Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة/ أصدقاء الشعب السوري، مظاهرات مؤيدة لمرسي

"تسلط الحلقة في جزئها الأول على اجتماع وزراء خارجية أصدقاء الشعب السوري في قطر لمناقشة المساعدة العسكرية للمعارضة المسلحة. وتتطرق في جزئها الثاني مليونية القوى الإسلامية المؤيدة للرئيس محمد مرسي.
"

Guardian Video: Satirical puppet show mocks Bashar al-Assad

"Anonymous Syrian art group Masasit Mati launched the online finger-puppet show Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator in 2011 to lampoon Bashar al-Assad's oppressive rule. Amid escalating violence, in January 2013 the group secretly travelled to the town of Manbij, north of Aleppo to perform episodes live in support of the peaceful protest movement."

U.S. has secretly provided arms training to Syria rebels since 2012

CIA agents and special operations troops have trained the rebels in anti-tank and antiaircraft weaponry in Jordan and Turkey.

L. A. Times

"WASHINGTON — CIA operatives and U.S. special operations troops have been secretly training Syrian rebels with anti-tank and antiaircraft weapons since late last year, months before President Obama approved plans to begin directly arming them, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.

The covert U.S. training at bases in Jordan and Turkey, along with Obama's decision this month to supply arms and ammunition to the rebels, has raised hope among the beleaguered Syrian opposition that Washington ultimately will provide heavier weapons as well. So far, the rebels say they lack the weapons they need to regain the offensive in the country's bitter civil war......

The training, conducted by American, Jordanian and French operatives, involves rockets and anti-tank and antiaircraft weaponry, he said.

Between 80 and 100 rebels from all over Syria have gone through the courses in the last month, he said, and training is continuing. Graduates are sent back across the border to rejoin the battle.

Bittar said sufficient weapons had yet to arrive for the rebel forces and that the Americans had not yet told them when they could expect to receive additional arms.
"Just promises, just promises," he said."

Opposition allies vow to end Syria imbalance

US Secretary of State says Friends of Syria group to decide own 'scope and scale' of military aid to rebel fighters.

Al-Jazeera

"Syrian rebels are to receive increased political and military assistance from the Friends of Syria group of nations - with the "scope and scale" of aid to be chosen by individual members, the US Secretary of State has said.
Speaking at the conference in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday John Kerry said that while the United States did not seek a military solution to the war in Syria, the regime of Bashar al-Assad had crossed a "red line" with its reported use of chemical weapons.

"The United States and other countries, in their various ways - each choosing its own approach - will increase the scope and the scale of assistance to the political and military opposition. That is why we are working with our allies gathered here today to coordinate our support to the Syria [National] Coalition and the Supreme Military Council. And I emphasise, we do so not to seek a military solution. [We seek them to] come to the table to find a political settlement."
"Both sides should be able to compromise. Both sides should come to the table," he said.

Red line

"The regime's use of chemical weapons crosses [US President Barack] Obama's and other nations' red lines. We also condemn any atrocities ... committed by the opposition groups."

Al Jazeera's Basma Al Atassi, reporting from the conference, said Kerry also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "internationalised the militarisation" of the conflict by allowing Iran's and its proxy Hezbollah's involvement.

Kerry added that this was Assad's response to efforts to organise a peace conference in Geneva.
The Friends of Syria group, which comprises Britain, France, the US, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt, was meeting in the capital of Qatar to decide what levels of military help should be given to rebel groups in Syria.

Saturday's meeting began only hours after Syrian rebels stated that they had received a new shipment of weapons from their allies and just days after the US announced its decision to deliver arms to the fighters.

Kerry's comments were followed by those of Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who said  "force may be the only way to enforce righteousness and supplying weapons to the opposition may be the only way to reach peace in Syria".
"As we know there are international and regional interventions, especially by Hezbollah, that led to bloodshed, especially in Qusayr and the same thing is being arranged in Aleppo."........"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you believe that solving the current crisis in Egypt involves political agreement between the ruling party and the opposition?

The result of the voting is indicative of the polarized situation in Egypt: 53% said yes, and 47% said no; almost down the middle! 

FBI Drone

Christopher Weyant, Cagle Cartoons, The Hill

ssssssssSyria

Bill Day, Cagle Cartoons

How Israeli Apartheid is Coming Unstuck

Big Racists vs Little Racists

By Jonathan Cook
CounterPunch

"One incident of racism, though small in relation to the decades of massive, institutionalised discrimination exercised by Israel against its Palestinian Arab citizens, has triggered an uncharacteristic bout of Israeli soul-searching.
Superland, a large amusement park near Tel Aviv, refused to accept a booking from an Arab school on its preferred date in late May. When a staff member called back impersonating a Jew, Superland approved the booking immediately.
As the story went viral on social media, the park’s managers hurriedly offered an excuse: they provided separate days for Jewish and Arab children to keep them apart and prevent friction.
Government ministers led an outpouring of revulsion. Tzipi Livni, the justice minister, called the incident a “symptom of a sick democracy”. Defence minister Moshe Yaalon was “ashamed”. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that the “racist” policy be halted immediately...........

This month South Africa’s departing ambassador to Israel, Ismail Coovadia, warned that Israel was a “replication of apartheid”. The idea that the world may soon wake up to this comparison deeply unnerves Netanyahu and the right, all the more so as they risk being identified as the party refusing to make concessions towards peace.

The threat posed by what happened at Superland is that such incidents of unofficial and improvised racism may one day unmask the much more sinister and organised campaign of “grand apartheid” that Israel’s leaders have overseen for decades."

Human rights record in Bahrain still abysmal - Europe must act

Mariwan Hama 

"When European Union ministers meet their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council states for a summit in Bahrain on June 30, the dismal state of that island kingdom's human rights record needs to have a prominent place on the agenda. Despite King Hamad's claims of reform, Bahrain is clearly heading down the road of greater repression and the EU ministers should make a point of clearly and publicly saying so......"

Egypt Marks a Spring for Islamists

Like Mubarak, like Morsi: the majority of Egyptians disapprove of President Morsi's performance, a new poll shows. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS.

Analysis by Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Jun 21 2013 (IPS) - Egyptians are deeply divided and the majority are dissatisfied with the performance of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, but also have little confidence in the main opposition figures or their future, a new poll has found.
Washington-based Zogby Research Services surveyed over 5,000 adult Egyptians in April and May to assess the public’s confidence in state institutions, satisfaction with Morsi’s government, and hopes for the future. Pollsters sought a representative cross-section of Egyptian society, but did not ask respondents about their political affiliation or voting intention.
“What our findings reveal is a deeply divided society fractured not along demographic lines, but on the basis of ideology and religion,” the survey team reported.
They noted that the country’s two main Islamic parties – the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the ultra-conservative Nour Party – appeared to have the support of nearly 30 percent of those polled.
Major opposition groups, including the National Salvation Front (NSF) and the April 6 Youth Movement, collectively had the support of about 35 percent of respondents. Almost 40 percent of those surveyed were categorised as a “disaffected plurality,” appearing to have no confidence in either the government or any political opposition party.

“These three groups define the deep divide that manifests itself of most issues,” the survey team said.
The new poll shows a striking contrast between the optimism of Islamists and the disappointment of the rest of society in its view of the Arab Spring and its outcome.
More than 90 percent of those who identified with Islamic parties claimed they are better off today than they were five years ago, while over 80 percent of those associated with opposition movements and the “disaffected plurality” said they are worse off.
Minority Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population, were three times less likely than Muslims to view their situation as improved, with 81 percent saying they felt worse off now. Nine in ten are convinced the ruling Muslim Brotherhood is attempting to “Islamise” the state......"

Jon Stewart makes surprise appearance on Egyptian chat show

The Daily Show satirist appears on Egypt's equivalent, Al-Bernameg, whose host lampoons religious hardliners

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 22 June 2013 

(See the full show in the post below)

"Jon Stewart has taken the guest's seat on Egypt's top satirical TV show, modelled after his own American programme, The Daily Show.

Stewart was brought to the set wearing a black hood and introduced by host Bassem Youssef as a captured foreign spy, then unmasked by the Egyptian host, to a raucous welcome from the audience.
Stewart, wearing a scruffy beard, spoke briefly in Arabic as the studio erupted in applause and cheers. "Please sit down, I am a simple man who does not like to be fussed over," he said in Arabic to laughter.
Youssef, host of the show Al-Bernameg and one of Egypt's most popular TV presenters, has previously been questioned by prosecutors on accusations of blasphemy and insulting the president. Stewart defended his counterpart and friend in one of his monologues after Youssef was interrogated earlier this year, and Youssef has appeared as a guest on the popular New York-based show.
Stewart, who is on a summer-long break from anchoring the Comedy Central fake newscast, is in the Middle East making his first movie. He expressed admiration for Youssef in Friday's episode, which was recorded earlier this week during a visit to Cairo.
"Satire is a settled law. If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke, then you have no regime," Stewart said, adding that Youssef "is showing that satire can be relevant."
True to form Youssef began the weekly show with a series of jokes about Islamist President Mohamed Morsi's appearance and address at a rally last weekend hosted by his hardline Islamist backers. The president, Egypt's first freely elected leader, announced at the rally a complete break of diplomatic relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Youssef, however, criticised Morsi for remaining silent and wearing a stone face while one of the rally's organisers denounced as non-believers opposition protesters planning massive, anti-government demonstrations on 30 June, the anniversary of the start of the president's term.
Stewart said he was overwhelmed with the generosity of Egyptians but took a jab at Cairo's horrendous traffic. "I flew in three days ago and I have just arrived to do the show," he joked.
Youssef – known as Egypt's Jon Stewart – was interrogated in April for allegedly insulting Islam and the country's leader. His questioning drew criticism from Washington and rights advocates. A trained heart surgeon, Youssef catapulted to fame when his videoblogs mocking politics received hundreds of thousands of hits shortly after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
Unlike other local TV presenters Youssef uses satire to mock fiery comments made by ultra-conservative clerics and politicians, garnering him a legion of fans among the country's revolutionaries and liberals. He has 1.4 million fans on Facebook and nearly 850,000 followers on Twitter.
During his hiatus Stewart will be directing and producing Rosewater from his own script based on a memoir by Maziar Bahari. The Iranian journalist was falsely accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2009 while covering Iran's presidential election."

My Favorite Weekly Show with Jon Stewart! البرنامج - الحلقه 28 كامله

Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinian refugees flee Syria fighting

Jordanians hold anti-Assad, Hezbollah demo

Members of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood and youth groups chant anti-Assad and anti-Hezbollah slogans as they take to the streets of Amman

AFP , Friday 21 Jun 2013

Protesters from the Islamic Action Front and other opposition parties hold up Jordanian national flags, and Syrian opposition flags during a demonstration to show their support for the opposition against the regime of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the intervention of the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran in Syrian affairs after Friday prayers in Amman June 21, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

 

"Members of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood and youth groups were among 1,500 people who took to the streets of Amman on Friday to protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese ally Hezbollah.


The protesters chanted anti-Assad and anti-Hezbollah slogans, an AFP journalist reported.Demonstrators gathered outside the Al-Husseini mosque after Friday prayers to protest against Assad and the Lebanese Shiite movement which has sent fighters to bolster regime forces in Syria's bloody civil war.
They called Hezbollah -- the "party of God" in Arabic -- the "party of Satan", saying that the "true place for the resistance is Palestine", referring to Hezbollah's long-term role as champion against Israel.
Marchers also chanted: "Syria, country of free men, with the help of God, Bashar will fall."
Zaki Bani Rsheid, deputy leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, said: "The revolution of the Syrian people is a great revolution, not just one against the regime, but a tale of how a nation rose up against tyranny and repression."
"The battle of Qusayr revealed the falsity of the resistance," he said, adding that "the will of the Syrian people is capable of creating a regime of true resistance, not a false one."
Syrian regime troops and Hezbollah fighters assaulted the former rebel stronghold in central Homs province last month. A fierce battle ensued for nearly three weeks, and ended with a regime victory.
Rsheid said "the true place of the resistance is not in Syria but in Palestine", pointing out that "Bashar will share the same fate as (Moamer) Kadhafi and the others, because this is the will of the people," a reference to the late Libyan dictator toppled in 2011......."

لأول مرة: هتافات ضد حزب إلله وإحراق صور قائده ونصر ألله رفض مقابلة شخصيات أردنية تؤيد بشار

"عمان- القدس العربي: صدحت لأول مرة منذ سنوات طويلة وسط العاصمة الأردنية عمان ألاف الحناجر ضد حزب إلله اللبناني وتدخلاته في سوريا فيما أحرقت ولأول مرة أيضا صورا عملاقة للأمين العام للحزب الشيخ حسن نصر ألله.

ونظم ألاف من الأخوان المسلمين في الأردن بمشاركة المئات من السوريين مسيرة إحتجاجية بعنوان (سيهزم الجمع ويولون الدبر).

وخصصت المسيرة التي شارك بها نخبة من قادة الحركة الإسلامية الأردنية و المثقفين والمناضلين القوميين واليساريين في إطار أنصار الثورة السورية لدعم الشعب السوري وثورته والتنديد بالرئيس بشار الأسد وقيادة حزب إلله.

وهتف المشاركون (حرية.. حرية غصبت عنك حزب إلله).

ولم يعتد الشارع الأردني على وقفات إحتجاجية ضد حزب إلله تحديدا حيث كانت الحكومة تفشل دائما في إخراج الأردنيين للشارع نكاية بالحزب الذي خسر الكثير من مؤيديه في الشارع الأردني بعد موقفه الأخيرة من الملف السوري.

 ووسط المئات من رجال الدرك أطلقت هتافات تندد بحزب إلله وقيادته وتتوعده بالهزيمة في سوريا كما ندد قادة المشاركين بالتدخل الأمريكي وساندوا الشعب السوري.

......"

Real News Video: A million people across Brazil say "is not about 20 cents"

More than a Million people demonstrate in a hundred cities across Brazil, and raise new demands.  

Bahrain: New Associations Law Spells Repression

EU, US Should Press for Release of Opposition Leaders 

Human Rights Watch

"(Brussels)--New laws and lengthy jail terms for activists have put freedom of association in Bahrain under severe threat, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Bahraini authorities have left hardly any space for peaceful political dissent. Through a mix of restrictive laws and abusive policies, the government is sending a clear message that it will not tolerate calls for reform that challenge the ruling family’s monopoly on power.

The 87-page report, “‘Interfere, Restrict, Control’: Restraints on Freedom of Association in Bahrain,”examines restrictive laws and policies that stifle civic and political groups and trade unions. The report shows how authorities use unjust laws to restrict freedom of association by arbitrarily rejecting registration applications and intrusively supervising independent organizations. The government takes over and dissolves ­– more or less at will – organizations whose leaders criticize government officials and policies, and severely limits the ability of groups to raise money and to receive foreign funding.
“Bahrain claims to be on a path to political reform, but it is heading altogether in the wrong direction,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The new draft law on associations – just like the continued imprisonment of opposition activists – shows all too clearly how the ruling family is rolling back genuine reform on so many fronts.”....."

• Download the full report (PDF, 690.19 KB)
• Download the full report in ARABIC (PDF, 1.31 MB)

Al-Jazeera Video: More than a million Brazilian protesters hit the streets

Brazil erupts in protest: more than a million on the streets

Demonstrators accuse police after clashes in Rio and several other cities

Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
guardian.co.uk, Friday 21 June 2013

"The streets of central Rio de Janeiro and dozens of other cities echoed with percussion grenades and swirled with teargas last night as ranks of riot police scattered the biggest demonstrations Brazil has seen for more than two decades.

As a minority of protesters threw rocks, torched cars and pulled down lamp-posts, the police fired volleys of pepper spray and rubber bullets into the crowd and up onto overpasses where car drivers and bus passengers were stuck in traffic jams. At least 40 people were injured in the city and many more elsewhere.
A vast crowd – estimated by the authorities at 300,000 and more than a million by participants – filled Rio's streets, one of a wave of huge nationwide marches against corruption, police brutality, poor public services and excess spending on the World Cup.
Simultaneous demonstrations were reported in at least 80 cities, with a total turnout that may have been close to 2 million. An estimated 110,000 marched in São Paulo, 80,000 in Manaus, 50,000 in Recife, and 20,000 in Belo Horizonte and Salvador.
Clashes were reported in the Amazon jungle city of Belem, in Porto Alegre in the south, in Campinas north of São Paulo and in the north-eastern city of Salvador.
Thirty-five people were injured in the capital Brasilia, where 30,000 people took to the streets. In São Paulo, one man died when a frustrated car driver rammed into the crowd. Elsewhere countless people, including many journalists, were hit by rubber bullets.
The vast majority of those involved were peaceful....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Six Syrian heritage sites declared endangered

Brazil hit by largest protests yet as hundreds of thousands march

"(Reuters) - Brazil's biggest protests in two decades intensified on Thursday despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations, as 300,000 people took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro and hundreds of thousands more flooded other cities.

Undeterred by the reversal of transport fare hikes that sparked the protests, and promises of better public services, marchers demonstrated around two international soccer matches and in locales as diverse as the Amazon capital of Manaus and the prosperous southern city of Florianopolis.

"Twenty cents was just the start," read signs held by many converging along the Avenida Paulista, the broad avenue in central Sao Paulo, referring to the bus fare reductions.
In the capital, Brasilia, tens of thousands of protesters by early evening marched around the landmark modernist buildings that house Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential offices.
The swelling tide of protests prompted President Dilma Rousseff to cancel a trip next week to Japan, her office said.

The targets of the protests, now in their second week, have broadened to include high taxes, inflation, corruption and poor public services ranging from hospitals and schools to roads and police forces.
With an international soccer tournament as a backdrop, demonstrators are also denouncing the more than $26 billion of public money that will be spent on the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, two events meant to showcase a modern, developed Brazil....."

Al-Jazeera Video: More unrest in Rio de Janeiro

Al-Jazeera Video: ماوراء الخبر- الشارع المصري في مواجهة الشرعية

Iranian Stinker

Steve Sack, Cagle Cartoons, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Al-Jazeera Cartoon: The Real Power in Iran

Real News Video: Violent eviction of Gezi Park gives rise to "standing protesters"

Night of "shocking violence" in Turkey's major cities results in wave of silent demonstrations

Understanding the Latest Leaks Is Understanding the Rise of a New Fascism

By John Pilger

"In his book, Propaganda, published in 1928, Edward Bernays wrote: "The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."

The American nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays invented the term "public relations" as a euphemism for state propaganda. He warned that an enduring threat to the invisible government was the truth-teller and an enlightened public......"

Syria’s internally displaced – ‘The world has forgotten us’

Amnesty International

"On a recent visit to a camp near Atmeh, just inside Syria near the Turkish border, some 21,000 people were sheltering amid hellish conditions.

Heavy rain leaked into the tents and had turned the clay soil into thick slippery mud, raw sewage flowed between the tents. The food being distributed was insufficient and of very poor quality and large numbers of people complained of medical conditions for which they were receiving no treatment.

“When we got here we found that it was impossible to cross into Turkey because the border is closed. So we’ve been stuck here all winter with nothing. There is little food, we don’t even have clothes and blankets to keep warm, we can’t keep the rain out, and everything is wet. The children get sick all the time. The world has forgotten us. What will become of us?” Umm Husam, a mother of five young children sheltering in Atmeh told Amnesty International in March.

Her family’s story is indicative of the dire situation facing many of the close to 6 million people who have been displaced by the conflict in Syria – while death and destruction continue on a daily basis......"

Welcome to Russia’s Syria doublespeak

Anna Neistat

"While world leaders managed to produce a joint communique on Syria at the end of the G8 summit, the closing media remarks made it clear that Vladimir Putin hasn’t actually moved an inch on the issue. The Russian president once again lashed out at the European Union and the United States for considering arms shipments to the Syrian opposition, suggesting it will further destabilize Syria. At the same time, he made it clear that Russia will continue supplying a range of weapons to the Syrian government, arguing that this will help stabilize the region while preventing a foreign intervention.

Welcome to Russian doublespeak......"

Jon Stewart in Cairo for Bassem Youssef's El-Bernameg

US satirist Jon Stewart to appear on Friday's episode of Bassem Youssef's El-Bernameg, Egypt's most popular satirical show

Ahram Online

"US satirist Jon Stewart arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a three-day visit, DPA news agency has reported.


Youssef's weekly show, which is modeled on Stewart's The Daily Show, has been a smash hit with 30 million Egyptian viewers.Stewart will make a guest appearance on Bassem Youssef’s popular satirical show, El-Bernameg.
Often called Egypt's Jon Stewart, Youssef appeared twice on The Daily Show, in June 2012 and April 2013.
Stewart devoted a segment of the show in April to defending Youssef after the latter's arrest for allegedly insulting President Morsi and Islam. Stewart mocked President Morsi for clamping down on freedom of speech while failing to address the country's serious problems.

The 39-year-old Egyptian was included in Time magazine's 2013 list of the world's 100 most influential people.

Youssef's entry on the list was written by Stewart who described the Egyptian as his hero [He is my hero, too!]."

Syrian rebels get first heavy weapons on the front line of Aleppo

The First new heavy weapons have arrived on Syria’s front lines following President Barack Obama’s decision to put Western military might behind the official opposition, rebels have told The Daily Telegraph. 

"Rebel sources said Russian-made “Konkurs” anti-tank missiles had been supplied by America’s key Gulf ally, Saudi Arabia. They have already been used to destructive effect and may have held up a promised regime assault on Aleppo.

A handful of the missiles were already in use and in high demand after opposition forces looted them from captured regime bases.

More have now arrived, confirming reports that the White House has lifted an unofficial embargo on its Gulf allies sending heavy weapons to the rebels.

Last week, the White House said it would send military support to Syria’s opposition after concluding that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime had used chemical agents against them.

Unlike rocket-propelled grenades, the Konkurs – Contest in English – can penetrate the regime’s most advanced tanks, Russian-made T72s.

“We now have supplies from Saudi Arabia,” a rebel source said. “We have been told more weapons are on their way, even higher-end missiles.” ....

On Syria’s front lines, rebels are already using Russian missiles to destroy the regime’s Russian tanks......

But the number of Konkurs missiles seen in videos escalated at the beginning of this month, tangible evidence of the new Saudi supply line.

In the hills above the Syrian village of Kafra Hamra, north of Aleppo, The Daily Telegraph found rebels talking almost lovingly of the Konkurs as they kept watch on the regime’s tanks 800 yards away.
“We have one or two left but my unit has run out already,” said Abdullah Da’ass, a burly, bearded fighter with the Free Men of Syria brigade. “We were given five. We fired four, and took out four regime tanks, and one was a dud.”......." 

Syrian tank blown apart by missile

A video has been posted online which purports to show a tank being blown apart by Konkurs anti-tank missile fired by members of the Free Syrian Army. 

"Rebels have discovered the value of anti-tank missiles after seizing Russian-made Konkurs weapons from regime bases and turning them against their previous owners....." 

Al-Jazeera Video: الاتجاه المعاكس/ الثورة السورية تشعل الصراع المذهبي في

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story Americas: Talking to the Taliban

Includes Juan Cole

Real News Video: US Claims of Chemical Weapons Use By Syria A Pretext for Arming Rebels

Pt 1. Omar Dahi: Despite escalating humanitarian catastrophe, G8 summit failed to advance diplomatic settlement  

Artists versus Islamists in Egypt's culture war

Battle raises questions about art and the state

By Brian Whitaker

"In a dictatorship," the Sudanese-born intellectual Abdel-Wahab al-Effendi once remarked, "the role of the minister of culture isn't to protect culture, but to stifle culture and to protect the regime".....

"Doing nothing" is definitely not a charge that can be levelled against Alaa Abdel-Aziz, the new (Islamist) culture minister. Since taking office last month he has already dismissed the heads of the General Egyptian Book Organisation, the Fine Arts Sector, the Cairo Opera House, and the National Library and Archives.

Amid fears that Abdel-Aziz is on a mission to "Islamise" Egyptian culture, many of the artistic community – al-muthaqafeen. as they are known –- have mobilised to oppose him. The Guardian reports:

"As the curtain rose for the evening performance at Cairo Opera House, the cast did not assemble for the opening prelude of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida as they had on previous nights. 

"Instead, more than 300 actors, dancers and theatre staff filled the stage, wearing full costume and clutching protest signs. Addressing the audience, conductor Nayer Nagi announced: 'In a stand against a detailed plan to destroy culture and fine arts in Egypt we abstain from performing tonight's opera'."

Since then, protests have continued outside the culture ministry building in Zamalek – some of them in the form or music or dance.
  

New minister Alaa Abdel-Aziz

At a meeting on Sunday, members of the Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) announced that they do not recognise Abdel-Aziz's appointment and regard his decisions as "invalid". There were also calls to make the SCC an independent body. Ahram Online explains......."

Palestinian children tortured, used as shields by Israel: U.N.

"(Reuters) - A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields.
Palestinian children in the Gaza and the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
"Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released," it said in a report......"

Lebanese president urges Hezbollah to pull out of Syria

"(Reuters) - President Michel Suleiman has called on the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah movement to pull its guerrillas out of Syria, saying any further involvement in its neighbor's civil war would fuel instability in Lebanon.
Hezbollah militants spearheaded the recapture of the strategic border town of Qusair two weeks ago by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which now appear to be preparing for an offensive in the northern city of Aleppo.
"If they take part in a battle for Aleppo, and more Hezbollah fighters are killed, it will lead to more tension," Suleiman told the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir in an interview published on Thursday. "This should end in Qusair, and (Hezbollah) should return home."
Hezbollah's intervention in Syria against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels has further inflamed sectarian rivalry in Lebanon, where fighting between Alawite pro-Assad and Sunni Muslim anti-Assad gunmen in the northern city of Tripoli has killed dozens.
Since the battle for Qusair started a month ago there have been frequent rocket attacks on Shi'ite areas of eastern Lebanon from suspected rebel-held areas in Syria. A previously unknown Syrian rebel faction claimed responsibility this week for killing four Shi'ite men in the Bekaa Valley on Sunday.
Lebanon is mired in political paralysis which has forced the delay of a parliamentary election and is holding up efforts to form a cabinet. The impasse, along with the influx of half a million Syrian refugees, led former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to appeal to Suleiman this week to act to stop "state collapse".

STAY AWAY FROM GOLAN

Suleiman, a Maronite Christian, has become increasingly assertive in criticizing Syria, which dominated its smaller neighbor militarily and politically for three decades before the outbreak of the uprising against Assad in 2011.
Lebanon's National News Agency said Suleiman sent the Arab League a memorandum on Thursday requesting an end to Syrian violations of Lebanese sovereignty. He gave a similar note to the United Nations representative in Beirut earlier this week.
Suleiman has spoken out against Syrian military incursions into eastern Lebanon against rebel forces, and become more open in his criticism of Hezbollah's military support for Assad...."

Syria crisis: Unesco puts six world heritage sites on endangered list

Sites include the ancient cities of Aleppo and Damascus

Matthew Weaver
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 June 2013

"The UN's cultural organisation has placed six world heritage sites in Syria on an endangered list because of the continued violence in the country. The sites include the cities of Aleppo and Damascus, the Roman ruins at Palmyra and the crusader castles of Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah el-Din. In a statement Unesco said: "The danger listing is intended to mobilise all possible support for the safeguarding of these properties which are recognised by the international community as being of outstanding universal value for humanity as a whole."....."

Men built X-ray gun to shoot Israel opponents – FBI

Industrial mechanic and engineer were caught in sting after tip-off from Ku Klux Klan, investigators say as duo are charged

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 June 2013

"The FBI has charged two men with making a portable X-ray weapon that they intended to use to secretly sicken opponents of Israel.

An indictment charges 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford and 54-year-old Eric J Feight with conspiracy to provide support to terrorists with the weapon.
Investigators have said Crawford approached Jewish organisations in 2012 looking for funding and people to help him with technology that could be used to surreptitiously deliver damaging and even lethal doses of radiation against those he considered enemies of Israel. He and Feight assembled the mobile device, which was to be controlled remotely, but it was inoperable and nobody was hurt, authorities said.
"Crawford has specifically identified Muslims and several other individuals/groups as targets," investigator Geoffrey Kent said in a court affidavit. According to the indictment Crawford also travelled to North Carolina in October to solicit money for the weapon from a ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan, who informed the FBI. Crawford claimed to be a member.
The men appeared separately on Wednesday in federal court and were ordered detained until detention hearings Thursday. They could face up to 15 years in prison.
The damaging effects of the radiation would have appeared only days later, authorities said....."

Al-Jazeera Video: مارواء الخبر- واشنطن والمعارضة السورية المطلوبة

Al-Jazeera Video: من واشنطن- الأميركيون والأزمة السورية

Includes Marwan Bishara

Hamas says its Iran ties worsen over Syrian civil war

"(Reuters) - Hamas said on Wednesday its relations with financial backer Iran have suffered as a result of the Islamist group's support of rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-time Iranian ally.
Hamas was also once an Assad ally but last year endorsed the revolt against him in a shift that deprived the Syrian leader of an important Sunni Muslim supporter in the Arab world.
"Our relations with Iran were affected both on the political and the financial levels," said Ghazi Hamad, deputy minister of foreign affairs in the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip.
Hamad declined to provide any figures for the amount of aid Hamas receives from Iran or give details of any cutbacks, other than to say "it did not get to the point of boycott (from Tehran)".
"We have stood by the Syrian people and we have backed the demands of the revolution," Hamad told reporters, saying those positions had led to a worsening of ties with Tehran.
A diplomatic source in the region said Iran has provided Hamas with up to $20 million a month to help pay the salaries of nearly half of 50,000 Gaza government employees.
Hamad said Hamas was still meeting its payroll and "had lots of other sources" for money. But he added: "Things are not easy ... and we are trying to overcome the problem."
Iran has also provided Hamas with weapons, including long-range rockets that it has used to strike cities deep inside Israel.
Hamad made no mention of any change in Iranian arms supplies to the group, which is boycotted by the West over its refusal to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept existing Israeli-Palestinian interim peace deals.
On Monday, Hamas urged the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from Syria, where they are battling on Assad's behalf.
The call marked a further deterioration in relations between Hamas and Hezbollah, two long-time allies who have each fought against Israel and advocate its destruction.
"We are with Hezbollah in their resistance against Israel but we are not in favor of their position in Syria," Hamad said."

Mass Protests Sweep Brazil in Uproar over Public Services Cuts & High Costs of World Cup, Olympics

Democracy Now!

"Brazil is witnessing some of its largest protests in decades, after some 240,000 people protested Monday. Tens of thousands continue to take the streets. The demonstrations were initially sparked by an increase in bus fares in São Paulo, but the uprising soon spiraled nationwide amid outrage over government corruption, inequality, failing public services and police brutality against demonstrators. Protesters have also condemned the high level of government spending on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. We’re joined from São Paulo by Lucia Nader, executive director of the Brazil-based human rights organization Conectas and a participant in the protests...."

Drunk Erdogan

Support for Egypt Brotherhood and Morsi dwindling: ZRS

According to Zogby Research Services (ZRS) poll, 94% of Egyptians express confidence in army, compared to 28% in President Morsi and 26% in Brotherhood

Ahram Online

"Zogby Research Services (ZRS) has released a poll assessing President Morsi's popularity one year after his inauguration, finding a drop in popularity from 57% to 28% over the course of the year.


The survey sample consisted of 5,029 Egyptian adults nationwide and was conducted from 4 April to 12 May 2013, ZRS explained.The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which garnered 47% of total parliamentary seats in 2011, currently holds a popularity rate of 26%, the poll’s findings suggest.

In a survey conducted one year ago by the same institute, 57% of Egyptians said Morsi’s victory was either “a positive development” or “the result of a democratic election and the results need to be respected,” in comparison to only 28% this year......"

Al-Jazeera Video: في العمق - مستقبل حزب الله بعد تدخله بسوريا

"تناقش الحلقة مستقبل حزب الله بعد تدخله بسوريا، ما أسباب تدخل حزب الله في سوريا؟ وما أثر مشاركته العسكرية على الثورة السورية وداخل لبنان؟ ما طبيعة العلاقة بين حزب الله وإيران؟ وكيف يبدو مستقبل الحزب السياسي والعسكري في ضوء هذه التطورات؟"

Real News Video: Hundreds of Thousands of Brazilians Protest Countrys' Harsh Inequities

Protest against bus fare increase sparked nationwide protest movement demanding systemic change

Viral Video Of Brazil Protests Will Give You Goosebumps

No Olho Do Furacão (In The Eye Of The Storm) 

Egypt tourism minister resigns over Luxor governor's terror links

Hisham Zaazou quits after Morsi administration appoints Islamist associated with group that killed scores of tourists in 1997

Patrick Kingsley in Mansoura
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 19 June 2013 

"Egypt's tourism minister has resigned in protest over the appointment as Luxor governor of a member of a hardline Islamist group associated with terrorists who killed at least 58 tourists in 1997.

Hisham Zaazou, whose resignation has not yet been accepted by Egypt's prime minister, opposes the appointment on Sunday of Adel el-Khayat, a member of Gamaa Islamiya – a group whose associates carried out the massacre.
The appointment of Khayat, who denies personal involvement in the attack, has enraged not just Zaazou, but the tourism industry in Luxor, which fears the symbolism of the appointment will put off potential visitors.
The city is home to some of the country's most famous pharaonic ruins, and derives most of its income from tourism. But tourism has already fallen dramatically since Egypt's uprising in 2011, and locals fear any reminder of the 1997 attacks will further deter tourists.
One of 17 governors appointed this week. Khayat was not the only appointee to have been greeted with outrage. One new governor was allegedly forced to go to work disguised in a niqab while another was hit by a shoe as protesters in at least eight provinces demonstrated against President Mohamed Morsi's controversial inclusion of several Islamists among the new crop of state administrators.
Protesters are furious at Morsi's decision to increase the bureaucratic influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose allies now control 11 of Egypt's 27 states. This comes at a time when they feel he should be trying to reach out to non-Islamist sections of society.
Egypt is more polarised than at any point since 2011. Recent polls suggest Morsi's popularity has halved since his election a year ago,while opposition activists claim to have secured 15 million signatures on a petition calling on him to resign.
"Each day, more and more Egyptians are losing faith in the Brotherhood," said Doaa Khalifa, a leading opposition activist in Mansoura, a northern city where protesters padlocked state administrators inside their offices on Tuesday, and where one local official alleged the new Brotherhood governor had been forced to go to work hidden under a niqab.
"Before, they gave them the benefit of the doubt," added Khalifa, the local co-ordinator for the Tamarod campaign, the grassroots initiative that claims to have gathered 15 million signatures calling for Morsi to go. "Now, they think everyone who has a beard is a liar."
Fighting broke out between activists and Brotherhood members in Tanta, Egypt's fifth-largest city, where the new Brotherhood governor was attacked with a shoe. Protesters later set fire to the Brotherhood's local headquarters.
Fury at Morsi has far deeper roots, however, than just his recent appointments. Living conditions have significantly worsened in recent months, with food prices rising sharply, power cuts occurring on a daily basis, and fuel scarce. In Mansoura on Tuesday, petrol station queues stretched for close to a mile. "Morsi is ruining the country," argued one driver, Yasser Abdel Samir.
"Look at this petrol queue. That's because of him. There's no water; there's no electricity; salaries are low; food prices are high. He's going down on the 30th," added Abdel Samir, referring to planned protests against Morsi's regime on 30 June, the first anniversary of his election......."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you support accusations by the West that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons?

So far, 83% have voted yes.

Intelligence-Industrial Complex, by Khalil Bendib

Spying on All Citizens, by Khalil Bendib

Al-Jazeera Video:Social protests turn violent in Brazil

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر - لبنان والحرب السورية

"تناقش الحلقة تداعيات الأزمة السورية وأثرها على لبنان، إثر مطالبات فؤاد السنيورة بتدخل الحكومة ورئيس الجمهورية ومطالبة حزب الله بالانسحاب من سوريا."

Egypt tourism minister resigns over 'ex-militant' Luxor governor

Hisham Zaazou resigns as tourism minister over appointment of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's Adel El-Khayat as governor of Luxor

Ahram Online

(Please see article by Brian Whitaker, 4 posts below)

"Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou has resigned in protest at the appointment of an ultimate-conservative Islamist as governor of Luxor.


Prime Minister Hisham Qandil asked Zaazou to continue in his job but he refused, Azazi added."Hisham Zaazou insists on his departure, and I have not denied it as was reported by some websites," ministerial spokesperson Rasha Azazi told Ahram Online.

On Tuesday, Zaazou met with PM Qandil to discuss his concerns about the appointment of Adel El-Khayat, a member of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, as governor of Luxor. Zaazou tendered his resignation hours after the meeting.

Zaazou, a technocrat and political independent, was appointed tourism minister in August 2012. He was previously assistant to former tourism minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour.

Members of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya are accused of killing at least 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in a terrorist attack in Luxor in 1997.

Luxor relies heavily on tourism and is considered one of the world's largest open-air museums."

The Destruction Of The Syrian Air Force

"June 18, 2013: The Syrian Air Force has suffered major losses in the last year, as the aircraft and helicopters were unleashed on rebels (and civilian supporters) and took a beating. Of the 370 usable fixed wing war planes the Syrian Air Force had two years, about half are now out of action because of combat losses or wear and tear. Nearly two-thirds of the 360 helicopters are gone, for the same reasons.
Part of the problem was that few Syrian air force leaders (and pilots) were prepared for this kind of war (low level bombing and lots of helicopter flights under fire). Desperate time remand desperate measures, and in the last few months even the MiG-29 fighters have been seen dropping bombs. These are the most modern aircraft Syria has and their pilots were trained to fight Israeli jets, not bomb civilians. But a village or city neighborhood is hard to miss, even for a rookie.

A more costly problem is the lack of flying time in the last decade. Syria could never afford, even with Iranian subsidies, to let their combat pilots fly enough to be really good at it. For the last year, the only flying has been for combat missions. MiG-29 pilots were taught about bombing, if they had no experience in that, on the ground and practiced the weapons release procedure while the aircraft were sitting on the ground. The first actual bomb drop was for real, not practice. This lack of flight time led to operational losses, especially when it came to landing damaged (by enemy action or equipment failure) aircraft. This often led to aircraft loss rather than bringing home a repairable aircraft. A shortage of spare parts often made repairs impossible and has become a major factor in aircraft becoming inoperable after heavy use (which wears out some components).
The Syrian Air Force also suffers from an overabundance of older, well-worn, and poorly maintained aircraft. The best example is their use of the MiG-21. This is a 1950s design and most of the few remaining current users are phasing them out. But because Syria is so poor, their 150 MiG-21s are still the most abundant aircraft in their air force. But only about half of these MiG-21s are flyable. There are also a hundred 1960s era MiG-23s, ten MiG-25s, and 40 MiG-29s. There are also 20 Su-24 and 60 Su-22 ground attack aircraft. The 60 operational L-39 jet trainers were also able to carry some weapons (typical with trainers like this) and were used to attack rebels. There is also a large force of helicopters, the most common being over 240 Mi-8s (including some of the more modern Mi-17 model). There are 120 attack helicopters, half of them Mi-24s (a gunship variant of the Mi-8 and contemporary of the American AH-1), the rest are elderly French Gazelle scout helicopters and Polish Mi-2s. These are mostly used as aerial taxis as they only carry a few weapons and can’t handle much damage.

It wasn’t until about a year ago that the rebels (using army deserters and information collected via the Internet or Islamic radical fighters with experience in Iraq) developed effective anti-aircraft techniques. The most common and successful one was to place multiple machine-guns, including at least one heavy (12.7-23mm) machine-gun, along the route used by helicopters or jets coming in for landing or low level attack. These machine-guns were fired in a coordinated manner and were very effective. This tactic is called “flak trap” and dates back to World War II (or earlier). This tactic works if you can use surprise and one or more concealed, preferably truck mounted, heavy machine-guns.

Syrian Air Force losses have been heavy, with some 400 aircrew dead, captured, or missing. Nearly a hundred fixed wing and over a hundred helicopters have been lost. About half of these aircraft were captured or destroyed on the ground as rebels attacked, and often captured, air bases. The jets (and a few transports) were hit while landing and taking off, and this threat often led to airbases being abandoned, with aircraft incapable (because of damage or lack of spare parts) of flying out being destroyed or just left behind. The rebels have about a dozen flyable helicopters and some helicopter pilots have defected, but there is not really a rebel “air force” just yet.
All Syrian aircraft are showing their age, except for the MiG-29s, which are relatively new. Lack of money has meant few flying hours for air force pilots and not enough money to keep all aircraft flyable even before the revolution began two years ago. Fuel and spare parts are even more expensive now (because of sanctions) and the air force has a hard time dealing with the payroll and the expense of running (and defending) its bases.
The Syrian Air Force has a dismal record, although their primary opponent for over half a century has been Israel. The Assad family has occasionally used the air force against the Syrian people and seemed reluctant at first to unleash hundreds of combat aircraft on civilians. But a year ago that changed, and an air attack was considered successful whether it hit armed rebels or the unarmed civilians that supported him. Several air force defectors reported that pilots were often instructed to go after bakeries (bread is a key element of the Syrian diet) and apartment buildings, in order to maximize the suffering among civilians.
The air force is rapidly disappearing because of combat and operational (accidents and poor maintenance) losses. At this point the government has nothing to lose and simply regards the remaining aircraft as similar to diminishing ammo supplies. Use it or lose it to advancing rebels."

Al-Jazeera Cartoon

Brazil's Protesters Take To The Streets Again

AP

Brazilian Military Police Officer Pepper-Sprays Woman During Rio De Janeiro Protests 

(Cartoon by Carlos Latuff)

"SAO PAULO — Enormous demonstrations have shaken cities across this continent-sized country, and more were expected Tuesday in some of the largest outpourings of frustration in decades over red tape, high prices and shoddy services in a rising economic power.

Mostly peaceful marches in at least eight big cities on Monday drew more than 240,000 people nationwide, Brazilian media said, though demonstrations in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte were marred by vandalism and violent clashes with police. Several dozen people were reported injured.
The protests began over a hike in bus prices in the city of Sao Paulo, but were also fed by images of that city's police beating demonstrators and firing rubber bullets last week during a march that drew 5,000 people. In Rio, the violent police crackdown on a small and peaceful crowd Sunday near the iconic Maracana stadium incited many to come out this week for what local news media described as the city's largest protest in a generation.

The vast majority of Rio's protesters were peaceful, but a splinter group attacked the state legislature building, setting a car and other objects ablaze. The newspaper O Globo cited Rio state security officials as saying at least 20 officers and nine protesters were injured there.

Protests also were reported in the cities of Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador. More actions were being planned on social media sites for Tuesday in Sao Paulo and Brasilia....."

Egyptian provinces need elected governors

Islamists and military men dominate new appointments

By Brian Whitaker

"President Morsi's decree appointing new governors for 17 of the Egypt's 27 provinces has triggered a new wave of protests and further raised political tensions ahead of the mass demonstrations against Morsi which have been called by opposition groups for June 30.

Seven of the new governors are members of the Muslim Brotherhood and others are military figures but the most controversial appointment is that of Adel al-Khayyat as governor of Luxor.

Khayyat belongs to the political wing of Gamaa Islamiyya, which claimed responsibility for the 1997 Luxor massacre in which 58 tourists and four Egyptians were killed.

Although the Gamaa has since renounced violence, putting one of its members in charge of Luxor – with its huge economic dependence on tourism – seems an extremely provocative move. The Gamaa, which is seen as hostile to tourism and pre-Islamic monuments, once posted a notice on its website saying:

"Because tourist villages have aspects that anger Allah, including alcohol, gambling and other forbidden things, building these hotels and villages is considered aiding their owners in sin and aggression, and is not permitted."

Al-Masry al-Youm (in Arabic) suggests Morsi appointed Khayyat to appease the Gamaa "because it is the only party that stands beside the Brotherhood against the people".

Ahram Online reports protests against several other appointees....."

Syria crisis: G8 summit promise of aid and talks barely papers over cracks

Russia's refusal to give ground on Bashar al-Assad means little will change in the wake of the summit

GOOD ANALYSIS
Ian Black, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 18 June 2013

"In the context of the war in Syria, the G8's support for peace talks in Geneva and a pledge of $1.5bn (£960m) in humanitarian aid are the diplomatic equivalent of motherhood and apple pie – a comforting reaffirmation of the decent and unobjectionable.
But neither will do much to end the crisis any time soon. Agreement between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, brokered by David Cameron, may have been based on a common desire "to stop the bloodshed" but it barely papered over the cracks.
Cameron had warned that the Russian president was isolated. But when consensus is required, as it is at the G8, one country still trumps seven. Putin did sign up for a call for a "transitional government" in Damascus but he gave not an inch on the crucial question of whether Bashar al-Assad should step down, as the US, Britain and the Syrian opposition all insist he must.
So what had been billed as "a clarifying moment" clarified only that there is still no agreement among the five permanent members of the UN security council. That's as true now as it was when the Syrian uprising – by far the bloodiest of the Arab spring – began in March 2011. The difference now is that at least 93,000 people have been killed and the entire Middle East is quaking to the terrible sights, sounds and dangers of a spreading and increasingly sectarian war.
The G8 politics of the lowest common denominator mean that efforts to convene the Geneva negotiations "as soon as possible" will continue – though their prospects are dim and the timing uncertain.
Assad, making significant military gains with the support of Lebanon's Hezbollah, has pledged to send a delegation but the opposition remains divided and deeply reluctant. Russia and the west are also at odds over whether Iran, a loyal supporter of Assad, should be invited.
The predictable failure in Enniskillen shows there has been no progress since the first Geneva conference in June 2012. Assad, then as now, refuses to negotiate his own departure, insisting he will still be around in 2014.
Other key elements of the Syrian tragedy got careful references. The condemnation of "any use of chemical weapons" glossed over Russia's insistence that there is no evidence of the use of sarin nerve gas by government forces – contradicting claims by the US, Britain and France. Concern about "extremism" was another, with a call on the Syrian authorities and opposition to shun any organisations affiliated with al-Qaida.
No mention was made of controversial plans by Washington, London and Paris directly to arm rebel forces – even though US intentions, after a convoluted statement last week, remain unclear.
Obama sounded uncertain and defensive, telling PBS that "we're not taking sides in a religious war between Shia and Sunni" but aiming instead for a "stable, non-sectarian, representative government".
But his views on Putin's role were unmistakably blunt: "Assad, at this point – in part, because of his support from Iran and from Russia – believes that he does not have to engage in a political transition, believes that he can continue to simply violently suppress over half of the population," the president said. "And as long as he's got that mindset, it's going to be very difficult to resolve the situation there."
Aid agencies will be pleased with the promised $1.5bn in humanitarian aid – split between Syria itself and neighbouring countries, which are struggling to cope with 1.6 million refugees and rising. That's a substantial sticking plaster. But the wound is still bleeding heavily and shows no sign of being staunched."

Glenn Greenwald: As Obama Makes "False" Surveillance Claims, Snowden Risks Life to Spark NSA Debate

Democracy Now!

"Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who broke the NSA surveillance story earlier this month, joins us one day after both President Obama and whistleblower Edward Snowden gave extensive interviews on the surveillance programs Snowden exposed and Obama is now forced to defend. Speaking to PBS, Obama distinguished his surveillance efforts from those of the Bush administration and reaffirmed his insistence that no Americans’ phone calls or emails are being directly monitored without court orders. Greenwald calls Obama’s statements "outright false" for omitting the warrantless spying on phone calls between Americans and callers outside the United States. "It is true that the NSA can’t deliberately target U.S. citizens for [warrantless] surveillance, but it is also the case they are frequently engaged in surveillance of exactly that kind of invasive technique involving U.S. persons," Greenwald says. After moderating Snowden’s online Q&A with Guardian readers, Greenwald says of the whistleblower: "I think what you see here is a person who was very disturbed by this massive surveillance apparatus built in the U.S. that spies not only on American citizens, but the world with very little checks, very little oversight. He’s making clear his intention was to inform citizens even at the expense of his own liberty or even life."......."