Jihadists are now the focus of many parties involved in trying to end this mess in Syria but this focus will be exploited by the regime and it can distract from the basic duty of helping Syrian refugees inside and outside Syria. Islamist rebels are indirectly helping the regime and making it harder to reach a cease fire. Calls for the FSA, a loose term as some finally discovered, to separate itself from terrorists fell on deaf ears, to most rebels the goal is to topple the regime of Assad even if the country they claim of protecting is destroyed, this is why Syria will become another Algeria in the 1990s except that there is no oil to help rebuild the country,it is a war that may take longer than what most have predicted before it is over.

Dear Visitor, How are you today, hopefully much better than yesterday. Just curious how come you don’t start with the “Bisemellah”?

All Praise be to Allah the One, Allah the Eternal, neither does He beget, nor is He begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Dear Darryl 2,

Thanks, I am fine, All Praise be to Allah and …continue as in above.

Soon going to bed.

How about yourself?

May I ask you if you have any particular objections to or problems with the above?

Dear Visitor,

I am fine thanks for asking. No I don’t have any problems with it as it is similar to the Christian praise also plus and minus a few words. I was just curious as most Muslims start with the Bismellah and I think you are the only one who doesn’t as it seems. Maybe because you are unique in a way (this is meant to be a compliment).

Have a good night and well deserved rest. I will be finishing soon and I will have a generous glass of fine Shiraz with dinner.

How A War On Syria Could Escalate

Pat Lang, the former head honcho of U.S. Defense Intelligence in the Middle East, commented at his blog that an attack of Turkey on Syria could lead to a “Guns of August” like process. The book “The Guns of August” describes the political and military maneuvering that eventual led to the, then rather unintended, start of the first world war.
Is Lang’s comparison exaggerated? I don’t think so. There is a lot of brush in the area and a small flame could easily become a big fire. One area where an open war over Syria could escalate is to the east of Turkey. That and a Turkish Armenian skirmish today is reason enough to take a deeper look into the various issues there.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/

ROLAND wrote on October 15th, 2012, at 7:31 pm (EST), in the previous post:
“None of the news articles bother to point out that Syria is not signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”

Not exactly right!

Check this web page, which was last updated on 15th October 2012, at 20:00 GMT.

Syria has not signed up to a convention, brought into law in 2010 and joined by more than 100 countries, to ban cluster bombs because of the threat they pose to civilians.

“Turkish bellicosity results primarily from one man’s ambition and ego. Western states should stay completely away and let him be hoist with his own petard.”

Erdogan and Assad at War
The Turkish prime minister’s ambitions are driving his country closer to conflict.

October 16, 2012 12:00 A.M.
By Daniel Pipes
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/330499/erdogan-and-assad-war-daniel-pipes

…..
A decade of success went to Erdogan’s head, tempting him into a Syrian misadventure that could undermine his popularity. He might yet learn from his mistakes and backtrack, but for now the padishah of Ankara is doubling down on his jihad against the Assad regime, driving hard for its collapse and his salvation.

To answer my opening question: Turkish bellicosity results primarily from one man’s ambition and ego. Western states should stay completely away and let him be hoist with his own petard.

The New Egypt
By ROGER COHEN
Published: October 15, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/opinion/roger-cohen-as-liberty-churns-in-egypt.html?_r=1

…..
So has that glorious dream of liberty, democracy and the rule of law crumbled, as most things do, into the enveloping Cairo dust?

Revolutions give way to their aftermaths. Unity cedes to disunity as binding adrenalin fades. A shared enemy is supplanted by competing interests. The groceries must still be bought. Egypt is no exception to an old rule. I spoke to several disappointed friends in the liberal camp who now say they favor enlightened despotism.

These liberals are too bitter too soon.

Humiliated USA want to start arming drones on Libya.

White House ponders a strike over Libya attack
http://news.yahoo.com/activists-multiple-airstrikes-north-syria-110930159.html

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House, under political pressure to respond forcefully to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, is readying strike forces and drones but first has to find a target.
…
Islamists in the region are preparing for a reaction from the U.S.

“If America hits us, I promise you that we will multiply the Sept. 11 attack by 10,” said Oumar Ould Hamaha, a spokesman for the Islamists in northern Mali, while denying that his group or al-Qaida fighters based in Mali played a role in the Benghazi attack.

Finding the militants who overwhelmed a small security force at the consulate isn’t going to be easy.

The key suspects are members of the Libyan militia group Ansar al-Shariah.
…
The Libyan government is so wary of the U.S. investigation expanding into unilateral action that it refused requests to arm the drones now being flown over Libya. Libyan officials have complained publicly that they were unaware of how large the U.S. intelligence presence was in Benghazi

Bashar Assad facilitated, invoked and then provoked the Jihadists -another of his toxic stupid legacies for Syria.

And if they are now aligned with the homegrown revolutionaries in helping to oust him that is better than no help. You can’t always handpick your allies in a war.

Despite what the dramatist doomsayers say about them “taking over Syria if Assad goes”, there are no real precedents or models to support this.

The bottom line is that when the dust settles for the excited young hotheads, they are not capable of running anything or leading anybody. The water and electricity goes off, commerce and tourism evaporates, infrastructure crumbles, investment and foreign aid dries up.

And while they may present a transitional nuisance, it is hard to accept that Syrians, after all their sacrifices and hopes, will tolerate or take seriously interference by a bunch of young men who for various reasons as individuals have failed to succeed and adjust to the modern world. And who self-invent and self-appoint themselves with nothing real to offer. A legitimate government would make their attempts at “influence by weaponry” instantly illegitimate.

And the alleged precedents?

Tunisia – possible comparison. The new Government there has been slack in creating an aspirational vision for a better and more inclusive economic future for its young men, many of who continue to catch boats in desperation for Europe. The Salafists for them would present a feeling of being part of the action and an outlet for frustration. But there’s nothing to sustain them there either. The ball will roll back into a modernist government’s court.

Afghanistan – no comparison. That society has been badly eroded by decades of major civil war and warlordism, long before Islamic extremists discovered it. Plus it has the overwhelming disaster of Pakistan as its main neighbour, the source of an endless flow of Taliban.

Mali and Somalia? Get serious for God’s sake. Do some homework on the reality.

Tunisia’s choice is not yet made: “A subdivision between “moderate” Islamists and Salafis mainly serves to pacify those fearful or skeptical of political Islam.

Lotfi Maktouf is founder and president of Almadanya, a non-political Tunisian NGO

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/arab-spring-status-report-where-is-tunisia-heading.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32496&NewsCatID=396
….
An Islamist laboratory
Ennahda’s ideological project stands on two basic pillars:
• Shariah is the norm.
• The model of the “nation-state” is inadequate and the ultimate project is to govern in accordance with the caliphate model spanning to all of Islamic society (ummah). Loyalties, meanwhile, should no longer be based on being a “Tunisian” but being a “Muslim.”

While the Salafis appear to advocate hard-line Islam, Ennahda has been promoting the image of “moderate Islam.” In this author’s view, those who distinguish along ideological lines between “moderates” and hardcore Salafis in the Islamist movement err. A subdivision between “moderate” Islamists and Salafis mainly serves to pacify those fearful or skeptical of political Islam.

Civil society as the savior?
While Ennahda is increasingly plagued by scandals, lack of performance and a serious erosion of confidence, the growing number of associations and NGOs being registered offer a ray of hope.
All attempts to rewrite Tunisia’s “DNA” have met with consistent reaction from the new civil society network not affiliated with Ennahda. It is this author’s opinion that in the case of Tunisia today, an active civil society is the first and last frontier in the battle for democracy.

Today, Tunisia is set to choose between building an open, pluralistic and a development-driven Arab and Muslim society, or, slipping irreversibly into an Islamist, totalitarian and a backward-looking model. Only civil society can prevent the latter from happening and the legitimate and democratic aspirations once thought attainable from evaporating.

?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????
????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????. ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? «??? ????» ?? ????? ????? «????» ?? ??? ????.
???? ??????? ?? ??? «????» ?? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? «?????» ?????? ?????? ????????. ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? 15 ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????????? ????? ??? ??? 20 ????? ?????.

An embryo of communication between the warring factions?

Syria: FSA to barter with Hezbollah prisoners

16/10/2012
By Yousef Diab
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31467

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – There is conflicting information about a prospective prisoner exchange deal between the Free Syrian Army [FSA] and Hezbollah, after the FSA was able to capture a number of Hezbollah and al-Assad regime elements. This deal would see the FSA releasing its prisoners in return for Hezbollah releasing Syrian citizens being held in the Hermel border region.

The FSA also announced that “the bodies of two Hezbollah fighters arrived at the al-Batoul hospital in Hermel.” The FSA statement asserted that “at a time that the conflict in the border region is intensifying, Hezbollah and Syrian regime elements are continuing to besiege the border village of Jawsiya, preparing to storm the area after a mixed [Hezbollah – Syrian regime] brigade took control of the western route and prevented the village inhabitants from fleeing towards safety.”

Sources within the Syrian interior confirmed that this prisoner exchange deal is set to take place soon, without revealing further details; however a Hezbollah political source, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that the issue did not deserve a “response or comment.”

All Praise be to Allah the One, Allah the Eternal, neither does He beget, nor is He begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Dear Darryl 4,

No, I am not unique and particularly in that regard you were talking about.

But thanks for the compliment.

This is a standard opening that can be varied using different Names and Attributes based on that verse I quoted for you in a previous exchange.

In fact, “bismillah” is not even a requirement.

And if you read the Fatiha which is the Mother of the Book it starts with Al-Hamdulillah Rab Al-3Alameen.

You can see here Rab Al-3Alameen is a Name/Attribute of Allah.

Next, Maliki Yawm el-Deen is yet another Name/Attribute.

But the intent is always Allah.

Again the Bismillah part of it is not even part of the revelation.

And you’ll find similar incidents throughout the Holy Qura’n.

Miss Piggy dramatically sacrifices herself to save Obama’s election.

‘I take responsibility’ for Benghazi, Clinton tells CNN

16/10/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31462

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday told CNN that she assumes responsibility for last month’s deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

“I take responsibility” for what happened on September 11, Clinton said in an interview during a visit to Lima, Peru.

Qatari emir ( and Sheikha Mozarella ) to visit Gaza as ‘Hamas reward for breaking Assad ties’

Hugh Naylor
Oct 16, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/qatari-emir-to-visit-gaza-as-hamas-reward-for-breaking-assad-ties

GAZA CITY // The Qatari emir is to make an official visit to the Gaza Strip this week, in a move analysts say is to strengthen the country’s influence with Arab Islamists and reward Hamas rulers for breaking ties with the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani would be the first Arab head of state to officially visit Gaza since the Palestinian Islamist group wrested control in 2007.

Hamas leaders hope his presence will provide a boost to its legitimacy after years of crippling Israeli blockade and diplomatic isolation by much of the international community.

The visit will be of concern to Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist organisation and mortal enemy, and could further undermine discreet Israeli-Qatari diplomatic relations that have been strained in recent years.

“We are hoping such visits will encourage more by leaders in the international community and, because of it, finally end the siege” by Israel, said Mahmoud Zahar, a founding stalwart of Hamas.

Interview of Bashar al Assad : the Syrian and Turkish people to be fraternal nations

14 oct 2012
http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=132917

Turkey- In an interview published Friday in the Turkish newspaper Aydinlik, Syria`s President Basher al-Assad denied Turkish accusations that Syria was aiding militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known by its Kurdish acronym PKK, an armed separatist group in Turkey’s southeast.

Syria does not support the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, President al-Assad declared in the interview. He said that the Turkish government brought these charges because it itself supported groups of criminals in Syria.

“The Turkish government is circulating these claims to legitimize its support to armed groups” fighting the government, President al-Assad said, according to the newspaper.

President al-Assad said that Damascus continued the investigation of circumstances of how a Syrian mortar shell fell on Turkish territory. This investigation would benefit from cooperation with Turkey which sadly is not the case, the Syrian president said.

Al-Assad also considers the Syrian and Turkish people to be fraternal nations and believes that problems in relations between the two countries are caused by the position of Ankara which supports the Syrian opposition and calls for resignation of the legitimate government, according to the newspaper.

Press reports said Friday that President al-Assad sought to calm tensions with Ankara, describing Syria and Turkey as brothers in the interview published at the newspaper. He insisted Turkey had ”no reason to go to war” over the cross-border clashes.

”We should work on this issue together,” President al-Assad told the Turkish newspaper.

”In times like this, countries should correct their mistakes by talking to each other.” President al-Assad added.

In part II of the interview with the Turkish newspaper, published Saturday, President al-Assad said that” a great number of Turks have joined the terrorists groups which have been fighting against the Syrian people”. President added, “Syria does not support the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), pointing out that the Turkish Government had fired such allegations to legitimize its support to the armed groups”.

“When we used to have fine connections, relations with Turkey, they did not point at such accusations; backing up the Kurdistan Workers party,” President al-Assad indicated.

Syria`s President Bashar al-Assad added that, “When tensions break out with the Turkish Government, Ankara has operated with the armed groups, which have been committing the crimes in Syria, starting to bring out such claims in order to receive support for Turkish public opinion for these groups”.

“I don’t believe that the Turkish people might believe this”. President Bashar Al-Assad added.

Worth repeating (from Tentative Jihad: Syria’s Fundamentalist Opposition – International Crisis Group)

“Many myths surround Syria’s Salafis. They are not an expression of society’s authentic, truer identity; they are not merely a by-product of regime machinations; and they are not simply the result of growing Gulf Arab influence.

“Rather, they should be understood as one of the conflict’s numerous outgrowths and, not least, part of the profound identity crisis it has produced. In many ways, it is the mirror image of the simultaneous cult of violence and ruling-family worship that, to a striking degree, has emerged among Alawites. In both cases, the rise of more extremist, militant, quasi-millenarist worldviews is not deniable, but nor is it necessarily irreversible.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/egypt-syria-lebanon/syria/131-tentative-jihad-syrias-fundamentalist-opposition.aspx

Defector Tlass to join the fight?
There are claims on Twitter that General Manaf Tlass, who defected last July and has been in exile, will return to Syria to fight against the Assad regime.

The claims, which we have so far been unable to confirm, appear to have been started by The 47th, who has accurately predicted some important defections in the past.

 ? The 47th ?@THE_47th 
Manaf Tlass joins the Syrian National Army headed by Muhammad Hussein Al Haj and is going to Syrian battlefront to fight along with oppo.
16 Oct 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
The story is that he will take up a combat role after Eid al-Adha (26 October), the Muslim holiday marking the end of the Hajj.

The 47th says Tlass will join the Syrian National Army – the new name given to the Free Syrian Army by opposition elements who are trying to restructure it and bring it under unified command.

Tlass was at one stage close to Bashar al-Assad. After his defection, he was touted by some as a possible replacement for Assad, though he is by no means universally popular. Given his luxurious lifestyle, there is also some scepticism as to whether he is likely to get his boots dirty in active combat.

The Guardian

No surprise Bashar Assad would be mouthing a script trying to calm tensions with Ankara!

The Russians would be ordering him to sing that song – and fast.

To repeat an earlier post, many analysts believe that if Russia is forced to choose between Turkey and Syria it will choose Turkey. No contest.

This is because energy is central to Russia’s economy, and it relies on significant regional oil and gas pipelines and loading facilities that depend on Turkish cooperaton.

Those controlling the wealth in Russia will allow Putin his paranoid swaggering about Syria to go only so far.

If Bashar continues to threaten Russia’s relations with Turkey his cause will start to feel like a burden and irrelevant to Moscow.

TARA #19

Tlass to rough it with the rebels?

He’ll probably have no room to carry weapons because of all the cigars, whiskey and hair grooming products he needs with him.

Tara

Is it another desperate attempt to present a “human”, moderate and groomed face of the FSA, that is now totally discredited by its tolerance and collusion with bearded Islamist extremists?

It sounds like a slapstick. It’s pathetic that the Guardian uses twitter as its source of news..

“They are working more closely with the FSA”

Militant jihadists’ rise in Arab world imperils region’s stability

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/militant-jihadists-rise-in-arab-world-imperils-regions-stability/2012/10/15/8764c256-14ad-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html

Growing role in Syria

Among the groups causing Western officials the most concern is the increasingly active Jabhat al-Nusra, which surfaced in Syria this year to assert responsibility for a string of mysterious suicide bombings in Damascus and Aleppo and is shaping up to be an energetic participant in the battle against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Its claims of responsibility are posted on one of the main — and tightly controlled — online forums used by al-Qaeda, suggesting at least some level of coordination.

Experts say there are also signs that the group is working more closely with the Free Syrian Army, the name used by rebel forces battling Assad’s regime.

Jabhat al-Nusra fighters operate openly at a headquarters in a mosque in the embattled northern city of Aleppo and have won praise from other rebel units for their bravery. On Friday, the group was identified as a participant in an operation to wrest control of an air defense base outside Aleppo that contained sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, according to a video posted on YouTube.
…
On the streets of Syrian cities, small signs are surfacing that the extremists are winning some sympathy. Early this month, protesters who marched through the streets of Aleppo interspersed their calls for weapons to be provided to the Free Syrian Army with chants of “Jabhat al-Nusra,” according to a video uploaded onto YouTube.

The longer the conflict persists, the greater the likelihood that support for the radicals will grow, said Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center in London.

“Specifically, the lack of pressure in pushing the Syrian-Arab opposition toward a political concordat with moderate Kurds is a major cause of the PYD’s gains in power and influence.”

Unity or PYD Power Play?
Syrian Kurdish Dynamics after the Erbil agreement

by ilhan tanir, wlaDimir van wilgenb Urg, anD omar hoSSino

http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/HJS_Unity-or-PYD-Power-Play_-Report.pdf

Executive summary
• With moderate Kurdish forces failing to reach an agreement with the Arab-Syrian opposition, Syria’s Kurds have been pushed to unite among themselves via the Erbil Agreement, which mandated the creation of a Supreme Kurdish Council. However, the effect of the Erbil Agreement has been the empowerment of radicals in the PKK-linked Democratic Union Party (PYD).

• On a regional level, the presence of armed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, who are known to be affiliated with the PKK in southern Turkey, has gravely worried and exercised Ankara. It has also increased the geopolitical profile of Massoud Barzani, the
President of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG), who has been heavily involved in supporting and mediating crises between the Syrian-Kurdish factions.

• The withdrawal of the Assad regime’s security forces from crucial Kurdish regions is helping Syria’s Kurds attain dramatic levels of self-governance and semi-autonomy. This will have a decisive impact on the course of the Syrian civil war and the post-Assad era.

• While the PYD is uneasy about the connections between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Turkey, and while it further fears that Ankara might prompt the rebels into fighting the
PYD, the suspicion is mutual. Some FSA statements have indicated hostility towards the PYD, hostility which the latter group sees as orchestrated by its Syrian-Kurdish rivals.

• Ambiguity persists as to the level of FSA-PYD engagement, and it is unclear how much cooperation exists between the militant groups under the rapidly changing wartime circumstances.

• Without engagement by the United States and European Union in coordination with Turkey, Syria’s unresolved Kurdish problem could lead to devastating consequences, including increased PKK terrorist activity and the unintentional emboldening of the Assad regime.
Specifically, the lack of pressure in pushing the Syrian-Arab opposition toward a political concordat with moderate Kurds is a major cause of the PYD’s gains in power and influence.

Iraqi Shi’ite militants fight for Syria’s Assad

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-syria-crisis-iraq-militias-idUSBRE89F0PX20121016

“Scores of Iraqi Shi’ite militants are fighting in Syria, often alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, and pledging loyalty to Iran’s supreme Shi’ite religious leader, according to militia fighters and politicians in Iraq.”

“The Badr organization, Asaib al-Haq and Mehdi Army leaders told Reuters they had not sent fighters to Syria because they believe the upheaval was an internal affair. Sending fighters would be an intervention in the Syrian affairs. “We have not sent any people to Syria…some people think fighting in Syria is legitimate, so maybe individuals went there without coordinating with their leaders,” said a senior Badr organization leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

Approaching regional war phase.

I am so annoyed when salafist Canadians from Lebanon pose as Syrian revolution supporters giving the impression that this is an Islamic-tainted revolution.  Their unstated goal is to bring down HA by breaking the so called “the maxis of resistance”.  While I believe that this so called “axis” uses resistance as an empty rhetoric, these Canadians from Lebanon need to know that Syrians in general do not share their mentality,  they do not want Islamic government, and although they consider HA as an enemy combatant, they do not hold grudges and they are not going to assist those Lebanese salafists in their sectarian agenda.  

The posters in reference know who they are and should know they are exposed.   

?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ??

You want to go tit for tat, be my guest.

You will only prove your idiocy and your LOUSY LOOOOOOOOOSER character.

Right now I am busy.

But I will give you the proper dressing when the time becomes available.

You are not only ???? but you cannot even live without attention. If someone ignores you you die. Most ???? are actually like that. They live on attention seeking. You cannot even stand on your own feet.

If I am really Lebanese you will be the last one to ask for help from. You are the one who needs help more than any one else.

Will be back for more but not now.

When you dim witted Moslem thugs going to raise the Black banners In Mecca, Madina, all of Arabia, Paris and London, and bring down this heathen Hubal flag of Turkey and replace it with this Banner of Moslem honor. Get a life idiots, go for the kill, go where the money, oil and pretty women available to all, no need to traffic in sex slaves, it will all be yours. You are so F****ing stupid, even Allah is embareressssssssssssssssssed of you losers.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSERS

28 Dendeshe,

May I ask you why you want the black flag?

Not that I am against it. But just want to know your OWN reasoning.

Zoo

It is not the FSA that’s hoping for a make-over.  It is Manaf who is hoping for a role in the new Syria.  After a failed attempt to embellish his Islamic credentials by going to Mecca, he is now trying to embellish his revolutionary credentials.  It is going to be an unsuccessful attempt.  We do not want him among us.  He is as SL said should continue to enjoy Whiskey, cigars, and hair products until the revolution strips him from his stolen wealth.

Socialist Worker article.

Syrian rebels keep fighting

Tue 16 Oct 2012

The United Nations (UN) has waved through more sanctions on Syria—freezing the assets of 28 individuals and two companies.

[…]

The West wants to hijack the revolt completely and to have control of any new government that replaces the dictator Bashar al-Assad. Turkey wants to be seen as a power player in the region.

But the Syrian people started this revolt. For over a year they have defied bloody repression to keep up their fight for their freedom. They can finish it on their own—without the meddling of the West and its allies.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=29799

@VISITOR

You claim to be devout Moslem, what a fraud you are, what are you as a devout Moslem (my holy ass) recite Quran mumble jumble on every post, going to do about this desecration of Islam land, what are you going to do about the Jews that brought this filth to Islam, take a look here. You like all Moslems, have no honor and no dignity whatsoever, even your Moslem Sheikh and Imams are ?????? ??????? ????

Check this picture out in Jewish wholly owned and operated Arabia:

http://www.majalla.com/eng/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/riyadh1.jpg

Do you see the 2 structures standing above any minarets in Arabia, do you know you ignorant Moslem what do they represents, it maybe not a cross, but far worse symbol of desecration of the holy land. This is what Jews using the name Saud doing to Islam, right in your face, because they now you, like all Moslems dumb and ignorant sheep:

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

Do you also see the pyramid, a satanic symbol in the photo background? Now, what you coward Moslem is going to do about this indignity and desecration of Islam land? As Sunni Moslem, I am deeply offended, humiliated by these Wahabi Jews of Arabia insulting Islam, robbing Moslem Hajji’s.

Don’t talk to me, don’t ask me any question, go and organize your men, do something to remove this
??? ??? ??? ????????

For as longs as this desecration standing, I will not call on Allah name and will not want anything to do with Islam . ??? ????????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??????

32 Dendeshe,

I see your point about pattern recognition and how it ties in to this Hat passing thing that has been going on for millenia from Namrud and Pharaoh all the way down. But what does the Turkish flag have to do with it? I still would like it gets replaced as you said. But what is the problem of the current Turkish flag?

Prayers for Syria. Outside military intervention and/or a no fly zone are not options. The current border spat with Turkey must not escalate. The country must be stabilised.

This account sounds chillingly true. The treatment of the Aleppo mosque by Assad’s thugs symbolizes the sectarian spite and contempt fuelling his campaign to burn the country. I suggest putting this story’s shocking photo of the destruction on posters with the slogan “Assad’s legacy to Syria”

Story: Aleppo mosque is latest casualty of Syria’s civil war

A landmark mosque in Aleppo has been burned, scarred by bullets and trashed – the latest casualty of Syria’s civil war

Excerpt:

Government troops had been holed up in the mosque for months before rebels launched a push this week to drive them out. Activists and Syrian government officials blamed each other for the weekend fire at the mosque.

Rebel supporters also alleged that regime forces defaced the shrine with offensive graffiti and drank alcohol inside, charges bound to further raise religious tensions in Syria. Many of the rebels are Sunni Muslims, while the regime is dominated by Alawites, or followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Al-Hassan said the army had been using the mosque as a base because of its strategic location in the Old City and he blamed Assad for the destruction.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9612257/Aleppo-mosque-is-latest-casualty-of-Syrias-civil-war.html

COMMENT: Assad’s idiotic promise to restore the mosque (destroyed by him) is a vintage stupid Bouthaina Shabaan-style lie to attempt PR damage control.

The only true Moslem country, the only true Moslem is the one raising this flag of Mohammad:

http://askmarion.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/clip_image0032.jpg?w=542&h=300

Those that don’t are MUNAFEKEEN – NON MOSLEMS BY OWN ADMISSION, PERIOD. They raised demonic entity banners, not Mohammad banner. They raised Demonic entity structures, Icons, whatever. And it is the duty of every Moslem to make sure all nations that raised other corrupted false Islamic flags, needs to be removed by force just as Muhammad did remove them. Mohammad flag was not pink, green, or chartreuse and for sure not orange. Mohammad, will not permit the erection of Babylonian, heathen, Kuffar, Idolatrous structures in Arabia or anywhere in Islam land. Mohammad, will not permit a Jew to rule over Moslems. Mohammad, will not tolerate one inch of Moslem Lands to be ruled or occupied by Jews as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jerusalem trampled upon. Moslems today are fake bastards who have no honor and no dignity. The Jewish rulers of Arabia helped Jews invade Moslem Iraq, Moslem Afghanistan Pakistan is most undignified people ever of this earth face, you call these PAKI Moslems? The Shia stood celebrating, welcoming with rice in hand Jewish invasion of South Lebanon as well as Iraq.

Why Turkey flag is abomination. Have you not read about the Symbol of Hubal before, they raised not Islam Prophet banner, but idol Hubal, a heathen cult, and that is really what they are. NON MOSLEMS, pretending to be one to rob Moslem land and occupy them, that is all.

Flag of Turkey: An excellent name for this country. That is all they are, a bunch of idiotic Turkey’s running wildly with head cut off.

Symbol of Idol Hubal:

http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-moon-god.htm
http://www.kate-upton.com/2011/04/23/kate-upton-april-hubal-photo-shoot-pictures/?pid=671

Now get off this blog and go fight in Arabia and Turkey for Islam honor, for Mohammad honor, bring back dignity to Moslems in Brunei, All of Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, what waste, leave Syria alone man and go fight first and foremost for the dignity of every Moslem Hajji, go liberate Arabia from Devil worshipping Wahabi Jews and Anza tribesman who erected Babylonian icons hundred time higher than any minarete of Islam in the land.

All Praise be to Allah the One, Allah the Eternal, neither does He beget, nor is He begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Through their unwavering faith in Allah the Al-Mighty, and the invaluable help of the True Believers who came to the aid of their Syrian Muslim brothers, the FSA has been successful in defeating the repeated attempts of murderous thugs equiped with superior tools of murder,

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/deb3f742-cc8c-485a-b4cc-3fd499c1f903?GoogleStatID=1

Thanks to all our true Muslim brothers who came to help the Syrian Muslims in their hour of need. We do not need NFZ’s nor any help from non-Muslim quarters who want their help exchanged for the honor of Syrians unlike what some boot-kissing fools of some so-called ‘Syrian’ ???? would like to see happening.

??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? .
most parties will “welcome” a ceasefire by Eid Al-Adha but none will abide by it,they will just blame the other side.

Aldendeshe and Visitor your “religious” brawl is sounding like a 3am exchange both rolling drunk in the gutter after being kicked out of a hotel.

You should both be locked up, sloshed with icy water and forced to write your words out 1,000 times when you have sobered up.

???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? “????? ?????” ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? “???????” ?? ??? ?????? “?????” ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? “?????” ???? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????.
somebody does not want the mosque to be rebuilt

38. ghufransaid:
??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? .
most parties will “welcome” a ceasefire by Eid Al-Adha but none will abide by it,they will just blame the other side.
__________________________________________________________________

Poor sheep’s, please welcome my offer, why not have an abstention on this slaughter fest and keep on fighting man, Syria will be better off saving few intelligent creatures around.

39 SL,

When did you learn how to talk, man?

I thought for a while you did not even know how to recognize friend from foe, and kept poking your fingers in things that don’t concern you.

Not only that, but I even was convinced that you are still in your free speecher preacher orientation. You don’t seem to have graduated yet!! Or if so, you will need another session.

Why don’t you mind your own business until you learn better?

somebody does not want the mosque to be rebuilt
________________________________________________________________

I am very upset at Bashar trying to re-build a single mosque, before his decree that every Christian Church in Syria completely rebuilt and renovated out of ????? and new taxation on Mosque attendance. Only a true, noble Moslem will agree with me on this one, this what KHALIFA OMAR would have done to punish the FITNA instigators. Taxation on Hajji’s and additional travel from, and exist fee to Turkey, Arabian Countries, Tunisia, Libya, Pakistan. Additional taxation on any import from these countries and a levy of25% seizure of any cash funds from travelers as well, this will help rebuild the Churches of Syria, some are 1000 years older than the mosque.

VISITOR

Syria and Syrians are what concern me.

Please, can you be more specific about what you’re concerned about that has relevance to this forum? You seem to have abandoned the plot.

I now imagine you unshaven with bloodshot eyes, staring in the mirror as you shakily write: “Why don’t you mind your own business until you learn better?”

Out of kindness I suggest you amend this message to yourself to “when you feel better”.

USA: Erdogan is so smart he won’t fall in the ‘war’ trap.
He is just abandoning the rebels he boosted for months to the Syrian Army which will annihilate them right on Turkey’s borders.
Will at least allow them to ‘tactically’ retreat to Turkey?

No sign of Syria-Turkey war: U.S. Ambassador

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/no-sign-of-syria-turkey-war-us-ambassador-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=32560&NewsCatID=359

Washington doesn’t see the possibility of a war between Turkey and Syria, U.S. ambassador to Ankara Francis Ricciardone said today, adding that Ankara would not fall into the trap of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Ricciardone said the United States is on the same page as Turkey in regards to the Syrian issue.

“We don’t see a possibility of war between Syria and Turkey. We will perform our utmost performance, we are sharing intelligence with friend countries,” Ricciardone said.

VISITOR

I started to get a different picture of you when you ignored this comment: https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=16405#comment-331630

44 Syrialover,

OK I see you have a wild imagination. But imaginations can be good and can be bad.

Honestly, I never allow my imagination to make a visual image of bloggers. I have differnt means to discern things. But everyone is different, right? Not that I have anything at all against those bearded unshaven heroes who are doing the actual work and helping our Syrian brothers that you claim to love so much. They are paying in blood while you are paying with imagination. How sad Love can be sometimes?

It is not that I abandoned the plot. I never abandon plots I set myself into. But this is what this site deserves, beleive me. Nothing personal.

Actually I think I am helping this site a lot better by the new things I came up with. It is allowing me and others to expose the hypocricy.

believe me also Dendeshe is doing the same in his own way. I do not agree with everything he says. But I find his methods effective sometime, but always entertaining.

So forget about Loving Syria through Syriacomment. This is not the venue for such expression of love. Join the crowd and do it the way it should be done, unless you are willing to put on the fatigue and boots and go do the real work on the ground. Thta is True Love!!!

What I am doing right now is the only way to show that Zoo dweller (your archenemy) how futile his propaganda is. Remember? First time I came here you asked me what am I gonna do about him. Well there you go.

——————-

SL I just saw your new comment after I posted. Honestly, I never saw that comment. But I will read it again later on and respond in due time.

Saudi Liberal Columnist: Israel Is Not The Real Enemy Of The Arab World

In an article titled “The Arab Spring And The Israeli Enemy,” published on the anniversary of the 1973 war between the Arabs and Israel, Saudi columnist and former Navy officer ‘Abd Al-Latif Al-Mulhim wrote that the Arab world has squandered many lives and vast sums of money on fighting Israel, when its real enemy is its own dictators and its own backwardness, corruption, and ignorance. He said that now is time to stop the hatred and wars and start improving the lives of the Arabs, for the sake of future generations.

The following are excerpts from the article, which was published in the Saudi English-language daily Arab News.[1]

http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6749.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/us-edition

Syria’s revolutionary cartoons
A group of artists, Comic4Syria, are producing comic strips on Facebook in response to the brutality in their country

War in the North: rebels use anti-aircraft guns

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-warplanes-bomb-northern-rebel-belts-watchdog.aspx?pageID=238&nID=32554&NewsCatID=352

Large swathes of Idlib and Aleppo as well as the countryside abutting the Turkish border have fallen into rebel hands in recent months.

Maaret al-Numan is strategically located in the northwest on the highway linking Damascus to the embattled city of Aleppo.

The warplanes dropped bombs in a bid to break a rebel blockade of the highway, which is preventing army reinforcements from reaching Aleppo, theatre of intense fighting for three months.

Rebels responded with anti-aircraft guns.

Untangling Syria’s complex roots of sectarian resentment
October 16, 2012 12:44 AM
By Lindsay Gifford
The Daily Star

A number of policies unfortunately collided under the Assad regime that would increase the potential volatility of sectarian relations. Open dialogue on sectarian interactions was forbidden; the regime controlled all manner of public discourse through its media outlets and state-appointed institutions such as state mosques and the Culture Ministry. Independent community leaders, activists and intellectuals were continually barred from speaking about sectarian relations – even if only to build them – through the state’s innumerable mechanisms of coercion.

The Assad regime dealt with ethno-sectarian wounds through a combination of policies that – unsurprisingly – elevated its own minority community and filled the broader sectarian milieu with paranoia and distrust. One can understand the ruthlessness of the pro-regime militias only in the light of Alawite historical memory: of poverty, underdevelopment, labor migration – its dependence on colonial and military institutions for social integration and its experiences of second-class citizenship. These memories (and fear of an unknown future) have helped lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians during the current conflict, in which an important segment of Syria’s Alawite community has been instilled with fear of annihilation.

….Rather than deal with sectarian tension in a constructive manner, the regime willfully evaded the issue through superficial political declarations and exercises; lip service was paid to sectarian harmony in local election campaigns and state-sponsored interfaith holiday concerts – only to be banned from the public sphere as a serious social issue meriting public debate and ongoing community action.
….

How can the sectarianism inflamed by the civil war be ameliorated? To begin, a cease-fire must be implemented to bring an end to the violence and prevent the accumulation of new vendettas among communities. An open dialogue of reconciliation must be pursued, the likes of which were never possible under the Assad regime. Father Paolo Dall’Oglio reminds us that in order to approach national reconciliation Syrians must reciprocally acknowledge and validate their tangled historical memories. He warns Syrians against negating each others’ pain and the wounds of each others’ ancestors – wounds which remain fresh even today, years afterward. The rebuilding of intersectarian trust is contingent upon this process of acknowledgment and validation.
….

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Oct-16/191549-untangling-syrias-complex-roots-of-sectarian-resentment.ashx#axzz29PaGewSd

Obama administration carries the responsibility of Qaeda infiltration by not arming the true FSA.  I hope Romney wins the election and follow up on his plan.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-new-middle-east-coverup-biden-caught-in-syria-debate-falsehood/2012/10/15/fec2c060-16d2-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html

First there was the Libya coverup. Now, we have the Syria coverup.

In last week’s vice presidential debate, Joe Biden asserted that the United States was working to isolate al-Qaeda in Syria by ensuring that aid was directed to moderate elements of the Syrian opposition. “We are working hand and glove with the Turks, with the Jordanians, with the Saudis, and with all the people in the region attempting to identify the people who deserve the help so that when Assad goes — and he will go — there will be a legitimate government that follows on, not an al-Qaeda-sponsored government that follows on,” Biden declared.

Paul Ryan immediately challenged Biden’s claim, saying that the administration’s inaction has allowed al-Qaeda to get a foothold in Syria. “The longer this has gone on, the more people, groups like al-Qaeda are going in,” Ryan said, adding, “We could have more easily identified the Free Syrian Army, the freedom fighters, working with our allies, the Turks, the Qataris, the Saudis, had we had a better plan in place.”

Biden denied it, declaring: “We are in the process now — and have been for months — in making sure that help, humanitarian aid, as well as other aid and training is getting to those forces that we believe, the Turks believe, the Jordanians believe, the Saudis believe are the free forces inside of Syria. That is underway.”

Well, according to a report in this morning’s New York Times, Biden’s statement was not true.

“Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats,” the Times reports.

The paper quotes one U.S. official as saying, “The opposition groups that are receiving the most of the lethal aid are exactly the ones we don’t want to have it,” adding that “officials, voicing frustration, say there is no central clearinghouse for the shipments, and no effective way of vetting the groups that ultimately receive..

Turkey is isolated and trapped by the refugees influx they contributed to create.
The EU to Erdogan: We don’t want Syrian refugees in Europe, keep them in your country. “Blocking people from crossing international borders to claim asylum breaches international law”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-keeps-its-door-open-for-syrian-influx.aspx?pageID=238&nID=32509&NewsCatID=338

The EU said it would continue assisting Turkey in coping with an influx of refugees from Syria but made no offer to take them in. “Clearly we need to concentrate on the shelter of refugees there,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle..
..
His Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn agreed. “We can’t take planes and transport these people to Europe and say the problem is settled,” he said.
The ministers were responding to a call by Turkish EU Minister Egemen Ba??? for Europe to do more to help Ankara tackle the influx. “Europe should start thinking about the people who have fled Syria into Turkey.
…
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch said Turkish and Iraqi authorities should re-open border crossings, where more than 10,000 Syrians have been stranded for weeks, and allow all those wishing to seek asylum to cross without delay. Blocking people from crossing international borders to claim asylum breaches international law,

Papal Delegation to Show Solidarity With Syrians

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/papal-delegation-show-solidarity-syrians-17492447#.UH3YvVJKrD4
VATICAN CITY October 16, 2012 (AP)

Pope Benedict XVI is sending a delegation, including top Vatican officials and New York’s cardinal, to Damascus to express solidarity with the Syrian people suffering in their country’s civil war.

The Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said Tuesday that the delegation would to Syria next week if arrangements can be made. The group will consist of seven churchmen, including New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Holy See’s top official for inter-religious dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

Bertone said church leaders “cannot be simple spectators” given the “immense” suffering in Syria, and said they are convinced the solution must be a “political” one.

The delegation will express solidarity “to all the population” in the pope’s name and offer encouragement to those seeking an accord respecting human rights.

Zoo@53

I thought Greece offered to take refugee?

TARA,

Here is the right link for the story on Syria’s revolutionary cartoonists, Comic4Syria.

Some good images sending up that freak Bashar Assad.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/oct/14/syria-revolutionary-cartoons?INTCMP=SRCH

Thanks for drawing attention to it.

US intelligence admits Syria arms aid goes to Al Qaeda
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/oct2012/syri-o16.shtml
American Intelligence officials are acknowledging that the bulk of the weapons flowing into Syria for the US-backed war to topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad are going into the hands of Al Qaeda and like-minded Islamist militias.
A lead article appearing in the New York Times Monday confirms the mounting reports from the region that jihadist elements are playing an increasingly prominent role in what has become a sectarian civil war in Syria.
“Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats,” the Times reports.
The article reflects the growing disquiet within US ruling circles over the Obama administration’s strategy in Syria and, more broadly, in the Middle East, and adds fuel to the deepening foreign policy crisis confronting the Democratic president with just three weeks to go until the election.
In the distorted public debate between Democrats and Republicans, this crisis has centered around the September 11 attack on the US consulate and a secret CIA headquarters in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi that claimed the lives of the US ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans…….

FSA factions in new attempt to unite
Syria’s divided rebel fighters are making a fresh attempt to unite under a joint leadership, Reuters reports citing two rebel sources.

The decision, taken by dozens of rebels including Free Syrian Army leaders at a meeting inside Syria on Sunday, aims to improve military coordination among fighters and create a single leadership which they hope outside powers would be prepared to arm with more powerful weapons.

“The agreement has been reached, they only need to sign it,” one rebel source said. The foreign backers “are telling us: ‘Sort yourselves out and unite, we need a clear and credible side to provide it with quality weapons’.” He said Qatar and Turkey were the main forces behind the agreement.

It is the latest attempt to bring together Assad’s disparate armed opponents, most of whom have been fighting nominally under the FSA’s banner but in practice have operated independently.

Reuters says the new leadership will include FSA leaders Riad al-Asaad and Mustafa Sheikh – criticised by many rebels because they were based in Turkey – and recently defected General Mohammad Haj Ali, as well as heads of rebel provincial military councils inside Syria such as Qassem Saadeddine, based in Homs province.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/oct/16/syria-crisis-us-weapons-jihadis-live#block-507d87ba58f91d7bbadac6b4

#55 Tara

Greece and Cyprus said will accept the ones who manage to get there from Turkey at their own risk by paying smugglers. An example of “international human solidarity”.

Read the reports of 60 refugees died while trying to reach Europe

6 September 2012
Drowned trying to flee Assad the tyrant: Little girl among 58 dead refugees after boat sinks off the Turkish coast

* Dozens of people – including women and children – perished when fishing boat sunk
* Around 50 survivors managed to swim to shore – just yards away
* Many of those who died are believed to have been trapped below deck . Two suspected smugglers have been arrested by the Turkish authorities

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199182/Syrian-refugee-boat-horror-58-migrants-die-smugglers-vessel-sinks-Turkish-coast.html#ixzz29VN1N3m5

#58 TARA

The nth attempt of the FSA “unification”: Too little, too late.

Does Turkey fear that the Syrian refugees would ask for permanent asylum?

The urge of Turkey to stop the influx of the Syrian refugees and the insisting requests to the EU to bring some of the refugees to Europe reflect Erdogan’s fear that many of these refugees may never go back to Syria.

All refugees having members of their family among the rebels would feel threatened to go back until there is a regime change that is not appearing as imminent.
It may take years for the political situation in Syria to stabilize. In the meantime, these refugees will stay put, living and (working?) in Turkey and Jordan, adding financial burden to these countries.
Syria had the burden of a million Iraqis for years and it had no responsibility in the conflict. It’s time for Turkey to bear the consequences of their game of power and their interventionist foreign policy.

NATO packs it in; Turkey on the verge of a nervous breakdown
http://www.voltairenet.org/auteur29.html?lang=en
On October 8, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO) began maneuvers dubbed “Inviolable Fraternity” (“????????? ????????”). The scenario focuses on the deployment of a peace force in an imaginary country where international jihadists and terrorist organizations operate against a backdrop of ethnic and confessional divisions. The accredited diplomatic corps, which was invited to attend the exercises, listened attentively to the opening address of the deputy secretary general of the organization. (…)

Zoo@59

OMG! Did you see the picture of the diver carrying the body of the drowned little girl. Imagine how many lives would have been saved had Bashar resigned? How can his conscience tolerate all this.

The blessed month of Hajj has started in UK and Eid will be on the 26th.

I pray that I along with fellow muslims on SC have a beneficial and productive month, taking advantage of another opportunity to reform, seek nearness to God Almighty and gain much reward.

Be sure to keep each other, the entire ummah and in particular the suffering syrian people in our prayers.

The Syrian government and the opposition are ready to discuss the possibility of calling a ceasefire for the duration of the upcoming Moslem holiday of Kurban Bairam, Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Damascus on Tuesday. The idea had earlier been suggested by UN and Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.
The opposition is equally ready for a truce if the government does the same, the leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, Abdel Basset Seida, said later in the day.

Lakhdar Brahimi had asked the Iranian authorities to help mediate a ceasefire in Syria, and is now expected in Damascus to discuss the initiative.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_10_17/Syrian-govt-opposiiton-ready-to-cease-fire/

Zoo

Can you please reconsider your repeated statement in regard to Syria giving shelter to million Iraqi refugees. Syria benefitted much from the wealth those Iraqis brought with them. Many of the villas with breathtaking views in Zabadani, Bloudan, and Halaya were custom built by Iraqi refugees. The real state market in Damascus skyrocketed because of the “Iraqi refugees”. The wealth of these two set of refugees are incomparable. They pumped money into Syria rather than they shared in its resources.

BREAKING NEWS: ISRAEL GAZA ATTACK Five Israeli warplanes attack Gaza; no injuries reported yet

The pointless, cowardly, evil bastardry of Bashar Assad’s campaign against Syria and its people. One more example among tens of thousands.

Story: Video From Syria Alerts Activist To His Father’s Death

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162914029/video-from-syria-alerts-activist-to-his-fathers-death

SL

Thank you for posting the right link.

TARA

Don’t forget the massive influx of Iraqi refugees edged many Syrians into further poverty.

Their presence sharply pushed up the price of rents and they undercut the price of labor and available jobs.

And who benefited? Greedy Syrian landlords and ruthless employers.

They also congested Syrian schools and hospitals.

And they set up their own Shia neighborhoods that became virtually no go areas for Syrians.

But because of their culture and nature many ordinary Syrians were extremely tolerant of their presence and sympathetic to their situation.

Which is why the Iraqis are proving to be a people who should cringe at shame and have their reputation damned forever for the actions of their “leaders” in obeying Iran’s orders not to help desperate Syrians running for their lives.

Instead they have conspired with Bashar Assad against the Syrian people.

Please, I would also love to hear of any Iraqi expats – including Christians – who are doing anything to help Syrian refugees.

Christian Iraqis I have encountered speak Bashar Assad’s propaganda word for word.

Tara

As in any war, there are rich and poor refugees.
Nobody talks much about the rich refugees who settled in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, KSA and UAE. I am sure many rich ‘refugees’ are doing excellent business where they are. It would be a justified journalistic investigation but media prefer to concentrate on the poor ones.
Among the millions of Iraqis who flee to Syria, what proportion was rich? Most were poor and have been using free education and free medical services offered to them for years by Syria with no help from any country, to the point that despite the situation in Syria, most don’t want to go back to Iraq anymore.
With 100,000 refugees, Turkey is aleady in a state of hysteria.

http://www.timeturk.com/en/2012/10/10/syrian-businessmen-flee-with-their-money-to-egypt.html

Syrian businessmen flee with their money to Egypt
With the escalation of violence and no imminent resolution to the crisis, Syrian businessmen have started fleeing with their money and investing in other Arab countries, mainly the Gulf region and Egypt, the Anatolia News Agency reported.

Tara

“Imagine how many lives would have been saved had Bashar resigned? ”

Or had the EU evacuated them instead of leaving them at the mercy for greedy Turkish smugglers?

If Bashar had resigned, it would be have been much worse.

67
“Five Israeli warplanes attack Gaza; no injuries reported yet”
Some occupied people got all the luck,
They even got I phone 5 befor thier tech obsessed enemy does

New iPhones snapped up in Gaza despite high prices, poverty
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/new-iphones-snapped-up-in-gaza-despite-high-prices-poverty-1.470203

Erdogan shuns KSA in Syria talks?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-syria-crisis-turkey-iran-idUSBRE89F1AG20121016

Turkey’s Erdogan moots three-way regional talks on Syria

(Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had suggested to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad three-way talks including Egypt on the Syria crisis, given the apparent Saudi objection to Iranian involvement in a current quartet.

Syrialover 46,

Ok, now I had a chance to read your linked comment. First you should convince yourself that as I said I never saw that comment. It happened to be the last one under that post and the host of this site was flipping posts recently like burgers.

In principle, there is no argument. But that doesn’t change anything I said in 47. While it is true it can never be too early to think of rebuilding, however, we have different sets of priorities depending on where you happen to be. The priority, right now, in my opinion is for those doing the heavy lifting on the ground.

We are here on SC due to circumstance or what have you and that’s what we can discuss for the moment. SC, as I described repeatedly, is used as a venue for offloading propaganda and counter propaganda and that includes the host himself. Unless you’re well versed in this subject, and believe me no one is perfectly expert in it, some however know the principles while others don’t, you will suffer and feel frustrated. I am not going to presume that you have any level of expertise in this topic and for that reason, I brought you two links introducing the principles which I hope you will study carefully unless you feel you’re not in need,

http://mason.gmu.edu/~amcdonal/Rise%20of%20Modern%20Propaganda.html

http://www.psywarrior.com/Goebbels.html

Of course, there are more specialized sources for this art and depending on your interests you may want to pursue further. But for the time being, this should provide the basics.

TARA

You posted about the state of mind of Batta as you call him and Freddo as I call him. It it perfectly plausible that there is a detachment from reality as it constitutes a condition that is needed to continue to convince yourself of your world view.

The whole life of Freddo was one of absolute power with the premiss that this is due naturally. It is exactly similar to the thinking of Ghadaffi who famously said Libya is me and I am Libya when asked about the fact that the entire wealth of the nation was in his hands.

It is exactly similar to some on this blog that you converse with who posts that if “the president had resigned things would have been much worse”. This the state of mind that bespeaks of the entire structure of the country reisdes in the persona of the leader and not the other way around.

This is the result of 50 years of gutting the state institutions of their meaning and of creating a security structure for the sole purpose of keeping the clan in power and of subserving the economy and the wealth of the nation for a mafia enterprise.

Where on earth do you have a law that exempts the security services from prosecution while they exercise their powers?

Where on earth do we have a constitution that pre supposes that 50% of the seats are pre determined?

Where on earth do you have a state where the head of the executive is also the head of the supreme court and is the sole source of proposed legislation?

Power does weird things to your brain. Even to the last minute, both Hitler and Ghaddafi showed total disconnect from reality. Likewise Saddam had his generals tell him what he wanted to hear not the reality and they obliged to the point that he got completely trashed in 91 and in 03.

Hitler in his last days was ordering ghost armies in his delusions.

In the meantime, I think the regime blinked with regard to the cease fire. The opposition will not stop until they see a true cease fire. This is not the position of a weak foe.

Cheers.

The Shia-Sunni rift exposed in Egypt

In the new Egypt, a conflict as old as Islam

Bradley Hope
Oct 17, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/in-the-new-egypt-a-conflict-as-old-as-islam

CAIRO // The battle for freedom of religion in Egypt is usually portrayed as only a conflict between secularists and newly empowered Salafis keen to establish a Sunni Islamic state. Yet in recent months another, potentially volatile, conflict has erupted along a familiar fault line: ultraconservative Sunnis and Shiites.
Related

Comment Security service reforms will test Egypt’s uprising
? Salafists lose their way in Egypt’s complicated corridors of power

Topic

Africa
Mohammed Morsi
Egypt

During a debate broadcast on Dream TV in August, a zealous Salafist and a young convert to Shiism wrangled over the future of religious freedom in the Arab world’s most populous country.

Amr Abdullah, 24, defended the rights of Shiites to practise their religion, while Walid Ismail, 36, a Salafi businessman who has become one of the most vocal critics of Shiites, said Mr Abdullah was not a “real Muslim”. The show culminated with Mr Abdullah rushing from the set early to avoid what he said were threats of violence waiting for him outside the studio.

What came next was a sign of a growing rift between members of the Shiite minority who are seeking greater freedoms in post-Mubarak Egypt and Salafists and other Islamists who are pushing for a state based on Sharia.

Mr Abdullah’s image was posted on Facebook walls with superimposed messages calling for his arrest for insulting Islam. Then several posters appeared on walls near his home declaring his blood to be “halal” – a message he interpreted as an assurance that anyone who killed him would not be punished in the afterlife.

“The situation now for the Shia is very bad,” said Mr Abdullah, who converted to Shiism seven years ago. “For many years, Shia were able to live in Egypt without too much trouble. Now we are speaking up and some of the Sunni see us as a competitor over the core of religion in our country. They are opposing us completely.”

Currently, the struggle to ensure religious freedom for all Egyptians is focused on the writing of a new constitution. A draft of the new constitution is expected to be issued officially in the next several weeks, but Shiites are already expecting the worst, since more than half of the 100 members of the panel come from Islamist groups.

Early versions of the draft constitution indicate that religious freedoms will only be enshrined for Sunnis, Christians and Jews.

Hamas throws itself straight in the Moslem Brotherhood’s arms by relying on Egypt for its home and Qatar for its money

Hamas redefines itself after leaving Syria for new allies

Dalia Hatuqa
Oct 17, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/hamas-redefines-itself-after-leaving-syria-for-new-allies

Most of Hamas’s political leadership has moved to Egypt, however, following the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to the upper echelons of Cairo’s political establishment. Mr Meshaal has also strengthened ties with Doha, which through its Al Jazeera media and diplomatic channels has strongly supported Syrian rebels.
…
Whether a member of the old guard or the group’s new generation replaces the veteran Mr Meshaal, Hamas is beginning a new chapter that may redefine the movement.

Gulf nations face pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood

Arabic News Digest
Oct 16, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/gulf-nations-face-pressure-from-the-muslim-brotherhood

Gulf states must cooperate to face down the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan last week made a statement to the effect that Gulf states must cooperate to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood from plotting to undermine regional governments.

But does this Emirati wish, asked Kuwaiti writer Shamlan Youssef Al Essa in the UAE-based paper Al Ittihad, stand a chance of coming true? What is the nature of this prospective cooperation? And how can the influence of the Brotherhood be countered?

To be sure, the Muslim Brotherhood was given a push by the Arab Spring uprisings in several countries, notably Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait.

But the question is: what are the hurdles to the call from Sheikh Abdullah?

The security and intelligence cooperation is already on, but the source of the Brotherhood’s threat is unknown to the Gulf states, the writer remarked.

This organisation has a long experience in underground political activity that has spanned more than 80 years. Egypt’s intelligence, as powerful as it has been, could not prevent their rise to power, and their attempts to extend their reach to other Arab countries.

After foreign Sunni Islamist extremists came to fight in Syria, the Iraqi Shias are now coming too.

Iraqi Shi’ite militants fight for Syria’s Assad

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31471
16/10/2012

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Scores of Iraqi Shi’ite militants are fighting in Syria, often alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, and pledging loyalty to Iran’s supreme Shi’ite religious leader, according to militia fighters and politicians in Iraq.

Iraqi Shi’ite militia involvement in Syria’s conflict exposes how rapidly the crisis has spiralled into a proxy war between Assad’s main ally Shi’ite Iran and the Sunni Arab Gulf states supporting mostly Sunni rebels fighting the president.

The conflict has already drawn in a stream of Sunni Islamist fighters from across the region attracted to the rebel cause, while on the other side Syrian rebels accuse Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah of supporting Assad’s troops on the ground.

For Iraqi Shi’ites who follow Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the uprising in Syria threatens Shi’ite influence and Iraqis fighting there say they see a duty to help Assad because of their loyalty to the Islamic Republic’s highest authority.

Among them are defectors and former fighters from anti-U.S Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army, the Iran-backed Badr group and Asaib al-Haq and Kata’ib Hezbollah, militias who once waged a bloody war on American troops, Shi’ite militants and Iraqi politicians say.

A new phenomenon in the Gulf: The growing fear and suspicion toward the Moslem Brotherhood which is a banned movement in the UAE.

Is the GCC setting up a Moslem Brotherhood boycott?
Will it isolate Qatar? Will Egypt, like Hamas throw itself in the arms of Qatar and ignore KSA ?

Will this trigger KSA to review its policy toward Syria?

Tara
In my humble opinion, Turkey,not the GCC, is likely to accept a political solution to the crisis in Syria if the leaders in Ankara believe that rebels are not able to win the battle on the ground and if they continue to hear the same message from Washington. Turkey has too much to lose if the Syrian war gets bigger and bloodier while the GCC countries are largely immune from the destructive effects of this war. Turkey’s location,its relation with Iran and its Kurdish population will force it to take a more constructive role as long as the two above factors do not change(The US and the rebels limitations). Waiting on a Romney victory as a decisive factor is not good enough , what candidate Rmoney says may not be the same as what president Romney does,however, everybody is now willing to wait to see who wins the White House, I tend to believe that it will not matter much.
Look at this report:
“A 26-year-old man who was last week arrested at Heathrow airport on suspicion of terror offences has been charged with kidnap of a British journalist and a Dutch colleague in Syria. The Metropolitan police said Shajul Islam had been charged with imprisoning John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans against their will and would appear on Wednesday at Westminster magistrates court”.
The West may be OK with sending jihadists to die in Syria but they do not want them back and they do not trust them with lethal weapons, a stalemate is best for the pro Israel anti Iran camp as long as Israel and those darn chemical weapons are safe.
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It’s funny that everyone admits that they know that the money/weapons are going to AlQaeda salafists, yet everyone (including Mr. Landis and the State Dept.) just brushes that embarrassing little fact aside and they support the ‘revolution’. How does that work, really?

“No doubt it’s easier for Romney and the Republicans to talk about the death of an ambassador in a terrorist attack than to ask war-weary Americans to think about this. But it is Syria that is Obama’s greatest failure; it will haunt whomever occupies the Oval Office next year.”

Jackson Diehl argues Syria is Obama’s greatest failure:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-how-obama-bungled-the-syrian-revolution/2012/10/14/13c492d2-13b2-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html

See links for similar arguments at the end of the above article.

An latin teacher in England wrote this great song in support of the Syrian people…

http://dylanconnor.bandcamp.com/track/weary-world-a-song-for-syria

Most polls now put Romney 4 to 5 points ahead of Obama.

84 VAT

“But it is Syria that is Obama’s greatest failure.”

Wrong again. Syria is a train wreck, a black hole, a bottomless pit. Anyone who gets involved in Syria is a fool. Which is why anyone with BRAINS (the EU, Turkey, the USA, etc) is trying to stay out of. What is Obama supposed to do? Get all these lunatic Syrians around a table to discuss why they hate each other? It ain’t gonna happen.

I thank God my grandfather left Syria many moons ago and headed to the great state of Kansas never to return to that hell hole. Thank you, Grandpa…

*** FRIENDS OF SYRIA ***

87. Johannes de Silentiosaid:

GEEEEEEEEEEES that is bad, but not as bad as my 11 year old tell me: I will never forgive you for the rest of my life daddy, if you ever take me to Syria, or to any of those places where there are those people that looks like Egyptians, you know, they write Chinese (Arabic).

So why are you hanging around here for?
Your Grandpa must have talked to you about Syria enough that you don’t seem to get this “hell hole” out of your head.so it is more like your Grandpa left Syria but Syria did not leave him.
Anyhow Please give your Grandpa the Syrians thanks for leaving so we don’t have to deal with his off springs, God knows we have enough kokos as it is

89
Listen to your kid, he knows what he is talking about

83 silent bob said
“How does that work, really?”
About a year ago Hillary told the Syrian people not to listen to Bashar and throw thier wopens and keep fighting ,then she forgot to send any support
So the radical came in and offered thier support and the Syrians took it, refusing to get into the same trap of the 1992 Gorge Bush the father did to the Shia of southern iraq by asking to rebel and throw Sadaam then leaving them to get slaughtered like sheep.
So you can send the Syrian your support then we will stop accepting thiers

Dendeshe 89,

Did you not long ago think of moving over to Iskandaron which you said looks like LA?

I think you would have moved were not for your 11 years old.

Syria: Rebels losing support among civilians in Aleppo
As Aleppo continues to deteriorate, many residents are losing patience with an increasingly violent and unrecognizable opposition.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/121015/aleppo-syria-rebels-fsa-assad-support
http://www.globalpost.com/series/inside-syria

Most of the weapons being smuggled to the Syrian rebels from abroad, are bolstering the strength of Islamic extremists. That’s according to US officials, who say radical elements are poised to take over Syria, if Assad falls.
Extremism Export: US admits arms sent to Syria find jihadists

Three Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdish militants’ attacks
Kurdish militants attacked military outposts in southeast Turkey overnight, killing three Turkish soldiers, security sources said. Guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched the raids at Cukurca in Hakkari province, a mountainous area bordering Iraq and Iran, Reuters reported. The Turkish military were searching for the militants in the Turkey-Iraq border region.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-10-17/#id39111

Isolated, Turkey feels the pinch of its failed policy in Syria: Refugees costs skyrocketing, investors hesitating, tourists suspicious..

The Syria crisis has started damaging us

MEHMET AL? B?RAND
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-syria-crisis-has-started-damaging-us.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32578&NewsCatID=405

The longer the Syria crisis continues, the bigger the harm it causes in the region.

Ankara has used whatever pressure it could. It has changed gears and it has come to the forefront on the issue, but it has not been able to topple Bashar al-Assad. Given the present state of affairs, it is obvious that it would be difficult to topple him. Up until now, the burden of the Syrian crisis has been manageable, but this load has been increasing and becoming more and more serious in recent weeks.

Before going into the details, I have these important points for you:

The number of Syrian refugees has exceeded 100,000. One year ago, the figure 100,000 was seen as the limit of this matter. After 100,000, it was said that a buffer zone would come into effect. Today, this buffer zone looks as if it cannot be formed. The money spent has reached 400 million Turkish Liras and it will constantly increase. No aid is coming from the European Union or the United Nations.
…
Almost every day, questions are asked: “What is happening? Are you really going to war?”

Signs of doubt and concern are slowly appearing in investors. If it goes on like this then the risks will increase even more. Even though hints are not seen today, alarm bells will also start ringing in tourism if this war climate continues.

Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-syria-iran-iraq-and-russia.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32577&NewsCatID=425

…
Thus Russia may compromise on al-Assad at the end of the day, but it will not let anyone even consider the idea that Moscow would abandon Syria.
..Remember the very recent $5 billion arms deal signed in Moscow between Iraq’s Shiite prime minister and the Russian leadership. Moscow is not abandoning its long-time ally Syria but enhancing its sphere to Iraq, which has started drifting away from the Western camp (thanks to sectarian-oriented Turkish approaches as well).
Can a Shiite-dominated Iraq stay away and allow the fall of the Damascus regime and watch Syria join a Sunni coalition?

Turkey, unfortunately, has become part of a Sunni coalition (together with the Saudis and the Qataris). By providing financial assistance and arms this Sunni coalition and its Western supporters converted the Syrian uprising into a civil war. The danger is that this sectarian coalition might backfire at the end of the day and plunge Turkey and the region into sectarian war catastrophe.

In Damascus, government business as usual: A tender for a third mobile phone operator to be announced

Syrian Cabinet holds Weekly Meeting

http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=133096

The statement by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Qadri Jamil, focused on economic problems, stressing that the economic situation in some areas is stable.

For his part, Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Adib Mayaleh, presented a review of the bank’s reserves of foreign currency, the exchange rate of the Syrian Pound and the bank’s procedures to sell US Dollars and fund imports.

Mayaleh stressed that the bank’s reserves of foreign currencies fulfill local needs, denying rumors about that the bank stopped positive intervention in selling and purchasing the dollar.

The Cabinet asked the Ministry of Technology and Telecommunications to complete all that is needed to announce the third mobile phone operator tender in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Planning and International Cooperation Commission in two months.

Ceasefire: Syria government demands a unified opposition leadership that can guarantee and respect the ceasefire before accepting it.

The SNC shows willingness but it is irrelevant. What about the rebels leaders in Syria?

If Syrian Regime Abides with Ceasefire So Does SNC: SNC Leader
Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Syrian National Council (SNC) leader Abdulbasit Seyda said on Wednesday that if Syrian regime abides with the ceasefire called up by UN and Arab League Syrian Special Representative Al-Ahdar al-Ibrahimi, they will too.

Seyda told a group of journalists that it was possible to have a ceasefire if the regime accepts it, during his visit to Doha, Qatar’s capital.

PKK vow ‘reprisal’ if Turkey attacks Syrian Kurds

http://www.france24.c17 October 2012 – 12H23
om/en/20121017-pkk-vow-reprisal-turkey-attacks-syrian-kurds

AFP – Turkey’s Kurdish rebels will retaliate to any Turkish attacks on Kurds in war-torn Syria, the second in command of the outlawed PKK said in an interview published Wednesday.

“Turkey should stay out of this conflict and stop its scheming,” Murat Karayilan, who heads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the absence of its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, told Swiss daily Le Temps.

“The PKK feels solidarity with all Kurds and we will support the Syrian Kurds. If the Turkish army attacks them… we will carry out very violent reprisals on Turkish territory,” said Karayilan, who was interviewed in a PKK sanctuary in Iraqi Kurdistan mountains near the Iranian border.

Good morning Syria.
Another one bite the dust,.
???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ????.
YouTube:http://youtu.be/n6ROT9zIJ9s

Egypt is setting an excellent example for true democratic rule in the region,

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/16/244118.html

—————————

Syrain 102

Good morning indeed.

Are you and the other poster under moniker Syrian the same?

Zoo

How would cease fire help the revolution? I think the FSA should not accept it unless it needs the time to supply ..

Gulf Arabs trying to get out of cave age are forcingly getting back to it thanks to the MB
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/teacher-referred-prosecution-cutting-hair-unveiled-pupils-0
“Allah ma yisib had”

White House Covering Up Fast and Furious Program in Syria Aiding Al Qaeda

Turkey spineless to start new war
17.10.2012
http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/conflicts/17-10-2012/122480-turkey_war-0/

Saudi Arabia and Qatar after the failed pan-Arab campaign against Syria seem to have found the country ready to get into a fight – Turkey. Erdogan urged his people to prepare for war because the parliament gave him a permission to do so. For Russia, this is the worst case scenario.

Saudi Wahhabi monarchies have become independent players in the Middle East. They have both the necessary influence and money. Their co-religionists in Turkey (incidentally, all leaders of the country came from the “Brotherhood”), too, strive for global leadership. Interestingly, the ill-fated Syrian shell landed on the Turkish soil on October 3, the day after Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi voiced his determination not to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria. The call of the Emir of Qatar for punitive action under the auspices of the Arab League made at the UN General Assembly found no supporters, and then the Turkish card was played. On October 4, the Turkish Parliament gave the green light for military operations outside its borders. On Sunday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his people to be ready for war with its neighbor. “You have to be ready at any time to go to war, if necessary. If you are not ready for this, you are not a state, if you are not ready for this, you are not a nation,” said Erdogan……

The battle for the future control of Syria is at the heart of this enormous geopolitical war and tug of war. Its resolution will have enormous consequences for either world peace or endless war and conflict and slaughter. NATO member Turkey is playing with fire as is Qatar’s Emir, along with Israel’s Netanyahu and NATO members France and USA. Natural gas is the flammable ingredient that is fueling this insane scramble for energy in the region.
http://www.oneworldchronicle.com/?p=6651

a fair punishment is cutting the teacher’s hair:
???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ???? ????????? ??????.
????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ???????.
??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????????? (????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????) ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ???????.

smell of syrian gas excites appetite
F. William Engdahl

Heat-Seeking Missiles in Syria: The SA-7 in Action with Rebels
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/heat-seeking-missiles-in-syria-the-sa-7-in-action-with-rebels/?ref=world

Breaking news
A suspicious looking bearded man in the far southwest corner of Egypt at the triangle of Sudan Egypt and Chad had farted in public, stay tuned for the pundits analysis about how is that will affect the Syrian revelution and the situation on the ground

???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ???? ????????? ??????.

__________________________________________________________________

I will just shoot here for doing that, no need for this garbage in Syria. Bashar Assad lacks creativity. Give the Islamist a chunk of useless desert land on Jordan border and let them have self rule man. Just dump them all in there and watch what will happen for a rat experiment. It easier for the army to just surround that chunk of land and hermetically seal it just as Israeli did in Gaza and West bank. You give them a piece of land to call Islamic Caliphate Emirates and you save Syria in a whole. It is a hell better compromise for the nation.

What is going to happen next? We know that in great details. First, they will fight among each other and ends up splitting the chunk of land into 4-8 different emirates, then some will follow a Taliban style rule on that 3 acres state, others will, like Jordan, seek peace with Israel, and others will turn into a fake Islamic State, you know, like Kuwait and UAE, where booze is served in tea pots and whores are cheaper and prettier than Las Vegas comes to your room service dressed in burqa, the usual Islamic State of Arabia.

What does Syria have to loose from this, nothing. We get all the Islamist genocidal murderers, rapist, jewelry thieves, Artifact robbers, and body part multi level marketers, the typical Israeli businessmen basically, all separated from the conflict and made kings and Emirs. Syria can use their master criminal mind to get into Israeli and world market in couple of years, it is a savior plan, then the fight will be between real Syrians and you Baathist Assad, because we know you will not change and not give in one iota unless you are forced to in the end, but real Syrians are civilized so I am sure we can find a quick amicable solution.

You know, it just maybe a great idea, have courage to try it, in 3 years, we will have our Syrian Disneyland and sand parks for people to step in and see a real wild, wild, wild East.

103. Visitor said:

“Syrain 102

Good morning indeed.

Are you and the other poster under moniker Syrian the same?”
No,nor did I get the honor of reading his posts, though I hope he was an OK guy in here or anywhere else for that matter

Tara

The FSA and its terrorist allies have a clear this choice: a ceasefire or cease to exist.

I think they are debating it as they are loosing more members on a daily basis as defections have stopped and despite the arrival of jihadists, their number is dwingling.
They are not for a revolution anymore, they are after taking power and installing by force an islamist regime and that will not happen.

Syria rebels agree leadership plan to be announced this month…

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1017/breaking7.html

Syria’s divided rebels have agreed to set up a joint leadership to oversee their battle to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, two insurgent sources said as fighting raged in cities across the country.

Rebels hope the decision, taken after increasing pressure from foreign supporters on them to unite, will help convince those backers they are a credible and co-ordinated fighting force which deserves to be supplied with more powerful weapons.

“The agreement has been reached, they only need to sign it now,” one rebel source said. Foreign supporters “are telling us: ‘Sort yourselves out and unite, we need a clear and credible side to provide it with quality weapons’.”

He said Qatar and Turkey were the main drivers behind the agreement, which might be formally announced this month.

The Syrian National Council has set November 4th as the date for an opposition unity conference in Qatar, organisers said.

And don’t worry Bashar, they will never become independent State, only three Embassy will be raising false flags there, ALCIDA, MOSSAD and MI6 and possibly the wet towel holders for them Turkey, Qatar, Egypt.

Part of the Funeral of Hero Martyr Staff Brigadier Salim Attieh – Tartous Syria

?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?????

Egypt’s Islamist revival most evident at the grass roots

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypts-islamist-revival-most-evident-at-the-grass-roots/2012/10/16/064652b0-158f-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story_1.html

…
“The people want Islam, and they want it seriously,” he said.

Just recently, he said, his neighbors begged him to enforce Islamic law by severing the hand of a local thief. He turned the thief over to the police instead, but he said the societal change they were calling for is inevitable.

Policemen have begun to grow beards, and soldiers are now allowed to pray during their training, he said. He dismissed Egypt’s new constitution as inconsequential.

“We tried democracy. We tried terrorism. We tried everything,” he said. “Nothing will stop the people from putting Islam” into practice.

113. Al.

Your Analyses of the Egyptian situation and tying it to the situation in Syria is kind of valid, but to not waste time and energy we have to look through the history of Syria ,so if we look at your idea closely we can find that it was tried before with similar characteristic people you described in your post, but it did not work , even they were given a better deal than yours,

I”m talking here about the Alawaits , they were given the best part of Syria with a front beach property, but they rather come and live in the worst part of Damascus neighborhoods, like Mazeh 86 and 3esh Alwarar, than living in the picturesque lattakia and the Syrian Riviera, and fight for them

if you have a different idea will be much appreciated

“I think they are debating it as they are loosing more members on a daily basis as defections have stopped and despite the arrival of jihadists, their number is dwingling ”

Taken from Zoo the psychopathic worshiper of the duck god !

I am really impressed by this idiot!

I mean what planet are you on ?! Do you know how many Syrians are itching to fight the regime ? The idiotic nature of your god has given the FSA enough recruits to last a life time.

Also, to scare you a bit more, I will put my money on it that the numbers are such that they outnumber your Assadist, sectarian cult now.

You are relying on a subsection of a small minority in Syria. We are relying on country and it’s people. Zoo, you are not a Syrian, you are a psychopath and God willing we will capture your ilk and give them the just trial that they deserve.

If your “army” had the numbers that you dream of you would have liberated Aleppo and it’s choke points a long time ago! I mean how long will it take you to take Khaldiya in Homs. That is the bleeding area where a lot of your vermin are concentrated!

A sniper in northern Latakia reef killed a young soldier from Al-jurdi family, he was brought to a hospital in Latakia where they found half a loaf of bread under his jacket. This is Syria today, most victims from both sides are poor and disadvantaged families, the rich have left or in hiding,do not expect the poor to be in a position of power regardless of who resides in Al-Muhajireen palace, one thing for sure, people with money will not send their kids to die in this senseless war,they will wait until the war is over then return to the scene as heros who want to become leaders.

Iranian people suffer economically under Mullahstan while mullahs enjoy economic privilages, legalizing muta’a practice first for their mullah class as khomeini instructed and then for mullah slave-goons.

Some Iranians have reached alarming subsistance levels and are finding it impossible to make ends meet. One such young woman asked a policeman who tried to prevent her from working as street vendor of cheap items if she should sell her body instead to make ends meet!!!

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/87fba10f-2117-4897-8c31-9ca5bbae6436?GoogleStatID=9

108. Citizen

“The battle for the future control of Syria will have enormous consequences for either world peace or endless war and conflict and slaughter.”

No it won’t. They’ll just build a fence around Syria and let the idiots inside slaughter each other until there’s a LAST MAN STANDING. And while it’s going on, everyone outside the fence will go on about their business.

Earth-shaking explosion in Damascus suburb. Unknown number of criminal thugs, members of so-called republican guards, or more correctly republican disgrace, killed.

Ghufran

“… he was brought to a hospital in Latakia where they found half a loaf of bread under his jacket….”

Ghufran, this is very sad! My heart goes out to all those mothers from both sides.

Libya Singles Out Islamist as a Commander in Consulate Attack, Libyans Say
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK 16 minutes ago
The man, Ahmed Abu Khattala, is a leader of the Benghazi-based Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia and is still at large.
” first you help ’em then they kill you”

123. Ghufransaid:
124. Visitorsaid:
125. Johannes de Silentiosaid:

Thumb up for 3 good comments.

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?????: “?? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????”.
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Remember “EYES ONLY” is the only method used for communication about important matters by all SNP members for internal, as well as, for communicating with others regarding matters of interests to the parties involved. The messages are delivered by a hermetically sealed loop of background worthy couriers in trusted countries only. EYES ONLY, means the message can only be unsealed by the intended recipient/addressee and read by eyes only. It cannot be copied, scanned, stored, reproduced, transmitted by any mean including encrypted means, it may not be shared with any other party other than sender and recipient addressee. The decision maker, must make final decision on his own, should advise be needed, the recipient may not divulge the information to an advisers that is not within the “sealed loop of background worthy couriers or persons”. The recipient may request additional advice or information by sending back an “Eyes-only” communication within the trusted loop only. Should couriers not be available, SNP encryptions means and SNP codes ONLY can be used in photo images and texts in a manner that will not reveal in any way the “Eyes Only Content”.

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

Watch the video.  It is an eye candy.  Imagine how many lives saved by bringing it down.

France claims rebels are forcing Syrian jets to higher altitudes
Syrian rebels have acquired heavy weapons that have forced the government’s air force to bomb indiscriminately from high altitudes, according to France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

Reuters reported Fabius made his comments ahead of a closed door conference in Paris with civilian members of rebel councils that run areas seized from central government control.

They included representatives from Maarat al-Numan, a town whose seizure last week cut the main route from Damascus to Aleppo.

Reuters quoted Fabius as saying:

In a certain number of these zones, Bashar al-Assad is bombarding them with MiG fighter jets, and what is particularly horrible is that he is bombarding them with TNT. But at the same time there are now weapons that are forcing the planes to fly extremely high, and so the strikes are less accurate.

His comments came as activists posted videos of what they said was a Syrian military helicopter spiralling to the ground and exploding in flames.

The video is said to have been filmed in Maarat al-Numan where rebel fighter told the Guardian a helicopter had been shot down 

On Tuesday the New York Times highlighted video evidence suggesting rebels are using heat-seeking missiles to target Syrian aircraft.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/oct/17/syria-crisis-ceasefire-attempt-live#block-507eac3758f91d7bbadac7a5

Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ???

YouTube:http://youtu.be/QBGe2HuLMVY

??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?????

Israeli,Zionists and Jewish immigrant kids are cheering the dismantlement of syria.

134 warren
Iraq comment page is at the end of the hall next to the bathroom
across from Egypt comments room

136. Salafi

Just providing examples of Sunni barbarism, whether it be in Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Mali, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and of course Syria too. Sunnis have a tendency of murdering people who don’t share their belief system.

Nothing personal, just an observation.

The more you “flag” the weaker and faster to the end you will get. It is a 2 tracks game plan you run, the more you push one, the more you tighten the rope on yourself with the 2nd rope.

137.Born Again
well, now that you explained what is your comment about, it makes a diffrence, you just posted a video without your valued comment witch make the reader think diffrent things,
I thought you are talking about Bagadad’s mayor
but now that you showed your true intention,I understand your thoughts better.
so now I tell you your new comment is not worth replying to, your type comes a dime a dozen
nothing personal, just a fact

Al Qaeda linked to Assyrian church attack in Baghdad – 31/10/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktuuEAqam0w

Iraqi Christians Mourn After Church Attack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsEEhDQ3i2U

Hostage at the Church Attack – Iraq Part 1 [with subs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrrqFFT2Po4

__________________________________________________________________

People on here have the temerity to ask why Christians do not support the Sunni insurgency? The obvious reason is because their lives are better under Al Assad’s secular dictatorship, than under an Ikhwan/Salafi dominated “democracy”. Look at Egypt, the Christians took part in the revolution and helped topple Mubarak. And what do Copts get in return? More persecution and discrimination!

Sunni National Council and the Fundamentalist Sunni Army’s assurances are worthless, because Sunnis have an abominable recent track record of murdering and oppressing anyone who differs from themselves.

The West knows this hence, their reluctance to support the SNC/FSA more; the West wants to remove Al Assad but keep the regime structure in place to counter any fundamentalist threat from emerging in Syria and threatening the West.

140

/??? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????…??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ? ?? ???? ????? ? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ? ???? ???? ??????…???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ? ?????? ? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ? ?????

http://www.hashashji.com/2011/07/05/%d8%b4%d9%88-%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%ad%d8%a8%d8%a9%d8%9f/

Saudi Arabia will grant visas to Syrians wishing to perform the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, set to begin next week, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon said on Wednesday.
__________________________________________________________________

I need to piss really bad, been holding it for few months now, need to stone the Najd Dajjal devil and piss on him in Mecca like all hajji’s who spends life saving on this trip, can I have visa to Arabia too. I was told there are 9000 Jews desguised as Moslems ruling the Moslem country of 20 million beggers. I found out that those 9000 Jews are rich beyond imaginaton, but greedy even beyound that, so every year,they steal the Moslem Haaji money with Disneyhajj, while 1.4 billion Moslems lives in utter povetry, even few some millions dies of hungers in Africa. Should I call Moslems or Islam a F*****TH

????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?????
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=cd5274c2fb05cd5b3efcaf5fd59461e1&ar=860955807

? Syrian Commando ? ?@syriancommando 1h
Reports indicate #Syria may have launched a preemptive strike on #Turkey, if true, we are on the road to victory!

https://twitter.com/syriancommando/status/258669270186209280

Hope it’s not true.

113 etc
Egyptians want to try what the Wahhabis call Islam? The Afghans have tried it. Why can’t Qardawi and aljazeera make programmes about attacks on women and girls and is no one to condemn these insults to religion?
http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/article/2012/10/17/une-jeune-afghane-decapitee-pour-avoir-refuse-de-se-prostituer_1776905_3216.html

The Saudis are famous for having veiled all the women of Indonesia and Malaysia in exchange of a few millions dollars and hundreds of mosques and schools. Does it mean they are muslim?

Another question: with all these cases in Afghanistan of women killed in attempts to be forced into prostitution, how come it seems to be the only way there for a family to expect having an income? Aren’t war and Saudi money supposed to bring peace and prosperity?

Facts and lies about Turkey vs. Syria

For Turkey, this was always going to be a difficult game of manipulation on a global scale. Unsurprisingly, it is getting harder and harder by the day.

It was even enormously problematic in the start. How would Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an convince Turkish and world public opinion that he had nothing but humanitarian concern in pushing for war with Syria when he had befriended the Butcher of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, helped the American invasion of Iraq in which more than one million Muslims were killed, and carefully avoided uttering one single word on the brutal oppression of pro-democracy Shia masses in Bahrain?

Recently, Erdo?an claimed that “tens of hundreds of people are being killed every day in Syria.” Mathematically speaking, that makes at least a thousand deaths on a daily basis, or at least 30,000 in one month, or at least 360,000 in a year. If the prime minister is so keen to condemn such a large death toll he can always read a recent history of Sudan or Iraq.

More recently, Erdo?an claimed that “ammunition and arms equipment” were found in the cargo on board the Syrian passenger aircraft that Turkish fighter jets intercepted last week. In all probability the confiscated cargo looks like it was only carrying radar equipment, unless of course the Turkish authorities “mistakenly added” a few items to it. That would be a dangerous move, though, since it might expose several Turkish Airlines planes flying over, say, Russian or Iranian airspace, to the risk of being grounded. It would not be too surprising if Russian and Iranian security officials made a habit of “finding” ammunition and military equipment bound to reach al-Qaeda.

Suppose the equipment found on the Syrian aircraft is genuinely “military,” but then, where is the ammunition the prime minister claimed had been found aboard?

http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/10/17/244220.html

Our local failed strategist and psychic has changed again his nickname to become a psychiatrist and he spills his venom out of his deep frustration.
From the rantings he writes, one wonders why he is still here and not fighting with his buddies from Al Qaeeda or sending some money to pay for the funerals of suicide bombers.

Man charged with kidnap of British journalist in Syria

Shajul Islam charged with imprisoning John Cantlie and a Dutch colleague in the north of the country in July

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/16/charged-kidnap-british-journalist-syria

Istanbuls and bears

Turkey has one of the world’s zippiest economies, but it is too reliant on hot money

http://www.economist.com/node/21552216

Turkey’s deficit measured in dollars is second only to America’s.

More worrying still is that much of the foreign capital that finances Turkey’s current-account deficit is of the flighty sort (flows into banks or purchases of stocks or bonds), which can leave again quickly.

Russia to target Turkey with anti-aircraft missiles

Russia has begun installing a new state-of-the-art anti-aircraft weapon system in its southern military region with an eye toward targeting Turkey in response to a NATO missile defense shield outpost that was recently established in East Anatolia, daily Hürriyet reported.

The installation will be completed by the end of this year, said Russian Col. Igor Gorbul, adding that the S-400 anti-aircraft missiles were capable of destroying all types of airplanes, as well as ultra-stratospheric and ballistic missiles.

Turkish-Russian tensions rose last week after Ankara forced down a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus on suspicions that it was carrying weapons, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov moved to defuse tensions by saying the country’s bilateral relationship would not be damaged by the incident.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russia-to-target-turkey-with-anti-aircraft-missiles-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=32621&NewsCatID=338

Syrain 141,

??? ?????? ??? ??????

This guy @140 you do not talk to him like this.

You just tell him kiss my a**.

That is all he understands

“the best exit strategy for Turkey is to hope for the creation of a negotiation table in Syria.”

Syria and Turkey’s exit strategy

Wednesday,October 17 2012, Your time is 6:34:44 PM
N?HAT AL? ÖZCAN
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-and-turkeys-exit-strategy-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32652&NewsCatID=419

….War will go on, mainly because the armed opposition in Syria does not have military or ideological unity. Behind this lack of unity lie the different interests of the many allies supporting the opposition.
Although there are sufficient political and psychological reasons for the opposition in Syria to rise against the regime, the armed opposition in Syria is not the result of “internal dynamics” or “natural conditions.” Hence, it was impossible to eliminate the divergent opinions at the beginning leading to military and ideological division.
Diversity of ideas, an indispensable element of democracies, can have deadly consequences for an armed opposition movement. Today, the armed opposition in Syria is multifaceted, decentralized and ultimately unreliable.
It won’t be wrong to say that this ailing structure will contaminate the domestic and foreign affairs of Syria for a long time to come.
..In the light of the increasing tension with Syria, the bigger international picture, domestic political debates, the increasing number of refugees, and the capacities of the Syrian armed opposition, the best exit strategy for Turkey is to hope for the creation of a negotiation table in Syria.

Visitor, you are right but you should always follow it or precede it with your usual prayers in bold…

Syria Ghalioun Bouran finances armed group
Malbrunot October 15, 2012

http://blog.lefigaro.fr/malbrunot/2012/10/syrie-bouran-ghalioun-finance.html

Amazement among experts who follow the Syrian file: Bouran Ghalioun, the former academic at the Sorbonne and once a fierce opponent of the militarization of the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has finally established its own armed group in its hometown of Homs (al-Haq, truth), while remaining himself back in his base in Turkey.

IRRITATED 153,

Long time none see. Where have you been?

I’ll do one especially for you. Fear none!!

I need extra time typing and formatting. That is why I do not do it when I’m busy

#156

I thought it comes naturally to your fingers.
Just passing by, don’t bother.

Irritated,

Did you try my recommended drink?

151 visitor:
I will not give him that honor, I think it is better to show his hypocrisy

Turkish military should have had enough with Islamists and Erdogan by now, the silliness of this backwards is overdone and overdue now, it is time to lock’em all up, wipe any trace of their existence off, clear up the filth they created in Turkey and Syria out and resurrect ATATURK, he was a great man.

A week after that done, and it is a cake walk for real men, withdraw from NATO, kick the Israeli and NATO missionaries out and invite Putin and his Generals to draw up a new Military Alliance and Defense Treaty with Russia. Syria, Iran and Iraq are good tie in as well. This will make Turkey a regional power that is respected, not one that brought humiliation to every Turkmen. If that don’t happen soon, the end result is going to be the partition of Turkey and loss of land to many factions, the creation of an independent State in Istanbul (European Turkey) that may go toward NATO. Turkish Kurdistan will be a huge area. In the end Russia will have road and rail access to the Medatranian Sea and when Jordan is busted out, all the way down to Aqaba on the Red Sea is open on one end, all the way, through Iran, to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on the other. That far can be the reach of Russia rail, road and pipelines. So Putin, if you cannot do it, you do have friends that can do, you need new allies and new vision for Russia. Turkish military needs new partners that are far more of interest to Turkey needs than NATO can provide. After all, it has been a decade since Turkey been begging on its knees for European membership and humiliate turned down. Turkish military needs to free its officer corp out of that Devil loser Erdogan (what a F*****ng loser) Jails and head north to Moscow. Better do it today, than tomorrow.

By the way, Putin you should double Russia resource value as well. I don’t know how, would taking out of Saudi oil installation and cutting off 8 mil barrel daily help oil prices? I am not an expert, but Putin need to raise up the military expenditure budget, and decrees others adversarial ones, that may be an idea to contemplate.

Syria conflict: UN’s Pinheiro gives jihadist warning

A UN commission on human rights abuses in Syria has warned of the increasing risk of foreign Islamist militants radicalising the conflict.

Lead investigator Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the presence of hundreds of “radical Islamists or jihadists” was particularly dangerous.

There have been increasing reports of foreign fighters entering Syria.

A man is due in court in London on Wednesday accused of kidnapping a British photographer in Syria in July.

Shajul Islam, 26, faces charges of imprisoning John Cantlie and Dutch journalist Jeroen Oerlemans against their will for nine days.

He was detained after arriving at Heathrow Airport last week on a flight from Egypt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19972456

Pope to send delegation to Syria in supporting Christians caught in crisis

Pope Benedict XVI is sending a delegation to Syria to express solidarity with people caught up in the conflict.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the visit to Damascus would be an expression of “spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters”.

The visit will also be used to encourage “all those involved in seeking an agreement respectful of the rights and duties of all with particular attention to the demands of humanitarian law”.

Christians could not “be mere spectators of a tragedy such as the one that is unfolding in Syria”, said Cardinal Bertone.

The delegation is planning to make the visit next week. Members will include Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya, and the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

“In the certainty that the only possible solution to the crisis is a political solution, and bearing in mind the immense suffering of the population, the fate of displaced persons, and the future of that nation, it has been suggested that our synodal assembly express its solidarity,” Cardinal Bertone said.

He added: “In the meantime time we pray that reason and compassion might prevail.”

http://au.christiantoday.com/article/pope-to-send-delegation-to-syria-in-supporting-christians-caught-in-crisis/14264.htm

Syria: Rebels losing support among civilians in Aleppo

The rebels in Aleppo are predominantly from the countryside, further alienating them from the urban crowd that once lived here peacefully, in relative economic comfort and with little interference from the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad.

“The terrorism here in Syria is spreading, and the government has to do something about it,” said Mohamed Kabal, a 21-year-old university student.

“The people in Syria must have an iron hand to rule them, otherwise we will eat each other,” he said, unconcerned that the rebel sympathizers nearby might hear him. “If the government is gone we will have a civil war that will never end.”

http://www.minnpost.com/global-post/2012/10/syria-rebels-losing-support-among-civilians-aleppo

Fighters linked to al-Qaeda join rebels in bid to take over Syrian air defence base in Aleppo

A group of fighters with links to al-Qaeda joined the ranks of Syrian rebels as they seized a government missile defense base near the northern city of Aleppo.

Activists report that battles began around 9pm last night and continued until early this morning.

This heightens fears that extremist jihad soldiers are are taking advantage of the chaos among the rebels to acquire advanced weapons.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2216841/Fighters-linked-al-Qaeda-join-rebels-bid-Syrian-air-defence-base-Aleppo.html#ixzz29bYTxQ7X
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

???? ??? ????? ???? “????? ??????”? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ???????? “?????? ???? ???? ????” ? ????? ?????? ???? ???? “???? ????? ?????”!?

http://www.syriatruth.org/news/tabid/93/Article/8437/Default.aspx

__________________________________________________________________

???? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????????? ??????

????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????:

????? : ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ???????

???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? .

????? ???? ?????? ???????? : ????? ?? ?????

?????? ????? ????? ?? ???? .

??? ???? ?????? ??????

???? ???? ???? ?????????

???? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???????

????? ?????? ??????..

??? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ????.

????????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?? ?????.
????? ?????
???? ????

?????? ???? ????????? ????????
?? 29 ????? 1433
19 ????? 2012
???? ????? ???? ?????????

???? ????????
???? ????

Long Live Bashar Assad. The eternal President of Syria.

Exterminate them…

The name of Muhammad Fares is circulated as a potential chief for a new unified rebel force:
??? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ????.
??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?????.
The reason why he may win the job is that rebels leaders can not agree on who should be given that “honor” since rebels now see themselves as the official chicken farm that will produce the new chiefs in the new army in a new Syria (3 news in one).

http://www.redressonline.com/2012/10/syria-state-brutality-and-human-agony/

Syria: state brutality and human agony

“Don’t steal the smile from children’s lip,” reads the slogan on the regime’s leaflets dropped from helicopters over villages in Jabal al-Zawiya. Hollow propaganda! The people know well the murderous reality of the brutal Assad regime
….,

@SYRIAN and other Ignorant like him.

First:
Assad is sending all the obsolete hardware he has to fight the enemies of Syria. He got a lot of it, so send in few more million MB please. The Middle East needs a major cleanup job. Bashar, will be thanked in the end by world leaders, specially western ones.

Second:
Russia more than happy to replace all with the newest version. Just after it happen in 4 wars Syrian waged in the past against humanity enemies.

Third:
Oil prices will go up to bankrupt world economy while Iran’s oil export will double in value to pay for all the new Russian weapons sent to Syria.

Fourth:
New Syrian National Army (which ALCIADA Stole the name) have no need for more of the obsolete crap being lost now. We are talking laser, high energy weapon, incredible 8th generation missiles, and of course the old fashion DDT sprayers needed to deal with the infestation we have in the region, these are Syria future weapon systems, we are not Jordan, Qatar or Egypt, the Zionist wet towels holders

Fifth:
So what are you happy about, that Qatari will send you more cash to keep getting rich, they will not when their first GAS storage goes BOOM in a war man, and here goes QATAR in one blast. You dumb f***k Alciada trained moron.

IRRITATED 151,

You’re just on time for the good news. Before you disappear, this one is for you and fully formatted and at the beginning and at the end.

All Praise be to Allah the One, Allah the Eternal, neither does He beget, nor is He begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Our most heroic Free Syrian Army of the glorious revolution just received in the last 2 days 100 Stinger missiles, American made from non-American source.

All Praise be to Allah the One, Allah the Eternal, neither does He beget, nor is He begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Visitor

It seems you have won the hearts, souls and minds of most Syrians on this Blog.
Keep the good work: The Caliphate is coming and you’ll be rewarded…

Facts and lies about Turkey vs. Syria

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/facts-and-lies-about-turkey-vs-syria.aspx?pageID=449&nID=32581&NewsCatID=398

For Turkey, this was always going to be a difficult game of manipulation on a global scale. Unsurprisingly, it is getting harder and harder by the day.
…
Suppose the equipment found on the Syrian aircraft is genuinely “military,” but then, where is the ammunition the prime minister claimed had been found aboard?

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu keeps on saying that “[on Syria] Turkey has acted in line with the international community,” without specifying who the “international community” really is. We understand that nearly 3.5 billion Russians, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Brazilians don’t count as the “international community.”

….
The foreign minister’s oft-repeated rhetoric that Turkey “sides with the Syrian people” is equally unconvincing. Who, really, are the Syrian people? The 30,000 killed by the al-Assad regime plus the 250,000 who have fled the regime’s atrocities? Who, then, are the 21,720,000 people who don’t fight or have not fled? Are they Martians disguised as Syrians? And why do millions of Syrians choose not to join the “Syrian people?”

Syrian Rebels Get Missiles

Fears Rise That Portable Antiaircraft Weapons Could Wind Up With Terrorists

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578062842929673074.html

ANTAKYA, Turkey—Some Syrian rebel factions have obtained advanced portable antiaircraft weapons, according to rebels and regional officials, a development that could alter the Syrian war’s trajectory and fan U.S. concerns that such weapons could end up in the hands of anti-Western Islamist militias.

Video footage uploaded to the Internet earlier this week appears to show rebels in Aleppo using weapons that military experts and rebels say are heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles, the first documented instance in the conflict. Versions of the weapons—also known as man-portable air defense systems, or Manpads—have been smuggled into the country over the past two months through …

170 Al.
It look like it is happy hour where you are and the drinks are half price.
1st thanks for the loughs a perfect end to a perfect day for Syrians
Now you guys don’t read history ,the west for their own reasons have said Bashar has to go,In the last 50 years when did the east has ever won a battle against the west, other than Vietnam witch eventually came around back to the western side.never
True the west are taking their sweet time but the verdict is out Bashar is done ,I can smell his skin burning and Russia only wants the right price for his head.
Iran soon will be starving and it is people waiting on lines for bread and butter, and I’m praying to god they go on and shoot at any oil field or close the Arabic gulf. Because then even china will join and attack them for toying with the blood of the industrial wold. Their empty threat is just for domestic consumption and naive people like your self
they will make a deal also and no one can help your buddy after that ……:

@SYRIAN.
SNP WILL EXTERMINATE THE ENEMIES OF HUMANITY DOMESTIC AND R*EPTI*LIA*N. WE KNOW THE IN AND OUT OF THE TUBES.

176
All power to you, don’t forget to call the mother ship

“It argued that western reluctance to arm the opposition was encouraging rebels to turn to the jihadi rhetoric favoured by private Gulf donors.”

This argument is parroted over and over, but doesn’t hold water.

The Libyan insurgents got all the Western help they wanted, yet they turned Salafist anyway. Does anyone expect the ones in Syria to behave differently?

Listen to the end and search for more:

It has arrived to Damascus slowly but inexorably

Here it is

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/world/middleeast/syrian-war-reaches-damascus.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=world

I leave it as is no other comments.

Dear Visitor, I have a burning question to ask and I have been reluctant ask for sometime. I believe you are a scientific-technical person, and I am interested in your interpretation of Sura 18 verse 86 in Allah’s book?

????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????.
????? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? 20 ??????/????? ????? 2011. ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????.
??? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ????? “??? ???????.. ?????? ???? ?? ???” ??? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????.
????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??????.
Libya is now being pressured to form a unit monitored and trained by the US to fight Islamists , drones are already in Libya, Obama is likely to do something in Libya before November 6th. This is not unique to Libya,it applies to Syria and all other countries with Talibani fighters using Islam to justify murder and human rights abuse, people should not have to choose between dictaroships and Islamist terrorism, neither of which can not produce functioning states.

Dear Darryl 181,

You always pop up at the same time – my bedtime. But, I will still bear with you for few moments and attempt to satisfy your inquiry. So, please refer to this link and read it in full,

http://www.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?idfrom=3501&idto=3501&bk_no=132&ID=1505

I do not attempt to interpret the Holy Qura’n on my own, because I am not a scholar in the field of interpretation. So we have to always resort to known interpreters of indisputable credentials

Now, as for the other part of your question, which I believe is the crux of your inquiry, I can extrapolate from the verse you quoted, and the above interpretation, to point you out to an original man of science who is considered one of the greatest scientific minds in history and who is a Muslim. Find him here,

http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A

The verse in question actually has a great impact on many of this man’s achievement. As you can see, it was him who first proposed the concept of gravity and not Sir Isaac Newton. Of course, Newton formulated the mathematics for it. But without the concept, the mathematics would never come into existence. Lest, you jump in and say Aristotle had something to do with it, I assure you that Aristotle on this subject in particular was dead WRONG, as he (Aristotle) only postulated that objects have tendencies to fall down – a mere observation. In other words the action of falling according to Aristotle is inherent to the falling object only. He never postulated that earth or material masses in general have the inherent property to attract. And of course, Sir Newton obtained this original concept of al-Bayrouni through the frantic translations into Latin from Arabic books of science from my ancestors in Andalusia. See Roger Bacon (c. 1214–1294) for additional information about the importance of learning Arabic in order to excel in Science in those days.

Had we left Newton under the spell of the Aristotelian concept, and had it not been for Al-Bayrouni graces we would still be riding horses nowadays. Not only that, but you and I would still be living in Syria because we wouldn’t even know that America existed. Columbus would have never sailed the globe as dark Europe was totally convinced that this planet of ours is nothing but a sheet of Euclidean Geometry. Thank’s to al-Bayrouni again, it was he who measured the earth’s circumference with very primitive tools to within 200 miles accuracy of what we know it to be with our super-duper accurate wonderous tape measures as you can see here,

If you are not aware Columbus sailors were mostly Muslim sailors from my ancestor’s Andalusia who guided him in his adventure and brought him and you and me to safe shores

So, in essence, when Europe had to struggle to reconcile the discrepancies that were creeping out to the open into the very core of its belief system embodied in the dark papal domination of the masses, or the left over of the ten-horned beast of Byzantium, and had to undergo what it called reformation or so-called secularization because of irrefutable discoveries contradicting its premises, Muslims never felt such need, as they long correctly perceived, based on facts and science, that their beliefs are in complete harmony with the Natural order.

Ardogan visits the Syrians kids school in the camps and kisses thier hands
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=370042826414372&id=123468487738475&set=a.331330180285637.77036.123468487738475&__user=100003131418721

125. JOHANNES DE SILENTIO
No it won’t. They’ll just build a fence around Syria and let the idiots inside slaughter each other until there’s a LAST MAN STANDING. And while it’s going on, everyone outside the fence will go on about their business.

Israel, too, seemed to build a fence around , but attacks continue regardless!

183. VISITOR

Of course, we’re all aware of the Islamic Golden Age of Sciences and the numerous scholars it has produced, who were later influential on the european scholars at the beginning of the Renaissance.

Just as European learnt from them, these scholars also learnt from earlier scientific works. This comes as no surprise since the Eastern Mediterranean was the most cultured region in ancient History, as well as the richest. Its rich cultural and scientific tradition was kept alive while almost everything was lost in the Western part of the Roman Empire. And given that Arab empires also extended to other cultures, the Persians and the Indians, their tradition, too, where included and studied using Arabic as the common language.

This is an important point, Biruni was Persian. So may be now it’s a good idea to retract some of your comments on the Persian people, no?
His listed languages on the page you linked: Chorasmian, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew and Syriac. He needed them all to become a polymath. A well studied fact was that, as Arabs didn’t know Greek originally, they had to rely on Syriac translations of the Greek works.

Indeed, a lot of these scholars weren’t arabs, a lot weren’t muslims. But they used Arabic just like any scientist in the world now need to use English to converse with his peers.
Therefore, we also see that the influence of non-muslims and the cultures anterior to Islam was crucial. This is contrary to one of your posts where you claimed they had no contribution whatsoever to the Islamic civilization.

Of course none of this is meant to belittle any of the achievements made during the islamic golden age, I mention that merely because of your previous assertions. Indeed, these scholars not only kept and transmitted previous works, they also built on them and corrected them. Al-Biruni was especially important in that he understood the importance of systematic experimentation; this is only by doing this that the modern scientific method later came to existence. But nonetheless, when you read about the renaissance era, historians insist that the most important deed was to transmit the vast body of knwoledge that would otherwise have been lost; something the Italian renaissance must also thank the fall of the “ten-horned beast” for, as all the Byzantines scholars left for Italy and also kept the same ancient knowledge.
If Islamic culture could have protected its scholars, if muslims continued to be led by cultured rulers and not Turkish or Mamaliks rampaging barbarians, it would have produced more Birunis, Ibn Sinnas and kept and expanded their works. And may be Heliocentrism would have been demonstrated in the Middle East, which never happened, and not by a Polish catholic cleric.
So much for your Turkish “brothers”, Visitor.

——
I’m at loss however with the last part of your post; the scientific revolution in Europe, of Copernicus, Galileo, Vesalius and the conquest of America are unconnected historical events. Indeed, the Portuguese with Vasco de Gama sailed around the African continent, the Spaniards reached the Americas before the scientific revolution; that were made possible by a lot of innovations, in the Sails, Hulls and Rudders that were not taken from Arabs, and weren’t done by scientists proper, but in Italian and Nordic shipyards.
Of course were also needed, the seafaring know-how of Italians (Columbus and Amerigo and others), a better understanding of the oceanic winds, and a great deal of adventurous spirit (May be are you referring to the use of compass and astrolabe, inventions transmitted and spread by Arabs- but it must be remembered that Columbus was basically lost and expected to be in Japan when he arrived in the Bahamas. His measurements where mostly wrong). As for his sailors being muslims, that’s the first time I hear about it but I doesn’t surprise me. (some claim Columbus was a Jew, and a lot of bombastic claims surround him.)

Syria warns Turkey against possible violation of sovereignty
“Syria will retaliate to any violation of its sovereignty,” the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said on Thursday, referring to possible Turkish actions. But he told Syrian daily Al-Watan that Damascus “hopes peace will prevail along Syrian-Turkish border.” The official noted that Damascus agreed to a Russian initiative to form a joint security committee. It could monitor the border on both sides in the aim of “preserving security and peace on the border,” he said.
http://rt.com/news/line/2012-10-18/#id39150

the lastest Maysaloon

The Syrian State: A Corrupt and Rotten Facade

On al Jazeera there is a regular debate programme hosted by Faisal al Qassem called “The Opposite Direction”. In bygone days it was known for broaching controversial topics by bringing in two antagonists for a frank and sometimes animated debate about political issues. Sadly it has recently descended into a sort of self-parody, a kind of Arabian ‘Jerry Springer’, and now the show is known more for the level of shrieking and theatrics than clear debate. Still, I do watch it when the subject interests me, and yesterday the show had two protagonists “debating” the relationship of Syrian Alawites to the regime. The anti-regime person is some writer I had never heard of, and whose name eludes me, but the pro-regime person is very familiar to me, and I have met him several times, Ammar Waqqaf.

Full article here : http://www.maysaloon.org/2012/10/the-syrian-state-corrupt-and-rotten.html

and the video of the show : http://youtu.be/8gXo46VR0Us

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has called illegal arms supplies to Syria as “quenching fire with kerosene.”
“Russia is very attentive to all decisions taken by the international community from the point of view of banning arms supplies to disquieted regions and to regions subjected to sanctions of the United Nations Security Council,” Rogozin said on Thursday at a meeting with a delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. “No one ever can lay claims to Russia in this respect.”
“We are supplying to Syria nothing that is banned by international resolutions but rather continue those contracts we signed long ago,” he stressed. “All the systems exported to Syria are missile defence systems. It is hardly imaginable that a missile defence
system could be used in a civil conflict against civil population. Not a single futurist can invent such a scenario, it is impossible.”
Commenting on the interception of a Syrian civilian plane in Turkey, Rogozin referred to the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who reiterated that it was a legal delivery of legal equipment. “I think that it is wrong to focus on Russia in this sense, it has always been committed to its international liabilities,” he said. “It is better to focus on those who supplies weapons to Syria, including weapons to be used in urban environment and against legitimate authorities, and who does it illegally. Quenching fire with kerosene is not the best option.”
“Stop supporting the ‘Arab spring,’” Rogozin urged. “It is not going to yield any good. The ‘Arab spring’ will be followed by a hot ‘Arab summer’ and nobody will be happy with that.”
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/549037.html

Tlass ‘should form a Champs-Elysées Brigade’

Defected Syrian general Manaf Tlass “wants to show himself as Rambo”, Adnan al-Shama’a, coordinator of the military councils in Syria, told the Guardian today. Speaking to our colleague Mona Mahmood from a mobile phone, he poured scorn on the idea that Tlass might take on a combat role with the rebel fighters.

It is really funny. He does not have any popularity or supporters inside Syria. He wants to show himself as Rambo, though he has done nothing on the ground. He was [president] Bashar’s friend and then he decided to defect.

He disappeared for two weeks and then showed up to declare his defection – which in reality is fleeing more than defecting. When he appeared on al-Arabiya TV channel he did not bother to put the flag of the Syrian revolution behind him and did not dare to say one word in criticism of Bashar al-Assad.

Manaf Tlass is a son of a minister of defence and a friend of a criminal [Assad] – which is not a merit but a stain. People inside Syria do not accept him. Those officers who defect from the regime do not have the right to tell the command of the revolution who is to be the leader. It is the command itself who decides.

It is a sinking ship and everyone is trying to jump off. He wants people to be grateful to him for his fleeing. It would be better for him to form a Champs-Elysées Brigade in Paris.

His home town is Rastan but no one in Rastan is in favour of him. These people still can’t understand that this is not a coup but a people’s revolution and they have to forget about what positions they can get.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/oct/18/syria-crisis-disappeared-ceasefire-live#block-507fdd6458f91d7bbadac84b

186 Albo,

You obviously missed the whole point of the exchange.

Syria’s wealthy businesses feel civil war squeeze

Syria’s wealthy, long cultivated by President Bashar Assad as a support for his regime, are seeing their businesses pummeled by the bloody civil war. Factories have been burned down or damaged in fighting. International sanctions restrict their finances. Some warn that their companies are in danger of going under, worsening the country’s buckling economy.

Assad may not have lost the backing of Syria’s business elite, but some are losing faith. Many of those who can have fled abroad, hoping to ride out the turmoil, which is now in its 19th month and is only getting worse as rebels and regime forces tear apart the country in their fight for power.

Several businessmen interviewed by The Associated Press say resentment is growing against Assad over the crisis – but they also aren’t throwing their lot in with the rebellion. They are hunkering down, trying to salvage their companies.

One young businessman said his family factory in the suburbs of Damascus was damaged Wednesday, with windows blown out and part of the ceiling was destroyed when warplanes hit rebels in a neighboring building. Its several hundred employees had to hide in the basement until fighting eased enough that they could be bused out to safety.

“I feel that they are both just as bad as each other,” he said of the rebels and the government. “I could have died today because they (the rebels) were across the street from us and they (the planes) could have bombed us.”

Syria’s economy has been heavily hurt by the conflict, which activists say has left more than 30,000 dead. Inflation has risen to at least 36 percent. The currency has dropped around 50 percent, now trading at 75 pounds to the dollar on the black market, according to the factory owner. The government estimates economic losses at $34 billion – almost half the gross domestic product – though the opposition puts the losses at nearly three times that amount. Fuel shortages have become widespread as the regime burns through hard currency to import diesel and oil at the same time that it finances the war effort.

Though the economic blow has been hard, “we are not at the stage that the rug has been pulled from under the regime,” said Anthony Skinner, head of Middle East and North African division at Maplecroft political risk consultancy.

Assad has so far been able to keep his head above water with financial support from top ally Iran, he noted.

[…]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121017/ml-syria-business-squeeze-/

191
As per your exchange with Darryl, I plead guilty. I was merely commenting on your historical remarks, and how they contradict some of your earlier opinions and statements.

The Syrians are trapped and in disarray

Having put their trust and hopes on the FSA and the SNC, two authoritarian groups, now confirmed to be heavily polluted by militant Islamists, foreign agents and Al Qaeeda derivatives, the Syrians who were protesting for reforms, freedom and dignity are now powerlessly watching the unraveling in front of their eyes of an unexpected yet predicted violence.

Trapped in their narrative and abandoned by the West, they now call for God’s intervention to save what is left of their country, their freedom and dignity.
If humans who are submitted to the pressure of time thinks they know the future, no human knows which path Timeless God chooses.

194. ZOO
Syrians who believed strangers on the pink future of freedom and dignity must lick the back of the donkey. it is a cheese in the trap (God is great, God is great) evil * evil = evil 2 ..
evil 2 xevil 2 = evil 4 , evil 4 x evil 4 = evil 8 … etc !
Bravo Bernard ! Syrians are good executors! Allah Akbar

193 Albo,

For help in clearing out apparent cognitive difficulties on your part, and for the benefit of reconciling your misconceptions, now those would require a full session by itself which at the moment is not feasible.

But you’re clearly the last one who should comment on cognitive ability, as you have abolished rational thought and live in a world of fairy tales, pal.

Martin Chulov?@martinchulov

Re: downed jets: In #Aleppo in Aug rebel boss showed me 2 heat seeking missiles that no-one knew how to use. Things may have changed
https://twitter.com/martinchulov/status/258856970084302848

…..

Martin Chulov?@martinchulov

@starbeer External assistance possible-probable. Small number of security contractors on ground in Idlib area. Finns among them.
https://twitter.com/martinchulov/status/258858453383118848

@CovertPolitics_

SAA have arrested Luai Shamieh in el-Karameh, #Hama b/c he sings at demos in the neighborhood. Only God know what they will do to him.

http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/covertpolitics-saa-have-arrested-luai-shamieh-in-el/

194. zoo said:

“If humans who are submitted to the pressure of time thinks they know the future, no human knows which path Timeless God chooses”
Dose that statement applies to the regime also?

U.S. Partners With Israel for Exercise Austere Challenge
(there will grow pink flowers to meet your expectations!)
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=118239

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2012 – More than 3,500 American service members will join with Israeli allies for Exercise Austere Challenge 2012 in Israel next week, U.S. and Israeli officials said today.
The exercise will be conducted throughout Israel and off-shore, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin and Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Nitzan Nuriel said during a teleconference with reporters. Franklin commands the 3rd Air Force and is the senior U.S. commander for the exercise. Nuriel is the Israeli lead planner.
More than 1,000 U.S. military personnel are arriving in Israel for the exercise, Franklin said. “They will be in a variety of locations across the country for the next several weeks,” he said. The exercise will build on the long-standing relationship between the two countries, test the cooperative missile defense of Israel, and promote regional stability.
U.S. service members will man Patriot anti-missile systems, an Aegis ballistic missile defense ship and various other air defense systems. The Israelis will put more than 1,000 service members into the field and will test the Iron Dome and Arrow 2 systems. The Israelis will also tie the developing David’s Sling system into the scenarios.
Most of the three-week exercise will be simulation, but some training will entail live-fire, Nuriel said.
Austere Challenge 2012 is the largest U.S.-Israeli military exercise to date, Franklin said, and it is the latest in a long line of such exercises. The scenario for the exercise is not aimed at any specific threat or country in the region, both Franklin and Nuriel said.
“This exercise is purely about improving our combined U.S.-Israeli capabilities,” the U.S. general said. “It’s about military teamwork. It is not related to national elections nor any perceived tensions in the Middle East. We are military professionals coming together to train for a defensive mission.”
The U.S. has pledged $30 million to the exercise and the Israelis pegged their exercise costs at 30 million shekels –around $7.9 million.

Where are we at?

We don’t have to go far to find indicators.

A prominent Assad propagandist, former user on SC, finally seems to be giving up.

A week or so ago the said person was furious at Iran for opposing use of chemical weapons (syrian context). He concluded syria had no allies.

A few days later, after rebels took an Air Defence base, we saw defeatism and an attack on Assad accusing him of failure.

In recent days more pessimism and defeatism as some friends encourage him not to give up while one accuses him of being FSA.

It’s over. As he has stated himself, if you lose the psychological war then…

cont. 201

Angry Arab commented on the rebels using a catapult weapon.

http://angryarab.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/syrian-rebels-resorting-to-bombing-by.html

I can understand the cynicism and frustration at the propaganda value of the story for the rebel side.

However, it doesn’t mean he is right. Remember that for a long time rebels were short of weapons and had to make do with improvising.

Even now there will be isolated pockets of fighters and besieged rebels short of ammo who may still have to improvise and rely on such DIY weapons.

Angry Arab should hope Amjad of Arabia doesn’t stumble upon his comment.

cont. 201
What America could have had for the cost of Lockheed Martin’s F-35.
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-waste-trillion-dollars.html
The F-35: A Weapon That Costs More Than Australia
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/the-f-35-a-weapon-that-costs-more-than-australia/72454/

British gang of Muslims waging war in Syria ‘pose threat to UK’

A British jihadi has been identified as a key ringleader of a gang of Muslims who have gone to fight against the Assad regime in Syria, it has been reported.

The Security Services have reportedly identified the young man, who has not been named, as the leader the gang of more than 50 men who have waged a holy war against President Bashar al-Assad.

The man, who is his 20s and believed to be from a Bangladeshi family, is regarded as a high-ranking officer in an international group of terrorists devoted to bringing down the regime, the Times reported.

According to the paper, the man, who is from London, is believed to be a pious individual involved in military training for “raw” British recruits, who mostly live in the capital.

The jihadis, who said to have volunteered to the cause, include “hardened” Chechen fighters and crossed into Syria over the border from Iraq or Turkey.

The newspaper claimed that Scotland Yard had seized computers and mobile phones from addresses in Britain linked to the men with the material being “urgently” analysed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9616640/British-gang-of-Muslims-waging-war-in-Syria-pose-threat-to-UK.html

__________________________________________________________________

More blowback for the West, supporting Jihad in Syria inevitably means Jihadis returning “home” to the West with extra “baggage”. Syria has become the new Afghanistan attracting fanatics, psychotics, losers, chancers, dreamers and idealogues.

The problem is just like Afghanistan in the 80s, after the Jihadis “win” they’ll export their poison back “home”. The West has a real dilemma either support Jihadis in Syria or allow an anti-Israeli dictator remain in power. Neither option is palatable.

202 UZAIR8 said,

“A prominent Assad propagandist, former user on SC, finally seems to be giving up.

A week or so ago the said person was furious at Iran for opposing use of chemical weapons (syrian context). He concluded syria had no allies”

Could you link that comment, please?

Reconciling Islamic laws with democracy is impossible. Muslims must choose…they just can’t have it both ways…

Turkey tries pianist Fazil Say for insulting Islam

World-famous Turkish pianist Fazil Say has appeared in court in Istanbul charged with inciting hatred and insulting the values of Muslims.

He is being prosecuted over tweets he wrote mocking radical Muslims, in a case which has rekindled concern about religious influence in the country.

Mr Say, who denies the charges, said recently he was “amazed” at having to appear before judges.

Rejecting an acquittal call, the court adjourned the case until 18 February.

Prosecutors brought the charges against Mr Say in June. He faces a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison although correspondents say any sentence is likely to be suspended.

The indictment against him cites some of his tweets from April, including one where he says: “I am not sure if you have also realised it, but if there’s a louse, a non-entity, a lowlife, a thief or a fool, it’s always an Islamist.”

Dozens of the pianist’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse with banners, one of which called on the ruling Islamist-based AK Party to “leave the artists alone”.

Mr Say has played with the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and others, and has served as a cultural ambassador for the EU.

Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s minister in charge of relations with the EU, suggested the case against him should be dismissed, saying the court should regard his tweets as being within “his right to babble”.

However, Mr Bagis also criticised the pianist for “insulting people’s faith and values”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19990943#

208
Reconciling secularist laws with democracy is impossible. secularist must choose…they just can’t have it both ways…

Under the Turkish Penal Code, it is a crime to insult Atatürk and the … the Law 5816 About Crimes Against Atatürk, which went into effect in …
http://www.turkishpoliticsinaction.com/2008/08/insulting-atatrk.html

New post up.

Letting you know to save us going back and forth.

@178

Of course it’s nonsense, that somehow the Western Bloc’s failure to arm Syrian guerrillas will cause those guerrillas to become anti-Western terrorists.

But it’s fairly typical Western pro-war propaganda. Such propaganda usually likes to pose a dilemma, with war the solution either way.

For example, if Syria had powerful armed forces with modern equipment, the pro-war factions in the West would proclaim that war would be necessary to deal with the “Syrian threat.” But since Syria has fairly weak armed forces, pro-war propagandists in the Western Bloc would talk about their delicious “low-hanging fruit” !

Truth matters little to the propagandist. Either way, it’s grist for their mill.

WRT to the “jihadists” among the Syrian guerrillas, the pro-war propagandists in the Western Bloc frame it this way:

1. If the Western Bloc supplies arms to the Syrian rebels, the arms will end up in jihadist hands, but
2. If the Western Bloc fails to arm the Syrian rebels, those rebels will become jihadists and obtain arms elsewhere with which to attack Western interests.

3. Therefore, their perfect solution is to find a pretext for a NATO/”Coalition” war, so that the Western Bloc can directly superintend over the ruin of yet another sovereign state in the Arab world (they got THAT down to a fine art–don’t say that the nice boys and girls in Western think tanks don’t earn their money!).