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Brown Moses posted:I'm putting together a list of all the various "comedy" videos from Syria, so far I can think of the following: There was that one where the "journalist" was talking to that "brigade" about all the weapons they received from America. There was an M16 that was actually a shovel, a 4x4 that was a donkey, etc.
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Mar 28, 2012 20:27
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Probably a response to the Egypt situation - http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqI0bye1SQSF76ve9gOy069bwd8A?docId=CNG.e41141fcef353bf7f9d23ca1bca75382.8a1quote:TUNIS — Tunisia's governing Islamist party has said it will not support making sharia, or Islamic law, the main source of legislation in a new constitution and will maintain the secular nature of the state. In worse news the Tunisian interior ministry just declared that there are to be no more protests allowed on Avenue Bourghiba, citing complaints from "businesspeople"
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Mar 28, 2012 21:26
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Turkish army unit there says three Syrians were caught trying to enter a refugee camp near Hatay while carrying explosive belts. They were identified by only their initials. They searched the whole camp but found no other explosives. Three top Syrian generals who defected are staying at that camp. This is some serious stuff but I think the officials are not playing incidents like this up because they don't want to push things past the point of no return and there isn't any international cooperation for intervention yet. Or for other reasons I don't know. In other news, the commander of the Turkish Army inspected military installations and refugee camps in a couple of towns near the Syrian border. something original fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Mar 29, 2012 |
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Mar 29, 2012 00:47
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Ham posted:Most people understand that Islamists will be in power regardless of whatever they do to oppose it. The new constitution will be completely Islamic and liberals will probably eventually disappear, either via immigration as a lot are already doing, or by just going underground. The situation in Egypt now is so depressing.  What's going to happen after the constitution is written? Where's Egypt going to end up?
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Mar 29, 2012 02:05
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something original posted:Turkish army unit there says three Syrians were caught trying to enter a refugee camp near Hatay while carrying explosive belts. They were identified by only their initials. They searched the whole camp but found no other explosives. Three top Syrian generals who defected are staying at that camp. This is some serious stuff but I think the officials are not playing incidents like this up because they don't want to push things past the point of no return and there isn't any international cooperation for intervention yet. Or for other reasons I don't know. Im confused by this. So was it 3 syrians sent by the syrian regime into the camp with explosive belts to kill the 3 syrian defectors? Or were the 3 syrians caught THE defectors?
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Mar 29, 2012 04:03
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Charliegrs posted:Im confused by this. So was it 3 syrians sent by the syrian regime into the camp with explosive belts to kill the 3 syrian defectors? Or were the 3 syrians caught THE defectors? They got released according to the latest video report. Let me recap it all: 7 defected Syrian generals and the "commander of the Syrian opposition" stay in a refugee camp near Hatay. A man brought two other men with him claiming that they had relatives in the camp. They got arrested when it appeared that two of the men were carrying "bomb materials". When they were interrogated they said they were defecting soldiers and the generals could confirm that. The generals confirmed that they were their solders and the men were released.
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Mar 29, 2012 05:16
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Just to clarify re: Egyptian presidential elections, surveys have been pretty shaky and public opinion varies wildly between mere months or even weeks, but they all show Amr Koussa leading by a pretty wide margin, (20+ points over his closest contender) but still quite far from a first round victory. If you add up Koussa, Ahmed Shafik and Omar loving Suleiman's preferences you go over the 50% line, so basically: ahahahahahaha gently caress egypt az jan jananam posted:In worse news the Tunisian interior ministry just declared that there are to be no more protests allowed on Avenue Bourghiba, citing complaints from "businesspeople" so they're a western democracy now? :iamafag:
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Mar 29, 2012 08:11
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SexyBlindfold posted:so they're a western democracy now? :iamafag: Last time I checked, these are located in "Middle East" 
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Mar 29, 2012 08:45
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Section 31 posted:Do these countries have to be western democracy? I don't see no "east" in "اتحاد المغرب العربي" 
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Mar 29, 2012 08:51
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Section 31 posted:Do these countries have to be western democracy?  Do I see Tunisia on this map of Middle East? No, I don't see Tunisia. I think they're aiming for the more advanced 'Mediterranean democracy', anyway. Think Italy!
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Mar 29, 2012 09:03
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Tunisia is on the same longitude as Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. True story. *edit: rly makes u think 
Svartvit fucked around with this message at 09:53 on Mar 29, 2012 |
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Mar 29, 2012 09:46
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Nenonen posted:Think Italy! God help them.
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Mar 29, 2012 13:17
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http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/the-syrian-schoolboys-who-sparked-a-revolution#full Good piece on the start of the revolution in Dera'a last year.
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Mar 30, 2012 22:39
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Clinton asks Saudi Arabia not to arm the FSAquote:Syria crisis: US urges Saudis to support diplomacy to end bloodshed Things aren't looking too good for the FSA
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Mar 31, 2012 01:04
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Posting from my phone so I can't link to the article, but the WSJ had an article yesterday about how Saudi Arabia is trying to get Jordan to let them ship weapons to the FSA via Jordan's borders with Syria.
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Mar 31, 2012 01:47
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Saudi isn't going to pay attention to the US on this. Not the best article, Iran and Saudi are in a new great game.
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Mar 31, 2012 03:21
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something original posted:Clinton asks Saudi Arabia not to arm the FSA Silly rebels picking an election year to get noisy, don't they know that Obama is very busy fundraising? Edit: Syria just announced that troops won't be withdrawing from cities till security is restored. Nice one Kofi J33uk fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 09:14
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For those interested, here's a rough update on what I've been reading about Mali lately. Tuareg secessionist Azawad National Liberation Movement, joined by Maghrebi al-Qaida fighters apparently, has taken control of most of the north eastern Kidal province. They're outgunning Mali's army thanks to the flux of weapons from Libya. The coup governments focus is on crushing the rebels and may or may not actually have support from the people in doing this. Right now they're holed up in Gao and fear that the ANLM will make a move on that city which is a big and important city along the river Niger. Meanwhile the Western African regional organisation ECOWAS is currently awaiting an end to their ultimatum directed to the coup regime, set to expire tomorrow (depending on where you live). If power isn't transferred back to the democratic government tough sanctions will be imposed (they will probably hit Mali real hard). ECOWAS has promised that they'll aid Mali's army if they comply. The inability of Mali's regime to beat back the rebellion was the cause for the coup d'état in the first place. This may all spin out of control. 
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Mar 31, 2012 11:31
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J33uk posted:Edit: Syria just announced that troops won't be withdrawing from cities till security is restored. Nice one Kofi Well it's not like the UN is in a position to really force a agreement on Syria. Diplomacy is based around the carrot and stick, the UN has neither option to force a change in Syria. Especially since having pretty good control of the military especially the heavy stuff such as the mechanized divisions/Air Force gives Assad a position of strength at the table unlike in Libya where you had regime rapidly falling apart over time.
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Mar 31, 2012 14:45
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Things are going down in Mali. The Azawad National Liberation Movement is attacking the city of Gao.
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Mar 31, 2012 14:52
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J33uk posted:Silly rebels picking an election year to get noisy, don't they know that Obama is very busy fundraising? Probably more to do with all the talk of Al Qaeda. True or not, it freaks the gently caress out of the US.
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Mar 31, 2012 14:54
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Caro has a new project for Syria http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/177238975/aerial-battlefield-photojournalism
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Mar 31, 2012 16:00
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Aw, cute. Caro wants a DIY predator drone. He should just buy a bunch of AR Quadricopters and fly those around, probably a much better return on the investment when these things inevitably get blasted to poo poo by a Shilka.
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Mar 31, 2012 17:07
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Al Arabiya is reporting 147 dead and 395 injured in clashes in Sabha, Libya, which is a huge loving increase from what was being reported hours ago. Apparently a ceasefire has been reached by the PM.
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Mar 31, 2012 17:11
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Xandu posted:Al Arabiya is reporting 147 dead and 395 injured in clashes in Sabha, Libya, which is a huge loving increase from what was being reported hours ago. Holy crap that's going to turn into a clusterfuck
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Mar 31, 2012 17:57
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Muslim Brotherhood chose Khairat El Shater as their presidential candidate.
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Mar 31, 2012 20:02
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Xandu posted:Muslim Brotherhood chose Khairat El Shater as their presidential candidate. Even though they spent half their media time since the revolution going on about how they wouldn't be fielding a presidential candidate. Guess that went the same way as their "will only be competing for 50% of parliament".
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Mar 31, 2012 20:25
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Ham posted:Even though they spent half their media time since the revolution going on about how they wouldn't be fielding a presidential candidate.
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Mar 31, 2012 22:11
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^^ Unfortunately the right-wing blowhards were right about that one, too. They've been screaming about MB since the day protests broke out against Mubarak. So has the Syrian revolution gone the same way as Iran's? I'm guessing the Arab Spring will continue for a few more years, but I'd hate to see all those countries turn into theocratic hellholes like Saudi. I'm guessing far-left influence and parties are weak in the region? A communist middle-east would be interesting... zero alpha fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 22:14
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zero alpha posted:^^ Unfortunately the right-wing blowhards were right about that one, too. They've been screaming about MB since the day protests broke out against Mubarak. If Im not mistaken, I think leftist ideology was what quite a few arab dictators have subscrided to over the years? I think Nasser and Sadat had somewhat socialist views. And I know that the Syrian and Iraqi baath parties were basically socialist parties. Saddam Hussein was known as quite the socialist in the 80s. Iraq had an oil financed education and healthcare system and was actually one of the more modern societies in the middle east before they invaded Kuwait. Again, Im just going off memory here and could be wrong.
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Mar 31, 2012 22:44
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There are reports that Islamists took down the MNLA flags in Kidal and have been de-Westernizing the town, indicating some discord between the two rebel movements. edit: Malian forces have also abandoned Gao, leaving it wide open. MothraAttack fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Apr 1, 2012 |
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Apr 1, 2012 01:03
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MothraAttack posted:There are reports that Islamists took down the MNLA flags in Kidal and have been de-Westernizing the town, indicating some discord between the two rebel movements. Wow, that went down quickly.
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Apr 1, 2012 01:26
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Charliegrs posted:If Im not mistaken, I think leftist ideology was what quite a few arab dictators have subscrided to over the years? I think Nasser and Sadat had somewhat socialist views. And I know that the Syrian and Iraqi baath parties were basically socialist parties. Saddam Hussein was known as quite the socialist in the 80s. Iraq had an oil financed education and healthcare system and was actually one of the more modern societies in the middle east before they invaded Kuwait. Again, Im just going off memory here and could be wrong. I think you should be more conservative in your use of the word "socialism". Egypt, Syria and Iraq all had dictators with a left-leaning image, but that is a far cry from actual reality. Especially Hussein came down so hard on the Iraqi left and communists even Leonid Brezhnev refused to talk to him. Saudi Arabia has socialized health care and education paid for by oil money, but let's not talk about socialism. As far as I know that concept is basically unheard of in the Middle East save for the early Zionist movement.
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Apr 1, 2012 01:38
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Has the Arab Spring had any effect on the status of Western Sahara?
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Apr 1, 2012 02:36
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Brown Moses posted:Caro has a new project for Syria I love how he takes a good idea [use of uavs in riots and monitoring] and then amps it up to 11 with "we're going to Syria bitches!" I am somewhat relieved he's being chaperoned. But that said they could be as crazy as he is.
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Apr 1, 2012 03:32
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Svartvit posted:I think you should be more conservative in your use of the word "socialism". Egypt, Syria and Iraq all had dictators with a left-leaning image, but that is a far cry from actual reality. Especially Hussein came down so hard on the Iraqi left and communists even Leonid Brezhnev refused to talk to him. Saudi Arabia has socialized health care and education paid for by oil money, but let's not talk about socialism. As far as I know that concept is basically unheard of in the Middle East save for the early Zionist movement. I don't know, Nasser was quite clearly within the socialist field - persecuting communists isn't exactly a definite sign of not-a-socialist, although I agree that nationalization of oil resources and using them to support a welfare/services net is common to most political sectors in the mid-east. Then again, Nasser's plan for Egypt and the Arab world in general was discredited in the eyes of most middle-easterners after the defeat in 1967, was all but abandoned by Sadat, and was only paid token lip service by Mubarak. So yeah I suppose the Arab world hasn't known of regular left/socialist governments in many decades, since most Nasserist inspired regimes eventually shifted to either opportunistic anti-Islamism or nutjob despotism
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Apr 1, 2012 07:13
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Svartvit posted:I think you should be more conservative in your use of the word "socialism". Egypt, Syria and Iraq all had dictators with a left-leaning image, but that is a far cry from actual reality. Especially Hussein came down so hard on the Iraqi left and communists even Leonid Brezhnev refused to talk to him. Saudi Arabia has socialized health care and education paid for by oil money, but let's not talk about socialism. As far as I know that concept is basically unheard of in the Middle East save for the early Zionist movement. All of the GCC has socialized health care, socialized education, socialized housing. It's welfare socialism as it's funded by oil money and not taxes, but there's still a strong sense of the government dealing with multiple aspects of your life. SexyBlindfold posted:I don't know, Nasser was quite clearly within the socialist field - persecuting communists isn't exactly a definite sign of not-a-socialist Nasser actually had a program to redistribute farmland from the rich land owners to the farmers
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Apr 1, 2012 09:27
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Charliegrs posted:If Im not mistaken, I think leftist ideology was what quite a few arab dictators have subscrided to over the years? Well, that's the inherent problem. Gaddafi was a quasi-socialist during the 90's, a full-blown socialist in the beginning, and just kind of an erratic despot at the end. Sadat and Nasser were both socialists, too. So naturally the opposition became right-wing fundamentalists, which grew in popularity with ordinary Arabs due to their hatred of the semi-secular dictatorships. It's like how the Taliban got popular loving up the Soviet Union's poo poo during the eighties. During Mubarak, a lot of the Imams in Cairo were appointed by the government, and didn't have any real sway with the locals. Now the mosques are filled with lunatics screaming about chopping off the heads of Jews and Shiites. It's a very sad, but not particularly surprising, path that Egypt has chosen. Secularism is simply never going to be popular in the Arab world.
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Apr 1, 2012 09:48
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quote:As far as I know that concept is basically unheard of in the Middle East save for the early Zionist movement. I'm sorry, but this is dead wrong, there has been a very rich and deep leftist socialist movements and leaders in the middle east from the second socialism was invented, just because they never reached power doesn't mean the concept is unheard of. And the communist parties in the middle east shot themselves in the foot by being subservient to the USSR, but the Sudanese and Iraqi communist parties got pretty close to being really influential, but got crushed under the heel of dictatorship, and faded with the soviet union. THE AWESOME GHOST posted:
Fixed that for you. TPMcCarthiera posted:Now the mosques are filled with lunatics screaming about chopping off the heads of Jews and Shiites. This is a massive generalization and blanket statement, the salafists are a lovely group but the religious establishment in Egypt is by and large not a 'bunch of screaming lunatics' as you put it. I really recommend you don't base your analysis on some sort of fantasy taliban-scape you've developed in your head. Al-Saqr fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Apr 1, 2012 |
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Apr 1, 2012 09:57
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Al-Saqr posted:I'm sorry, but this is dead wrong, there has been a very rich and deep leftist socialist movements and leaders in the middle east from the second socialism was invented, just because they never reached power doesn't mean the concept is unheard of. Shouldn't have said "unheard of", what I meant is that no society was ever organised on the socialist ideas. There's this idea where if, say Qaddafi, simply calls himself socialist or he does something with the state (how else is a dictator supposed to do stuff?) then it's suddenly factually correct to claim that he's a "full-blown socialist" or a "quasi-socialist" (what do this even mean) no matter how hard he represses labour unions and everything else that makes socialism what it is. Dictators throughout all eternity have used different "welfare" schemes to keep his/her subjects content but that's not socialism. I think it's correct that that's pretty much how Saudi Arabia handles it's welfare policy, for example. *edit: This is a little OT I realise now.
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Apr 1, 2012 11:26
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