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Syria: BRICS Have Good Reasons to Oppose U.S. and Europe at UN Security Council
There has been a lot of hand-wringing and moralizing about the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) blocking a resolution in the UN against the government of Syria last week. China and Russia used a rare double veto as permanent members of the Security Council, and the other three abstained. “During this […]
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Massive Pro-government Rally in Syria in Rejection of Foreign Interference
Saba Bahrat Square, Damascus, 12 October 2011 Baghdad Street, Damascus, 12 October 2011 Women and Youth, Damascus, 12 October 2011 Cf. “LOL AlJazeera is saying that tens of thousands were at the rally today while MILLIONS rally at the anti ones. Da funk?” (Joud, 12 October 2011); “Notice that when demonstrations take place in support […]
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U.S. Charge against Iran: Who Could Make That Up?
Dear friends, As you probably know, the Obama administration has just publicly charged that Iranian government agents have been plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Washington is now using this outrageous claim to try and rally support for new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, isolate it in the international arena, and […]
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Michel Kilo: A Voice of Courage in Syria
Michel Kilo has spent decades in the opposition, dedicated to politics despite his prison experiences. Naturally he raised his voice for the Syrian intifada, and yet he has remained independent, distancing himself from many opposition parties and especially from the external opposition fronts formed abroad. Michel Kilo stands out in Syrian politics for his unfailing […]
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What Happens If the Call for “International Protection” of Protesters in Syria Gets Answered?
(1) “We Call for Foreign Intervention” (2) But if the call gets answered. . . . Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist. Cf. “US State Department tool Radwan Ziadeh today called for a war on Syria. Speaking on Aljazeera’s prime-time, evening newscast ‘daily harvest’, Washington’s favorite Syrian ‘human rights activist’ did not actually utter the […]
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Libya: NATO Provides the Bombs; The French “Left” Provides the Ideology
Last April, former Le Monde diplomatique director Ignacio Ramonet published (in Mémoire des Luttes) a text entitled “Libya, the Just and the Unjust.” The war had been started a few weeks earlier, inaugurated by French aircraft which had the honor of dropping the first bombs on Tripoli. On March 19, “a wave of pride […]
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Zainab al-Hosni, the “Flower of Syria,” Alive and on TV: Will Human Rights Organizations and Mass Media Issue Corrections?
Zainab al-Hosni, dubbed the “Flower of Syria,” who the Syrian opposition claimed was tortured and murdered, burned and decapitated, by the Syrian government, has just appeared on Syrian TV, very much alive. Here is the video of the TV interview with Zainab, who says she fled from her family home because her brothers were beating […]
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The Terrorist Attack in Syria
Grand Mufti of Syria Sheikh Ahmad Badr Eddin Hassoun On October 2, near the University of Ebla in Idlib province, gunmen shot dead the son of the Grand Mufti of Syria Sheikh Ahmad Badr Eddin Hassoun — Saria Hassoun, a student of the university. A victim of the attack also was Professor Mohammad al Omar. […]
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Yet Another Syrian Exile Opposition Council
So, yesterday, it was announced in Istanbul that yet another exile opposition group was formed. It has no head. There were conflicts among the various constituent groups. But I will tell you this lesson from Arab contemporary history: there has never been a case in which leftists or secularists were aligned with fundamentalists (Sunni or […]
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Syria’s Path to Reforms: An Obstacle Course
Hamid Karout is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in Tishreen on 8 August 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. . | Print
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The Military Intervention in Libya and the Growing Threat against Syria
Address to the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, 26 September 2011 Excerpt: As early as the 21st of February, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz had warned that NATO was inexorably preparing a war against Libya. Since then, Cuba has indefatigably engaged in the defense not of a government […]
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WFTU: ‘Support People, Oppose Imperialist Interference in Arab Countries’
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) organised on September 13-14 a two-day international trade union meet in the European Parliament complex in Strasbourg, France, to express solidarity with the fighting people of Arab countries and voice strong protest against the hegemonic interference of US imperialism and its European allies in the internal affairs […]
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Change at Al Jazeera
The Western and Arabic press is full of stories about Al Jazeera and the new direction it will inevitably follow with the selection of a new director-general for its operating networks. The ouster (the official statement did not mention resignation) of Waddah Khanfar has opened doors for speculation. No one really knows what goes […]
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Smart New Syria Strategy: Call the Monarchies’ Bluff and Make Them Do What They Are Demanding of You!
For a regime which has, as ICG put it, really inflicted so many wounds on itself (not to mention Syrians) . . . this strikes me as a very effective strategy going forward. You corrupt, collaborationist, monarchical, brutal regimes in the region want us, Syria, to reform and transition out. . . . OK — […]
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Al Jazeera and U.S. Foreign Policy: What WikiLeaks’ U.S. Embassy Cables Reveal about U.S. Pressure and Propaganda
“Al Jazeera is a vital component to the USG’s strategy in communicating with the Arab world.” — Joseph E. LeBaron, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, November 6, 2008 “Al Jazeera Board Chairman Hamed bin Thamer Al Thani has proven open to creative uses of Al Jazeera’s airwaves by the USG beyond straightforward interviews.” — Joseph E. […]
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Hugo Chávez: Let Us Raise Our Voices against War, for Peace and Life
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called on peoples of the world last Wednesday to speak out for peace and against the imperial madness of the countries attacking sovereign nations. “May the peoples of the United States, of Europe, speak out against war. Let us raise our voices, our chants, against war, for peace and life,” President […]
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Hassan Abdul Azim: Syria’s Homegrown Dissident
Decades of dedicated political activism have earned Hassan Abdul Azim the trust of friend and foe alike. The old-time Nasserite may be uniquely positioned to mediate the country out of its deepening crisis. There were high expectation early on in the Syrian uprising when it seemed that Hassan Abdul Azim may assume a prominent role […]
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Libya, Egypt: Fashioning Democracy, Packaging Revolution
Democracy, democracy. Don’t we just love it? Don’t we love it as a pretence for furthering our international ambitions? Don’t we love it when it means cheaper oil and cosy partnerships? In the case of Libya, the façade of supporting a democratic movement has fallen from even our most blatant sources of propaganda. To quote […]
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Syrian Opposition for Democratic Change Meets in Damascus, without Muslim Brotherhood
Over 200 Syrian opposition figures met in Halboun in the outskirts of the capital Damascus in order to coordinate efforts to build a national opposition movement and to address the anti-government protests that have gripped the country for the last six months. The meeting was attended by Michel Kilo, Fayez Sarah, and Mondher Khaddam, […]
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Syrian Opposition in Damascus: “No to International Intervention, No to Sectarianism, and No to Violence”
The Syrian opposition urged protesters Sunday to go on with peaceful demonstrations, noting that continued protests are a “decisive factor” in pushing for reforms in the country. In a statement issued one day after a meeting of some 300 opposition figures, the opposition called on the government to immediately stop its “repression” on protesters and […]