, but the laws themselves are nothing more than ink on paper, or now a day state of molecules. Institutions that guarantee the implementation is what counts, and many posts on Syria comment have defined not the institutions but the most important of their characteristics. An independent Judiciary will be one of the most crucial and the extrication of security procedures and practices from all state agencies and replacing them with transparency institutional setting would be as important institutional reform.

ABBAS
Beats me, you would think that by now, the Observatory would have developed a cadre of women ready to take the helm.

Commando @ 57
How profound…..!

July 4th, 2011, 8:07 am

Tara, OTW,
I agree with OTW’s statement. The main problem with today’s Syria is that it is beyond doubt a lawless state. Law has absolutely no value, as brilliantly displayed by the meaningless act of revoking the emergency law, and how little effect it had on the ground. This regime that has been hiding its brutality behind the thin veil of the emergency law, just completely shed that veil, and you can see all too clearly what kind of state we lived, live in.

July 4th, 2011, 8:22 am

#63

I aim to please.

You may enjoy this video of the aftermath from the (of course ”
“peaceful”) demonstrations in Douma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHnrvipI7rk

Window for dialog is closing, the population can’t bare these acts of terrorism for long.

July 4th, 2011, 8:27 am

Amir in Tel Aviv said:

From what I read, this nasty junta is now terrorizing 7ama (again). They ignore Erdogan’s warning.
.

July 4th, 2011, 8:51 am

Dear Mr AlQadi,
You said:
“I object to describing what the West is doing (especially the US, French, British, and German governments) as “close follow up”. On the contrary, their intervention is a deliberate provocation of the crisis with one goal, and that is to coerce the Syrian People to adopt the Libyan Scenario, or to force the regime to surrender to the West’s political agenda.”

Your statement echoes the regime’s and is unfounded
It contradicts facts that I am aware of, including statements and actions conveyed thus far by officials of these countries , which can be summarised as follows:
– They do not intend to intervene militarily in Syria
– They see the Syrian example as different from both the Egyptian and Libyan ones.
– They adopted an extremely cautious, stepwise, and proportionate diplomatic and economical measures to persuade the regime to stop the violent crackdown, and engage in true reforms.

As a matter of fact, it was the Syrian regime that tried to blackmail the west and Israel for their support in return for maintaining peace and quiet with Israel!

Unfortunately for the regime, their chances to garner support of the West in return for major Foreign policy concessions was dealt a lethal blow by:
– Loss of their credibility as a result of Quidaffi’s style statements by Jr’s cousin.
– The unstoppable tide of the revolution, which rendered the regime a lame duck.

You said:
“They [the West] have not only ignored facts on the ground, but have recently started exerting open pressure on the Syrian People, by punishing state-owned institutions and companies that tens of thousands of Syrian families depend on for their livelihood. “

To my knowledge, the names of VIP’s and institutions that was blacklisted by the west is a very abridged version of the Syrian Revolution’s.

July 4th, 2011, 9:21 am

Yeah the 4th “flying tank” army tried to enter 7ama twice only to be chased out with sticks. [thanks @JomanaCNN]

Maher Assad was seen with a flame thrower killing children in a kindergarten.

Meanwhile, in the capitals Damascus and Allepo, ba’ath thugs were out on the street in the millions pretending to be normal citizens and chlidren (they have shape shifting devices) in order to fool CNN’s film crew.

Erdogan was very angry as a result of his warning being ignored, he informed Bashaar that his face was turning red and might reach 1600 degrees Celcius. This would mean imminent war because he will go critical as he is a very emotionally sensitive homosexual like his idol Attaturk.

Stay tuned for more headlines from bat-shit-insane news stations like BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, France24, Orient and their friends.

yqxo said:

“Hence I publicly supported ‘precise surgical operation’ by the regime against those militias.”

In other words this guy is fully buying — and what is worse — reiterating the Assad’s propaganda? I’ve yet to see any kind of tangible proof that militia or insurgency were a problem or did even exist! (People armed with sticks and rocks is not insurgency, it is their last attempt to self defense. They would of course over time turn insurgency were their lives threatened continuously)

Only thing coming out of Syria that one can trust (which is a little) shows basically armed forces going from city to city, causing local population to flee and frightened.

Unfortunately I don’t think there is easy way out, this is a bit like the Gbagbo incident, where the man in charge controls the narrative. Fortunately (I think) none is going to touch Syria with intervention, they simply have credible armed forces. But lack of political pressure for instance allowing foreign journalists to the country is simply irresponsible.

July 4th, 2011, 9:33 am

64. Yazan said:
“I agree with OTW’s statement. The main problem with today’s Syria is that it is beyond doubt a lawless state.”

Sir, you need to worry about the illegal, undeclared stealth nuclear weapons factory you Japanese had hidden under FUKUSHIMA and how Japan’s coverup has added to your country’s lawless perjury, lying and incompetence re: the WORST crises in modern history. A crises that is daily dousing the northern hemisphere with genocidal levels of toxic plutonium. And worse is yet to come. Or do you work for Magal, the Israeli security co that controlled Fukushima before the multiple meltdowns? Either way, best to clean up Japan’s act before pointing your irradiated fingers at others.

The ‘polite’ lawlessness inside your borders literally imperils the entire world. What happens in Syria stays in Syria, not so Japan’s lawless genocidal poisoning.

Observer said:

I would argue that this regime has made Syria a lawless country.

Where on earth do you find a state where its constitution exohnarates the security forces from the law and are immune from prosecution?

Where on earth do you have the Mayor of a City fired for actually managing to let demonstrations happen on Friday without bloodshed and without property destruction?

Where on earth do you find a constitution that does not allow the Parliament to legislate as in Syria, only a discussion of proposed laws by the President.

Where on earth do you find a country where the President is also the President of the Supreme Court?

Where on earth do you have in the constitution the ruling party enshrined as the leader of the political and social life of the country?

This is a banana republic but unfortunately a brutal corrupt banana republic.

The beating of one of the people meeting in Semiramis hotel for voicing his opinion about the need to dismantle the regime and the shouts of God Syria and Bashar indicates clearly that the meeting was for a monologue where the regime is talking to itself.

There are elements in the constitution as it is today that can be implemented immediately and others that can be suspended the problem is that every time Junior does talk there is nothing happening on the ground.
He says he ordered a pardon and yet no one is released. He orders the stopping of violence and there is ongoing shooting and snipers and tanks and thugs. He says we are to open the society and yet no foreign correspondents are allowed to work freely. He says that there is a conspiracy and yet fails to prove his point. He says that there are three types of protesters fanatics, foreign agents, and those in need of a better life. He already has refused to allow into the debate the genuine desire on the part of the people to have a new political landscape in Syria; denying their very existence.

As for the interview, there are many a good point; but like all intellectuals, there is also a gap between the “street” and those that are pontificating about due process and slow progress.

Junior has been saying “we will” since he took office without any real change. We will do this and we will do that and in reality he did only one thing stay in power and enshrine his inner circle.

There is a precedent for changing the constitution and for making the change work very rapidly: the constitution was changed to allow him to become President when he did not meet the age requirement. It was done at light speed and implemented in seconds.

It can be done immediately.

Pray tell me who is ordering the troops in this or that village, who is ordering the shooting, who is ordering the forced entry into homes, who is ordering the firing of tear gas, who is ordering the checkpoints, who is ordering the shops to be open, who is ordering the subsidies to the fuel cost, who is ordering the press. The fact that actions are happening tells me that there is a functioning system when it comes to oppression and therefore it can also function to stop it immediately.

Forty years of single person rule has come home to roost; this is why there is no opposition for it has been brutally oppressed and exiled and killed and imprisoned to the point that even thinking beyond the eternal leader who leads us from the grave is not a possibility any more. Even his statutes needed to be dismantled for they do not have enough security to guard them from vandalism.

July 4th, 2011, 9:34 am

Interesting video clip of the failed Sameeramis II

– Notice the involvement of a waiter (Thug) in a heated discussion.
– check out the persona and statements of two participants
– Contrast the shabbe7a style conference with the greatest rally revolution’s in 7ama last Friday:
Organisation and unity and clarity of purpose.

July 4th, 2011, 9:35 am

Tara

Read this: Emmanuel Todd Interview in Der Spiegel

http://www.metransparent.com/spip.php?page=imprimer_article&id_article=14555&lang=en

I stick to my position. For me, these revolutions in the arab world are first about bread and a demographic and also about the growing injustice in wealth repartition.
It happens that these countries have authoritarian regimes,complex religious and ethnic groups as well as a sensitive geopolitical position. That gives these ‘revolution’ a variety of colors we have seen in the last month. Just look at the slogans, none say we want bread and work opportunities, they say we want karama, freedom, a moslem leader, etc….
Of course it sounds so much more noble and spectacular to claim that our country wants ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy” than that we just want bread!

July 4th, 2011, 9:44 am

Tara, WD,

I will have to agree with Why-Discuss on this one.

July 4th, 2011, 9:46 am

Observer

I love this Banana republic and I can’t stand the self righteous USA and its hypocritical democratically elected preachers.

July 4th, 2011, 9:50 am

Who needs memdouh Adwan if you have brute thinkers like Revlon :
Syrian people are different because they eat فول and حمص not ملوخيه like the Egyptians,the gases resulting from that can result in Sunni power which can blow the regime in seconds,this is Alaaroor patented invention in addition to his other inventions:hanging on the pole invention,screaming Allah Akbar invention,cleaning the third invention,شوي يعني ازا مات ميت الف invention.
The other blessing for Syria is that Syrian MB is gay not like the egyptions one,imagine the money which Syria will get from:Alton John,lady Gaga,gov Mcgreevi…
Revlon god have blessed Syria with your gases..,keep eating Homs and fool…with your gases,NZ,Majeed,OTW,Shami….سوريه ستكون بخير

July 4th, 2011, 9:52 am

Syria’s Protesters Find Little Support in Pop Music

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/syrian-rappers-urge-restraint-protesters-little-support-popular-071007422.html

“Jawaad’s track (which was recorded a month into the unrest), and some half a dozen others including “Dudd al-Balad” (“Against the Country”) by Murder Eyes, have all been against the protests, although not necessarily supportive of Assad’s brutal attempts to suppress them”

Dudd al Nizam video

July 4th, 2011, 10:09 am

It is indeed a gas powered revolution

The gases coming out of the revolting animals in the street shooting aar bei djez at grandmother’s homes is overpowering. Looks like the Salafists consider it haram to shower every once in a while.

They’re turning Syria into a gas chamber, the tourists are running away from the stench.

SYRIA NO KANDAHAR
cc Daleadersen

You should make a ‘revolution’ rapp video about فول و حمص and gases and send it to Daleandersen who likes unusual smells.
I think Revlon would also add it to his collection of videos.

July 4th, 2011, 10:15 am

syau said:

Syrian Commando #68,

Have you heard the latest Aljazeera broadcast?
‘without prejudice’

Breaking news: A credible eyewitness reported Maher was not only seen at the kindergarten, but also taking part in simultaneous missions across Syria, destroying as many child care centres and kindergartens as possible, before moving on to more important targets, such as destruction of infrastructure throughout the country.

Eyewitnesses state they saw Maher today, in Damascus at 9am, Tartous at 9:10am, Daara at 9:15am, Aleppo at 9:25am and in Deir Al zour at 9:30am. Eyewitnesses said Maher took a quick morning tea break, before promptly getting back to business.

They said when looking at Maher’s agenda through their binoculars (whilst at the window of a nice spacious room in Aljazeera’s Qatar HQ) they noticed he had a full day’s work ahead of him, with Homs being next on his hit list, then Idleb, moving on to Hasakeh, just before entering Latakia. After a quick lunch break, one eyewitness says Maher will be flying off to Hawaii for some Rest and relaxation, and then heading back to Syria where he will conclude his mission in Daara, before heading home in time for dinner.

Erdogan called in during a live broadcast, stating his face changed colour from red with anger, to green with envy at Maher’s magical abilities, saying only 3ar3our can console him as he has moved on from Attaturk. He did say that he felt better after 3ar3our’s number was passed on to him, so, the owners of Aljazeera celebrated by creating yet another fake video to add to their ever growing stack of fabrications.Stay tuned, it’s sure to be a doozy.

July 4th, 2011, 10:20 am

70. Observer said:
I would argue that this regime has made Syria a lawless country.
Where on earth do you find a state where its constitution exohnarates the security forces from the law and are immune from prosecution?

Where on earth do you find a constitution that does not allow the Parliament to legislate as in Syria, only a discussion of proposed laws by the President….

Hypocrisy? Where in the world are the complaints you attribute to Syria NOT common around the world? Including the self-proclaimed western democracies? USA and its multi-coalition of the killing backed by 35+ countries? Complicit in Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, Kandahar, secret rendition torture chambers throughout the EU etc. C’mon dude, be fair and impartial otherwise youre just another biased shill. Power does whatever it can get away with- in EVERY country, not just Syria. Usually the stronger the power the more egregious the abuse- look at Israel and its puppet the USA. Tops the perp list unquestionably.

July 4th, 2011, 10:29 am

vlad-the-syrian said:

SNK @75

haha this is very smart. We can get gas at low price by stuffing the zombies revlislamists with “fool” all day long. Cheap man power, cheap plants, cheap investments.

Companion Oh My God, Oh my God!
He said: Quick…quick….
Companion; What? You have shot video?
He said: Quick… quick ….every thing is recorded….Take it! quick quick

Those were the last few words that this young man mumbled before he passed away.

He was shot in the head by one of Jr’s snipers in the safety of his home, while taking video of ongoing protest down the street.

His brain part blown up, he was sober enough to make his last wish!
He requested the evidence of his killing to be preserved and documented!
We are all witnesses to his last wish: Excise justice from his killer and every one who ordered the shooting up to the top of the gang.

AlFati7a upon his soul,
May God bless his family with solace, and empower them with patience.

July 4th, 2011, 10:35 am

Syrian Knight said:

“Bassam: This proposition is flawed from the get go. We can’t talk about “free parliamentary elections” as of today. For elections to be “free,” all necessary tools and mechanisms must have been made available for all parties for an adequate period of time prior to holding any such election. How can the vast propaganda and media machines of both the Ruling Party and of the Islamists be effectively countered? Any such elections will not be “free” in a meaningful way until the anticipated new democratic laws (Party Law, Media Law, and Free Assembly Law) have been in effect for at least a full year.
Anything less and elections would be limited to only the blindly pro-regime and the blindly anti-regime camps.”

This response to a legitimate question is flawed. The fact that he is willing to dance around the question and deny reality is proof of his bias. The question asked was who he thought would win in a FREE election next year, and made no mention of all the irrelevant drivel he spoke of in his response. That’s because he knows the answer quite well. Bashar would win. I did not bother to read the rest of this trash.

July 4th, 2011, 10:36 am

Hama is on General strike: in repsonse to house searches and arrests.
Today.

The strike will be indefinite, untill the cessation of house searches and the release of prisoners.

July 4th, 2011, 10:50 am

#79 SYAU

BREAKING NEWS: Khaddam on Al Arabiya said Al-Rastan was strong enough to destroy the entire Syrian army.

Homs seems to have invented a ray cannon so strong, that not even the Syrian army could penetrate their defense. Rastan will soon be the capital of the Earth as it uses this cannon to strike fear into the enemies of a3r3our, who will be declared emperor of the universe.

His first task is to solve the age old chicken and egg problem.

#83

Hama in general strike!

Next, the whole of Syria will have a general strike on Hama due to bad trade and the problem will solve itself. General strikes only work when its countrywide. Let them starve the other people out, they’ll be begging the army to intervene not long from now.

Well done idiot “revolution”, you’re about to ruin your only real base of power (and even then, not the majority of people in Hama).

July 4th, 2011, 10:51 am

Thug M. Mifle7 have been re-installed head of military intelligence in Hama.

His arrival have coincided with staged, fake videoed acts of disturbane, creating an impression of a plan for violent regime comeback.

The Syrian Revolution 2011 الثورة السورية ضد بشار الاسد
هام ومؤكــــــد :: بعد استلام الجزار محمد مفلح وارجاعه لمنصبه مع ترفيعه للواء
بسبب مجزرة حماه بجمعة اطفال الحرية و استلامه الملف الامني لحماه بعد ان
كان الملف الامني بيد د.انس الناعم امين فرع الحزب بحماه … تتعرض حماة لحملة قتل واعتقال هذا هو حوارهم .. هذه هي إصلاحاتهم .. ويقولون حوار

July 4th, 2011, 10:59 am

Staged? Faked?

Wow, so now these words are entering the faker and stager’s language?

Very amusing REVLON!

July 4th, 2011, 11:09 am

Nour said:

SC:

It’s about time the army entered Hama to clean it from the thugs. People were not going to put up with their crap any longer. It is one thing to protest for your own demands, but when you start terrorizing others and forcing them to accept your calls for protests and strikes under the threat of severe material and physical harm, you have crossed all boundaries of acceptable behavior and it’s time that you are put back in your place. People can call for general strikes if they want, but if others don’t want to observe these strikes they should be free to do so, and not have to feel like their lives and livelihoods are in danger just because they decided to go about their regular business. Law and order must be restored.

July 4th, 2011, 11:30 am

Revlon
ويقولون حوار
هل وافقتم عليه ياغبي؟
هل تعلم انه قبل ثورتك الغبيه لم يكن لازما فاتحاتك؟
اي انك تقتل القتيل وتمشي في جنازته
ثم تأكل فول
ثم تنتج غاز
وتلوث سوريتنا
اللتي كانت نظيفه بدون غازك
والآن فيها موت
وفيها غاز
وفيها حزن
وفيها عار
وفيها عهر

July 4th, 2011, 11:52 am

Hama’s governor was removed for allowing protestors to control the city which left the government with two options: use force and cause the loss of lives or watch and do nothing,and they decided to watch and do-nothing .there is a movement in Hama,after Banyas and aljisr,to close the city to outsiders including the government. This movement managed to burn several buildings and brought tens of thousands to the streets,some say hundred of thousands. The buttom line is no government will allow citizens to form small emirates within the country and impose their own rules,there is no presence of the government in Hama and that is very dangerous and it needs to end. I was glad to see that nobody lost his life in Hama last Friday,but some People must understand that there is one government in Syria and one army,you can call the government corrupt and brutal but that is beside the point.

July 4th, 2011, 11:54 am

Syria’s national dialogue body invites prominent opposition figure

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/04/c_13965317.htm

DAMASCUS, July 4 (Xinhua) — A prominent Syrian opposition figure said Monday that he was invited to take part in the forthcoming consultative meeting scheduled in the capital of Damascus for July 10.

Lawyer Hassan Abdel-Azim, the secretary general of the Arab Socialist Union party and the spokesman for the National Democratic Gathering, told Xinhua by phone that the national dialogue body, which was set earlier by Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, had sent an official invitation to the coordination body of the national opposition parties.

Abdel-Azim, however, refused to confirm whether he or what he represents will take part in the consultative meeting, saying this should be discussed in a meeting with opposition parties.

July 4th, 2011, 11:59 am

Great article on the ‘bigger picture’ by Pepe Escobar (from the Atimes), but this one for the AJE website
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/07/201173142127501343.html

Let’s simply learn Chinese or Russian and watch the Jewish and Christian Zionist fundamentalists eat each other!

July 4th, 2011, 12:15 pm

???
Why would the Xtians & zionists eat each other? They’d have to be equal adversaries for that to happen. The ‘useful idiot’ xtians long ago sold out to their own religious illusions and false doctrine. A Xtian vs. zionist match is so lopsided would be like a blade of grass standing up to an oncoming tank. The khazar zionists long ago chewed up the xtian zionists. All thats left is for the khazars to finally spit them out.

“Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away.”- Netanyahu after visit to AIPAC super spy sayan Jonathan Pollard

“America is something that can be easily moved. Moved to the right direction. They wont get in our way.”-Netanyahu

July 4th, 2011, 12:27 pm

Waiting anxiously to hear regime ‘s supporters changing position from praising Hama peaceful demonstration TO now providing pretext for a perhaps mini Hama 2.

July 4th, 2011, 12:32 pm

كيف يرهبون الشعوب إعلامياً
الإثنين، 04 تموز 2011 08:55

فيصل القاسم
كلنا يعرف أن الإعلام سلاح ماض، تستخدمه الدول، والجماعات للإخضاع، والهيمنة، والترويض.

ففي الغرب، مثلاً، تـُعتبر وسائل الإعلام، والدعاية عتلة هائلة لتطويع المجتمعات، وبرمجتها. ويعترف الكاتب الاسترالي الشهير جون بلجر، بأن الإعلام في الغرب، هو أداة ترويع من نوع ما، فكما تستخدم الدول الشمولية العنف لتركيع مجتمعاتها، وتطويعها فإن الدول “الديموقراطية” الغربية تستخدم الإعلام لضبط شعوبها، وإخضاعها.

بعبارة أخرى، فإن الإعلام الغربي، وسيلة تحكم، وردع من نوع ما. ولا فرق بين الإرهابين “الديموقراطي”، والشمولي إلا في الوسيلة فقط.

لكن، وكي نكون عادلين، لا بدّ من الإشارة، إلى أنّ الدول الشمولية، لا تلجأ إلى القمع، فقط، في تدجين مجتمعاتها، بل تستخدم وسائل الإعلام أيضاً بطريقة بلطجية وإرهابية، بحيث يلعب الإعلام العربي، بكافة أشكاله، وتوجهاته، دور الرديف لوسائل العنف والقمع في الدول العربية بشكل فظ وفج وترويعي لإرهاب الشعوب وبرمجتها وإخضاعها.

لو أرادت وسائل الإعلام العربية الحكومية، مثلاً، أن تبرمج مواطنيها ضد قضايا أو جماعات معينة، تدفع عندها بترسانتها الإعلامية الغوبلزية، كي تشن حملة دعاية عنيفة، ومسعورة عليهم، فتفبرك القصص الشنيعة والأكاذيب حولهم، فتصورهم على أنهم رأس الشر والبلاء للبلاد والعباد، وبأنهم ألد أعداء الوطن والشعب، وأنهم “رجس من عمل الشيطان فاجتنبوهم”. وتستخدم التكرار الممل، لجعل المتلقين يتقبلون تحريضها، ووجهة نظرها تجاه تلك القضية، أو تلك الجماعات، فتمطرهم بوابل مدرار، من البرامج، والمقالات، والتعليقات صباح مساء ضد الجهة المستهدفة، بحيث يُبرمج العقل الباطن، للمشاهد، أو المستمع، أو القارئ، على كره تلك الجهة المنوي شيطنتها، وتشويهها، ونبذ القضية المقصود تنفير المتلقين منها، كما هو حاصل هذه الأيام في البلدان التي تشهد ثورات شعبية، حيث يجاهد الإعلام الرسمي لتصوير المحتجين والمتظاهرين على أنهم مجرد ثلة من الجرذان والمهلوسين والمخربين والمتطرفين، بينما هم في الواقع ثوار أحرار لا يستحقون سوى الإجلال والإكبار.
وقد لاحظنا كيف تشيطن الحكومات العربية معارضيها، فتوعز لوسائل إعلامها، بأن تصورهم على شكل مخلوقات رهيبة، أو “كلاب ضالة”، تصيب الذين يقتربون منها بداء الكلب (السعار)، حتى لو كانوا من أفضل الناس، فتخلق في ذهن المتلقين صورة مخيفة للشخصيات المشيطنة، وترسخها، كي تصبح حقيقة واقعة، فيتحول الشعب ضدها، بشكل أوتوماتيكي، وينبذها. وحتى لو تعاطف البعض معها في سره، فهو يبقى خائفاً من الإعلان عن تأييده أو تعاطفه معها، خوفاً من بطش السلطة وسياطها. كيف لا، وقد هدده الإعلام بعدم تقبلها. ونحن نعرف من التجارب البسيطة، أن أحدنا يمكن أن يأخذ موقفاً معادياً، من شخص أو جماعة ما، لمجرد أن شخصاً آخر أو جهة ما، حرضنا عليها وقال بحقها كلاماً سيئاً، فما بالك أن تتولى تلك المهمة وسائل إعلام محترفة في التخويف، والإرهاب، والتحريض والتخويف والابتزاز.
وبذلك تكون وسائل الإعلام الرسمية، قد أدت وظيفتها الإرهابية الخطيرة بجعل متلقيها أسرى لرسالتها، وتعليماتها، ورهن إشارتها، وتحت تأثيرها. والويل، كل الويل، لمن يحاول الخروج على الوصفة الإعلامية الموضوعة لشيطنة هذه الشخصية، أو تلك القضية، فيصبح خائناً للوطن، ووجبت معاملته، إعلامياً، بنفس الطريقة، التي يتم التعامل فيها، مع الشأن، أو الشخص، الذي حاول أن يتعاطف معه. لهذا، تجد الناس في الدول العربية، تحاول مجاراة النظرة الإعلامية الرسمية، تجاه الكثير من القضايا، وفي أكثر الأحيان، تحت تأثير الخوف والضغط الإرهابي لوسائل الإعلام، فلا يشذّون عن الخط الحكومي قيد أنملة، ولو على مضض. فالتنكر للانجيل الإعلامي الرسمي، جريمة لا تغتفر. كيف لا، وقد أمّمت الدولة العربية كل وسائل الإعلام، ومنعت أي إعلام بديل، يستطيع إبداء رأي آخر حول القضايا المختلفة. وكم ترى هذه الأيام ملايين الأشخاص يتظاهرون بأنهم مع الرواية الإعلامية الرسمية للأحداث لا لشيء إلا لحماية أنفسهم من بطش السلطة. وكم رأيت أناساً يضعون صور هذا الزعيم أو ذاك على سياراتهم أو بعض الأغاني الوطنية كنغمات لهواتفهم الجوالة ليس لأنهم وطنيون فعلاً، بل مجاراة للرواية الإعلامية الرسمية التي ترهب الشعوب وتجعلها تذعن مرغمة لخطابها الإعلامي الإرهابي.

ونستطيع أن نؤكد، أنه حتى في زمن السماوات المفتوحة، وانفضاض الناس عن الآلة الإعلامية الرسمية، فإن تلك الآلة ما زالت قادرة على إلزام شعوبها بوجهة نظرها. وقد لاحظنا في الآونة الأخيرة، أن وسائل الإعلام، في بعض الدول العربية، استطاعت، رغم فقدانها للمصداقية منذ زمن بعيد، أن تؤلب قسماً من الشارع، وخاصة المغفل منه، ضد المتظاهرين والثوار المشاركين في الأحداث الجارية في أكثر من بلد عربي، بعد أن سلطت عليهم وسائل إعلامها المحترفة بالتخويف والكذب والفبركة والإرهاب والبلطجة. وقد لام البعض الحكومات، على الطريقة الشعبوية الغوغائية الإرهابية التي تصدت بها للمحتجين، لكنها، لو لم تشن تلك الحملة الإعلامية الشعواء عليهم، لما استطاعت أن ترهب بعضاً من الشارع من مغبة التعاطف معهم أو الالتحاق بهم. بعبارة أخرى، فهي أرادت من خلال حملتها أن تقول لشعبها: إياك، وأن تفكر بالسير وراء الخارجين على سلطتنا، فهم جديرون بالرجم والشيطنة فقط.

وكم حلمنا، بأن يكون لدينا إعلام عربي مستقل، وخاص، ليخلصنا من إرهاب الإعلام الرسمي، وكوابيسه الرهيبة، وعلى ما يبدو، فإن حلمنا قد تحقق، وأصبح لدينا بعض الصحف الصفراء، والخضراء، والمجلات، والفضائيات، والإذاعات والتلفزيونات الخاصة. لكن سرعان ما انقلب حلمنا إلى كابوس، بعد أن راح الكثير من تلك الوسائل الجديدة، باستثناء القليل منها، يتماهى مع وسائل الإعلام العربية الرسمية الإرهابية، ويقلدها بشكل أقبح وأدهى، خاصة أنه تعلم أساليب الإرهاب الإعلامي الغربي، الأكثر مضاضة، وخبثاً، وتفوّق على الإعلام الرسمي المتخلف في فنون التأليب والإرهاب. وفي الحقيقة لم يعد باستطاعة الإعلام الرسمي وإرهابه المعهود مجاراة الإرهابيين الإعلاميين الجدد فيما قدموه حتى الآن من فجور وفسق إعلامي.

وأخيراً لا تدعوا البلطجة الإعلامية تخيفكم، فإن خفتم من البلاطجة الإعلاميين فهذا يعني أنهم نجحوا في إرهابكم. صحيح أن الإنسان العربي العادي يخاف من السير عكس الخطاب الإعلامي الإرهابي الرسمي حفاظاً على حياته، لكن بإمكانه أيضاً أن لا يستسلم له، فلينظر إليه بعين الازدراء والقرف وعدم تصديقه، خاصة أن البدائل الإعلامية متوفرة بشكل لم يسبق له مثيل في عصر السموات المفتوحة والعولمة الإعلامية. لقد كانوا يقولون لنا: لا تصدقوا كل ما تسمعون، ولا نصف ما ترون.
ونحن نقول الآن: لا تصدقوا أي شيء تسمعونه أو تقرؤونه أو تشاهدونه في الإعلام الرسمي العربي وما يدور في فلكه، فهو مجرد فبركات وبلطجة وزعرنة إعلامية بامتياز جديرة فقط بالاحتقار والإهمال والبصاق.

The article also applies to the Buffoons we have become accustomed to in shifts as they continue on free fall around the orbits of official propaganda channels and talking points (if what they do can be termed talking). Failed at intimidation and terrorizing, they now have nothing but further pollution of cyberspace. I am really glad you are around because your language and demonstrable mental powers are out there for the entire world to see. However, it pains me to see some decent supporters of the state be lumped along with the buffoons. But I think we now know who is what.

My question is: when should tolerance of your language be treated as endorsement?, that remains to be seen.

July 4th, 2011, 12:45 pm

The new world global innovation rankings are out:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2011/July/business_July46.xml&section=business

Syria is in the bottom 15 countries in the world for innovation. That is what the Assad regime was able to do with all the energy and potential of the brave Syrian people, make them one of the least innovative countries in the world. Assad has to go. When will the regime supporters wake up?

By the way, Israel is ranked 14 in the world.

July 4th, 2011, 12:46 pm

Confused Tara
Hama is not going to dictate to a whole nation there future,they are just Hama.You and Syria’s destruction band,are hoping for MINI Hama,it is not going to happen.The government is learning from there own mistakes.if MB dos’t open the blood door,the government is not going to open it.
For your own peace of mind,don’t support the Evil you don’t know,you don’t have to support the regime you consider evil.

July 4th, 2011, 12:50 pm

Abu Umar said:

“في عام 1976م طارد حافظ الأسد ‑ زعيم الممانعة‑ المقاومةَ الفلسطينية في لبنان، وحاصر المخيمات وأهمها تل الزعتر، وارتكب مجازر مروّعة، تشيب لهولها الولدان، وقتل هذا القائد الممانع ما يربي على أربعين ألفاً من الفلسطينيين خدمة للصهاينة وحلفائهم وعملائهم.”

This is the “mumaana” of the criminal Assad regime which Syrian Commando sweeps under the rug. A regime whose grandfather was a stooge for the French imperialists and praising the Zionists and blaming the Palestinians for refusing to become refugees in their own land and this is the exact same propaganda used by the Zionist criminals . The day is coming when the menhebek crowd like Syrian Haywano will be sitting in camps on the Turkish border or better yet, Brazil.

July 4th, 2011, 12:52 pm

AIG
Freedom + Education -> Innovation ?

July 4th, 2011, 12:58 pm

Abu Umar,
If you start any dialogue by bringing people’s grand-parents you will never get anywhere. All the politicians in Lebanon are “sons of”.
Any civil war leads to the search for 2 parties who will finally get into a dialogue, so why refusing to start with a dialogue and skip the civil war episode?

July 4th, 2011, 1:02 pm

Exactly.

I guess that better late than never applies, but where have you been the last 10 years and why have you supported the status quo in Syria?

July 4th, 2011, 1:05 pm

AIG,

Did they not give us any credit for inventing the Tashbeeh phenomena. I think that should increase our rank to NO. 12.

July 4th, 2011, 1:07 pm

873,
When ressources become too scarce, humans fight (“eat”) each other.
How much water did Turkey leave to the East of Syria, 20 years ago, with its dams? How much water is in the Golan?
Even if for some reason a new war started in the Middle East, you bet the Syrians will be called by some friendly cyber-Syrian shoppers from abroad to refuse serving the “atheist secular” army…

New death threats against Obama
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/business/media/05fox.html?_r=1&hp
I really think some neocons get enraged at the killing of their prefered puppet Ben Laden and at some hesitation in the conduct of the Libyan and Syrian anti-socialist crusades.

AIG
You are the third person asking this question, the first was me, about two years ago. I guess you haven’t been reading my Syria-related posts for a while now. For the why… given choice between the Brave Syrians and George Bush-neocons, i would bet on the brave Syrians. For now, I do not want to rehash that debate.

July 4th, 2011, 1:09 pm

AIG and Amir,

Why didn’t you answer my previous question in regard to 873 comment in regard to the Talmud?

July 4th, 2011, 1:14 pm

Mina, and how about the regime’s actions against the Palestinians in Lebanon and it’s collaboration with the Americans in Gulf War I, despite the ridiculous claims of “mumaana”. Why is the current Iraqi regime which wouldn’t have existed were it not for the Americans, a strong backer of the Syrian regime for obvious sectarian reasons. Just like the sectarian Nasrallah who is totally silent on his Shi’ite allies who rode in on American tank. Both the Pro-Iran and the Pro-Saudi camps are full of regimes and groups which are stooges for the West.

July 4th, 2011, 1:15 pm

873 quotes from racist sites. Do you really think I bother reading his posts?

I don’t understand your answer. Being against George Bush does not mean being for Bashar Assad, yet that was the choice you made.

July 4th, 2011, 1:21 pm

AIG
Not trying to be combative, but you never understood the choice then, and I do not expect you to understand it now. Again, I have other priorities now than rehashing old dialog. GWB is gone, his plans are gone. No more excuses for Bashar or for me.

July 4th, 2011, 1:27 pm

Abu Umar
The Shiis exist in Lebanon and Syria for more than a thousand years. I cannot judge their actions, since it belongs to the history of Lebanon. Same for Syria and Iraq.
The reasons why Syria participated in the Iraq war may be part of a deal to be allowed to be back in the international community. I have no doubt the regime is finished but what is needed is a peaceful transitional period, and not letting the unleashed 12-year-olds loot the country’s infrastructure (with the kind neutrality of some Brothers).
You seem to consider Syria as totally ruined because of the regime. But did you compare its infrastructure (roads, public lights, trains and buses) to what you find in Egypt and Yemen, for those I know?

As for Iraq, I don’t think the Maliki regime came out from US choice. It was a fait accompli because of the hidden war between Iran and the US and the balance of power turning in favor of Iran. The US wanted this other guy they brought first and of whom i forgot the name.

July 4th, 2011, 1:29 pm

ziadsoury said:

OTW, AIG,

Education and Freedom are good first steps for inventions. You also need to have a culture that allows self criticism, accepts failures and defeats and be risk taking. Additionally, we need a government that believes People’s success is very healthy for the nation and not the opposite.

July 4th, 2011, 1:34 pm

Akbar Palace said:

If you don’t mind, please feel free to provide a link to the Talmud question you have and 873’s post. I would like to see it.

OTOH, I’m surprised you are referencing 873, who is one of the worst anti-semites on this forum.

From Post #92 above, 873 said:

The khazar zionists long ago chewed up the xtian zionists. All thats left is for the khazars to finally spit them out.

Do you know what a “khazar zionist” is? And can you tell us how the “khazar zionists long ago chewed up the xtian zionists”?

July 4th, 2011, 1:36 pm

The only reason I am bothering you with this is that while you may have changed your mind, others have not. You are the one best positioned to counter their arguments or explain their position.

July 4th, 2011, 1:38 pm

Can you please read it and respond? It is better to simply deny a ” racist” comment than to leave it unopposed. This I must admit is widespread “knowledge ” in the middle east. I have never been able to ask it personally to any of my close jewish friends. You know it is difficult to discuss such things face to face and would love to discuss it virtually. I am not starting with any preconceived assumptions and I want to hear a response.

Amir,

You told me I can ask you any question. Right? This is not “the ” question but I’d like an answer.

July 4th, 2011, 1:39 pm

I don’t know what the question is but the answer probably is that like most religious texts, it can be interpreted in many ways. What is the answer to the question that Islam is a religion that supports killing people who want to convert from it?

July 4th, 2011, 1:51 pm

Akbar palace

It was comment 164 under the squeeze on Assad.

No I do not know what khazar Zionist means?

July 4th, 2011, 1:58 pm

democracynow said:

I respect Bassam Al Kadi and recognize his struggle against this draconian regime and his record of suffering and arrests.

But I am afraid I disagree with him on many issues.

1- The choice of questions:

Perhaps Bassam shouldn’t be blamed for this, since I assume it is Syriacomment’s choice. But still, he should have realized that they leave lots of areas uncovered. The questions here appear to be leading and cherry-picked. A good deal of the interview has focused on stating how western pressure on the regime is misplaced and how the time frame envisioned by ‘western’ leaders is unrealistic. It seems as if the underlying message of the interview is to tell the west (i.e. the readership of syria comment): “look, here’s an opposition figure from the inside who’s saying that building the mechanisms and machinations of democracy will take time, what more evidence do you want?”.

Then there’s the inexplicable proposition by Mr. Al Kadi that reforms will have to take time, years and years of it. Why? what is so rocket-sciencey about reforms that requires all that time? Guaranteeing freedom of expression (i.e. not arresting people for merely speaking their minds) just takes as much time to accomplish as it would take for the president to scribble his signature. Releasing detainees? ditto. Pulling thugs out of the streets? ditto. Stopping the incitements, lies and fabrications of Syrian state media? ditto. All it takes is a courageous decision on the part of the president. True, a real transition for democracy will have to take its course, but providing the environment, the habitat, for this transition to grow and take place, that takes very little time but lots and lots of courage.

Second, on the question of armed opposition and other assortments of bullies and goons that Al Kadi claims have so infiltrated the protests movement,

This is a very fine and sensitive matter and has been used by the regime to muddle the picture and conflate issues and undermine the rightful demands of the people. Yes, there are armed elements within the protesters, or the opposition, if you like. And yes, there have been clashes between armed men and security forces/army units. But let’s backtrack and look at the wider picture and the sequence of events: who had initiated violence? didn’t security forces raid homes in Daraa, arrested and beat people, robbed their life savings and even harassed their women? (would Mr. Kadi acknowledge this? I wonder). Why is a citizen’s possession of a firearm considered akin to a crime against humanity in Syria? Why is the average Syrian citizen required to be more sane and show more restraint than the regime itself? The Syrian people are still vaguely driven by some of the old traditions of vendetta and ‘manly’ honor. This is a part of our collective culture, whether we like it or not. Especially in areas like Howran (Daraa) and the eastern region. So some of them retaliated and shot at security forces or attacked patrols of military police, a totally regrettable and unnecessary escalation of violence. But it is violence that should be looked at in context. The regime is the side who’s using violence as a deliberate strategy to intimidate protesting masses and quell the uprising. The violence of people, regrettable and devastating as it may, is just a reaction. Or a collection of angry reactions by provoked individuals. No sane Syrian enjoys shooting at army or police or even the mukhabarat, for he knows there are people amongst his family or extended family or friends that are employed within this unfortunate group. Americans are big on guns, not a conservative household is lacking in all kind of guns. Conservatives have been the opposition in the US for years, and some of them showed up to presidential events with assault rifles. And yet none of this shit that happens in Syria has been happening in the US. They don’t cut services off the entire Oklahoma city area or impose siege on Phoenix for being heavily armed regions with fundamentalist opposition groups. I’m sorry, Mr. Al Kadi, but condemning violence on both sides in this case is not at all unlike the hypocritical stance of the west during operation cast lead: condemning violence on the part of both Hamas and Israel while the IDF pounded Gaza city and massacred hundreds of innocent Palestinians.

Neutralizing violence means condemning its roots: the violence of the regime and its subsidiaries of shabiyhas and armed gangs.

The regime has been using violence to suppress peaceful protests from the get go, and continued to do so regardless of the existence of armed elements or not.

Again, it’s baffling to me as to why Bassam takes such a stance, a stance that at the surface appears nuanced and moderate, but in reality is nothing but a repackaging of regime apologia: “Give us time! we’re facing Islamist militants here!”.

I am not saying that Bassam Al Kadi is actively and willingly aiding the regime, after all he’s just a Syrian citizen who’s scared of arrest and torture and probably can’t speak his mind freely. But in that sense he should draw lessons from far braver opposition figures like Dr. Aref Dalilah or Louay Hussain, instead of adopting these questionable opinions that regime apologists will use and present in such a way in order to buy their beloved ophthalmologist time and legitimacy.

July 4th, 2011, 2:39 pm

Dear ZIADSOURY
Fully agree. All the factors you have listed are conducive to innovation. I was looking for expediency and catchy equation, but then recognizing that it is not full, i used the -> (lead to) and not the (=) sign, and i am very happy that you are completing it. This is exactly the type of discussion we need. Set a goal and then try to find what are the conditions necessary for a high probability of success in achieving the goal. find out what are the impediments and work through them one by one.

I am glad you brought up self criticism, because it partially answers AIG on his other question to me.

AIG
I could not argue against your motive and I do appreciate that. I will try to work out an answer, but it will take time. I will definitely try my best in the very near future. For now, you may have to settle for the short version.

Overall, it is not an epiphany. It is a slow process requiring breaking few taboos, and decisions, which like most critical personally defining decisions involve asking what would (someone–role-model) do in my place, and is this consistent with my life-story, among other smaller and larger questions. It also takes a lot of reading of people one admires, and those one may not and talking to a lot of Syrians, while being able to recognize when they are navigating around ingrained fears, because you just did that so recently.

AP
On The Other Hand, Who is OTOH?

July 4th, 2011, 2:56 pm

Democracynow,

Well said!

July 4th, 2011, 2:57 pm

Off The Wall,

Please excuse my ignorance. I am not following the conversation well and I am curious to know some history. It seems like you did support the regime in the past and now changed you mind after March 15. Right?

I did too. I was always mentally turning a blind eye on the internal oppression brainwashed by the resistance and mumanaa which is appearing to be an alliance forged to maintain power and nothing else.

July 4th, 2011, 3:16 pm

Democracynow
I’ll be Brief, my problem is more with what Mr. Alqadi did not say than with what he said.

1. The moment a civil right (civil society) worker supports surgical strikes, operations, …cleaning, and so on, she/he ceases to be a civil right worker and becomes a politicians. Thus introducing his history of civil society work, admirable as it is, becomes irrelevant to the topic.

2. Mr. Alqadi was never given a hardball. If I was interviewing him i would conclude by telling him that I am surprised that the president of the women observatory, in discussing such a major internal conflict failed to highlight that women and children are the most likely casualty and/or the highest paying victims of conflict, especially if it devolves into civil war, which is the more impetuous for a political resolution to the crisis. I am really surprised that he did not highlight that given the opportunity (twice in the interview) to open his answer and to address such an international audience about this topic.

3. Did he mention a modern civil status law, a cause he fought for, and we stood with him in that fight as one of the necessary laws required for civil state, which would probably be more scary for part of the opposition than to the regime.

4. There were allegations of rape during the on-going crisis. Whether true or false, the president of the Women Observatory must at least warn, given this golden opportunity, both/all sides of the conflict that using rape, or any other form of abuse against women as a weapon in conflict is not acceptable and is a crime against humanity. This includes threatening a detainee of raping his mother or sister which; given the language of the mukhabarat lackies on Syria Comment, is easily imaginable as a practice in their offices and dungeons. Hat it been Ms. Al—–, i think these opportunities would not have gone un-utilized.

Mr. Alqadi was a politician, and not a civil society worker in the interview. I off course expect a fiery response from him, perhaps on some Syrian paper or on his facebook page, for he is known for being more fiery even than me. But that is his right as long as he does not call me a traitor.

Dear TARA
Not support, but was against george bush’s attempt to destablize Syria on his own whim and model and with assured civil war, and with US tanks with Farid Ghadri probably sitting on the turret of the first tank.

Further, I was hoping that Bashar would be what people said about him, kept giving him excuses after excuse. But after all threats were gone, and seeing that nothing happenned, then the other side of my brain reasserted itself.

I am a supporter of peace. I am conflict averse and a secular humanist who dislikes bullies.

July 4th, 2011, 3:21 pm

Before anyone jumps their guns, in the phrase:

This includes threatening a detainee of raping his mother or sister which; given the language of the mukhabarat lackies on Syria Comment, is easily imaginable as a practice in their offices and dungeons

The ‘which……, is easily imaginable as a practice’ refers to threatening detainees (foul language and threats) not the actual rape.

July 4th, 2011, 3:43 pm

Memo to: AKBAR PALACE

RE: “…can you tell us how the khazar zionists long ago chewed up the xtian zionists?…”

Yes! Absolutely.

It was way back during the Sheet Metal Age, when hobbits and trolls and ghouls were in a life-or-death struggle for the ring which was guarded by a hideous dragon king in a cave at the summit of Mount Ararat. It was then that a small group of khazars, on their way to a Gypsy Kings concert, were ambushed by three xtians, named Hossein, Ahmad and Mo. The xtians basically said, “Anyone who likes the Gypsy Kings is a pussy!” Well let me tell you, you don’t call a Gypsy King fan a “pussy” and expect to get away without a fight.

They fought all that day and half the night. They kicked and pounded and bit and choked and stomped and punched and when it was over, the xtians were no more. All that was left was when one of the khazars belched and a tiny bone flew out of his mouth.

And that is why, to this day, no khazar zionist is ever named Hossein, Ahmad or Mo…

http://playwrighter.blogspot.com/2011/07/rock-casbah-yeahhhhhhhhhhhh.html

July 4th, 2011, 3:48 pm

TARA
For the sake of clarity, and intellectual honesty, Some of my comments up to the summer of 2009 could have easily been interpreted as a defense of the regime.

July 4th, 2011, 3:50 pm

jad said:

I have to admit, that my biggest disappointment came from you, my dearest friend, OTW:

“Trailing”! Is that the best you could come with regarding the interview and accusing Mr Alkadi of becoming a ‘politician’?
What is happening to your elite logic and profound analyses, what happened to all your high standards of judging others when you have no prove of your accusations?
You didn’t even bother debating his ideas before your quick, short and dismissive comment.
Was he wrong saying that democracy needs time to flourish in societies missing civil organizations?
Was he wrong saying that his fears is the ‘disintegration’ of the movement and to be stolen by thugs and radicals?
Was he wrong calling for the civil society and active organizations and the average people to take over the system as we know it today?
Was he wrong for rejecting revenge and use logic?
Was he wrong asking people to reject both sides of radicals?
Was he wrong calling for the west to stay away from Syria?
You seriously didn’t read all that, you only saw ‘Trailing’! you didn’t read his solutions, his proposals, his works, you only read some ignorance comment to answer.

No OTW, that wasn’t acceptable from you and you actually didn’t even stopped there you continue on derailing the whole conversation away from the main debate and invited to the most thuggish Zionist character on SC to contribute his stupid repeated comments.

Before you accuse Mr. Alkaddi or anybody else of anything, you better read what those Syrians are doing to your homeland, and what they are loosing while we all living nicely and in safety here in the west bragging about our care for Syria while what we are doing is just killing every real spirit that is making changes to our society.
Good Job

P.S. OTW, If I don’t consider you as a very important friend to me that I care so much for I wouldn’t even write you a note, be sure of that.

“العنف بكافة أشكاله وأسبابه هو الانحطاط عاريا”
جملة قالها في دفاعه عن المرأة منذ عامين و هي تعكس الفلسفة التي نريد ان نعتمد عليها اليوم أكثر من أي وقت مضى من تاريخ سورية.
————————–

————————–
For all of those ignorant who know nothing about Bassam, go check out his plans, suggestions and initiatives, he have history of them, he even have a ready to use law for protesting, he criticize and analyse in details the new political law, this man is working his hard while we all in the west doing nothing but blaming, nagging and criticizing every thing the Syrians inside Syria do or say, Syria doesn’t need our negativity it had enough of that.

July 4th, 2011, 3:53 pm

Note; if you have any question write it in Arabic so Mr. Alkadi can be able to answer you if he wanted to do so.
Thank you.

July 4th, 2011, 4:20 pm

JAD
I am also disappointed. But that is to be left for a different forum.

Yes the questions were trailing, but that is better than leading, because it shows that the interviewer has done the homework well and knew the subject of the interview. Again, I must say that I did not learn new things about his stance, for example, motivation, and how do these position reflect a civil right worker point of view instead of a revolutionary. We need these connections before we take his side, and hence my disappointment of a wasted opportunity.

Before you think that I am shredding Bassam, please note that I have not criticized his stance. I actually think that it has some strength in terms of saying no dialog before some real measurable progress is made on the ground. This is something i am all for.

Where in anything I wrote i showed disrespect for Bassam, or accused him of anything. I was merely illustrating my conviction that he is now a politician, not a civil right or civil society worker, and even welcoming such a transition. I am even restricting that to the interview. Please go back to my views on civil society, including the examples i brought in the past about amnesty international, and Chinese civil rights workers, and you will easily recognize the consistency of what I just wrote with what I have said in the past. I have too much respect for his work and for him than to idolize him.

As for supporting his calls, I truly have not formed my view on dialog as firmly as I would like before I support Bassam or oppose his calls. Some view him as obstructionist, some view him as the new John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, but this is exactly what one would expect in such polarizing time. Polarization. In fact, most of his declared positions now are closer to his motivation as a civil society leader in terms of favoring to work with laws and evolution of the society rather than with an overall rapid choatic change. This is the type of interview I was hoping for, one that does not simply state positions, but is able to provide rational for such a contrarian position.

Please my dear friend, don’t take it personal. Bassam can defend himself, and I am waiting for my ass whooping from him. If he does, then I deserve it. Also notice that I still believe and insist that I am irrelevant and urge no one to take me for other than what I am, someone like you, sitting in comfort and writing.

Finally, dear Jad, derailing conversation, what conversation? who but me an two others in 100+ posts addressed Mr. Alqadi’s interview. The rest of it was about gases, and farts and eating zombies. This is what the regime lackies have made of Syria Comment, don’t blame me for defending a virtual home,

July 4th, 2011, 4:28 pm

“The Shiis exist in Lebanon and Syria for more than a thousand years. I cannot judge their actions, since it belongs to the history of Lebanon. Same for Syria and Iraq.”

So why does the regime and its cronies(Hezbollah) pretend to be “mumaani” and anti-imperialist when the reality is different than the fake propaganda. The Gulf countries are stooges for the West, but Maliki, Ja’fari, Hizb ad-Da’wa, SCIRI, etc. get a free pass. Don’t forget that even the Iranian government colloborated with the Americans in both wars.

“The reasons why Syria participated in the Iraq war may be part of a deal to be allowed to be back in the international community.”

Its’ actions then belie the claim of “mumaana” and America looked the other way when Syria re-invaded Lebanon at the time.

” I have no doubt the regime is finished but what is needed is a peaceful transitional period, and not letting the unleashed 12-year-olds loot the country’s infrastructure (with the kind neutrality of some Brothers).”

That is what most would hope for, but I doubt the reality will be like this and Iraq is the biggest example.

“You seem to consider Syria as totally ruined because of the regime. But did you compare its infrastructure (roads, public lights, trains and buses) to what you find in Egypt and Yemen, for those I know?”

I don’t say that, but that many Sunnis in Syria have grievances against the government because of it’s current and previous actions. No different than other Arabic governments.

“As for Iraq, I don’t think the Maliki regime came out from US choice. It was a fait accompli because of the hidden war between Iran and the US and the balance of power turning in favor of Iran. The US wanted this other guy they brought first and of whom i forgot the name.”

Who cares. Maliki and other Shi’ite groups colloborated with the American government in the invasion and occupation of Iraq and it would have taken them years to depose Saddam on their own and you will never see the sectarian Nasrallah ever mention this. Of course, America would have preferred Chalabi, and I think that Maliki will eventually turn against the Americans.

July 4th, 2011, 4:40 pm

Dear Off The Wall,

I honestly believe your analysis of Bassam’ article is spot on and shows very high intelligence. I am not saying this to annoy Jad. I specifically like number 1 where you said anyone advocates surgical operation transforms from civil right worker to politician and that is very true. I also agree that if he is presented as president of the women observatory, he failed to mention how women are terriorized by the regime. Thank you for your original contribution.

July 4th, 2011, 4:43 pm

Dear Tara
And could be terrorized by violent opposition as well. Must not forget that.

ABU UMAR
Nice try, we are beyond that. Go find another issue, or place.

July 4th, 2011, 4:55 pm

Mango said:

Dangerous Crossroads: The Broader Middle East War

Israel and NATO signed a far-reaching military cooperation agreement in 2005. Under this agreement, Israel is considered a de facto member of NATO.

If a military operation were to be launched against Syria, Israel would in all likelihood be involved in military undertakings alongside NATO forces (under the NATO-Israel bilateral agreement). Turkey would also play an active military role.

A military intervention in Syria on fake humanitarian grounds would lead to an escalation of the US-NATO led war over a large area extending from North Africa and the Middle East to Central Asia, from the Eastern Mediterranean to China’s Western frontier with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It would also contribute to a process of political destabilization in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. It would also set the stage for a conflict with Iran.

http://theglobalrealm.com/2011/06/19/the-destabilization-of-syria-and-the-broader-middle-east-war/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25312

July 4th, 2011, 4:56 pm

Potentially terrorized by violent opposition? Absolutely!

July 4th, 2011, 5:02 pm

You’re absolutely right. There is the problem of what he did NOT say, which is why I said that the questions left lots of areas uncovered. And they were all softballs. They almost seem designed to illicit the kind of answers that suit Syriacomment’s narrative best… The whole interview reminded me of a joke As’ad Abukhalil (the angry Arab) makes on his blog when he mocks western journalists who ask fawning questions of certain interviewees: “Why do we love you, Frank?”…”Those armed gangs, Bassam, just how armed are they?”

July 4th, 2011, 5:26 pm

Yes He was wrong in saying decision to change to democracy will take long time, it will only take minuets to order the release of political prisoners, all of them, The teaching and mechanism of democracy may take time but it should be done in few months, those who tell us it will take too long,they never have the will or the intention to go for democracy, they do not feel the agony of those who suffer, they are acting in complete disregard to how atrocous and criminal to rub people from freedom, they are the wolves of this dictatorship,they are the criminals that should be tried and punished for prolonging the life of this murderous regime,.
If thugs were allowed to take advantage of this revolution we will be against them , but the regime is to blame,he is the one to choose the violence and ordering the security forces to kill peaceful people, and yes in these circumstances we will see thugs taking advantage of this violent crackdown, it is the regime to blame, and the thugs will have hard time staying in power,those thugs are the regime making,they are the proregime people.

One SC said it is time to send troops to Hama, why?
there were peacefull demonstrations, you send Army whose job to defend against Israel, to kill Syrian citizen , How criminal you are!shame on you ,anti humanity, your SSNP should never be allowed to exisat free in Syria,till they denounce such acts,and forever.

July 4th, 2011, 5:28 pm

Russia – Syria: new horizons
Expert Igor Panarin notices that negotiations with Syria is an important course of the Russian foreign policy. Dmitry Medvedev goes on restoration of partner relations with this country which existed before disintegration of the USSR. Syria is important today for us as the geopolitical ally and the ally in the field of a power policy.

http://russia.ru/video/diskurs_10324/

July 4th, 2011, 5:30 pm

I found the post in question, #164 from “Sqeeeze” thread from a few days ago. Here is the full (anti-semitic) post:

Lets scrutinize the Talmud now to understand the khazar terrorists, like we’ve been pushed for years to scrutinize the Qoran “to understand ’suicide bombers’”.

132. AIG said:
“Tara,
If you want to understand the basis of what Israelis are taught in school, the best place to start is with the Hebron Massacre of 1929.”

If you want to understand the basis of what Israelis are taught in school, home and synagogue, read on:

“You are human beings, but the nations of the world are not human beings but beasts.”- Baba Mecia 114,6

“On the House of the goy one looks as on the fold of cattle.”- Tosefta, Erubin VIII

“The estates of the goy are like wilderness, who first settles in them has a right to them.”- Baba Batra 54 b

“The property of the goys is like a thing without a master.”- Schulchan Aruch: Choszen Hamiszpat 156,5

Wonder why the international bankers feel entitled to swindle the world as they have? Keep this in mind when recalling Lloyd Blankfein’s quote “We are doing god’s will”:

“That all property of other nations belongs to the jewish nation, which consequently is entitled to seize upon it without any scruples. That an orthodox jew is not bound to observe principles of morality towards people of other nations, and on the contrary, he even ought to act against morality if it were profitable for himself or the jews in general.” –Schulchan Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 348

“How to interpret the word ‘robbery’. A goy is forbidden to steal, rob, or take women slaves from a goy or a jew, but a jew is not forbidden to do all this to a goy”–Tosefta, Aboda Zara VIII

“A jew may rob a goy, he may cheat him over a bill, which should not be preceived by him, [CDS or fraudulent mortgages anyone?] otherwise the name of God would become dishonored.” Schulchan Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 348

“Should a goy to whom a jew owed some money die without his heirs knowing about the debt, the jew is not bound to pay the debt.” –Schulchan Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat, 238, 1

“A thing lost by a goy may not only be kept by the man who found it, but it is forbidden to give it back to him.”- Schulchan Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 266, 1

In case any doubt these words of the rabbis, this is for you:
“Jehovah himself in heaven studies the Talmud, standing: he has such respect for that book”–Tr. Mechilla

Those poor persecuted innocent jews, everybody forever picking on them because they are jealous of the Choszen.

What filth, disseminated by filth.

As I said before, I am surprised you would reference a post by an anti-semite, and yes, like you, I don’t know what a “khazar zionist” is.

If you have a question about the Israeli school system, there is plenty of information on the web. Likewise if you have questions about the Talmud. The jewish orthodox community has everything on-line.

Generally, the Talmud is commentary on the Old Testament and the subsequent books from Joshua to the Babylonian captivity. The commentary is over 1000 years old. Generally, religious Jews study the Talmud and commentaries and take it seriously. The less religious (conservative and reform) do not study the commentary as rigorously and take it less seriously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Israel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud

There are racist phrases and passages in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim texts, so you can judge for yourself. You have links to translations (above), so you can check this against 873’s statements for accuracy.

If you have specific questions, I will try to find the answers for you. As AIG asked, converts from Islam to other religions get put to death as stated in the Quran? Is that true? I doubt it make a difference today. Likewise, today, Jews to not sacrifice animals or make offerings like they did 2000 years ago. The religion has changed.

July 4th, 2011, 5:32 pm

Khazars R Us

Daleandersen,

I thank you for your support. If it wasn’t for you, I might have given up on this wonderful, pro-Baathist website.;)

July 4th, 2011, 5:36 pm

Memo To: MANGO

RE: “…if a military operation were to be launched against Syria, Israel would in all likelihood be involved in military undertakings…”

You wish, Mangoboy, but no.

First of all, Israel signed NO military deal with NATO. You made that up. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Secondly, you need to check what happened the LAST time there was this kind of dustup in the neighborhood. It was 1991 and your good pal, Saddam, invaded Kuwait and fired missiles at (gulp!) Israel. Bush cobbled together an international coalition to spank that bad boy and told Israel to stay OUT. Israel stayed out.

July 4th, 2011, 6:04 pm

sheila said:

Democracynow and off the wall,
You took the words out of my mouth. Totally agree with you. I can not believe that any human being with just the basic minimum amount of decency, can still defend the Syrian regime. My brother just arrived from Syria and oh my God the stories that I am hearing.
I am also flabbergasted by this “reform” that the Syrian regime is going to undergo. Seriously?. Bashar Alassad is going to anihilate corruption. So what is he going to do? throw his brother and all cousins in jail? Do you really think that Bashar Alassad is going to reform himself out of his throne? Who can be so naive?
Camille Otrakji. It is time for all of us to stand on the right side of history.

July 4th, 2011, 6:24 pm

Akbar Palace, Amir, and AIG,

Please do not be annoyed by my questions. I am not anti-Jewish and did not ask you guys to comment out of a hidden hatred agenda. It was a question I could not have possibly asked in person and liked the opportunity to hear a direct response from a Jew. I accept your answer and would not (and do not want to) challenge it. As I said, I am not starting with preconceived assumptions but I do not like to lock myself into mental taboos or unfounded fear, hence, I can come up with what can be perceived as outrageous questions (including to my own guys) so please accept my “personality” as is.

I do believe that Islam teaches that convertor from Islam be put to death. I am not sure if that is directly mentioned in Quraan or not. I am sure other guys know more about this and can chip in if they like to. I am a Muslim and Qur’an is my holy book. I do not want to
be put in a position to judge any verse but agree with AIG that there could be several interpretations of a particular verse.

Aside from religion discussion, I would like us in the future, once Syria crisis comes to an end, to have a candid and brutally honest discussion about the Palestinian-Israeli issue.

July 4th, 2011, 6:25 pm

“Please do not be annoyed by my questions.”
Stop being apologetic to those trio criminals, they never apologize when they kill our people, they never apologize for showing their ugly racism, they never apologize for calling us terrorists and they never apologize for attacking our religions and believe, so WAKE UP!!!!!!!

NO, I’m not criticizing you because you agree with OTW I’m way better than that, but It’s so annoying to read your extremely naive comments to bunch of Israelis-Zionist-thuggish-racist bunch you know nothing about.

July 4th, 2011, 6:41 pm

Some people think that according to the Quran,and i am not an expert, there is no force in religion and that there is nothing about killing the Muslims that change their religion.

That might be in Hadith?!,

July 4th, 2011, 6:50 pm

With all due respect, I would like to use my own judgement not yours. I acknowledge I am new to Syria Comments and have not read old comments and therefore my view is based on short interaction but that is applicable also to my view of you all. When and if I come to your conclusion, I would not shy out from declaring it. I like to treat people as I would like to be treated. You should also accept my personality as is and stop asking me to wake up. I am very awake.

And if you are so annoyed by my comments, I would have to ask you to skip it.

Sincerely,

July 4th, 2011, 6:56 pm

Tara
“I do believe that Islam teaches that convertor from Islam be put to death”
There is nothing in Quraan to say this.Quraan teach freedom of thinking and religeon,and respect freedom too much.La Ikraha Fi Al Dean.
It is mentioned in Sunni, But to understand this decree you have to undertand it applies only in the state of war, if someone was fighting the enemy and he converted and joined the enemy, yes all religeons and all countries say we can kill him, it is misunderstood by people, there should never be contrdiction between Quraan and Sunni ,Quraan is the reliable source.
I am Sunneh Moslem as well as Libertarian, and I investigated this in detail, and strongly believe in what I said.

July 4th, 2011, 6:58 pm

louai said:

as usual , a great post in the one place on the web where you can read some posts that respect the reader inelegance followed by good quality comments form people who agree or disagree but at least they care about Syria, the comments go good till the Zionists jump in and high jack the thread and off course we Syrians, being Syrians we have to answer them and( some even flirt with them!!!) and the conversation is lost…,this alone is a great message to any one ho wants to look and see .
back to Mr.Bassam’s interview i dont understand how can this man stay always in the middle ,he always dose it its getting annoying !! maybe because he was born to be politician and i was not,but its good to see some one who is well educated and can take some space from the problem and his emotions to identify it and work on solution , i believe and hope we will see him in a leading role in the new Syria

Jad
you are noble even when you are angry ! i respect you and proud of you .

July 4th, 2011, 6:59 pm

Jad

I tend to dislike people who enjoy bashing with pomposity, verbosity and pseudo intellectualism anyone in Syria who comes with constructive ideas.
I have little respect fo people who comes with no constructive ideas, and just say NAA, NAA NAA.
I tend to ignore people who in Oklahoma or Omahas are waiting for the magical fairy to save Syria from the dragon, under the cheers of some admirers.
I think Bassam Alkadi is genuine, balanced, realistic and creative, while pessimistic as far as the expected speed at the changes.
I trust he is one the few who can play a role in the future of this country.

July 4th, 2011, 7:00 pm

المعارضة السورية واختراق ليفي
عبد الباري عطوان
2011-07-04

برنارد ليفي كاتب وفيلسوف صهيوني فرنسي يتباهى بصداقاته مع القادة الاسرائيليين، والمتهمين بارتكاب جرائم حرب ضد الفلسطينيين خاصة مثل بنيامين نتنياهو رئيس الوزراء، وايهود باراك وزير دفاعه، ويعتبر حركة ‘حماس’ المنتخبة من الشعب الفلسطيني حركة ‘ارهابية’، ويدافع بشراسة عن الاستيطان الاسرائيلي في الاراضي المحتلة، والعدوان الدموي على قطاع غزة.
المستر ليفي نصّب نفسه أبا روحيا للثورات العربية، رغم ان الثورة الوحيدة التي رحبت به وفتحت له ابواب قلبها وعاصمتها بنغازي، هي الثورة الليبية، بينما رفضته وترفضه كل الثورات الاخرى، بما في ذلك ثورة الشعب التونسي المجيدة الرائدة التي اطاحت بنظام الرئيس زين العابدين بن علي الديكتاتوري، فلم يسمح له ثوار تونس، الذين يعرفونه جيدا، ويصرّون على فرض محاربة التطبيع واشكاله كافة مع اسرائيل، كبند في الدستور الجديد، لم يسمحوا له بان يطأ تراب بلادهم الطاهر.
بعد ان افسد المستر ليفي الثورة الليبية، ونقل باسم مجلسها الوطني الانتقالي رسالة الى بنيامين نتنياهو تتضمن عرضا ضمنيا بالاعتراف والتطبيع، ها هو يحاول افساد الانتفاضة السورية وتلويثها من خلال ركوب موجتها، والترويج لمؤتمر يعقد حول سورية في باريس، بحضور عدد من رؤساء الوزراء ووزراء خارجية فرنسا السابقين، وبعض المعارضين السوريين، خاصة من اعضاء اللجنة التنفيذية لمؤتمر انطاليا،. وقد احسن عدد كبير من هؤلاء المعارضين صنعا عندما تنبهوا الى خطورة هذه المصيدة وقرروا مقاطعة هذا المؤتمر المشبوه. فليفي هذا من اشد الداعين لتدخل حلف الناتو لدعم الثورات العربية تحت ذرائع عديدة.
العداء في سورية لاسرائيل الغاصبة المحتلة تاريخي متأصل، بل هو ثقافة محورية، يلتقي حولها اهل الحكم والمعارضة معا، والدعم السوري للمقاومة، سواء كانت فلسطينية او لبنانية، يأتي تجسيدا صادقا ومتجذرا لقناعات الشعب السوري بكل فئاته وطبقاته وطوائفه وقومياته، ولا فضل لاي نظام فيه.
‘ ‘ ‘
ومن هنا، فإن اي شخص يشارك في مؤتمر ليفي هذا سيتهم بانه من المنفذين لأجندات خارجية لا تريد الخير لسورية، حكومة ومعارضة، بل لا تريد خيرا للعرب والمسلمين معا. فهذه الشخصية التي تعتبر الجيش الاسرائيلي الذي يحتل الارض العربية في فلسطين والجولان ولبنان، هو الاكثر انسانية في العالم، ويدافع بشراسة عن استخدام قنابل الفوسفور الابيض لقتل اطفال غزة ومدنييها، لا يمكن ان يضع مصلحة سورية وشعبها وانتفاضتها المشروعة طلبا للحرية والكرامة، على قمة اهتماماته.
توقيت تحرك المستر ليفي يفضح اهداف مؤتمره هذا، مثلما يفضح انتماءات وهويات كل الذين قبلوا دعوته للمشاركة، فهؤلاء يسعون لتأسيس ‘كونترا’ سورية، ويخططون للاستعانة بقوات حلف الناتو لتدمير بلدهم، ووضعها تحت الوصاية الاستعمارية مجددا لعشرات السنوات القادمة. فليس صدفة ان يتزامن انعقاد هذا المؤتمر مع صدور القرار الظني المتعلق بمحكمة رئيس الوزراء اللبناني الراحل رفيق الحريري، بعد تأجيل متعمد استمر لأكثر من سبعة اشهر، وبهدف اشعال نيران فتنة طائفية ومذهبية في لبنان تمتد الى سورية لاحقا.
الشعب السوري، في الحكم او المعارضة، في الداخل او الخارج، يجب ان يكون على درجة كبيرة من الوعي بالمؤامرات الخارجية التي تحاك له في غرف اجهزة الاستخبارات المغلقة، لتدمير انتفاضته، وتمزيق وحدته الوطنية والترابية، وبما يخدم في نهاية المطاف الاحتلال الاسرائيلي، والمخطط الامريكي في الهيمنة ونهب الثروات العربية.
إننا امام محاولات شرسة لتفتيت صفوف المعارضة السورية، وخلق البلبلة في أوساطها، من خلال إغراقها في ‘حرب المؤتمرات’ واتهامات ‘التخوين’، والمواجهات السياسية والاعلامية، ومن المؤسف ان بعض المحسوبين كذباً على هذه المعارضة يساهمون في انجاح هذه المخططات، وبسوء نية في معظم الاحيان.
سورية هي لكل ابنائها، ولكن ليس من ابنائها من يضطهد الآخر ويهين كرامته، ويسلبه حقوقه المشروعة، ويصادر حرياته، ويمارس التمييز على اساس الطائفة او العرق او المذهب. كما انه ليس من ابنائها من يستعين بالعناصر الصهيونية، او ينادي بالتدخل الاجنبي.
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الشخصيات السورية المعارضة والمستقلة التي عقدت مؤتمرها في فندق سميراميس في دمشق، وكسرت حاجز الخوف، وتبنت مطالب الانتفاضة كاملة، وطالبت بالتغيير الديمقراطي، وأدانت بقوة مجازر الامن والجيش، وترحمت على الشهداء، وشددت على انسحاب الجيش من المدن والقرى والنجوع، هذه شخصيات شجاعة قالت ‘لا’ قوية في وجه الديكتاتورية وادواتها القمعية، وكان مؤلماً بالنسبة الينا ان تواجه بحملات تشكيك وهي التي سجنت وعذبت، من قبل اناس لم يعرفوا السجن والتعذيب.
التفريق بين اهل الداخل والخارج هو الخطيئة الكبرى التي نرى ارهاصاتها حالياً، من خلال ممارسات بعض المندسين في اوساط المعارضة السورية في الخارج خاصة، فالخارج امتداد شرعي للداخل السوري، والطرفان يكملان اركان المشهد السوري.
الانتفاضة الشعبية السورية المباركة التي قدمت نحو 1500 شهيد حتى الآن، بدأت تعطي ثمارها في حصار النظام، وانزاله من عليائه، واجباره على الاستماع الى مطالب الشعب في التغيـــير، وهو الذي مارس البطش لأكثر من أربعين عاماً ضد أي صوت حر يرتفع مطالباً بلقمة خبز مغمّسة بالكرامة.
الحوار المطلوب حالياً هو بين اطياف المعارضة السورية نفسها لتوحـــيد صفوفها، وأول خطـــوة على هذا الطــــريق التـــرفع عن كل اشكال تضـــخم ‘الانا’، واقصـــاء الآخر، والتشكــيك بأهدافه ونواياه. فكيف يمكن ان تؤسس المعارضة للبديل الديمقراطي، وبما يرتقي لتضحيات الشهداء، والكثير من قياداتها ترفض الفكر الآخر، او الشخص الآخر، او المؤتمر الآخر؟
سورية تقترب كثيراً جداً من فجر التغيير الحقيقي، فالنظام يزداد ضعفاً كلما ارتفع عدد ضحايا حلوله الامنية الدموية، والمعارضة تزداد قوة ومناعة كلما تحلت بالعقلانية والتواضع، وابتعدت عن اشكال التشنج كافة، ووضعت مصلحة سورية التي هي للجميع، فوق جميع الاعتبارات الاخرى.
لفظ برنارد هنري ليفي ومؤتمراته، هو خطوة كبيرة نحو الوصول الى هذا الهدف، وافشال كل المخططات التي تريد حرف الثورات العربية عن اهدافها، وتحويلها الى حروب اهلية طائفية او قبلية او مناطقية، وصولاً الى التغيير المسيطَر عليه غربياً، على حد وصف طوني بلير، المنظر الاكبر للاستعمار الجديد، وصديق اسرائيل الحميم.

July 4th, 2011, 7:07 pm

JAD,

Don’t be annoyed.

It is enjoyable watching these zionist cockroaches and their pathetic sectarian idiots sink into the mud. Just look at them, pick apart things illogically.

Just look at the hatred, smell the jealousy and just TRY and find a single proposed solution in their text other than complete chaos.

What a pathetic bunch of subhuman trash.

July 4th, 2011, 7:09 pm

سيد بسام احترامي لك ولوطنيتك
اتمنى ان تعطينا باختصار رايك الذي نحترم بالخطاب الثالث للسيد الرئيس

شكرا جزيلا

look how desperate the opposition could get , they intend to record slogans and play a record of it on the roofs of some ‘silent cities’

عيش كتير بتشوف كتير

The Syrian Revolution 2011 الثورة السورية ضد بشار الاسد
اقتراح – من مشاركاتكم: ان يقوم مجموعة كبيرة من الشباب بتسجيل المظاهرات صوتياً على شريط كاسيت بشعارات مثل .. ” الشعب يريد اسقاط النظام” …. “يلا ارحل يا بشار ” ” يلعن روحك ياحافظ” …. ليتم تشغيلها و رفع الصوت من على أسطح عدة بنايات لانه يشتت الأمن و يتعب الشبيحة و يستهلك ذخائرهم .. على أن تكون هذة الفكرة في المدن المحاصرة كبانياس و جبلة أو في قلب المدن ذات الاغلبيّة الصامتة كدمشق و حلب ..

July 4th, 2011, 7:23 pm

Majelalkhaldoon, Norman

While the Holy Quran is not explicit about the death penalty for apostasy, (they become Kuffar with all the ambiguous consequences) the Hadith are very explicit and call for the death sentence.
Religious leaders in Islam used both source to make judgements.

http://answering-islam.org/Silas/apostasy.htm

THE HADITH ON APOSTASY

The Hadith is the theological bedrock for the death sentence. There are numerous Hadith that state that apostates are to be killed. Unlike the Quran there is no ambiguity or subjectivity in the Hadith’s statements. All quotes will be from Bukhari’s[10], Muslim’s[11], or Malik’s[12] hadith collections. Bold emphasis is mine.

Bukhari’s Hadith Collection

Bukhari, volume 9, #17

“Narrated Abdullah: Allah’s Messenger said, “The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Messenger, cannot be shed except in three cases: in Qisas (equality in punishment) for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (Apostate) and leaves the Muslims.”

Bukhari, volume 9, #57

Narrated Ikrima, “Some atheists were brought to Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn Abbas who said, “If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah’s messenger forbade it, saying, “Do not punish anybody with Allah’s punishment (fire).” I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah’s Messenger, “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.”

Bukhari, volume 9, #58

Narrated Abu Bruda, “Abu Musa said…..Behold there was a fettered man beside Abu Musa. Muadh asked, “Who is this (man)?” Abu Musa said, “He was a Jew and became a Muslim and hen reverted back to Judaism.” Then Abu Musa requested Muadh to sit down but Muadh said, “I will not sit down till he has been killed. This is the judgment of Allah and his messenger,” and repeated it thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Abu Musa added, “Then we discussed the night prayers …..

……

HADITH SUMMARY

The various collections of hadith state clearly that apostates are to be killed. No one disputes this. Even the “Quran-only” types acknowledge that the hadith is the basis for the apostate’s death sentence. These hadith detail various times and situations in which apostates were killed. In some cases the apostates fought against the rule of Islam, in other cases they simply rejected Islam, but in all cases leaving Islam was the fundamental reason to kill them.

Dear WD,
I agree with you, some people have nothing to say but to criticize anything and everything even when the matter they disagreeing about is the same thing they want.

Dear Louai,
Those two ‘Zs’ always do the same, nothing new.
‘(some even flirt with them!!!)’ that is actually the most annoying part.
On the ‘Lera’ support Enjoy:
باكورة إنجازات شبكة شام الاقتصادية
http://youtu.be/oOHfJp_qWnw

July 4th, 2011, 7:25 pm

#147

Ugh!!!! THEY CARE THIS LITTLE ABOUT FREE SPEECH! This is so pathetic, do they think people will stand for it.

Ugh.

July 4th, 2011, 7:29 pm

Thanks for the link. It’s great to see people supporting the economy, therefore supporting the average Syrian citizen. Well done to both you and Louai for spreading the word and all the ground work you did.

That little boy was adorable.

As for Bassam Alkadi, I have nothing but respect for him.

July 4th, 2011, 7:41 pm

لجنة خبراء تراجع الدستور ومسودة قانون الإعلام جاهزة
دمشق: 150 شخصية دُعيت للحوار … واللائحة تكبر

زياد حيدر
بدأت هيئة الإشراف على الحوار الوطني في سوريا، بتوجيه الدعوات لقائمة تضم ما يقارب المئة والخمسين شخصا من أطياف المجتمع السوري، وذلك لحضور اللقاء التشاوري المقرر عقده في العاشر من تموز الحالي، لمناقشة أسس مؤتمر الحوار الوطني الشامل إضافة الى مشاريع قوانين الأحزاب والإعلام والانتخابات والتعديلات الدستورية، فيما شكلت لجنة من كبار الاختصاصيين لإجراء مراجعة للدستور السوري ووضع تصور لدستور مستقبلي يراعي الخصوصية السورية، وذلك لاختصار عامل الزمن في حال جرى الاتفاق في الحوار على مناقشة دستور جديد، كما سلمت لجنة صياغة القانون الإعلامي الجديد مسودة مشروع القانون للحكومة السورية.
دعوات للحوار
ووجهت السلطة دعوة الى «هيئة التنسيق الوطني لقوى التغيير الديموقراطي في سوريا» المعارضة التي تشكلت من مجموعة أحزاب معارضة بينها أحزاب كردية وشخصيات مستقلة ويرأسها المعارض حسن عبد العظيم، الذي قال لـ«السفير» ان مجموعته ستعقد اجتماعا غدا الأربعاء لـ«البت بالدعوة وكيفية الاستجابة لها في ضوء المسؤولية الوطنية الملقاة على عاتق المعارضة».
ويظهر كلام حسن عبد العظيم «رهانا» على آلية الحوار، كما يمكن الاستشفاف من حديث العديد من رموز المعارضة السورية، التي تؤمن بأن «الحل السياسي هو المنفذ الوحيد» وأنه «لا خيار سوى الحوار بين العناصر المعنية بالأزمة». لكن عبد العظيم يتوقف بعد تنهيدة عند «المناخ السلبي الذي لا يساعد»، وإن كان يبدي انطباعا إيجابيا بالاعتراف السريع بـ«هيئة التنسيق» وما تضمه من أحزاب وشخصيات بصفتها الاعتبارية المعارضة.
وبدأت السلطة ايضا توجيه دعوات شخصية «لمن وافقوا من البداية على الحضور» وتتضمن الدعوة موعد اللقاء في العاشر من تموز المقبل ويبدأ العاشرة صباحا منه ويستمر حتى اليوم التالي. ويتضمن ظرف الدعوة صورة ذهبية لشعار الجمهورية السورية المتمثل بالنسر وفي صدره العلم الوطني، فيما تبين الورقة المرفقة جدول أعمال اللقاء المؤلف من ثلاثة بنود، الأول «دور الحوار الوطني في المعالجة السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية للأزمة الراهنة، والآفاق المستقبلية»، و«تعديل بعض مواد الدستور، بما في ذلك المادة الثامنة منه، لعرضها على أول جلسة لمجلس الشعب، وعدم استبعاد وضع دستور جديد للبلاد وفق آليات يتفق عليها»، وثالثا «مناقشة مشاريع قانون الأحزاب، قانون الانتخابات، وقانون الإعلام».
وحتى أمس كانت أعداد الضيوف ترتفع تباعا، لكن من دون أن تكون ثمة أسماء مؤكدة من المعارضة بعد، وإن ورد بعضها في اللائحة التي تضم شخصيات مثل المحامي هيثم المالح والحقوقي هيثم مناع والأكاديمي برهان غليون والمفكر طيب تيزيني والكاتب ميشال كيلو والمحامي أنور البني والناشط عمار القربي
وآخرين من صفوف المعارضة الوطنية. كما تضم اللائحة كتابا من مثال الروائي حنا مينه والكاتب الصحافي حسن م. يوسف واقتصاديين من مثال الباحثين نبيل مرزوق ونبيل سكر وسمير سعيفان وفنانين كجمال سليمان وسلاف فواخرجي، وإعلاميين بينهم مراسلو وسائل إعلام عربية وشخصيات اجتماعية.
وسيحتضن مجمع «صحارى» بالقرب من طريق بيروت الاجتماع في إحدى قاعاته التي ستضم طاولات بشكل نصف دائري، يتوزع عليها الحضور، وستنقل محطة «الإخبارية» السورية على الأرجح اللقاء مباشرة، الذي سينقسم لورشات عمل لمناقشة القوانين المطروحة بعد الجلسة الافتتاحية، تليها اليوم التالي جلسة ختامية ترفع بعدها القوانين كمقترحات ليتم إقرارها من قبل القيادة السورية.
الدستور وقانون الإعلام
وتبقى قضية الدستور معلقة لارتباطها بمجلس الشعب، الذي تجري انتخاباته المقررة في موعدها شهر آب المقبل، إلا أن المخارج الدستورية تبقى ضمن إطار إما دعوة المجلس الذي انتهت ولايته لجلسة استثنائية أو عقده ببداية الدورة البرلمانية في أيلول على أن يعلن موعد انتخابات برلمانية وفقا للقانون الجديد في موعد لاحق، أو الاتفاق على تغيير الدستور الأمر الذي يعني اللجوء لاستفتاء وطني، يرجح بعده أن تتأجل الانتخابات نتيجة تغير هيكليات تشريعية عديدة. وترغب المعارضة وفق ما تقول مصادر مقربة منها لـ«السفير» في أن «تكون جزءا من كل هذا الزخم التشريعي»، من باب «حرصها الوطني على الشراكة في المسؤولية»، إلا أن بعض رموزها «يخشون على مصداقيتهم أمام الشارع نتيجة عدم توفر المناخ المناسب ولالا سيما في ما يتعلق بوجود الحل الأمني». وهو حل تبدي بعض مصادر المعارضة تخوفها منه، كما تبدي قلقها مجددا من يوم الجمعة المقبل، الذي يمكن أن يستغله البعض من رافضي الإصلاح والحوار لزيادة تعقيد موقفي الطرفين، سلطة ومعارضة.
وفي السياق الدستوري، علمت «السفير» أن لجنة من كبار رجال القانون والتشريع قد شكلت لإجراء مراجعة دستورية للدستور السوري ووضع تصور لدستور مستقبلي وعصري لكن يراعي الخصوصية السورية، وذلك لاختصار عامل الزمن في حال جرى الاتفاق على مناقشة دستور جديد لا الاكتفاء بتعديلات دستورية.
وفي إطار مشابه سلمت لجنة صياغة قانون إعلامي جديد مسودة مشروع القانون للحكومة السورية للاطلاع عليه. ويدعو المشروع الذي يتألف من 92 مادة إلى تشكيل مجلس أعلى للإعلام كما يقترح تشكيل محاكم لقضايا النشر ومنح تراخيص بإجراءات ميسرة لمكاتب الخدمات الإعلامية والمؤسسات الصحافية والتلفزيونية والاذاعية كما الالكترونية.
ويقوم المشروع على أساس منح «الحرية الواسعة لممارسة الإعلامي عمله بمهنية مع تقييده بمسؤوليات وواجبات بما يحقق إعلاما حرا مسؤولا أمام المجتمع إلى جانب تسهيل الترخيص وتوسيعه لتأسيس مؤسسات إعلامية مطبوعة ومسموعة ومرئية والكترونية يشعر معها المجتمع بأن الإعلام في خدمته ولتلبية احتياجاته». وقال معاون وزير الإعلام السابق طالب قاضي أمين إن المشروع ينص في مادته الثانية على «أن الإعلام حر مستقل وجميع وسائله على اختلاف أنواعها حرة ولا يقيد حريته إلا الدستور»، وفي حقوق الإعلامي جاء في المادة السادسة «لا سلطان أو وصاية على الإعلاميين في أداء عملهم لغير القانون كما أن حرية الإعلامي مصانة ولا يجوز أن تكون المعلومة أو الرأي الذي ينشره أو يبثه الإعلامي سببا للمساس بأمنه وحريته». وضمنت المادة الثامنة حق الإعلامي في الحصول على المعلومات بمختلف أشكالها من أي جهة كانت ونشرها. واعتبرت المادة 11 أن أي إهانة للإعلامي أثناء أو بسبب قيامه بأعماله تعتبر اعتداء على موظف رسمي بحسب القوانين النافذة».
ويلتزم الإعلامي في المادة 12 تحت بند الواجبات في ما ينشره أو يبثه بالمبادئ والقيم التي يتضمنها الدستور والقانون مراعياً في أعماله مقتضيات الأمانة والأخلاق والنزاهة وآداب الصحافة وتقاليدها بما يحفظ للمجتمع مثله وقيمه ولا ينتهك حقوق المواطنين أو يمس حرياتهم ويمتنع عن الدعوة إلى التعصب أو التطرف أو معاداة مبادئ حقوق الإنسان أو إثارة النعرات الطائفية والمذهبية وكل ما ينطوي على إهانة الأديان السماوية أو المعتقدات الدينية. وتضمن فصل التراخيص وآلياته ان حرية إصدار رخص وسائل الإعلام للأحزاب السياسية والأشخاص هي حق يكفله القانون ويمنح الترخيص بقرار من المجلس الوطني للإعلام. وتراوحت الغرامات على المخالفات بحسب نوع المخالفة بين عشرة آلاف ومليون ليرة سورية فيما تتراوح مخالفة المحظورات ما بين مليون إلى مليوني ليرة وجاء في المادة 90 انه لا يجوز توقيف الإعلامي احتياطيا في كل ما يدخل في اختصاص محكمة قضايا النشر.
ورأى عضو اللجنة علي جمالو أن أهم نقطتين في القانون الجديد انه لم ترد فيه كلمة «يسجن» ولا مرة واحدة كما انه ساوى بين جميع المواطنين في الحصول على الترخيص، مشيراً إلى أنه في المرحلة المقبلة من تطبيق القانون في حال إقراره، قد يكون هناك عدد كبير من الناس يعتقدون أن بإمكانهم إنشاء مؤسسات إعلامية وهو ما حدث في بلدان أخرى عندما فتحت باب التراخيص الحر، إنما ستكون فترة موقتة لأنه لن يبقى في النهاية إلا مؤسسات محترفة يعمل فيها إعلاميون موهوبون.
جرحى ومعتقلون في حماه
في المقابل، قال مدير المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان رامي عبد الرحمن إن القوات الأمنية السورية فتحت النار على المواطنين في حماه ما أدى إلى إصابة 21 شخصا، بينهم البطل الاولمبي ناصر الشامي. وقال عبد الرحمن من لندن، «نفذت قوات الجيش والامن السورية حملة اعتقالات منذ فجر الاثنين في بعض احياء مدينة حماه التي شهدت انتشارا امنيا كثيفا».
وقال ناشط حقوقي ان ما بين 200 و300 شخص اعتقلوا في المدينة منذ الصباح. وقال احد سكان المدينة في اتصال اجرته معه وكالة «فرانس برس» من نيقوسيا ان طفلا في الثانية عشرة قتل في حي شمالي غربي المدينة وان 20 الى 25 آخرين اصيبوا بجروح.

http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=1887&articleId=499&ChannelId=44475&Author=%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%20%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%B1

مجلس الأمن يناقش الملف النووي السوري

أفادت مصادر دبلوماسية أمس، بأن مجلس الامن الدولي ينوي عقد جلسة مغلقة في 14 تموز الحالي، لمناقشة ما أسمته رفض التعاون السوري في التحقيق حول نشاطات نووية مزعومة مرتبطة بمنشأة دير الزور التي دمّرتها الطائرات الاسرائيلية في العام 2007. وقال أحد الدبلوماسيين الثلاثة إن النقاشات المقرر عقدها في 14 تموز الحالي تحمل معاني جدية، مشيراً إلى أن مجلس الأمن رأى في الأمر أهمية كافية لمناقشته بعد أقل من شهر من طلب الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية. وأشار الدبلوماسيون إلى أن مجلس الأمن طلب من مسؤولين رفيعي المستوى لدى الوكالة الذرية، حضور المناقشات للإدلاء بشهاداتهم.
واكد الدبلوماسيون أن مدير الوكالة الذرية يوكيا أمانو والمسؤول عن ملف حظر الانتشار لدى الوكالة هيرمان ناكيرتس سيحضران المناقشات، أو أحدهما على الأقل، فيما رفض مسؤولون من الوكالة التعليق على هذه المعلومات. (أ ب)

July 4th, 2011, 7:51 pm

Thanks for the incriminating evidence:

https://twitter.com/#!/syriancommando/status/88034712332939264
https://twitter.com/#!/syriancommando/status/88034960346324992

This is how you run an unpopular “revolution”: you terrorise and brutalise everyone into conforming to your will. I hope the army secures the area and allows people to have freedom again.

There’s no freedom* without security.

* In the most consistent sense

July 4th, 2011, 8:05 pm

Aboud said:

Oh dear me, whatever happened to the Iraqi oil deal that was supposed to save junior’s ass? Anyone heard anything of it since last week? Anyone? Anyone at all? Landis built an entire Iranian-Hizbollah-Iraqi-Syrian alliance based solely on that one Al-Arabiya article (which he didn’t even manage to translate properly).

How heartbroken the Baathists must be. They must be used to it by now.

(We will discuss some other time how pathetic it is that war torn Iraq has to come to junior’s rescue).

And how wonderful to hear the expressions of sudden and new found admiration for Bassam AlQadi. How conveniently the Baathists forget that the same views they are so grateful to hear from Al-Qadi, had previously landed the man in jail.

Not one (respectable) commentator or reporter thinks that junior knows what he’s doing. He’s like someone flinging mud on a wall, hoping something will stick.

July 4th, 2011, 8:30 pm

Jad thank you for the link, its wonderful clip , there are quick responses to ‘support the Lira’ invitations every decent person knows that the first to be hit is the poorest if the economy collapses

i cant wait till next week to know how much the Syrians abroad transferred money to Syria and how much people inside Syria deposited in the banks , I hope the government will announce the figures , there is a rumors that one billion Dollar was transferred from the UAE alone cant wait to know the facts

this crises unveiled many fake friends to Syria but also unveiled the true and trusted ones

Syrian Commando
I am scared to think what those people are capable of,they always remind me of Einstein quotation ‘Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former’
if eating their children alive would serve their cause they would !!

July 4th, 2011, 8:55 pm

You will never get an answer from the jews about their filth. Just whining about being persecuted by ‘antisemites’ or a flood of holocaust rubbish. Ignore the evidence and just smear the confronter. Zionist jew racism is very much operative and not in the long distant tribal past. Their racism has been consistent over centuries. Their defense? pointing to how others are worse than they… Their cop-out name-calling and character assassination via ‘antisemite, denier, conspiracy theorist, hater’ etc just dont cut it any more. Too much verifiable information is out there. The minds who composed these policies (judaism is a political sect of legalisms posing as religion) are the racists, not those who expose it or quote it- another typical non-answer/diversion by them.

Talmud ongoing policies have a DIRECT bearing on jews behavior towards the Palestinians and on their role in the world financial arena. To think they’re isolated is like saying the xtian evangelicals’ beliefs dont impact THEIR actions. Of course, since jews control the media, the media has been non-stop on the Qoran role in Islamic fundamentalism. But analyze a jew’s brutality and arrogance derived from THEIR book of filth? How dare you!

Second Israel rabbi questioned over ‘racist’ book
Jul 3

Israeli police briefly detained a rabbi on Sunday over his endorsement of a controversial book that justifies the killing of non-Jews in certain circumstances, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

News of the brief detention and questioning of rabbi Yaakov Yosef, son of one of Israel’s leading religious leaders, prompted his supporters to take to the streets in parts of Jerusalem, burning tyres and blocking the city’s light railway.

Later about 1,000 of his supporters took to the streets, setting rubbish bins on fire and blocking a main Jerusalem road before being dispersed by horse-mounted police and water cannons, an AFP photographer said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police moved against the demonstrators after they started throwing stones at the officers.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Police detained Yosef for around an hour after he failed to present himself voluntarily for questioning over his endorsement of a book called “The King’s Torah.”

Yosef is the son of rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a highly popular religious leader who is also the spiritual head of the Shas party, which is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.

Yosef is the second high-profile rabbi to be questioned over the book, after police last week briefly detained rabbi Dov Lior, a key member of the settler movement. His detention also prompted protests by his students and supporters.

Rosenfeld said Yosef had been “questioned on suspicion of inciting violence and racism” over his support for the book.

“He was released after approximately an hour. After he was held, his supporters burnt tyres near (the main road between east and west Jerusalem) and police also made arrests of three people who were blocking the light railway system,” Rosenfeld added.

Rabbi Lior’s detention last week prompted rare criticism from Israel’s two chief rabbis, who described it as a “grave offence against the honour of one of the most important rabbis and leaders of religious opinion.”

July 4th, 2011, 8:58 pm

Abboud

“Not one (respectable) commentator or reporter thinks that junior knows what he’s doing. He’s like someone flinging mud on a wall, hoping something will stick.

I can say exactly the same of the opposition… Failure after failure: the Aleppo Volcano, the country-wide strike, the call for the Alawites to join, the call for the army to change sides.
At least JR has made some victories..

Of course, look at how they shamelessly use photographs of children for their cause.

If they had to eat them, they will chow them down without thought. They are cannibals. They don’t care about Syria just their ulterior motives.

July 4th, 2011, 9:05 pm

I accept your natural curiousity and I commend you for it. If you have any question about Judaism I would prefer that you ask a Jew like myself instead of a known anti-Jewish poster who delights in labeling Jews as Khazars.

Already it seems as though there is disagreement on the muslim-who-converts-to-another-religion issue. I am not surprised. In any case, feel free to ask us anything.

Just so you know, my first wife’s father came from a Syrian family (Halabi) who immigrated to Palestine before Israel became a nation. My ex-father-in-law was born in Palestine and witnessed the flight of many Arabs from Tel-Aviv and Yafo.

July 4th, 2011, 9:09 pm

#137, 139, 148, Dears
AlRiddah is not synonymous with changing religeon.
AlRiddah is a techical word that was mentioned in Quran.
I can not remeber the particular sura and Aya that discussed it.
I will try to search for it and discuss that, if I could.

For now, Please allow me to make the following points:
1. Hadith and Old interpretations of Quran have nearly all have been subjected to certain censorships by their contemporary rulers.
As such, one should be careful to use lots of discretion while reading them.
2. Freedom of choice – including belief, speach and others – is central in Quran.
Freedom of choice was stressed in dozens of Ayat.
In fact, all God’s messengers came at peaks of tyranny.
The message was all along, set people free.
There are dozens of Ayat that clearly state; If you wish you may believe, and If you do not wish, do not believe.

Back to AlRiddah, as I remeber, AlRiddah – Reverting back from Islam to whatever belief one had before – emerged as a problem twords the end of Mohammed’s life.
My understanding is that in peripheral areas, where Moslems and non-moslems coexisted, Non-moslems came under pressure to revert back to their original beliefs.
The Aya of AlRiddah came in support of the believers to fight for the right to keep their religion -freedom of choice-!

Careful, contexual readinf of Quran would clarify many misconceptions, including AlFitnah – that Jr absudly misquoted and applied – AlJihad, Al7ijab, etc….

Rest assured, these issues generate as much if not more heat amongst ultraconservative, moderate conservative, and liberal moslems as they do between moslems and others.

The right to read and interpret Quran is not owned by any one.
Adopting an interpretor’s view point does not relieve you of the responsibility before God for the consequences of your adopted interpretation.

An open mind and ongoing self-correction (Al7aneefiyeh) gave Abraham what it took to be a founder of Islam.

July 4th, 2011, 9:22 pm

#159

So did your genuine pure blood Jewish wife chose to mix with a fake Jew, or are you also a real Jew?

July 4th, 2011, 9:27 pm

Israel religious hate speech, a democracy??

http://news.yahoo.com/second-israel-rabbi-questioned-over-racist-book-133146044.html

“….The book reportedly says babies and children of Israel’s enemies may be killed in certain circumstances since “it is clear that they will grow to harm us.”

It also says non-Jews are “uncompassionate by nature” and that attacks on them “curb their evil inclination.”

“Anywhere where the influence of gentiles constitutes a threat to the life of Israel, it is permissible to kill them,” the rabbis wrote.”

July 4th, 2011, 9:41 pm

edj said:

Bassam: yoh, how do you define Elitists and Opposition Figuers. Please answer this question?
Let me ask you this question! How is it that your organization represent women and you are a man!!!???
Really, I have a lot to say…but I like to be polite about your opinions.
EdJ

July 4th, 2011, 9:48 pm

At least he was arrested, when are we going to arrest Qaradawi and his likes that incite violence .

July 4th, 2011, 9:49 pm

Norman,

He is not jailed, just “briefly detained” (“persecuted” for his “beliefs” no doubt.) This is not remorse of opinion or policy, but a PR gesture because this swine’s racism was exposed and caused embarassment in front of the world. More hasbara b.s.

You dont need to listen to some partisan hasbara agent’s soft pedalling of racism or “interpretation” of racism at SC (they give us that aplenty in the MSM). JUST GO TO THE TALMUDIC TEXTS DIRECTLY- the hatred and slime continues through centuries and is unequivocal. It speaks for itself. We see how the spirit of this filth comes to fruition daily; read the news. But c’mon- you know all this already.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/06/09/debbie-menon-are-the-defenders-of-%e2%80%98antisemitism%e2%80%99-losing-their-edge/

July 4th, 2011, 10:00 pm

This subject which Tara opened is really not for this site.that is a pure religious subject and there is so many sites which deals specifically with these issues.
We are in pre-civil war state of minds and we should talk about الرده.it is illegal in ALL Arab countries to change your religion if you are Moslem ,meaning that it is a crime if you decide to be free.it is very legal to do the reverse.opposition members in the new Syria guided by Alaaroor will put any Moslem who change his religion onالخازوق.Any way we all from the Denemark artist and from the dutch
Movie director that Moslems in general are very tolerant to freedom of opinions and expression,you just have to be killed,that is all.I have visited new York few times ,and on the same corner I see every time a group of blacks wearing david stars on there forehead,and stepping on pictures of Jesus and virgin Mary,and stepping on them,and shouting and cursing .now that is freedom of expression,but that is (amputated)freedom of expression,because if these pictures were for Moses ,they will be called Antisimmitic,and if they were for …
They will be killed.

July 4th, 2011, 11:23 pm

First to WD when he says he loves this Banana Republic. I have no doubt of his love for Syria. As for this Republic, I find it very hard to see how one can love this regime. Unless of course one is part and parcel of the regime and/or is benefiting fully from its crony nature. Not all of the regime is bad of course and the line of supporting the resistance is one that I endorse fully; but I hate its exploitation for continued oppression and abuse of power.

Second response is about how Syria compares to other “corrupt” regimes and systems.
I do not pretend nor does my argument go to defend this or that system. This is strictly about the situation as it happens in Syria. I know that some ex Soviet republics have had a similar regime and Kafka like constitutions and that is my question to the audience. What other countries compare to Syria in this regard. No country is perfect and I would be the first to argue for example that the recent decisions by the US Supreme Court are abhorrent. So here is one example that I share with the audience. How about North Korea or Maynmar or even in the fifties Guatemala and Nicaragua under pro US brutal dictators and thugs?

I have argued before that the most racist and most oppressive regime in the world is that of Zion in Palestine as it has worked on eradicating the very essence of being a Palestinian the latest of which is the insistence that they recognize Israel as a Jewish State thereby auto negating their very existence if they do so and legitimizing the theft and displacement of their own people: talk about cruelty and ultimate blackmail. That does not give license to the regime in Syria to be oppressive. Nor does it give a justification for a state of emergency that has been fully abused for years nor for a one party state or an unaccountable regime.

Also, I had argued before that the US foreign policy is brutal and biased and that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and others before them constitute wars against humanity and should result in Bush being prosecuted. Attempts to prosecute Kissinger have resulted in his fleeing France. The world unfortunately follows the law of Might Makes Right and that makes me want to continue to change it.

Rest assured that I make my voice and actions quite clear to my representatives for the sake of human rights and for freedom here and elsewhere. I have learned my lesson as I was deprived of this basic right when I was in Syria. In contrast to many “bored” US citizen I have become vigilant when it comes to basic rights and to the limits of government intrusions and abuse of power. I have been immunized by the regime in Syria.

The Germs and the Rats are multiplying.

July 4th, 2011, 11:43 pm

EDJ

That’s a sexist statement… I wonder maybe if you are living in Saudi Arabia or Iran where segregation exists and only a woman can deal with women social issues. Otherwise you are far behind.

Please continue been impolite, I am sure Bassam would not mind. At least he dares speak his mind when you cowardly hide behind the facade of civility. Show your face, be a man!

July 5th, 2011, 12:34 am

>The Germs and the Rats are multiplying.

Indeed, the activity of them is increasing on this website everyday. Good of you to admit what you are.

Basha’ar never called anyone a germ, mind you, but you’ll lie ANYWAY just to serve your purpose. Aren’t you blatant?

Meanwhile in Syria, the number of protestors is decreasing as people are shamed into realising how unpopular their theocracy is.

July 5th, 2011, 1:07 am

tsk tsk tsk! 🙁 ya 7aram

From FB:
الشباب عنا قدروا يهكروا صفحة الثورة السورية و الاستيلاء عليها … الصفحة التي تحوي اكتر من مئتي الف فورجي …. مبرووووووك :)))) we hacked the syrian revolution page now

صفحة الثورة السورية الى هكرناها هي تحت ايدنا حاليااا و عم نشتغل لنحولا صفحة مؤيدة و قولواا الله ….. مبرووووك … الله و أكبر
a few seconds ago ·

July 5th, 2011, 1:28 am

No more sewer stream from REVLON then? 😀

Our hacktivists are really something else! This is only fair given how often facebook deletes OUR pages and disables OUR accounts.

No doubt they have the page backed up for them since this is a international conspiracy against Syria and they won’t allow one of their main resources to be down for long.

Was it the SES or another group?

July 5th, 2011, 1:43 am

The Syrian People in the US
they went through the new look Swede Bro FB account.

July 5th, 2011, 2:21 am

OBSERVER @167
So basically, you are a consistent person.

July 5th, 2011, 2:27 am

Martyr Muhammad AlKees
He was tortured and his body was hacked by thugs of Jr the Reformer
Jisr AlShughoor

AlFati7a upon his soul,
May God bless his family with solace and empower them with patience

إدلب || جسر الشغورالشهيد محمد الكيس أبوحكمت
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nK6d_C4WpyE#at=68

Uploaded by freedomaleppo on Jul 4, 2011

July 5th, 2011, 3:07 am

Uh, I don’t know what the silly person at @170 is going on about, but the page is up and running. The number of people who “like” it has been reset, but as I recall that seems to happen alot due to technical issues.

“Tsk tsk” indeed…sad little Baathists will clutch at “victories” wherever they can. A whole country has slipped out of their control, foreign friends have turned foes, possible war crime indictments on the horizon…and they are focused on a Facebook page.

Reminds me of last Friday, when about a dozen shabiha scum were gathered around a metal trash container that had been sprayed graffiti…all the while Insha’at witnessed its biggest demonstration to date at the Brazil Street roundabout. Yeah, it’s sad when someone sprays “Maqar Hizb El Baath” on your HOME. HAHAHAHAHAHAH.

July 5th, 2011, 3:36 am

Samara said:

Bassam is an excellent role model. At least a MAN shows his support for womens rights. He is an honerable man and all respect to him. You should praise him, not be rude and degrade him. He is an example that there are men out there who care and support womens rights. But like why discuss said, you are sexist.

OBSERVER,
Yes, the rats and germs are multiplying. They are all hostile MB members, MB supporters, supporters of the revolution and so on. But the time will come when they will be chased out of the great country that is Syria. All who oppose the regime, support sectarianism, violence and murder. They are germs and rats. Rodents and pigs.

Syrian Commando is right. Bashar al Assad has never called anyone rats or germs. But i will gladly say it on his behalf…mate, observer, your a rat and a bucket load of germs.

REVLON,
Lol. Your links become more meaningless day by day.

Allah yehmeekon Bashar ou Maher.

July 5th, 2011, 3:40 am

God bless the Shabiha habibs.

Aboud,
you aint funny ya dubdoub. Your just a low life. The regime will emerge stronger and more supported, while dogs like you are gonna keep howling in your caves. Dogs like you bark, while the regime and its supporters laugh.

July 5th, 2011, 3:51 am

Mifleh the butcher is back in Hama, with vengence!

Martyr Ibrahim Qashoosh was slaughtered, his neck slashed yesterday, by thugs of Jr The Reformer
His body was thrown in Orantis river.
The sight of this victim shall set the mood in the city aflame!

AlFati7a upon his soul
May God bless his family with solace and empower them with patience.

حماة 4 7 2011 الشهيد ابرهيم قاشوش اللذي ذبح على يد الأمن و الشبيحة و رميت جثته في العاصي عند باب النهر

July 5th, 2011, 3:54 am

#175 DumBOUD

I know you like to lie and aren’t Syrian but the page was down for several hours. The hackers were able to obtain a lot more information about ponytail and friends, the coming days will be very interesting.

لأن قوة الحق لا تقهر و لأننا واثقون بأننا على حق و هم مجموعه لا تريد إلا الدمار و الخراب لهذا البلد الآمن
تم بعون الله أغلاق صفحة الفورةالسورية بعد أن وصل عدد معجبيها الى 225 الف من العرب غير السوريين .
الف مبروك لكم يا أبناء سوريا الأسد

Just to show you facebook is part of the conspiracy itself, it set the number of likes back to the previous value:

224,946

Great majority (>90%) of whom are not even Syrian!

The real number is:

225

And now the truth is revealed.

July 5th, 2011, 4:16 am

@179 “The real number is: 225 And now the truth is revealed.”

See people, this is the level of intelligence that has been running Syria for the past 40 years. Anyone with a shred of self-respect would have been too ashamed to post such an absurd statement.

Child, when the page came back the number of “likes” was zero, and as more people “liked” it the number went up. Facebook restored the original number.

You seriously believe that only “225” people on the entire Internet…oh wait, I’m talking to the fool who made up a Turkish invasion out of thin air.

People like this is why I’m in favor of a website devoted exclusively to Baathists and their silly comments, they give you all the material you need to damn them. Dude, I’m seriously beginning to think you are actually an opposition member.

So, the Great-Iraqi-Bailout never materialized? LOL! Ma3lish, bet3esho wa taklo ghaira. Maybe Nasrallah can start a collection for you. Or Asma can sell her dresses to pay for the shabiha scum’s salaries.

Ya Bashar, esma3 wa shoof
3am ensibak 3al makshoof!

*sung to the tune of Happy Birthday*
yel3an Rooooohak ya Hafiiiiz
yel3an Rooooohak ya Hafiiiiz
yel3an Rooohak, yel3an Roooohak
yel3an Rooohak ya Hafiiiiiz.

July 5th, 2011, 5:14 am

Aboud, here is something i composed for you.

Yel3un rouhak ya Aboud, or rather ya 3adu.
Yel3un rouhak. W Enshallah b tenherr2 w bt shouf, enu inta 3adu lilallah.

Ya 3adu, ya 3adu, ya 3adu enshallah t mout.

Allah yerham al Assad el kbeerr. Allah yehme al Assad al kaed. Allah yehme mart al kaed. W Maher ya rub. W shabiha kaman.

July 5th, 2011, 5:27 am

Aboud,

you talk about Asma, ya faheem, look at people who are overly exagerating their looks and fashion just to look good in fron of the camera. Asma is a respectable woman, her dress code has nothing to do with what is happening, so what is your problem? Is it envy i sense?? I guess so. And, if she does sell her dresses to pay for the Shabiha, then Allah y awiyah. Thank you Asma.

We love Asma.

July 5th, 2011, 5:47 am

Samara,

I don’t think it’s envy your sensing, I think Syrian commando struck a cord when he said that information has been gathered about the clowns of the revolution and the real number of their fans.

July 5th, 2011, 5:55 am

@182 “Asma is a respectable woman,”

She *was* respectable. Now she’s just another wife of just another tin-pot dictator. Those are a dime a dozen in this region.

Alas, no more trips to Paris as guests of the French president. No more cover shots in glossy magazines. Just a humble apartment in Tehran while she isn’t visiting her husband in the Hague in the cell he will share with Ratko Mladic…oh wait, you didn’t hear about him?

I just saw another Baathi fool on BBC Arabic. As always, by the end of an interview, the Baathist apologists are sounding hysterical and on the verge of a crying tantrum.

July 5th, 2011, 6:23 am

SYAU

You are right. But it doesnt hurt to degrade the sheman Aboud. I mean, it talks about Asmas dresses…nice to know what keeps its mind occupied.

And the number of supporters on that facebook page, i bet Syrian Commando was just being nice when he said 225l. I rekon the number is even lower, if you dont count the people who urge their friends to support it, even though they may not know anything about whats going on.

July 5th, 2011, 6:26 am

Sory, i meant 225.

Aboud, shut up. No one wants to hear your patheticness.q
The only ones that are gonna be behind bars are you and those who are ruining the country. To break it down for your slow brain, im refering to the MBs and the violent revolutionaries and their leaders.

July 5th, 2011, 6:32 am

Sam said:

Hasn’t anyone noticed? The man doesn’t mention women or women’s rights at all. And why’s he a guy anyway? Is this really Syria’s main women’s rights organization? Pathetic.

July 5th, 2011, 6:33 am

166. Syria no kandahar said:
This subject which Tara opened is really not for this site.that is a pure religious subject and there is so many sites which deals specifically with these issues.

WRONG. It is directly related to all that has transpired in the fake War on Terror, which is a mere continuation of the last 150 yrs in the region. The mayhem has been justified by pseudo RELIGION from the start whether we like it or not. That is the reality.

If you dont grasp that the ‘Arab Color Revolutions’ emanate from and benefit the same entities as 911, you probably still believe some Al CIAduh guys in an Afghan cave pulled off 911. In which case? You may be unreachable.

July 5th, 2011, 6:41 am

“Aboud, shut up”

Make me. Go ahead, bring on all your tanks and APCs. Make me shut up.

Welcome to 2011. The Syrian people will never be shut up ever again. Shabiha scum shits are running all over Hama, firing on anything that moves, but are the people of Hama intimidated? Not one bit.

Junior is so hopeless. He had everything on his side when this started. US and Arab complacency. The army. A media apparatus with plenty of sycophants ready to peddle his lies for him. The Syrian people had only their mobile phones, and their bravery. Nothing else.

And yet they have managed to shake this regime to its very core, they have changed the country and the entire region forever. While disgusting regime apologists sitting in the West make excuses and try to sugar-coat massacres, the Syrian people risk their lives every day and night for their freedoms. They have proven to be braver and more resilient than other nations, who gave up and compromised with their enemies for less of an excuse.

Allah, Souria, Houria Wa Bas. And maybe Al-Karami football club.

July 5th, 2011, 7:06 am

Shami said:

What kind of disease it’s ? jahesh of qerdaha menhebak addicts have exported their menhebak divinization cult to Libya.

Il mazbalet el tarikh !

These menhebak addicts will be cursed for ever.

July 5th, 2011, 7:35 am

Good to see the hate killing the anti-Syrians alive.

I hope it’ll totally consume them and they’ll take my advice: hang yourself, because you’re going to be suicidal when you realise your plans for Syria are gonna fail for sure.

July 5th, 2011, 7:47 am

Syrian Commando,

Couldnt have said it better myself.

Aboud, you make me laugh. I hope the Shabiha kill all vile mosters like you.

July 5th, 2011, 7:52 am

Shami,

Would you have enjoyed it if it was a picture of 3ar3our instead?

July 5th, 2011, 7:57 am

Syau ,ar3our or not,by nature, humans forbade this cult of dezhumanisation.

July 5th, 2011, 8:15 am

Syau ,ar3our or not,by nature, humans forbade this cult of
dehumanization.

July 5th, 2011, 8:32 am

@190

“I hope the Shabiha kill all vile mosters like you.”

You mean cowardly shabiha scum like the ones running away in Hama?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2bWXOiSXh4&feature=player_embedded

Notice how none of the Hamwis have any sort of weapon on them. A city comes out to protest, and whats’s junior’s predictable response? Send in his army. The whole 4th Division and ten like it won’t be enough to subdue Hama. Maybe it’s time for the eye doctor to ask Iran for some more brigades.

July 5th, 2011, 8:38 am

How easy it is to sell off your country when you need financial help to maintain your power.

I think we should boycott Greece for stopping the flotilla.
The ‘socialist’ government in Greece is flipping to court Israel’s financial connections and attract the Israeli tourists who are boycotting its long time enemy,Turkey. They forgot their long time support for the Palestinian cause. How easy country can be sold and congratulations to Bashar Al Assad who has not cede to all the financial offers the Western countries have been giving him to renounce to the support of the resistance.
We should be proud of Syria’s foreign policy.

July 5th, 2011, 8:47 am

So far there are no arguments on this blog since I last posted.
There are personal preferences of interpretation of the events in Syria.
However, taking the discourse of the authorities I will posit again that the regime has admitted the following:
1. When Muallem says we will have a beautiful democracy, he admits we do not have one or at best we have an ugly one.
2. When Junior says we will reform, he admits that mistakes and deviations and aberrations are present otherwise no need for reform.
3. When he sacks the Governor of Hama after a massive peaceful demonstration where no one was killed or injured and no property damaged it indicates that the regime has opted for the oppression tool as the only means to deal with dissent and protests.
4. When commissions are established to study the constitution and the various laws it is an admission of a faulty current document
5. When the state of emergency is lifted it is an admission that it was an aberration and was abused.
6. When the Syrian pound is being supported and the lending rate increased it is an admission of the dire situation of the economy.

Now, it seems that my comment linking the Rats speech of Ghadafi with the Germs speech of Junior has hit home. The poster by Syrian protesters declaring : Rats and Germs of the World Unite says it all. It does not matter what Junior said, his message is exactly like the Ghadafi one and just like the late Romanian dictator who called his people worms and insects and like Begin calling Palestinians Cockroaches on two feet. The context is that dissent is a disease and it clearly shows how little understanding of basic dignity Junior has.

Now some on this post are praising the Shabiha, so please explain to me who they are, where the term comes from, who pays them, to whom are they accountable, what are their methods of operation, who directs them, what purpose do they serve, what relationship do they have with official police and security services if any, how does the army deal with them if any?

Again I have argued that the situation is evolving into a lose lose situation. The regime is finished as we know it and it is only a matter of time. Now do not get your imagination and fear overtake your senses when I write this, Junior may still be sitting on the chair, but his rule and the regime he presides over is finished. There is no return back. So far my observation is that the opposition is slowly congealing. In contrast to the regime, it will be like herding cats into a room and this is a well known fact of Syrian political landscape they can be difficult to reconcile nevertheless they are far more democratic than any thing the Baath party has to offer despite and because of their diversity and wide spectrum of opinions.

Finally, people on the ground may very well be the ones determining the fate of Syria and none of us on this blog matter.

Cheer up the end is near.

July 5th, 2011, 8:50 am

A little hallucination maybe, or would you call running towards imaginary people desperation?

Don’t you think it’s enough of the ‘shabiha’ here, there and everywhere? It’s getting old.

Kissing photo’s in that way to show affection is a little odd, but listening to calls for violence and sectarian hatred and division compliments of 3ar3our is downright evil. If I had to choose,I would definitely choose the former.

July 5th, 2011, 8:55 am

“cheer up the end is near”

Observaing loser, you are right, so start packing. You might want to let your friends know, so they can gather their things before the are thrown out with nothing.

ALLAH, SOURIA, BASHAR OU BASS.

July 5th, 2011, 8:57 am

Have you noticed the silence of the Turkish press. No words on the refugees etc.. while Davutoglu is visiting Benghazi and Egypt.

Do you think he is waiting for the operation in Hama to end and for the meeting with opposition on 10 july to give some result to show up.
I am sure Turkey is quietly helping and advising both sides.

July 5th, 2011, 9:02 am

“Finally, people on the ground may very well be the ones determining the fate of Syria and none of us on this blog matter. ”

Indeed, very well put. A teenager in Khaldia matters more than all the Internet “soldiers” sitting in the West.

At this rate, junior will have to send every last tank he has to every city, town and village in Syria. He will have to cut the electricity in every town and village. And even when he does, he still won’t have managed to suppress the Syrian people enough to silence them.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Hama and Idlib.

An excellent article in Sharq Al Awsat

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=25766

“After Hama..No Reforms in Syria”

July 5th, 2011, 9:04 am

“Junior may still be sitting on the chair, but his rule and the regime he presides over is finished.”

I see some kind of subtle flip here…
We all know, and Bashar Al Assad knows even more than us, that the reforms will change the system and his rule will be submitted to a democratic process .
So finally I think your position is getting closer to the reality.

It is not “a lose lose situation”. The system will change to the satisfaction of all and Bashar will stay to the satisfaction of many, except the rats and germs who prefer to live in dark sewage rather than accept that the world outside may have another brighter vision of the country.

By the way, we may see Seif Al Islam candidate to the elections in Libya… Surprise, surprise!

July 5th, 2011, 9:10 am

Junior revolution sewer rat germs sectarian a3r3our finished game over man junior democracy freedom huriah alluha akbar fart smoke gas.

There you go guys, even I can pretend to be a “revolution” retard.

Bunch of useless pieces of crap, they have no suggestions for policy change NONE WHAT SO EVER. They’re like angryarab on steroids.

July 5th, 2011, 9:24 am

I believe that the next meeting ,the coordination committee of the national democratic conference,will have ( must stress) a law to protect minorities, includes but not limited to Alawi and christians minority, this is very important point,most of the meeting must be directed to protect and gives equal voice to all minorities,this must include the formation of a council(body)that must have a veto power that can block any legistlation that could effect their minorities negatively, this body will be elected by the minorities,in a free democratic election,held in two stages, the first stage is based on caucus meeting, the second and more important stage is to go to the voting booths and elect two representatives,The two stages are necessary to prevent secretive deals.
The Council must be part of the future proposed constitution.

July 5th, 2011, 9:46 am

That would be a very important move to reassure minorities.

July 5th, 2011, 10:03 am

Exodus Chapter 20 http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0220.htm
Look at verse 12 “Thou shalt not steal”. It doesn’t say, You shall not steal from a Jew, but it’s OK to rob a gentile. Right?
The command is general, and apply to all mankind. How do we know this? Notice the words chosen by the author: “Neighbor” (v 12,13). A neighbor could be Jewish or not. And look at v9 “the seventh day is a sabbath .. in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates”. Who is being commanded to rest on Shabat day? Jews, servants (Jews and gentiles), strangers (non Jews), and even animals. So the 10 commands are holistic and general.

Very few people can read the Talmud. I’m sure that 873 is not one of them. It’s a mixture of archaic Hebrew, and Aramaic.
And yes, you can ask me anything.!
.

July 5th, 2011, 10:13 am

Majedkhaldoon,

It takes years to reform legislation, and even longer to create or reform a Constitution. Reform is undoubtedly needed in Syria and these bodies you speak of will be an improvement. But people must understand that it takes a very long time for reform. It took 4 years in Australia to abolish the law of provocation, and that is only legislation. It took 9 years to reform the Constitution, and that was only for two sections. In one section, it was the ommititon of only a few words. So, to create a council, or a system of checks and balances, or responsible government, representative government, or any other system of governance which requires constitutional change, or the implementation of Constitutional Conventions, takes time. People need to understand that.

But unfortunately, these people who started out asking for reform and got a response, are now asking for domination. They just want the regime to an end. They saw that the President complied and said reform will come, so now they want him out.

That is all. They do not want democracy. They do not wat peace.

July 5th, 2011, 10:19 am

The suggestion from #203 is the most sectarian garbage I’ve ever heard. See, these guys have a one track mind: they want to destroy Syria in any way they can see fit.

My worst fear is people will start listening to these intellectual amateurs and actually think this is a good idea. This is a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE idea and it doesn’t take much to figure out just why it is.

Just imagine the corruption that can happen from a council dedicated to ever sect, real or imagined. Just imagine the power concentrated in the hands of those who can veto popular legislation. Just imagine the BACKLASH against such a veto.

These people should be out in the countryside, harvesting crops, not on a computer making any kind of political discussion.

July 5th, 2011, 10:30 am

Dear WD,
I think to understand what’s going on in the region and where the region is going we need to read the regional main power strategies and the way they see us, interesting analysis about Iran and Turkey way of dealing with the Arab spring:

[Analysis] Turkish-Iranian Relations in the Shadow of the Arab Revolutions

The Syrian Challenge

The situation in Syria poses a serious and important challenge to both Turkey and Iran, not only because Syria is an important geopolitical node connecting the two states to their regional interests, nor only because it is a point of intersection between the Turkish and Iranian projects, but also because the outcome of the events in Syria will have a dramatic impact on both countries – most likely with one benefiting at the expense of the other.

Turkey believes that the Syrian people’s demands for greater freedoms, democracy, and the lifting of all restrictions on political and human rights are legitimate, and that the friendship between the neighbouring states should not be at the expense of the Syrian people’s aspirations for democracy. Turkey also wants the change to come quickly and from within in order to avoid the sort of external interference that Ankara would be unable to counter, an intervention that becomes more likely the longer Syria refuses to heed its people’s demands for reforms.

Iran, on the other hand, believes that Syria is the victim of a western-backed conspiracy. Iran asserts that events in Syria are a form of sedition akin to what Iran experienced in 2009, when demonstrators from the Green Movement allegedly acted as agents for foreign powers with the aim of overthrowing the government. Iran argues that Syria, like itself, should be supported for its attempts to resist Israeli and American agendas in the region. Tehran is confident that Damascus will overcome the uprising and end the strife.

Regardless of the outcome, the Syrian crisis will inevitably have negative implications for either Turkey or Iran.

• If the Syrian regime survives, Turkey will face immense problems, primarily in terms of its relations with Syria, and, secondly, in terms of Turkey’s diminished capacity of developing strategic economic, political and regional initiatives that would rely exclusively on the presence of a friendly regime in Damascus.
• If the Syrian regime falls, with it will fall the most important strategic and stable Middle Eastern alliance that Iran has had in the past three decades. Extending from Palestine to Iraq and Iran itself, this would be a geopolitical earthquake that would end Iran’s influence in some areas, and shrink it to a minimum in others.

Considering both the first and the second scenarios, Turkish-Iranian relations could witness severe tensions on the basis of the discrepancy in their positions. This may escalate into clashes in the coming period, especially since Iran and Syria have signed a mutual defence treaty. It is unlikely that Iran would allow its strategic ally so easily to be overthrown, even if that were at the expense of a clash with Ankara. It should be noted that there has been a cooling of relations between Ankara and Tehran, as evidenced by the coverage of Turkey’s position towards Syria in some Iranian media controlled by the supreme leader and the president (particularly the Fars News Agency and Press TV), and in other Iranian-allied Arabic media (especially Hizbullah’s al-Manar television in Lebanon). There have been accusations of Ankara’s ‘hypocrisy, and implementation of the policies of America and the Zionist entity to destabilise the situation in Syria,’ and ‘plans for sedition and a transfer of weapons, money and support to armed gangs and terrorists against the Assad regime in preparation for a military invasion dictated by their ambitions.’

Al-Manar’s website also reported Iranian military threats towards Turkey, stating that a special envoy of President Ahmadinejad carried a message to Prime Minister Erdogan that ‘the use of any Turkish military bases for an attack on Syria will expose it to an Iranian missile attack’.

In response, Arshad Hormozlo, senior adviser to the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, commented that Turkey was not seeking a confrontation with anyone and had no hidden agenda. He explained that Turkey did not seek entry into any axes, nor did it seek to compete with anyone’s role in the region. However, he added that Turkey would naturally not be pleased with anyone disrupting the regional balance by treating the region like a chessboard.

The article in full
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/118277/-analysis-turkish-iranian-relations-in-the-shadow-of-the-arab-revolutions.html

July 5th, 2011, 10:46 am

WD,
Another interesting view from ‘you know who’

MI chief sees hope for Assad yet
Military Intelligence chief says Syrian president promoting worthwhile reform packages, retaining loyalty of army; also notes Iranian role in ‘Nakba’, Naksa’ Day border riots as well as Tehran’s influence over Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

“Assad understands today that his solution cannot only come from military responses, and that is why he is turning to reform,”

“We must not belittle the reform package Assad has begun to promote. These reforms regard the improvement of wages, subsidies, and the opening up of more jobs,” Kochavi said.

“But even if a democracy does emerge in Syria, Kochavi explained, it will take years and even then is most likely to be “light democracy”.

Kochavi also discussed the relations between Tehran and Ankara, saying Iran was tightening ties with both Egypt – through the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood – and Turkey.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4091310,00.html

July 5th, 2011, 11:02 am

As long as MB is not in power,minorities are safe.
MB ideology is destructive to minorities and to Sunni,if it was’t,Aleppo and Damascus(total of 60% of Syria and 80% of Sunnis)would have joined the drunk team.Alaaroor followers can’t provide security to any one,the security you get from MB government is the security a sheep gets from a wolf.
Egypt is a living example of future MB Syria,a political and economical carbage.minorite in Egypt now are f…kd up.

July 5th, 2011, 11:12 am

The unbeatable spirit of the Syrian people. Homsi humor even in the face of armed suppression;

@209 Wow, what shameless hypocrisy. If someone had linked to an Israeli article saying that junior was doomed, the Baathists on this website would have screamed “Zionist”. I guess Israeli websites are well and fine when they support your increasingly weak narrative. Catch any mundaseen in Hama these past two days?

the patience of Syrians can burst and then nobody can protect anybody!!!!

July 5th, 2011, 11:36 am

SC
شبو دوودي اليوم، كتير هايش قولك حدا رشو بشي امفيتامين مع ميّ 🙂

July 5th, 2011, 11:39 am

JAD

I prefer pill form with techno music. (j/k)

By the way:

>Ahmadinejad carried a message to Prime Minister Erdogan that ‘the use of any Turkish military bases for an attack on Syria will expose it to an Iranian missile attack’.

This actually averted the war, it was absolutely imminent.

>In response, Arshad Hormozlo, senior adviser to the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, commented that Turkey was not seeking a confrontation with anyone and had no hidden agenda.

Which means, it did in fact have a hidden agenda (what, you think they’d admit to it?). Debka was 100% right this time and they should be kicking themselves for giving such information away.

Nevertheless, the Iran/Syria/Turkey possible access is never going to happen now which is a victory for Israel. I guarantee Turkey was behind the attack on Jisr al-Shaghour and as such, I doubt this whole plot was an Israel one to break up the said axis. Just look at Turkey’s actions on other affairs (Flottila and so on). Rotten to the core.

July 5th, 2011, 11:54 am

Hehehe, wallah mabidak ta3ref eb sho jai 3abali reshak inta wa hal commando el emzawar wa kel shabihitkon. LOOOOL!

July 5th, 2011, 11:58 am

You don’t want to know what I will rish you with ABOUD, but its something you use on a toilet.

http://www.englishshop.be/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/6/0/60222205.jpg

July 5th, 2011, 12:00 pm

Another small step:

بمشاركة 60 برلماني مستقل .. عقد لقاء “مبادرة البرلمانيين المستقلين من أجل سورية حديثة” بدمشق

عقد مجموعة من البرلمانيين المستقلين يصل عددهم إلى 60، يوم الثلاثاء، لقاء تحت عنوان “مبادرة البرلمانيين المستقلين من أجل سورية حديثة” في النادي العائلي بدمشق.

وذكرت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية (سانا) أن “المشاركين يناقشون قضايا تتعلق بالحوار الوطني والبرنامج الإصلاحي المطروح من كافة جوانبه والخروج بتوصيات بهذا الشأن بما يؤمن الاستقرار والوصول إلى دولة ديمقراطية برلمانية وفق الإصلاحات التي طرحها الرئيس بشار الأسد”.

ويأتي هذا اللقاء بعد يومين من عقد المؤتمر الوطني “المبادرة الوطنية من أجل مستقبل سورية في فندق سميراميس بدمشق بحضور 150 شخصية وطنية مستقلة، من أجل حل الأزمة التي تمر بها سورية، لكن تم تأجيل بيانه الختامي إلى وقت لاحق.

وكانت مجموعة من “المعارضين” عقدوا اجتماعا يوم الاثنين قبل الماضي، في ذات الفندق، بمشاركة نحو 200 شخصية تحت عنوان “سورية للجميع في ظل دولة ديمقراطية مدنية”، لـ “مناقشة آلية الانتقال إلى الدولة المدنية, حيث أصدروا في ختام أعماله بيانا دعم فيه الانتفاضة الشعبية السلمية وضرورة إنهاء الحل الأمني ورفض التدخل الخارجي..

وعقدت المعارضة في الخارج مؤخرا مؤتمرين في انطاليا وبروكسل، وصف سياسيون وناشطون انعقاد هذين المؤتمرين بأنهما “مؤامرة”، وليس لهم أي علاقة بأي طرف داخلي ينادي بالإصلاح.

ويأتي اللقاء بعد نحو أسبوعين على خطاب للرئيس بشار الأسد الذي قال فيه إن الحوار الوطني بات عنوان المرحلة الحالية، وإن هيئة الحوار ستعقد اجتماعا تشاورياً خلال أيام تدعو فيه 100 شخصية.

وكانت هيئة الحوار الوطني، الذي شكلها الرئيس بشار الأسد مؤخرا، قررت تحديد يوم الأحد الواقع في العاشر من تموز 2011 موعدا لانعقاد اللقاء التشاوري، حيث سيكون على جدول أعمال اللقاء عرض موضوع التعديلات على الدستور وطرح عدد من المشاريع من بينها قانون الأحزاب.

وبحسب تقارير إعلامية، فإن الهيئة وجهت دعوات إلى نحو 150 شخصية من أطياف المجتمع، من بينهم شخصيات معارضة من الداخل والخارج لحضور اللقاء التشاوري، وذلك لبحث أسس مؤتمر الحوار الوطني الشامل.

وتشهد مدن سورية منذ أكثر من ثلاثة أشهر ونصف مظاهرات تتركز أيام الجمعة تنادي بالحرية ومطالب عامة وشعارات سياسية مناهضة للنظام، تخللها سقوط مئات الشهداء من المدنيين ورجال الأمن والجيش، بنار “جماعات مسلحة” وفقا للمصادر الرسمية، في وقت تتهم فيه منظمات حقوقية ونشطاء السلطات السورية باستخدام العنف لإسكات صوت الاحتجاجات في سوريا.

سيريانيوز

http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=134626

#215
At least you had a laugh at it 🙂

July 5th, 2011, 12:03 pm

205. Amir in Tel Aviv said:
Tara,
Exodus Chapter 20 http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0220.htm
Look at verse 12 “Thou shalt not steal”. It doesn’t say, You shall not steal from a Jew, but it’s OK to rob a gentile. Right?

There are excellent Babylonian Talmud english translations everywhere now. This crude doctrine is HUGE (16+ volumes) but highlights are also available.

The Torah is the exoteric cover for the slop which is Talmud- the set of laws really followed by The Tribe, unless you count those Old Testament verses which come in handy when stomping on their rivals, like from Deuteronomy etc. Or any stuff that can be used to nuke Esau or the Amalek.

“Resh Lekish said: If a nonjew ceased working for a whole day, he is liable for execution, as the verse states (Gen 8:22). A jew is commanded to observe a weekly day of rest but for a nonjew it is forbidden. “Wherever the Torah imposed a prohibition on nonjews, the punishment for violating that prohibition is execution.” BT Sanhedrin 58b

Read Kol Nidre. Alan Greenspan sure did before his racketeering destroyed the US- and the world’s economy. In fact, Greenspan didnt take his swearing in oath on the Torah, he put his hand on the Talmud.

The examples of rancid racism are so numerous, there can be no denying Talmud’s acceptance by the Tribe. If you as a Muslim call yourself one of the people of the book- you know the ‘book’ is not that one. That ‘book’ calls you Esau or Amalek and grants them the full right to “destroy and annihilate” you as a goyim. And if you fight back? ANTISEMITE is what you are.

Like I suggested earlier, the world has been urged by jews to investigate the Quran as a way to malign Islam. Lets practice some democracy now and do a similar examination of the Talmud. Lets start the ‘reform’ with some indepth ‘bible study’ . Nothing could be more relevant, necessary and neglected. This is the schlock upon which they base their political and legal right to do alot of what they do- not just stealing and murdering Palestinians, but the rest of us too.

July 5th, 2011, 12:07 pm

Can that be true??

http://foforum.xooit.com/t2090-Accord-Juppe-Erdogan.htm

Accord Juppé – Erdogan
France à travers sa ministre visualiser étrangères Alain Juppé avec une attention aux Boukos la Turquie demande à adhérer à l’Union européenne, et en raison du rôle important dans le Moyen-Orient, seule la France a décidé de fournir le soutien nécessaire à l’entrée de la Turquie dans l’Union européenne après une promesse faite par la mise en œuvre de la Turquie des dispositions du présent accord et au profit de l’Union UE, la Turquie et la France
1. La France fournit le soutien nécessaire pour la Turquie afin de faciliter son entrée dans l’Union européenne avant la fin de l’année 2012
2. La Turquie est de fournir un soutien à la France sur sa position stratégique dans le Moyen-Orient et en particulier au Liban, la Syrie et Israël
3. Laisser la Turquie à Israël de poursuivre ses activités militaires en Turquie et de soutenir les unités militaires.
4. France sera à son tour fournir le soutien nécessaire d’Erdogan aux élections parlementaires à venir, afin de changer la Constitution turque pour servir le processus d’entrée dans l’Union européenne.
5. La Turquie pour faciliter le travail de l’opposition syrienne en organisant des réunions de l’opposition syrienne en Turquie et en France, sous la supervision du représentant de l’Union européenne
6. La Turquie est prête à imposer des pressions sur le régime syrien pour le contrôle du Moyen-Orient et de faire baisser le rejet du régime d’Assad sur les corrompus et les processus de changement au Moyen-Orient
7. Turquie pour faciliter l’entrée des Syriens déplacées et permettre aux médias français, ou tout autre support alliés des faits dans les Syriens d’asile déplacés.
8. Permettre à la Turquie de contrôler les régions d’Alep et de Idlib du nord de la Syrie en échange de la France et la Grande-Bretagne permettant de contrôler le reste de l’syrien occupé
9. La Turquie n’est pas réticent à établir une base militaire américaine dans l’est de Deir Al-Zour Syrie et fournir le soutien nécessaire à cette
10. La France est en profitant de son statut dans l’Union européenne à adopter une résolution de l’ONU sur les Kurdes de Turquie et de proposer des solutions pour eux la création d’un Etat kurde dans le nord de l’Irak sous la supervision directe de la Turquie et la France
11. La France est engagée à utiliser le veto sur les frais de droits de la Turquie qu’elle jugera appropriée frontières entre eux et l’état présumé kurdes établis dans le nord de l’Irak.
12. Faciliter les opérations commerciales à travers le territoire turc à la Syrie et le Liban, et de ne pas vérifier le contenu de la citerne française en transit de la Turquie à la Syrie puis au Liban.
13. L’engagement continu de la Turquie à la Convention sur les affaires turc-français du Liban.
14. La France fournit le soutien nécessaire pour la Turquie et inconditionnel sur les questions en suspens entre la Turquie et Chypre.
15. France pour donner à la Turquie de 45 $ milliards d’euros dans les comptes de l’Union européenne pour soutenir les opérations de développement en Turquie, après engagement de la Turquie aux dispositions du présent accord et ces montants seront déboursés par tranches en fonction des obligations de la Turquie, les dispositions de cet accord
Clooney 02.11.2010

نص الاتفاقية :
————–
ان فرنسا عبر وزير خارجيتها ألان جوبيه تنظر بعين الاهتمام لتركيا بخوص طلبها الانضمام إلى الاتحاد الأوربي ، و نظراً للدور المهم لها في الشرق الأوسط فقط قررت فرنسا تقديم الدعم اللازم لدخول تركيا إلى الاتحاد الأوربي بعد تعهد تركيا بتنفيذ مضمون هذا الاتفاق و الذي يعود بالفائدة على الاتحاد الأوربي و تركيا و فرنسا
1. تقدم فرنسا الدعم اللازم لتركيا من اجل تسهيل دخولها إلى الاتحاد الأوربي قبل نهاية عام 2012
2. تقوم تركيا بتقديم الدعم اللازم لفرنسا بشأن مشروعها الاستراتيجي في الشرق الأوسط و خاصة في لبنان و سوريا و اسرائيل
3. تسمح تركيا لإسرائيل بمتابعة نشاطاتها العسكرية في تركيا و دعم وحداتها العسكرية
4. تقوم فرنسا بالمقابل بتقديم الدعم اللازم لأردوغان في الانتخابات النيابية القادمة من اجل تغيير الدستور التركي بما يخدم عملية دخوله في الاتحاد الأوربي .
5. تُسهل تركيا عمل المعارضة السورية من خلال استضافة اجتماعات المعارضة السورية في تركيا و ذلك تحت اشراف فرنسا الممثلة للاتحاد الأوربي
6. تقوم تركيا بفرض مجموعة من الضغوطات على النظام السوري من أجل السيطرة على منطقة الشرق الوسط و اسقاط نظام الأسد الفاسد و الرافض لعملية التغيير في الشرق الأوسط
7. تُسهل تركيا عملية دخول المهجرين السوريين و تسمح للإعلام الفرنسي أو أي اعلام متحالف بتقصي الحقائق في منطقة لجوء السوريين المهجرين .
8. يسمح لتركيا بالسيطرة على منطقتي ادلب و حلب من الشمال السوري مقابل السماح لفرنسا و بريطانيا بالسيطرة على باقي الأراضي السورية
9. تلتزم تركيا بعدم ممانعة إقامة قاعدة عسكرية أمريكية في منطقة دير الزور شرقي سورية و تقديم الدعم اللازم لذلك
تقوم فرنسا بالاستفادة من وضعها في الاتحاد الأوربي باستصدار قرار أممي بشأن الأكراد في تركيا و اقتراح حلول لهم بإنشاء دولة كردية في شمال العراق تحت اشراف مباشر من تركيا و فرنسا تلتزم فرنسا باستخدام حق النقض بشأن حقوق تركيا برسم الحدود التي تراها مناسبة بينها و بين الدولة الكردية المزعوم انشاؤها في شمال العراق . تسهيل العمليات التجارية عبر الأراضي التركية إلى سوريا و لبنان ، و عدم التدقيق على محتويات الناقلات الفرنسية العابرة من تركيا إلى سوريا و منها إلى لبنان . استمرار التزام تركيا بالاتفاقية الفرنسية التركية بخصوص شؤون لبنان . تُقدم فرنسا الدعم اللازم لتركيا و الغير مشروط بشأن القضايا العالقة بين تركيا و قبرص . تمنح فرنسا لتركيا مبلغ 45 مليار يورو من حسابات الاتحاد الأوربي لدعم عمليات التطوير في تركيا بعد التزام تركيا ببنود هذا الاتفاق و يتم صرف هذه المبالغ على دفعات بحسب التزامات تركيا ببنود هذا الاتفاق كلوني 2-11-2010

Is that date correct???

July 5th, 2011, 12:11 pm

NK,
See! no beating in this new meeting today, just yelling:

خناقة البرلمانين.
http://youtu.be/YScdA5wYyg0

http://youtu.be/lujfob34iIU

http://youtu.be/EjPpnaMN8YA
———————

SC,
That what is online, it might be, I don’t really know, but from our lovely experience with the west, they are capable of that.

July 5th, 2011, 12:19 pm

JAD, this report coincidences completely with reputable information I have been receiving from friends on the ground, down to the attack and establishment of “staging sites” on the east of Syria (دير الزور)

It’s time for Turkey to pay.

July 5th, 2011, 12:21 pm

I disagree with the turkish writer’s viewon Iran-Turkey-Syria relation.

Turkey has always supported Syria and Bashar Al Assad as much it could from the beginning. Then it was watching whether the army would stand by him and how much the opposition was growing before taking a firm position.
When it was giving advices that sounded like threats, Iran intervened. But Iran needs friends more than ever. Turkey wants a good relation with Iran whith whom it had very heavy trade links, but the USA is pressuring Turkey to limit that relation, so Turkey is between two fires.
On long term, they know that sooner of later, the Iran-US conflict will be solved and they will be a winner because they have stayed on both sides.
Turkey has much to benefit from Libya, despite and because they did not participate in the NATO disaster. The 3 month ( instead of 3 weeks) attacks is bringing Libyans on both side against Europe’s inability to help them militarily ( France has been obliged to stop sending weapons to the dismay of the rebels). I think that after the situation settles, the winners will be Turkey, Russia and the USA. Europe’s business with Libya will be very difficult especially if Seif Al Islam is a candidate to elections as they are talking now.
Even newspaper Le Monde is finally blasting Europe’s disaster over Libya.
L’affligeante prestation de l’Europe en Libye
http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/07/05/l-affligeante-prestation-de-l-europe-en-libye_1544906_3232.html#ens_id=1481986

Turks are very smart politicians. If they show they are on Bashar’s side now, it means Bashar is a winner. Yet they are waiting to see Hama’s solution and the opposition’s ability to move on.
I trust their diplomacy much more that Juppe’s or Cameron’s.

July 5th, 2011, 12:22 pm

@216 Pffftttt…..already been sprayed with that kind. You’re gonna have to find a much stronger brand. Germs are strong, and freedom loving germs are the strongest!

(Dear God we are the only country in the world where Detol is part of the political discourse)

July 5th, 2011, 12:23 pm

Dear Louai,

حملة دعم الليرة السورية
http://youtu.be/hL4utSCoGFo

July 5th, 2011, 12:25 pm

Averroes said:

Arab spring could become an Islamist winter
Prem Shankar Jha is a senior journalist.

The Salafi-engineered uprising in Syria offers a cautionary tale for the rest of the region

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Op020711Arab.asp

I just talked to a relative in Aleppo that owns a shop in 3abbara area downtown. He talked about about 25 thugs popping up a few days ago in mid day, and ordering shop owners to close down their shops, banging on their shop doors and walls.

Within minutes, he said, hundreds of people converged in from Siya7i, Saadalla Square, Bustan Kull Aab, onto the area.

The 25 guys ran away to Bab al Nasr, where they had originally came from (apparently by bus from outside Aleppo). By that time, security had arrived and captured 8 of them.

But the crowds noticed caught two women and two men positioned in locations and recording the events by camera. The police took the two women, but the crowds got to the two men (and a number of the original 25) and beat them up real bad. The police put them in a shop and locked them up until security arrives to pick them up, but the angry crowds ripped open the shop slide-down door and continued to beat them up.

He said the people of Aleppo are really and genuinely angry with this “revolution” and those behind it, as Aleppians are being bad mouthed and harassed by the likes of 3ar3our and others.

July 5th, 2011, 12:35 pm

Dear Shami,
Listen and learn from your favorite 3alem (I couldn’t resist)
جمعة حلب لماذا أردتموها ناراً ولم تريدوها نوراً ؟!!
http://youtu.be/F8R7vbtwd_U

With all due respect, you’re almost being willfully ignorant about the evidence we have gathered and that which is available pinning the blame of the Jisr al-Shaghour massacre on Turkey.

Smart politician my ass, this was all pre-planned and the veracity of this alleged leaked document is likely solid given how accurate and specific the information is.

Turkey is finished, like the other article states, it bet on the wrong horse. The Syrian government does not want to escalate the situation with Turkey right now, but when everything boils over, Turkey will be dumped like a dead horse. Already businessmen are cutting the connections in anticipation of this and as a sign of their disdain. People in Syria no longer like Turkey.

July 5th, 2011, 12:38 pm

This is nonsense…and it is dated 2 january 2010..written by George Clooney after Syriana!

July 5th, 2011, 12:45 pm

Memo to: Averroes

RE: “…the Salafi-engineered uprising in Syria offers a cautionary tale…”

Exactly. The lesson is, don’t provide aid and comfort to theocrats (like Iran) and nasty little triflers (like Hizbollah). But never fear. After Bashar is dead and his father’s statues all toppled, people will understand and refer to the Assad Era as The Forty Year Mistake…

http://playwrighter.blogspot.com/2011/05/hitler-and-arabs-nazis-in-middle-east.html

July 5th, 2011, 12:46 pm

DALEANDERSON,

After your corpse is rotting to that point that your neighbour can smell it, they will have to burn it at the morgue because no one would bother showing up to your funeral.

The end.

—
WD,

We don’t know which “Clooney” wrote it and its dated the 2nd of November. No reason to doubt it based on the information you are discussing. Be objective.

July 5th, 2011, 12:49 pm

“People in Syria no longer loves Syria”

There is a perception in Syria that Turkey is against the present government. While this is not true, in my view, it is very healthy because Turkey can play an impartial role when time comes, like they are doing in Libya now. That is what I call smart diplomacy.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think so

July 5th, 2011, 12:50 pm

Who wrote that article? It is a blog with no reference except Clooney and a date of more than year.
Sorry I don’t believe this kind of crap that people dump on Internet

July 5th, 2011, 12:53 pm

It’s not just the actions towards Syria, but the actions towards Palestine and the actions towards our Kurdish brothers in Turkey as well as the repression of Syrians in our stolen lands.

Turkey is a police state disguised as a “democracy” and has no business telling Syria what to do. They can no longer be used as the mediator with Israel, there is no way we can interpret their actions as that of a fair mediator.

We know who our friends are.
We know who our enemies are.

Now is not the time to be naive. Now is the time to prepare ourselves to cut the heads of the 7 headed snake that is attacking us from all around the world.

USA
France
UK
Turkey
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Qatar (first head on the block)

#235

It’s essentially saying the same thing I’ve been saying for about a month. Before you ask, I didn’t write it. My french is not that strong anymore. 😉

July 5th, 2011, 12:55 pm

I actually agree with you WD on most of what you wrote, except the good will of Turkey, it’s all business, I personally never trusted them.
Turkey is trying to get the best of both worlds, it can’t fully support Bashar since it will look as if it’s supporting the dictatorship over the people’s will and it can’t fully support the uprising powers and topple the whole system without knowing what’s next for it to gain, (I don’t think it will gain much from making Syria to become another Iraq, it’ll be too expensive for it)
At the same time it needs to keep Iran close to its side with min satisfaction.
It’s a very difficult situation that seems nobody of the real world’s powers know how to get out from without lighting the whole region on fire, this is my guess of this less bloody period, everybody is calculating their gains and looses, or there is a huge plan that they all preparing for us while we are busy with the little details.

July 5th, 2011, 12:56 pm

Even if Bashar and Nasrallah are both dead, the culture of Resistance, Self Reliance, and Innovation that brought them forward to lead their societies will live on, and it will continue to prevail. Have no doubt about that.

The more you hate seeing it, the better.

The era of having puppets of the West in Middle Eastern countries like the Shah, Mubarak, and Al Saud is coming to an end, and in the future, you are going to have to deal with even more people who know their worth, and don’t take orders from racist killers like your leaders.

July 5th, 2011, 12:58 pm

AVERROES,

Don’t you live in the West? How do you explain this contradiction? The leaders of the West are your leaders also. Why are you not moving to Iran or Syria?

July 5th, 2011, 1:02 pm

Ignore the above poison. The real leaders of the west are not voted for.

>I don’t think it will gain much from making Syria to become another Iraq, it’ll be too expensive for it

The attempt alone would have cost Turkey its entire existence as we found out.

July 5th, 2011, 1:03 pm

#220
Turkey and France have the worse relation possible now, but if you had been watching al jazeera and other Arabic networks in January-February you would not say that Turkey didn’t push for a Lybia intervention. Certainly to get there, they were more than bribed into secret agreements since it meant for them to rapatriate tens of thousands of workers.
http://www.lemonde.fr/libye/article/2011/07/05/rendez-vous-rate-a-tripoli_1544972_1496980.html

Why would politicians have ‘damir’ anyway?

July 5th, 2011, 1:04 pm

http://news.syriatruth.info/index.php/2011/1/2375-80-.html

Among the “peaceful,” “civilized,” and “democratic” slogans chanted in Hama’s latest demonstrations:

نسوانن للكيف، و رجالن للسيف

“Their Women are for our Pleasure, and their Men are to the Sword”

This is targeted at Alawis and Christians, that their women will be sex slaves, after their men are put to death.

This signature “technology” is Wahabi, and it never fails to show up. The Saudis use their deadly opium to serve the US and Israel.

These are the demonstrators the West is standing up for.

July 5th, 2011, 1:07 pm

Things are never quite as they appear on the surface. And even then, you have to discover what is underneath the underneath.

The fact that Turkey is denying that it played a double game means precisely that it did play a double game. They even pressured Greece into folding on the flotilla recently but nobody is paying attention.

July 5th, 2011, 1:08 pm

873: a typical anti-semitic Arab

Resh Lekish said: If a nonjew ceased working for a whole day, he is liable for execution…

873,

1.) Who is Resh Lekish?
2.) Which nonjew do you know was killed by a jew because he/she “ceased working for a whole day”?
3.) Are you that paranoid and stupid?

But if you’re interested in racism, all one has to do is read the government-controlled Arab press:

http://www.memri.org/TomLantosArchives

Alan Greenspan sure did before his racketeering destroyed the US- and the world’s economy.

Right;) No one person can destroy the world’s economy. And according to his bio, Greenspan has won numerous awards and to my knowledge, he’s never been charged with a crime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Greenspan

As a suggestion, I would skip the Talmud and Jew investigations, and do something to keep your countrymen alive. A lot of them are dying, and there are no Jews in Syria to be found.

July 5th, 2011, 1:15 pm

AIG,
Your fundamentalists are no less dangerous than US anti-abortion commandos. You’ll give lectures on democracy when you will be able to stand by anybody human right and get civil wedding in your beloved country
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/un-committee-israel-must-allow-civil-marriage-1.371483
(you should read it in Haaretz today…)

I loved it when you said yesterday that Saudi Arabia does not threaten Israel’s existence. Precisely, it guarantees it by spreading a blind and irrational hatred towards the Jews in all the TV-s, schools and programmes it is funding. Contrarily to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon. But you were always afraid of mixed wedding and assimilation and therefore your religious leaders will never be able to accept democracy and its corollaries: freedom of thougt and equality. Your backwardness is the best guarantee of the region’s backwardness.

July 5th, 2011, 1:20 pm

The West is also evolving. Most Canadians and Americans I know are good, decent, hardworking people and we have a LOT to learn from them. Western foreign policy has yet to catch up with the same standards applied within Western countries.

The contradiction is not on my side as a private individual, but it is on the side of institutionalized government, jumping in bed with the worst dictators, killers, and religious fanatics, in the most outrageous manifestation of Attention Deficit Disorder.

The US allies have included the Taliban, the Wahabi Saudi killers, Saddam Hussein, the Shah, Mubarak, and now the Muslim Brotherhood. Does it get any more ironic?

Those chanting these sectarian slogans against Alawites and Christians are a ball of fire. Anyone who thinks they will spare Jews, Westerners, or even Sunni Muslims from their fire if they get the chance is a fool.

July 5th, 2011, 1:21 pm

It is time all Syrian regime supporters in the West be sent back to Syria. It is time to kick them out given the amount of poison and hatred they spew at the West. Go to Iran and Syria, traitors.

July 5th, 2011, 1:23 pm

AIG, you scared rat. Look at my post just above yours.

July 5th, 2011, 1:25 pm

Mina,

You are an ignoramus. I already explained to WD how 1000 times more democratic Israel’s marriage code is than Syria’s. Israel accepts civil marriages abroad, so all you need to do to get a civil marriage is go to Cyprus. When an Israeli woman marries a foreigner, he becomes Israeli and their children are Israeli. Is that the case in Syria? Of course not, because Syria discriminates against women.

Just look at Israel’s ranking in democracy at freedomhouse.org and compare it to Syria. Israel’s backwardness you say? Israel is in the OECD. It is the 14th most innovative country in the world. And I can continue. Where is Syria ranked because of Assads horrendous regime, a regime that you support.

Get out of the West you criticize so much and go to Syria or Iran. Your choice.

July 5th, 2011, 1:32 pm

I saw your post and my position is still the same. You are a traitor to your country. You are constantly advocating for Syria things that are against any Western constitution. You are trying to undermine your country’s foreign policy while supporting a regime that harbors terrorists. Go back to Syria or Iran.

July 5th, 2011, 1:35 pm

AIG
Masha’allah, mabruk la Cyprus wa tahiyyati lil Rusiyyaat sahbatkum.
Kaman sallim li ‘ala OECD wal freedomhouse, wa tahiyyaat lahum min atfal afghanistan wa iraq, wa taaban al hunud al ahmar tabaakum fi falestin.

PS: I love it when you compare your standards to Syria’s. It precisely shows how far you expect to fall. Weren’t you enlightened Eastern Europeans, a short while ago? How can you compare yourself with tribal illiterate Arabs and Kurds who just got out Ottoman and Western colonizations? (sorry for Shami and his ‘French-educated’ former Ottoman Alepine elite, and all the other elites around….)

July 5th, 2011, 1:39 pm

LOL, western constitution.

Undermine your country’s foreign policy, which is undermined by zionists.

WOW, what a head case.

The real traitors are zionists who are acting like parasites on the west. The real patriots in the west are those actively fighting zionists.

The foundation of your entire nation was an act of terror. I hope you all die in a fire very soon. 🙂

SC,

Unlike you, I support the brave Syrians who are trying to get rid of idiots like you who have made Syria one of the most backward countries in the world.

Thank you for wishing a fire on us to kill us all. I on the other hand wish that Syria soon becomes a democratic and prosperous country and that the brave Syrians do not have to suffer idiots like you anymore.

July 5th, 2011, 1:43 pm

Once again SAMARA & WD did not offer any arguments.
If Junior remains in power, he will do so at the expense of the people nevertheless he cannot go back to the previous status quo. The situation has changed fundamentally and dramatically and is beyond return. The regime will change despite itself and it will be the end of this mafia as we know it.

Once again, Syria may go through a period of significant upheaval and some of the stress is structural to the regime, some is due to the fact that Arabs are being outcompeted in the world, some due to the rise of food prices as the Chinese consume more, and some due to the desert of political and social discourse that the regime has left the country in. Even the regime cannot find anyone to talk to for they are in exile or in jail or without popular basis. Just like Mr. Alkadi in this blog who just talks when infant mortality is rising and standard of care for women is in the abyss and where the vegetables in the country are irrigated with sewer water essentially forcing the Syrian people to eat fecal contaminated food. This is why entamoaba histolytica is endemic in the country.

Things will get worse much worse as the economy falters and unemployment hits the roof. The pound is losing by the day, and no amount of intervention can save the country.
The reserves of about 20 billion were meant to help Syria weather a short term blockade not a popular revolt against ingrained and systemic abuse of power.

The sacking of the Hama leadership means that the only method acceptable to the regime is force, and no matter what people on this blog say, this is not going to be productive.

Again no one of the regime supporters has answered my questions about the Shabiha. They are now an instrument of terror the first duty of which is to terrorize the elite and the business and merchant class to stick to the regime as the message is that this is the choice: either a puritanical fanatic Wahabi Syria or a brutal ruthless thugs of Shabiha, the only difference is that the later can be “controlled”. Well the latest news from the country is that crime is up as the security forces cannot cope with what they have been tasked to do.

Chaos is coming.

Now those that call me Germ and Rat on this blog have once again demonstrated that they like the regime in its very core is not able or willing or capable of accepting “any other voice or dissent of any kind whatsoever.

As for the slogan God Syria Bashar I would say
1. God has nothing to do with it. Presumably he sent his last messenger with a final admonition and Man is now left in his own devices and reason
2. Syria has not yet become a nation state for the syrian identity is not above sect and clan and tribe and ethnicity
3. As for junior he is irrelevant was irrelevant and will be irrelevant

sorry WD he is finished

July 5th, 2011, 1:45 pm

When the 1.5 million Israelis who hold Western passports revoke their Western nationalities and leave the West, and when Israel stops depleting Western resources through grabbed “aid” (aka giant tin can with a hole), and when Israel stops stealing Western intellectual property, stops stealing US scientific and technological research, and even worse, stealing US secrets and selling them to enemies of the US .. when all of that happens … only then would you have ANY grounds to preach to Syrians.

Many Western intellectuals, including several Jewish intellectuals are saying exactly what I’m saying: That we need to apply the same standards to all people, no matter where they live or come from.

I am a secular Syrian who believes that you should not be targeted because you’re a Jew, yet you prefer to back fanatics who chant sectarian slogans that are totally taboo in the West!! Would the West allow the chanting of such slogans on its streets? targeting anyone?

This is the contradiction I’m complaining about. You know it, and you see it, yet you defend these Wahabi fanatics because you think they will bring you a short term win. That is short sighted and stupid. It is in fact more than that. It is criminal.

July 5th, 2011, 1:49 pm

Here’s what Observer has to offer for Syria:

>Chaos is coming.

Threat of violence for political motivation is an act of terrorism.

It’s a figure of speech. Believe it or not I have FRIENDS in Israel. That said, I would be more than happy if all the zionists (whom my friends are not, they’re just Jews with good views) spontaneously died in some kind of fire.

You people are sick and we can see right through you. We know exactly why you are supporting these savages, don’t pretend it’s about “democracy”. What a joke you are.

Averroes,

I will ignore the first part of your post which is a childish rant.
As to the second part of your post you should back a few simple things but you can’t bring yourself to do that:
1) The regime must immediately grant freedom of speech to the Syrian people
2) The regime must immediately free all political prisoners
3) The regime must start a process to have real free elections in say 18 months.
4) The regime must stop all violence against its own citizens

How is any of the above related to bringing Wahabis to power? Why can’t you bring yourself to support that?

July 5th, 2011, 1:57 pm

By the way this article from atimes.com is revealing what happens to a country kept under siege.

Syria is in much better shape than North Korea but the similarities of the unprepared population to compete on the global scale is scary; this is a glimpse of the chaos to come although it will be less harsh for the Syrians than for the North Koreans

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MG06Dg01.html

You are a sick bastard with murderous tendencies and the sooner Syria gets rid of idiots like you, the better it will be. You just keep proving how urgent it is to get rid of the current regime and its backers which you represent. The regime that with the help of people like you made Syria one of the most backward countries in the world.

July 5th, 2011, 1:59 pm

1) The government must immediately grant freedom of speech to the Syrian people

Done.

2) The government must immediately free all political prisoners

In progress.

3) The government must start a process to have real free elections in say 18 months.

Deadline too short, but in progress nonetheless.

4) The government must stop all violence against its own citizens

Impossible, every government in the world will use violence against crime and terrorism. What a load of sh*t. Sick of the hypocrisy and lies.

#259

Cry some more zionist scum. 🙂 My kind is the majority of Syrians and we will dance on your graves. We are the most advance society in the world, unlike you, who likes to use white phosphorus on children, you sick scum.

The sooner we get rid of you, the sooner the world will be at peace. The sooner the REAL Jews (rather than your fake Ashkenazi breed who has no history in the area) can return to their homes.

The missiles are all ready and they’re loaded with our special blend. Make a mistake and you’ll smell of a whiff of your “gas powered revolution”, lol.

>You just keep proving how urgent it is to get rid of the current regime and its backers which you represent

Note how the silly zionist reveals his real interest: he wants to get rid of anyone supporting resistance to his zionist entity. That’s been it alllll along and explains why he’s suddenly so concerned about the enemy whose land his sh*tty country occupies thanks to heavy western military aide.

July 5th, 2011, 2:00 pm

Again you show what an idiot you are in addition to being a pathological liar. Only a really sick person would say there is freedom of speech in Syria. You lie on the other points also.

July 5th, 2011, 2:04 pm

Have you asked a Syrian in Damascus yet?

Anyone being arrested for talking politics in cafes?

Anyone being arrested for posting crap on facebook?

No? Who’s the psychopathic liar. Syria has changed and is changing even more, the idiots expats in the west have yet to realise this. They just want chaos and blood so that their families could take over instead. We’ll never forget these traitor’s names.

July 5th, 2011, 2:08 pm

I like you, man. I really do. But I’m not for dancing on anyone’s grave.

Let’s pray that a day where Syria and Israel exchange WMDs never comes. Let’s pray that fanatics on both sides never succeed.

I’m just stirring him up, I wanted him to reveal his true face. I too want peace, but not at the expense of the Palestinian, Lebanese or Syrian people. With peace comes justice and their zionist ideals must be left at the door if we’re going to live in the same house.

So, really, I will dance on the grave of zionism, hoping that it is loaded with an empty coffin.

July 5th, 2011, 2:11 pm

I’m all for the dancing on the graves of Zionism, Wahabism, and fanaticism of all kind.

And as for my frist part, AIG, you know very well that it’s true, every word of it.

July 5th, 2011, 2:14 pm

“They even pressured Greece into folding on the flotilla recently but nobody is paying attention.”

This is not correct. Greece is bankrupt while its long time enemy’s economy is flourishing. Imagine how frustrated greeks must be! I think Greece is trying to take the place of Turkey with Israel so the get more financial support and all the israeli tourist boycotting Turkey.
Turkey is not doing any favor to Europe anymore. Its has become very active in dealing with Palestinians and involved in the arab political changes. They have a vision of recreating the trades of the ottoman empire, including Iran this time. This is a much more lucrative market than a bankrupted Europe!

July 5th, 2011, 2:17 pm

>Zionism, Wahabism, and fanaticism

They’re all essentially the same thing with different actors. Each one thinks they’re the only legitimate human being and will kill or enslave everyone around them to get what they want.

This virus was spread in the mind of Jewish people during the early 1900s. Many brave Jews resisted and the zionist masters actually sided with the Nazis in order to ensure people only have them to turn to. In the 21st century only a few genuine Jews remember this piece of history:

http://www.nkusa.org/

The traitors from before, the traitors to the Jews, are no different to the traitors we fight now, the Salafists/Whabbists/Shiahabis and what have you.

All of them feed on hate and I swear to you, they are fed by an apathetic power which uses them all (even zionists) as chess pieces. Every one of them can be sacrificed, all for their gain.

My fight with zionism is not simply for the restoration of my land, but the restoration of Jewish dignity. I want the Jews in my family to be proud enough to state their real history.

July 5th, 2011, 2:18 pm

I didn’t realize that you are a brainwashed conspiracy theorist. Oh well. You are just using Zionism as a stupid excuse to deny Syrians basic rights. You support liars like SC that say there is freedom of speech in Syria. Let’s see the opposition try opening a newspaper or a TV channel. You cannot bring yourself to say the four basic points I wrote above. You should really examine your values to see if at heart you are nothing more than a dictator like Assad.

July 5th, 2011, 2:24 pm

AIG (bankrupt fiscally, morally and intellectually),

>Let’s see the opposition try opening a newspaper or a TV channel

Draft media laws have been finalised TODAY. This sh*t takes time you zionist retard.

>You are just using Zionism as a stupid excuse to deny Syrians basic rights.

Syrians would have a lot more rights if Israel didn’t keep stealing their land and pressuring western countries to mistreat them. Saying zionism is an “excuse” is sick, it’s an integral component of the conflict and part of the reason the government exists in the form it does today, as corrupt as it is.

You are a sick little bigot, AIG. You cannot hide it, you have nothing but disdain for my people. It oozes out of every piece of text you type.

July 5th, 2011, 2:29 pm

Can any regime supporter explain why Syria, despite the great potential of its people, is one of the most backward countries in the world? How can they explain this Assad legacy?

>Can any regime supporter explain why Syria, despite the great potential of its people, is one of the most backward countries in the world

LOL, I’ll just let this stand.

>one of the most backward countries in the world

How can we take this part seriously:

>despite the great potential of its people

Give it up zionist. Every word you type is tainted with hate.

Meanwhile, in the REAL world:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/07/05/Syria-reviews-media-laws/UPI-25811309879194/

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 5 (UPI) — Draft versions of Syrian media laws are made up of 92 articles that include sweeping freedoms and lack the word “imprisonment,” a committee said.

Damascus is undertaking a series of reforms meant to allay public criticism of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Hundreds of people have been killed in violence that erupted during anti-government protests early this year.

Taleb Kadi Amin, chairman of a committee examining press freedoms, said draft versions of media laws were sent to the Information Minister for review at a national dialogue conference, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.

The draft, SANA said, is meant to give journalists better access to information and provides for more independence.

“Article 12 requires that the journalist be committed to principles and values of the constitution and law and observe the values of authenticity, ethics and honesty as to preserve the values of society,” SANA adds.

Washington and members of the international community have complained Syrian reform pledges were empty given the high degree of violence in the country. International media until recently were prohibited from covering protests in the country.
—
Notice how “reform promises” can be empty given the violence caused by terrorism and policing action. This is the forked tongue of western politicians who not long ago (and still do, under a different excuse) had us under sanctions for daring to resist Israel.

July 5th, 2011, 2:32 pm

You are a murderous bastard and exemplify exactly what the Assad regime is all about. In addition you keep lying and lying to the point it has become hilarious. But what can one expect from a supporter of a mafia that is using every excuse in the book to deny basic freedoms to Syrians?

Thank you for posting and proving how urgent it is to get the regime and its sick supporters out of power.

July 5th, 2011, 2:33 pm

Can you tell me when chaos will come? I’ve been hearing that for the past two months and frankly I don’t see that. Dar Al Assad is showing ‘Oliver’ musical to a packed audience, coffee shop and restaurants in Damas are business as usual.. Sorry I don’t see much sign of chaos , except in what the press loves calling ‘restive’ cities. Well if they prefer to sit on the square to pray God to help them create an ‘independant moslem mini-state”, they won’t go far, their geography does not allow it and God has other things to do that to promote religious divisions.

I guess the Turks are going soon to make life miserable for the refugees in the camps in Hatay, now that Angelina has done the PR visit and the media is now ignoring them totally: No more washing machines and children entertainers. I think they’ll beg very soon to be rapatriated discreetly. That would be probably be the end of the Jisr Al Shourough saga.

By the way, when is Bashar leaving, any idea? Or maybe, even when finished, he’ll stay?

July 5th, 2011, 2:38 pm

>You are a murderous bastard and exemplify exactly what the Assad regime is all about.

That’s right guys, see from this text you can read the media exaggerations that the zionists have managed to pull off.

Type abrasive/inflammatory stuff on the internet: become a murderous “bastard”

Much like Basha’ar described “germs” as a psychological wave that can overtake a country if the country is weakened (i.e. corrupt) and must be overcome through the immunity system (i.e. reform) rather than anti-bacteria (i.e. killing protestors). But no, the likes of AIG insist on the lie.

You see, the zionist doctrine is precisely the same as the real murderer Goebbels. Broadcasting lies, is no different to murder as death is what results. The media is part of the war machine. This is so-called 4th generation warfare, but in truth it is 1st generation warfare: all wars are based on deception.

So by repeating lies and repeating lies until fools believe them, they end up committing murder. So right back at you AIG, you are the murderous zionist SCUM.

#273

>I think they’ll beg very soon to be rapatriated discreetly

They already begged but Turkey will only allow a trickle to leave every two days.

July 5th, 2011, 2:40 pm

You are a murderous sick bastard as your posts show. You want all Zionists dead. And you are an excellent example of what it means to be an Assad supporter. Keep posting so people will realize what a sorry mafia the regime is.

The new Syrian media laws are a joke. It is clear that Assad does not plan to grant real freedom of speech. There is no need for any law. Just don’t arrest people for speaking their minds and criticizing the regime. Allow foreign free press in. Allow an independent press to emerge in Syria.

Assad had 11 years to make all the laws he wanted. If he would have wanted to grant freedom of speech instead of staging a show, people would be really free to speak and foreign journalists could go around Syria without muchabarat “minders” that limit every step of their way.

July 5th, 2011, 2:48 pm

LOL from the mouth of a Mossad sadist parasite.
Once America goes down, Israel has already lined up its next country to leech off of- China (after selling them secrets stolen from dying host country USA). Dont think you’ll find them the easy piece that the USA was. China is a country not inured to the biblical swindle or seduced by the Chosen hoax. No dumb evangelical useful idiots to exploit there. Its going to be interesting watching the game play out.

Ackerman says effort to hold Israel to int’l law is ‘anti-Semitism’
by Philip Weiss on July 1, 2011

[BTW- Ackerman is another AIPAC-American traitor whose ‘intern’ was recently caught spying for Israel in Egypt].

Here’s Gary Ackerman, congressman from Long Island, in the Jerusalem Post, professing his Zionism. A lot of excerpts because this is so crazy. The Jews are a “separate” people, Jewish legislators from around the world must represent Israel, Palestinian statehood initiative is devastating…
While many differences exist among Jewish parliamentarians, the concept of ahavat Yisrael – literally, “love of Israel” – is common to us all. It is for this reason that 55 Jewish parliamentarians from 22 countries have assembled in Jerusalem under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress….
I don’t believe that increasing attacks on Israel’s right to exist and efforts to label its acts of self-defense “war-crimes” or even “crimes against humanity” are actually rooted in a belief in international law, or a principled evaluation of Israeli military operations.
What I believe is really driving most of these claims is a deep-seated and stubborn refusal to see Jews as a people. This conceptual failure – whether rooted in anti-Semitism (which it is) or ignorance (which it is) – leads to a refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state, or to accept that it, like every state, has a fundamental right to self-defense.

Only Israel, the one and only Jewish state, is subjected to the humiliation of having its right to exist routinely questioned, and the right of its people to be free from violence openly rejected. Only Israel is the permanent whipping boy of the United Nations.

So we are faced with a paradox: While the anti-Semitism and discrimination Jews have historically faced (and in some places rightfully continue to fear) are based on the view of Jews as a people apart, the ongoing assault on Israel’s legitimacy is built upon the idea that the Jews are not a separate people at all, and are thus not entitled to self-determination…
THE PALESTINIAN plan to take their case for statehood to the UN General Assembly poses great danger for Israel. If this initiative were to succeed– or worse, to slip out of control, – the results could be devastating. Israel could be exposed to sanctions and pressures beyond the wildest hopes of its worst enemies.

But in addition to these external challenges, we face a more intimate one that we share with the entire Jewish people. How do those of us who are representatives from all over the world and every part of the political spectrum come together to protect and advance our common interests?

[The common interest being Israel, not the country each supposedly represents).

July 5th, 2011, 2:50 pm

>You want all Zionists dead.

That’s not the only way to get rid of a zionist you can also cure them of this mental illness. Maybe one day you can figure out why zionism is a sick murderous ideology.

>And you are an excellent example of what it means to be an Assad supporter.

I’m not an Assad supporter, but the more your kind disses him, the more I wonder why I’m not. What’s bad for my enemy is good for me, isn’t that a basic (thought often flawed) piece of psychology?

>The new Syrian media laws are a joke. It is clear that Assad does not plan to grant real freedom of speech. There is no need for any law. Just don’t arrest people for speaking their minds and criticizing the regime

THEY ARE NOT EVEN RELEASED YOU SERIAL LIAR AND YOU CALL THEM A JOKE???? DID YOU EVEN READ THE FIRST SENTENCE? HOLY FLYING SH*T.

>Assad had 11 years to make all the laws he wanted.

Hahahaha, oh god and Obama had more than 3 years and made America WORSE. At least Bashaar made Syria BETTER.

>people would be really free to speak and foreign journalists could go around Syria without muchabarat “minders” that limit every step of their way.

*Facepalm* tsk tsk tsk ya 7aram, mafi 3a’el.

July 5th, 2011, 2:54 pm

Of course you are an Assad supporter. You keep giving excuses for the Assad regime. You are a sick murderous bastard and a hypocrite that uses his free speech rights extensively but would deny it to fellow Syrians because you want Assad to stay in power. We can see your black soul through your writing and pathological lying. Keep it up, it just shows what the Assad regime is all about.

July 5th, 2011, 2:59 pm

I’m going to ignore the above sick human being and try to keep moving forward. I hope some day he is cured from his zionist disease so he can join 21st century civilisation without delusions of being a “chosen race” with rights above original inhabitants of a country.

For those Syrian elite and intellectuals who have idea on how to make Syria better, a comrade has created a facebook page where we share ideas:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Syria/113286938764995

People dragging our advanced civilisation into the mud of sectarianism and clannism will be removed. We care mainly about civic, technological and military reform.

Please post problems and proposed solutions. Together, we can make a new Syria.

July 5th, 2011, 3:03 pm

AIG and his likes have only one thing in mind: the destruction of Syria. They are greatly annoyed that Syria continues to refuse to submit to the cancerous entity to the south and now are becoming increasingly hysterical to the point of complete mental imbalance as they see their agenda being defeated. Of course calling for the death of Zionism (a racist, criminal ideology) is to him equal to being a “murderous sick bastard,” whereas actually using white phosphorous on civilians and destroying entire countries is completely acceptable behavior. This would be equivalent to calling anyone who had demanded the death of Nazism a “murderous sick bastard.”

And then he goes on to say that the new media law is “a joke.” LOL. As if he has read the entire draft law and can give credible judgment on it. It is clear that it doesn’t matter how many rights are granted in Syria or how much the country’s political system develops and advances, AIG wants blood. In fact, these reforms are exactly what AIG and his murderous leaders do NOT want in Syria, because it will only make the country stronger. It is great to watch them drown in their own hatred while Syria continues to move forward and improve. The future looks very promising indeed.

July 5th, 2011, 3:07 pm

>And then he goes on to say that the new media law is “a joke.”

I know I was laughing my head off and had to emphasise that with all caps. They say the Israelis are smart but he fell right into the trap of negativity. Knee. Jerk. Reaction.

July 5th, 2011, 3:10 pm

Again you show what a pathological liar you are. Assad has made Syria one of the most backward countries in the world.
Check for example this IT related report:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GITR_Report_2011.pdf

How can someone who supports Assad and his mafia say that he wants technological reform unless he is a pathological liar? The facts are there for all to see. Assad mad Syria a technological desert, he killed innovation and made Syria one of the least competitive countries in the world. It is time for Syria to get rid of murderous idiots like you so that it could finally advance. All you are good at is smoke and mirrors for keeping Assad in power. As for real reform, you are a useless liar.

July 5th, 2011, 3:11 pm

More things ‘change’ the more they stay the same huh?? What really needs addressing is THE ROOT CAUSE of all of this Middle East chaos.

Now if I said this? OMG! The messenger will be branded ‘antisemite’ for posting a very relevant historical quote- not the racist, arrogant originator of the quote himself.

Freud said: “people ooze self-betrayal”. From the mouth of filth, reality speaks:

“The wealthy jews control the world. In their hands lies the fate of governments and nations. They set governments, one against the other, and by their decree, governments make peace or war. When the wealthy jews play, the nations and rulers dance. One way or the other, the jews get rich.”– theodore herzl writing in Deutsche Zeitung

Can someone read AIG’s post for me and confirm that it contains all three of these things:

– A strawman
– A diversion
– A repeated (and already refuted) lie

I have better things to do in my time than read the ravings of a zionist hate-filled bastard.

For anyone who is smart enough to read it (e.g. NOUR) his failure and defeat is on display, there is no need for me to debate him any longer. He fell for the oldest stratagems in the book. Just get your opponent angry and they quickly reveal themselves. You just have to stay calm while doing it.

And with that, I bid you all goodnight.

July 5th, 2011, 3:15 pm

Nour,

Assad is killing his own people, your fellow countrymen. You support him. What does that make you? It makes you a fool that spouts stupid excuses to support a dictator. It also makes you a useful idiot for believing that Assad is really going to grant freedom of speech. It is all smoke and mirrors. Assad and you are fooling nobody.

As far as Israel goes, Assad is a great option. He keeps Syria weak and backward and keeps the Golan quiet. In addition, Hezbollah have been useless since 2006, they haven’t fired one shot at Israel. Who knows what democracy will bring in Syria exactly? However, democracy must be supported because every Syrian as a human being deserves it, whatever the risks to Israel. You know very well that many in Israel’s security establishment would like to see Assad stay in power. I disagree with them.

July 5th, 2011, 3:18 pm

You are not only a pathological liar, you are also a coward who can’t face facts. Assad has made Syria a backward country. You support him yet speak of reforms. Are you a joke or just another regime supporter who is afraid that his job in the muchabarat will disappear? Are you afraid that for once in your life you will have to do something productive instead of spout propaganda and snitch on people?

July 5th, 2011, 3:21 pm

I have a suggestion for the Syrian destruction ikwanji Aaroori Terrorist Band.if one of them gets employed in a funeral home,they can have so much revolutionary you tubes.so if Revlon works there he can have red and black markers and he can take so much videos for did bodies,even for kids and elderlies,then he can use the black marker for bullets,and the red marker for wounds,he will just have to add a sound and music,things like هادا الاصلاح يابشار or غطوه ياشباب or شهيد انشالا . This will be the end of Assad regime.and Revlon being the pathologic lier he is ,can spice up stories, like this woman was raped by shabiha(he needs a blue marker for that).then after declaring the funeral home dead customers شهدا he will read his VIP fatiha,he will then send them directly to heaven where they will have the 70 virgins each(that is an intercorse every 18 minutes,no sleep).At night when Revlon goes home he watches his clips for dead bodies with colorful markers,and that is enough to give him orgasm.
الله شريعه عرعور وبس

July 5th, 2011, 3:26 pm

It is amazing how few here see the big picture. Most really think it is all about Syria and Assad’s maltreatment and freedom for Syrians. (Or Libyans, or Yemenis, or Egyptians, or Tunisians etc etc)
Learned NOTHING from decades of western behavior toward the Arab World? Wow. Maybe Denial IS a river in Egypt afterall!

Two of the most insidious AIPAC-American treasoners in the nation. Never do we hear them working on issues for America’s interests, just wheedling their influence for Israel’s agenda.

Once Syria is out of the way via ‘the freedom-reform-Assad coup-destabilization’, (and Hezbollah defanged via STL, they hope), these SOBs will use what trace of $$$ and troops America has left for all-out war on Iran so that ‘the $hitty little country’ can then rule the world. With all the evangelical zionists swooning over a Second Coming staged w/ Operation Blue Beam. Its like the glee of insanity has taken hold worldwide. Should one laugh or puke? Just so incredibly repulsive.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/07/03/259999/graham-lieberman-iran-warnin/

July 5th, 2011, 3:31 pm

873,
I agree with you, it was never about freedom or refom, it’s the same old endless game of world domination over small countries.
Syria is more independent than the west allowed it to be.

July 5th, 2011, 3:55 pm

Dear Jad ,226
thank you for the link, it lifted up my spirit.

July 5th, 2011, 4:00 pm

We are still contributing to support our economy , In respond to Calls from outside Syria to destroy the Syrian economy ,Syrians from around the world are supporting the Syrian pound; we will transfer money to our families in Syria or simply open new bank accounts in Syria between: 1/07/2011 – 07/07/2011
Please join us, Syria needs you.

PS. If you have no bank account in Syria you can ask a relative or friend in Syria to buy investment certificate brand G on your behalf (it will belong only to you and only you can sell it back)

: يوم الجمعة الموافق 1-7-2011 سوف نقف نحن السورين وقفة الوفاء للوطن لدعم اقتصادنا وليرتنا السورية من خلال قيامنا بتحويل المال الى سوريا بغية رفع القيمة لليرة السورية بعد انخفاض خفيف طرأ عليها
الفترة هي لمدة اسبوع سوف نقوم بتحويل جميعا في نفس الفترة لمدة اسبوع وسف نرفع الليرة السورية انشاء الله بجهود ابناء سوريا العظماء.

July 5th, 2011, 4:03 pm

Here is Zionist logic for you. Abraham Lincoln killed hundreds of thousands of his own people. Yet Americans revere him. What does that make them? And of course according to Zionist logic, only Bashar al Assad is a dictator in the middle east and Syria is the only backwards country in the middle east. They never had any problems dealing with thugs who actually did kill their own people (e.g. Bashir Gemayel) but all of a sudden anything short of calling for the downfall of Bashar el Assad is a crime. They themselves killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, Lebanese, and Syrians, but now the lives of Syrians are so precious to them. To them, the likes of Mubarak, King Hussein and his son, King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia, etc., have made their countries into economic powerhouses and leading scientific and technological innovators by dealing with the cancerous entity, but Syria remains a backwards country because it refuses to submit to them. And they actually believe that Syrians would ever buy their BS.

July 5th, 2011, 4:09 pm

NOUR

well said.

Besides i don’t think that Syria’s regime is – strictly speaking – a dictatorship.

July 5th, 2011, 4:25 pm

Syrian Haywano, why did you chicken out of answering Anonymous’ questions posed to you:

“f you are truly a supporter of Bashar Al Assad then you would UNQUESTIONABLY agree to the following:

– Rambo, would you kneel down to prostrate and kiss a picture of Bashar Al Assad on the floor?

– Rambo, would you kiss the feet of Bashar Al Assad if he demanded you to?

– Rambo, if Bashar asked you if he was God, would you say ‘yes’?

– Rambo, if Bashar demanded your daughter/sister kiss his hands and raise them to her forehead, would you “order” her to do so?

If you answered “NO” to any of the above, then alas ya Rambo…you are not a true supporter of Bashar Al Assad and his family and the one and only Baath Party.

So stop faking it khayo.”

Nour, why did Assad’s grandfather praise the Zionists and blamed the Palestinians and why did Hafez al-Asad colloborate with the Americans in Gulf War I, slaughter thousands of Palestinians in Lebanon? Can I talk about this in the land of fake “mumaana” or is this fake anti-Zionist discourse by the menhebek crowd, cynical propaganda?!

July 5th, 2011, 4:33 pm

Abraham Lincoln fought fellow Americans to grant slaves freedom. Bashar Assad is fighting his fellow countrymen to deny them freedom. See the difference?

How is the fact that somewhere someone did not call for democracy an excuse to support Assad? All dictators need to go. This is Syria Comment, that is why we are discussing the specific dictator in Syria. It is your interest to make it democratic and prosperous, yet you support a ruthless dictator.

And yes, Syria is a very backward country, even by middle east standards. And that is only because of Assad and his policies. He killed the potential of the Syrian people. He squandered the wealth of Syria. He robbed the people blind.

Why do you keep using other countries as an excuse for the sorry state of yours? Why does that even matter?

And how did Assad’s Syria not “submit” to Israel? Is the Golan quiet? Yes. Is Hezbollah quiet for 5 years? Yes. Did Syria do anything after Israel bombed its nuclear facility? No. Did Syria do anything after Mugniyeh was killed in Damascus? No. So just because Assad talks big he has not “submitted”? Assad has to submit to Israel because he is mortally afraid of the brave Syrians that want democracy. He can’t really fight Israel and stay in power. Do you not see how he is fooling you?

July 5th, 2011, 4:35 pm

The meeting of today:
دمشق: لقاء البرلمانيين المستقلين من اجل سوريا حديثة
http://youtu.be/Xb2XYHdZEzY

July 5th, 2011, 4:38 pm

873,
No doubt Qatar stepped in to share with some old friends in the pressure to put on the Palestinians (and especially Fatah, the secular ones) against their move to declare statehood. They attacked Erekat with the Guardian/aljazzara leaks then tried to promote the MB to bribe in Hamas as they had bribed Turkey into the plot.
No fundamentalist and no wahhabi wants secular Syria to arrive anywhere (and tourism was starting to blossom), and several local thugs (governors, mukhabaraat etc) were making their best on the ground in Syria to prevent Asad’s reforms to be implemented.
Bibi was promessing a peace plan to show that he was not simply refusing any plan, but now he is trying to corner both Obama and the Palestinians (and take the Europeans as hostages).

Israel’s politicians are so perfectly fitting in the region: a president in prison for rape, Olmert in trial for corruption (as would be Sharon, weren’t he not still frozen, contrarily to all their religious precepts…) And now they are trading corpses to return to the Palestinians instead of living prisoners. How civilized indeed. A model for the ‘nations’.

July 5th, 2011, 4:41 pm

AIG 295
This is Syria Comment, and there is no way you can comment on a country you have not visited and you don’t speak the language of.

July 5th, 2011, 4:47 pm

Do you ever think a little before you write? Have you visited Israel? Do you know Hebrew? Yet you comment a lot about Israel. Do you ever take your own advice?

July 5th, 2011, 4:56 pm

“Abraham Lincoln fought fellow Americans to grant slaves freedom.”

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Abraham Lincoln did not fight a war to free the slaves, that was only a side issue. He fought the war to prevent the division of the US. I could easily claim that he was fighting a war and killed hundreds of thousands of people to deny the southerners freedom to choose to secede. It is their right to secede if they want to, but this criminal brutally suppressed their right to do so and had no problem killing hundreds of thousands of his own people. (Note: I don’t actually believe that, but this is the type of logic Zionists use).

“Bashar Assad is fighting his fellow countrymen to deny them freedom.”

Again, HAHAHAHAHAHA. This is typical Zio-western nonsensical, empty rhetoric. Somehow, Syria is the only country in the world not allowed to confront armed thugs in its territories. Clinton was perfectly justified in killing over 80 people in a compound in Texas who threatened no one, but Syrian forces are not allowed to respond to fanatic thugs who have killed over 500 soldiers and officers so far. Moreover, notice how Zionists never engage in any real analysis that takes social, political, and historical factors into consideration, but prefer to just make silly, vapid blanket statements to feign concern for Syrians.

Zionists really think Syrians are stupid people. They are so racist, and think so highly of themselves, that they actually believe they can fool Syrians into buying their utter nonsense. They also have no problem insulting the positions taken by the majority of Syrians regarding the affairs of their own country, as if they do not know what is needed to make their country better or do not care, and need the Zionists to give them lessons. As they say in Lebanon, go play in the garden.

July 5th, 2011, 5:04 pm

AIG,
Yes I did have once a quick glance at your Little America on the Red Sea/Mediterranean Sea. It cuts my way from Egypt to Jordan.
Yes I can read a little Hebrew. It’s not that far from Arabic and is just a matter of learning the alphabet.

You are so active on QN and here that I really don’t understand why you don’t learn Arabic. Apart from providing people with a sterile debate, I really don’t see the point. You claim Syria as the most backward country in the Middle East but you speak from somewhere in the snowy steppes of Canada or from air-heads California! Please visit a few countries in the Middle East and get back (you will see Syria has one of the best infrastructure). I know quite a number of Jews who did visit Egypt, Lebanon and even Syria.

July 5th, 2011, 5:08 pm

The Syrians being killed in Homs do not want to secede, they want basic human rights that Assad is denying them. There are facts on the ground: Assad has killed and imprisoned thousands of Syrians because he didn’t like their politics. What excuse can you give for that? Why would you want to give excuses?

Fact: Syria because of Assad is one of the most backward countries in the world. You want to blame others for it, but only Assad is at fault. How is it possible that such a “great” leader made his country such a failure? And why would you support him?

Syrians know how to make their country better, but they can’t because a ruthless dictator won’t let them. If you support Assad, you certainly need lessons on how to make your country better. Just look at his dismal track record and his submission to Israel.

July 5th, 2011, 5:13 pm

So you don’t understand Hebrew but visited Israel for 5 minutes and now you are an expert?

I was in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. And I studied Arabic at school. I am not an expert on any country. But I can see when people are making stupid excuses to support a dictator just because he talks against Israel and the US.

It is not I that is claiming that Syria is among the most backward countries in the middle east. Just read the international reports and rankings.

July 5th, 2011, 5:20 pm

Wow, the hysteria is even getting worse. Someone who doesn’t even know Homs, what it looks like, where it’s located, its demographics, or anything like that, tells us that people in Homs are being killed because “they want basic human rights that Assad is denying them.” What a bunch of utter crap. But then again, crap is exactly what Zionists dish out on a daily basis. Unfortunately for them, Syrians are not listening to their BS and have no desire to play their stupid games. Syria is marching forward and it will come out of this stronger than before, regardless of the noise made by the very racists occupying their land.

July 5th, 2011, 5:22 pm

Who are you trying to convince? Yourself? Syria is in dire straits because Assad is an inept leader backed by a mafioso regime that kills its own people. The economy is faltering and Ramadan is approaching. But of course, things are great in Syria. That is what Bashar taught you to say and that is what you will parrot. Syria will be better off, but only once it gets rid of Assad and the corrupt regime backing him.

July 5th, 2011, 5:46 pm

AIG 303 no expert and not squatting the comments of a blog commenting Isr’s politics, unlike you and your fellows.
To sum it up: dictators are bad bad bad. Western politicians are angels angels angels. The West brings money and democracy. In history, good/free/Western allies never return to dictature bad bad.
Believe it if you want.

July 5th, 2011, 6:59 pm

Would you take a question about the Shiite in Lebanon?

July 5th, 2011, 7:09 pm

Nour

I am really amazed by the patience you have to reply to AIG’s comments. It’s been a long time that I am skipping all the zionist Israeli comments. It is totally a waste of time. They live in a paranoia, surrounded by walls, proud of their economical successes and totally oblivious of the harm and humiliation they inflict on a day to day to millions of Palestinians they keep in leech.
It is an unhealthy and artificial country that few countries in the world like and I am not surprised they are so interested in Syria and Egypt who are real countries with real people.

July 5th, 2011, 7:25 pm

I am not an expert on Shias in Lebanon… what’s the question?

July 5th, 2011, 7:26 pm

Dear Why,

Did the Lebanese Shiaa consider themselves oppressed before the rise of Hizboullah?

July 5th, 2011, 7:33 pm

Mawal95 said:

An anti-Syrian said: “The new Syrian media laws are a joke. It is clear that Assad does not plan to grant real freedom of speech.” That’s false and you’ll be seeing it’s false over the next twelve months. Among the reasons why I know today it’s false today is that (a) the vast majority of Syrians who support the regime want the regime to enact real freedom of speech, (b) the vast majority of Syrians do support the regime, which has the consequence that real freedom of speech is practically harmless to the regime, and (c) the regime has said it’s going to enact real freedom of speech. Quote: “The Prime Minister issued a decision on May 24 [2011] on forming a committee of specialists, academics and experts, tasked with drafting a new media law and laying down the necessary mechanisms to reconstruct the national media system. On July 5 the First Draft of the New Media Law has been finalized by the committee and submitted to the Information Minister”. http://www.sana.sy/eng/361/2011/07/05/356508.htm The Draft law is not publicly available yet. It is required to be public on or before July 24.

Now I’ll forget about the anti-Syrian, and talk to the pro-Syrians. A member of the drafting committte for the new media law said July 5, as quoted at sana.sy: “The most salient point in the draft law is the broad freedom granted to journalists, with responsibilities and obligations as to reach a responsible free media…. It requires that the journalist be committed to principles and values of the constitution and law and observe the values of authenticity, ethics and honesty as to preserve the values of society…. The draft law states that media, along with all its types, is independent and free, with nothing restricting it except the constitution.”

That’s sounding like it’s not as liberal as I would like it. The publishers are being required by law to be “responsible” and to “preserve the values of society”. Such a law enables the State to censor. In the country I’m in at the moment (not Syria), the constitution gives the government strong, sweeping censorship powers under the umbrella of “preserving the values of society”. In that country nowadays there is little censorship. In the old days there was a lot of censorship. In the time in between, the law largely didn’t change; rather, the government’s censorship department adopted a different policy about what was necessary for “preserving the values of society”, with no need for new legislation to change the policy. Likewise in Syria, it looks like the media law is going to be dependent, to some degree, on what policy the government adopts in practice about the meaning of the language.

I’ve said before that a liberal media policy, where every schmuck is let speak his mind and publish it, has been a success in every country where it’s been tried. When someone publishes irresponsible trash or something contrary to the good and proper values of society, the great majority of the society ignores it. It can pose no danger to good society because it will be recognized as trash by good society, and rejected, and most of Syrian society are good people. We’ve seen that awesomely in Syria over the past few months (i.e. nearly whole world was publishing irresponsible trash about the army shooting at peaceful protesters, while the Syrians, who know their army and their government better than the rest of the world does, could see it was trash).

July 6th, 2011, 4:17 am

Badr said:

“I was in Syria.”

If not during the 67 or 73 war, can you elaborate?

July 6th, 2011, 4:52 am

As long as MB is not in power,minorities are safe.

Dear Syria no Kandahar,
Do you believe that the ekhwani culture can be erased other than by democratization?
Today Syrian society has evolved towards ekhwani ideal because of the lack of spheres of freedom,it explain all the paraoina that is now cultivated by what has became archeological minorities,they are also less educated and many are leaving.
The young generations of christians in aleppo have become very islamophobics ,it was a marginal behavior few decades ago,it must be the same for other parts in Syria,today they feel like a besieged minority.
Aleppo has already become in many aspects an Islamic emirate ,it’s completly dominated by the corrupt clerical union.
When i was young i dont remember that my city had so many talibs in religion ,today they are seen everywhere and are very young.
The ekhwan are the few among the islamists that have integrated democracy ,political change as an end and not only a mean.

July 6th, 2011, 7:15 am

Le point de vue d’un opposant réformiste - InfoSyrie.fr said:

[…] Camille Otrakji, pour le site Syria CommentSource : https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=10574Traduit en français pour le site algerie-network par Kinan al […]

July 7th, 2011, 6:28 am

Agree with you Shami , democracy is the effective weapon against any radical thinking from any side ,but a sudden change in the country will bring only a radical ideology to power (in this uprising case Islamists) that’s why we are supporting a soft move to democracy not a radical fast change .

July 7th, 2011, 11:37 am

Louai ,such regime is not capable to take the necessary steps that are necessary for a succesful democratic transition ,for all the reasons that you dont ignore.(be honest with yourself)
They are not a Mahatir Mohamad nor a Gorbachev.
But change is inescapable,they missed the possibilties of reconciliation and are likely to stay tied on a grotesque menhebak cult till the last day of their system,thus ,we can try to guess of what would be the consequences of their own behavior.

July 7th, 2011, 7:19 pm

zo Kad said:

Dr Landis, I love your interview with Bassam, he is the only opposition figure I respect and although I might not agree with all his views, I respect him. Unlike other opposition Figures, he is driven by love for Syria and not opposing just for the love of it. He want a better Syria. He deserves to be heard and to be part of the next Govt in Syria. Thank you both

July 11th, 2011, 3:22 pm

An interview with Bassam Alkadi, President of the Syrian Women Observatory

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

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