Quote:

A renowned political cartoonist whose drawings expressed
Syrians' frustrated hopes for change was grabbed after he left his studio
early Thursday and beaten by masked gunmen who broke his hands and
dumped him on a road outside Damascus.
One of Syria's most famous artists, Ali Ferzat, 60, earned international
recognition and the respect of many Arabs with stinging caricatures that
infuriated dictators including Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Libya's Moammar
Gadhafi and, particularly in recent months, Syria's autocratic Assad
family.
He lay badly bruised in a hospital bed Thursday evening with his hands
swathed in bandages, a stark reminder that no Syrian remains immune
to a brutal crackdown on a five-month anti-government uprising.
Ferzat remembers the gunmen telling him that "this is just a warning,"
as they beat him, a relative told The Associated Press.
"We will break your hands so that you'll stop drawing," the masked men
said, according to the relative, who spoke anonymously for fear of
retaliation.

KSLA.com

a little more fuel for the fire . . .

Syria declared a state of war and mobilized troops to neutralize "terrorists who threaten us," Al-Quds newspaper reported Thursday evening.

Operation "Bayrak al-Assad" was implemented secretly, mobilizing full military forces in Syria for concentrated offensives on cities across the country, according to the report.

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.a....

CNBC: State Dept urges all US citizens to leave Syria immediately and defer all travel to Syria

Here it comes...

wow Israel is battoning down because the palis are saying they will riot on the 20th when the UN vote occurs and now Syria falling apart....and Rosh Hashanah begins on the 28th....

Sounds like we got wind it's about "game over" time for Assad. For the regions sake, if Assad is going down, I hope he doesn't decide to go out in style. Lots of IRBMs sitting just north of the Golan pointing towards Israel.

Harvard website defaced by Assad supporters

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massach....

Assad must be getting desperate if he is employing his AF to "supress" the protestors. This is the very kind of thing that got the international community rolling against Quadaffi.

17:05 Al-Arabiya reports warplanes shelling Syrian city of Rastan

http://www.nowlebanon.com/Default.aspx#i....

State Dept briefing on this. I'm missing it.

http://live.cnn.com/

During a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu Assad allegedly threatened: "If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than 6 hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv."
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.....

IF NATO attacks, he fires. So he says.

http://www.france24.com/en/20111005-russ....

Russia and China veto UN resolution on Syria

Russia and China have vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown on anti-government protests in Syria, provoking strong reactions from Paris and Washington, who said they would continue pushing for UN sanctions.

http://www.france24.com/en/20111004-un-v....

. The U.N. estimates that more than 2,700 civilians have died since the uprising began.

The Security Council issued a presidential statement in August condemning the escalating violence after months of arguments between supporters and opponents of Assad's regime.

How reassuring for the syrians. The UN issued "a presidential statement condemning" violence. Next will be the strong memo. Outside of congress, could there be a more useless body that the UN?

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese sent a delegation to Syria to meet with President Assad, members of the clergy in Syria, and the Grand Mufti -- along with a meeting with leaders of the Bedouin that chanced to come about. http://www.antiochian.org/reardon-syria-....

Unfortunately this write-up is a bit light on details. Still, it provides a different perspective on the situation in Syria.

I spoke with a member of the delegation who had much more to say about the particular meetings, but I'm not sure how much what he told me was told in confidence. If he posts his thoughts I'll post them here, because what he told me had a lot more substance.

One thing that I can probably repeat, and which is probably obvious to the posters on this forum, is that what is occurring in Syria and the reaction of other nations around Syria is intertwined with a lot of old grievances and nations / groups looking to settle old scores. Anything said and done should be reflected upon in light of that.

Well, this should certainly calm things down.

Quote:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2011....

Syria Kills Opposition Leader

Yesterday Syrian forces beat a prominent opposition leader in broad daylight in the heart of Damascus and shot another one to death. Then, today, security forces opened fire on mourners at the funeral for the slain opposition leader, Mashall Tammo. Tammo, a leading Kurdish political figure, was killed by masked gunmen who stormed his house in northern Syria. When the funeral procession for Tammo turned into a protest of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, sucurity forces opened fire, killing at least two people and injuring several others.
Read it at The Associated Press

October 8, 2011 7:52 AM

The lesson Bashar learnt from daddy was "If at first you don't succeed, shoot, shoot and shoot again".

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2....

Quote:

DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Syrian security forces raided a northern city and clashed with gunmen Thursday, and an activist said seven people were killed, including a 2-year-old boy.

CNN reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the forces clashed with the gunmen, believed to be dissidents, amid gunfire and explosions in the city of Binnish in Idlib province.

"Syrian military forces supported by tanks and armored personnel carriers stormed the city early this morning," the group said. "Heavy machine guns and shelling have been heard around the city."

Some houses were damaged and casualties were reported, the group said.

More at link.

12:40 The US withdrew its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, for security reasons, western diplomats told Reuters.




To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticl...#....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/arti....

"U.S. Senator John McCain said Sunday that military action to protect civilians in Syria might be considered now that NATO's air campaign in Libya is ending."

- "The problem with war is the wrong people get killed" - Author unknown

Former four star general and NATO commander Wesley Clark talks about the neocon plan to invade seven countries in five years. Included in the plan was an attack on Libya.

I wouldn't trust the epitaph on Wesley Clark's tombstone to tell the truth.

Bezzle:

I am not sure who you work for, but you earn your money I am sure. How many sites are you covering? You must have to post 8 hours a day. You probably failed the analyst exam for the DIA didn't you. The failed poly sci guy sitting in a cubicle farm in Maryland. You probably don't even have a ****ing passport! do you get paid by the post or the keystroke?

Dog**** wrote..

I am not sure....

I never doubted that for a moment.