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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Channel 4's Alex Thomson's Guide to 'what the hell is going on in Syria'

Rather different, I think you'll agree, from the black-and-white neocon/'liberal'-interventionist narrative written from thousands of miles away and to which we're subjected on a daily basis.

The regime is not simply shelling entire city zones and never has.

They know where the rebels are fighting and that is where the warfare takes place. The rest of the city will look and feel strikingly normal to you. Inside the fighting area of course it is terrifying and exceptionally dangerous.

So what do Syrians want?

Hard to tell. But for sure this is not Egypt – there are no Tahrir Squares or vast protests against the regime.

There is no discernible sign in any of the big cities – Homs, Aleppo and Damascus for example,that the people even wish to rise up against the regime.

You can read the whole of Alex Thomson's Guide here.

Hat tip: our regular commenter Brian.

More on what's happening in Aleppo over at RT

During a statement at a news conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Syrian government could not be expected to stand by while rebel forces occupy Aleppo and other areas throughout the country.

"Our Western partners, together with some of Syria's neighbors, are essentially encouraging, supporting and directing an armed struggle against the regime," said Lavrov.

Also on RT, check out this story about where Syrian rebels have been in training.




8 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

­From the RT article:

"The group consisted of over 40 individuals, including Syrian defector generals and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. They learned economics, law, security practices and other areas of governance, which would be needed in the transition period".

No prizes for guessing which sort of 'economics' they are being taught.

- questionnaire

Neil Clark said...

Hi Questionnaire: absolutely. No doubt special lessons on the wonders of a 'market economy'- and 'opening' up the economy to foreign multinationals and western capital!

ps(I've moved yr comment to this post,you put it originally under the previous Olympics post)

brian said...

lets contrast Thomson to Amnastys Donatella Rovera:

this appeared in my email inbox: latest from AIs(or is that CIAs) roving propagandist Donatella Rovera: whats missing?:

Dear ......
I recently returned from a months-long fact-finding mission to Syria where I witnessed first-hand the extent of the atrocities being committed by government forces and militias working alongside the military. [COMMENT:AKA the Shabiha! funny cause aside from Donatella and the FSA these militias dont exist! or the syrian people dont report them]

In Aleppo, Syria's largest city, I saw people -- including a 16-year-old schoolboy -- being shot dead and injured by security forces and militias during peaceful demonstrations.[COMMENT: Did you know? But how can anyone be sure you did? Besides taking your word for it Donatella]

Elsewhere in every town and village I saw homes burned down to the ground and spoke to families of young men who had been dragged from their homes and murdered by soldiers. The abuses were systematic and massive in scale. More recently opposition fighters have also been committing abuses and the situation is likely to deteriorate further the longer this conflict goes on.
[COMMENT: Donatella says TRUST ME...these emails posted gratis to millions of recipients make blatant acccusations, proof zero! Now if these actions were widespread and massive, we'd expect the syrian people not to support their govt and army...yet they do! so something is not quite right...]

People who care -- like you -- must speak out against this senseless violence. Your donation today will help support Amnesty International's actions to uncover the truth, demand accountability, and prevent human rights abuses in the future.
[COMMENT: after reading the above evidence libelous free bilge, they want me to pay for it! Nice!]

As you read this, intense fighting between government forces and opposition fighters is taking place in Syria, where residential neighborhoods have been turned into battlefields and civilians are more at risk than ever. Tens of thousands have fled their homes just in recent days, joining the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced in the past year.
[COMMENT: 'opposition fighters'...no mention of their nationality, of the atrocities they have committed...Donatalla apparently didnt see them do one thing wrong...]

Despite the escalating violence, the international community has tragically failed to take effective action -- essentially standing by as children, women and men are slaughtered.

That is why it is imperative that Amnesty International continues its efforts speaking out on behalf of Syrian civilians and taking critical steps to hold accountable those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Your donation will help us:
Send other researchers like myself into the field to document atrocities and share them with influencers and leaders around the world.
Put pressure on the United Nations Security Council to take concrete action to protect the civilian population and to hold the perpetrators of these terrible crimes accountable.
When atrocities like what I've seen in Syria are committed, we must not turn our heads or despair that there is nothing we can do. We must keep global attention on Syria. Your donation can make a difference.

Sincerely,

Donatella Rovera
Senior Crisis Response Adviser
Amnesty International
----------------------------
My donation would only help serial liars like Donatella continue their wretched work to destroy syria....
Sorry Donatella..,..i would pay to help put an end to Amnesty International, its lies and its support for terrorism

brian said...

meet a real dictator:
Erdogan Makes War on the Turkish Media
People travel over the Bosphorus in a passenger-vehicle ferry in Istanbul 12 July 2012. (Photo: Reuters - Murad Sezer)
By: Hüsnü Mahalli
Published Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Turkish Prime Minister has never tolerated criticism in the media and now constitutional amendments are being prepared to further curtail the freedom of the press.
Istanbul - Throughout his political career, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has all too frequently been stung by the media. The same applied to his spiritual and political mentor, the late leader of the Felicity Party Necmettin Erbakan – and indeed all Islamists.
But the current prime minister, ever since the era when he was responsible for the activities of the National Salvation Party in Istanbul – he would go on to become the city’s mayor in 1994 – has been the particular subject of media campaigns, targeting him personally as well as his party....
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/erdogan-makes-war-turkish-media

Neil Clark said...

Hi Brian,
Come on, we can't criticise the Turkish govt and Erdogan- they're members of NATO and as such they can't do any wrong! Its only non-NATO members who can be guilty of undemocratic practices!

brian said...

the shame of british cinema

more propaganda...this time british cinema does a Hollwood propaganda piece: a variation on 'Not Without my Daughter'
Fares Dabbaghieh
A British thriller of a kidnapped daughter in Syria, a country ruled by FEAR (according to the trailer), and her father's journey to retrieve her from Assad's brutal Syria. Another B movie propaganda, not surprised really.

However, this should raise a big red flag, remember when rumors of duplicates of major Syrian locations being built by Qatar and Hollywood were circulating and everyone thought it was ridiculous, including regime supporters? Well, could they have filmed this movie without the existence of such duplicates?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qzdMCuFptc

Neil Clark said...

Hi Brian,
thanks for alerting me to that.
How very timely the film is to help with the propaganda drive.