@Monkey:
Russia banned performances of Jesus Christ Superstar recently lol.
Those beasts! First they take our freedoms, then they take our show tunes
@Monkey:
Russia banned performances of Jesus Christ Superstar recently lol.
Those beasts! First they take our freedoms, then they take our show tunes
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201334151942410812.html
For the first time, a major city has fallen to the rebels in Syria.
Here's a quick list of the majorest cities.
-Deir ez Zoir
-Ar Rakkah
-Aleppo
-Homs
-Hama
-Damascus
-Latakia
In addition a large convoy of fleeing officers and officials headed toward Iraq were ambushed and killed by rebels (over the border I think, no less).
It really looks like Assad is crumbling definitively in the north of the country. I think this near completely cuts Deir es Zoir off from the rest of the country for Assad. And further cements control on the Aleppo front for the rebels.
This is some major shit.
Although, the US and others seems more open to arming the rebels lately, I hope it doesn't take forever for them to do so.
Although, the US and others seems more open to arming the rebels lately, I hope it doesn't take forever for them to do so.
Our guys are panicking about who gets the weapons. Mostly thinking of Al-Nusra.
More than Libya this is a freaky region to have loose extremists running around with sophisticated weaponary.
@Monkey:
Our guys are panicking about who gets the weapons. Mostly thinking of Al-Nusra.
More than Libya this is a freaky region to have loose extremists running around with sophisticated weaponary.
Yeah, I understand that, but it seemed to me that this extremists thing was overblown, to be honest. And the fact that Assad is still getting weapons didn't really help much.
Yeah, I understand that, but it seemed to me that this extremists thing was overblown, to be honest. And the fact that Assad is still getting weapons didn't really help much.
Well Assad just lost one major ally lol. God they had some shitty last couple of days in the presidential palace.
@Monkey:
Well Assad just lost one major ally lol. God they had some shitty last couple of days in the presidential palace.
Arab League offers the Syria seat to the opposition
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201336162346497842.html
Lol, the Lebanese member wanted them to give "Assad's regime" their seat back.
Guess the answer was:"Hahaha, no".
Lol, the Lebanese member wanted them to give "Assad's regime" their seat back.
Guess the answer was:"Hahaha, no".
Why did the Lebanese member want that?
Why did the Lebanese member want that?
Basically, they're best buddies. Always has, always will.
While Lebanon said they want to be neutral on the whole Syrian revolution, they can't hide the fact that they they're biased towards Assad.
Basically, they're best buddies. Always has, always will.
While Lebanon said they want to be neutral on the whole Syrian revolution, they can't hide the fact that they they're biased towards Assad.
Hezbollah is anyway. Lebanon is a three headed creature constantly biting itself.
@Cyan:
Arab League offers the Syria seat to the opposition
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201336162346497842.html
Well now, that's an even more obvious sign of Assad being fucked royaly.
According the news, first major Syrian city ar-Raggah has fallen to rebels, making it first major city to fall to rebel possesion during civil war.
Though I am happy to see Syrians getting rid of Assad I cant helped but be bit worried what comes after. While its clear that Assad and his regime must be get rid off I am not sure what kind of Syria emerges after his downfall, this could turn out much worse than what happened for Tunisia and Egypt in post-revolution, increased salafist influence and more islamic centric regime with only cosmetic democracy installed.
Should salafist fill power vacuum left by Assad's downfall then minoritys of Syria such as Alawites,christians and druzes will face increasingly difficult times from hostile regiment. Still Assad must be get rid of first but I am little sceptical about future of Syria.
According the news, first major Syrian city ar-Raggah has fallen to rebels, making it first major city to fall to rebel possesion during civil war.
Though I am happy to see Syrians getting rid of Assad I cant helped but be bit worried what comes after. While its clear that Assad and his regime must be get rid off I am not sure what kind of Syria emerges after his downfall, this could turn out much worse than what happened for Tunisia and Egypt in post-revolution, increased salafist influence and more islamic centric regime with only cosmetic democracy installed.
Should salafist fill power vacuum left by Assad's downfall then minoritys of Syria such as Alawites,christians and druzes will face increasingly difficult times from hostile regiment. Still Assad must be get rid of first but I am little sceptical about future of Syria.
Salafists won't ill the vacuum because all the other countries will want them dead.
Turkey won't want wackos on their largest border. Israel do I even need to say? Jordan won't want troublemaking revolutionaries. And Iraq's Shia government lol.
Syria is both absolutely damned to chaos, but also blessed….loosely by that chaos having to be sorted out.
Real chaos happens when no one around is big enough to care. Like DRC, Somalia, Afghanistan. Isolated countries either due to geography or topography.
Syria is right smack in the middle of it all. Pure anarchy won't be tolerated. And crazy people won't be tolerated.
Of course that means tons more violence to just sort that fact out.
In my long game playbook this is called a happy ending.
Welcome to the scary world I inhabit. I am batman.
The swift capture of ar-Raqqah certainly looks like a major turning point on the Eastern and Northern front of the conflict in favor of the opposition. The entire city is captured and all that's left is to mop up peripheral army and air force bases, which seem to be falling to the opposition on a daily bases. Unlike the Western and Southern conflict zones in Syria, the North-Central and Eastern regime bases are increasingly becoming isolated from possible land-based supply lines. All of the bases surrounding ar-Raqqah province will likely fall within the month. The majority of regime forces seem to be more concentrated on the fighting around the Eastern Damascus, Idlib, Hama, Homs, and Aleppo provinces with a far more tenuous grasp further east. Even air supremacy is starting to show its limits in those regions.
The opposition has already been diverting its forces (fresh from the Raqqah offensive) in droves to provincial capital Deir Ezzor, which is effectively 90% in opposition hands as we speak. Deir Ezzor is all but guaranteed to be the next provincial capital to completely fall into opposition hands barring a miracle in favor of the regime. As a result, the Euphrates river will be virtually be complete opposition territory. However, it's important to note that while ar-Raqqah is mostly intact and a semi-functioning city, Deir Ezzor is almost entirely in ruins with a tiny fraction of civilians remaining and the majority of the infrastructure leveled by nearly year-long regime bombing.
http://news.msn.com/world/afghan-leader-alleges-us-taliban-are-colluding
Can anyone please tell me why Karzai is still in power ?
So hectic whats happening in Syria, Assad should just stand down the guy is killing thousands of people.. And about Karzai I don't get why hes a problem, America's the big fucking problem.. aka Global police much
@winnyshreds:
So hectic whats happening in Syria, Assad should just stand down the guy is killing thousands of people.. And about Karzai I don't get why hes a problem, America's the big fucking problem.. aka Global police much
You have no idea who Karzai is and where he came from do you.
@Monkey:
You have no idea who Karzai is and where he came from do you.
Not really although I did look him up, enlighten me please
@winnyshreds:
Not really although I did look him up, enlighten me please
How do I even know where to start lol. How much would I have to educate you on to even put the character on the stage and plot.
I can't help but think of Karzai as sort of an Afghani Manuel Noriega. It's not a perfect match, of course.
Syrian opposition points a Prime Minister for a, soon to be chosen, government of the revolution.
Also this.[Hide]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/185/bembtmgcmaatrin.jpg[/Hide]
And he said President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is so provincial that at a social dinner he once asked the monarchs of Jordan and Morocco to explain jet lag. “He never heard of jet lag,” King Abdullah said, according to an advance copy of the article.
The president of a sovereign nation
King trekkie seems jaded
Also lollll at Assad
@Cyan:
King trekkie seems jaded
Also lollll at Assad
Based on this and the Assad regime's incredible ingenuity at securing it's leaders private emails, it is best asssumed Daddy Hafez decided to put Bashar forward as the next democratic hereditery president after the pool boy got malaria.
And this guy is controling an army with like real tanks and stuff, right next to you.
Would you feel safe, or pleasent in the knowledge that Bashie's the head Honcho of his neighbourhood ?
Also I always have to laugh a big, guttural sarcastic laugh at "republics" where the head of state just happens to be succeeded by his own son.
Because that's not how they work guys.
Chemical weapons have been deployed in Khan-al-Asal in Aleppo province. Each side is blaming the other for their use.
Interesting. Wonder if this was planned or if it was in response to the appointment of the opposition's PM.
Despite claims by both sides that chemical weapons were deployed the other day, analysts say that there's little to support that. http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war
There's no dispute over the bombing of the Iman Mosque in Damascus, which killed dozens and wounded almost a hundred others. Among the dead was imam of the Ummayyad Mosque. Mohammad al-Buti, who made weekly televised sermons condemning the uprising and urging the Syrian people to side with Assad. The Free Syrian Army has denied any connection with the bombing.
Meanwhile, Obama is in Israel. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/21/17396987-obama-appeals-to-israelis-give-justice-to-the-palestinians
Along with the FSA, none of the additional Islamist militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
There is quite a bit of suspicion on the story of a suicide bomber carrying out the attack. Syria and Lebanon have a pretty consistent history with political assassinations involving bombs. Moreover, the likelihood a rebel suicide bomber could have slipped through that far into regime-controlled Damascus territory just to kill one civilian target, in a crowded mosque no less, instead of many other possible military targets is also questionable. There's also the possibility this was an independent action by a separate person or persons residential in the regime-controlled district of Damascus.
This is not going good. Not at all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22095099
@cooldud_21:
This is not going good. Not at all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22095099
This was already assumed, it's just confirmation of how everyone's been regarding them.
@Monkey:
This was already assumed, it's just confirmation of how everyone's been regarding them.
Had they already been declared a terrorist group or did that happen after this declaration? The article is not really clear about that, and I haven't been following this VERY closely.
@cooldud_21:
Had they already been declared a terrorist group or did that happen after this declaration? The article is not really clear about that, and I haven't been following this VERY closely.
They had already been by some countries, namely the US.
Many people have already predicted a civil war after the civil war between moderate Syrians and the Al-Nusra types.
@cooldud_21:
This is not going good. Not at all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22095099
Washington's reply to this is basically "this is old news." Makes sense because they were branded "terrorists" by the White House last year because of that same affiliation. While the Islamist group was officially listed as a terrorist group by the US, other pro-opposition nations haven't made the same declaration up until now despite full knowledge of the al Qaeda connection. Pro-Assad nations, meanwhile, have branded everyone in or sympathetic to the opposition as "terrorists" or "foreign mercenaries."
What's the bigger issue is that the announcement may affect the cooperation and loyalties of the several factions allied with the FSA and JAN. While many of the Islamists fighting alongside the JAN admire them or at least are content with fighting alongside them as a means to topple the Assad regime, they draw the line with direct al Qaeda involvement. Many Islamist fighters in Syria were surprised by the official announcement from al Qaeda with the announcement of JAN being part of a new Iraqi-Syrian international network
Understandably, the official statement of the JAN representative tries to buffer the official statement by affirm their alliance with al Qaeda while also convincing JAN loyalists and allies that the JAN is still has autonomy outside the al Qaeda command and maintaining its separate identity.
“The sons of Al-Nusra Front pledge allegiance to Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri,” Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said in the recording. “Al-Nusra Front will not change its flag, though we will continue to be proud of the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq, of those who carry it and those who sacrifice themselves and shed their blood for it,” “We reassure our brothers in Syria that Al-Nusra Front’s behavior will remain faithful to the image you have come to know, and that our allegiance (to Al-Qaeda) will not affect our politics in any way,” he added.
As Monkey King said, the moderates (the FSA and allied moderate batallions) have been trying to counter the ever-growing jihadist and Muslim Brotherhood influence over the revolution. This year, the more Islamist factions have been more upfront in their wish to create an "Islamist state" in the wake of the Syrian Civil War. It's been made more difficult as the civil war has become far more sectarian with the Syrian regime even officially declaring "Islamic jihad" over the opposition ("Zionist sabateurs") and the increasing number of foreign jihadists on both sides–Hezbollah, Iranian and Shi'a Iraqis joining the regime's ranks and pro-Sunni Arabs, Islamists, Libyans, joining the opposition.
Outside of the fear of a future regressive Islamic government is that the strong Islamist influence in post-Assad Syria will lead to another Iraq War situation. A situation in which Syria will become a foreign-occupied nation on the pretext of Syria's chemical weapon WMDs falling into the wrong hands and a battlefront of the ongoing U.S.-led "war on terror." In the current civil war, the al Qaeda announcement causes worry among the FSA that the opposition will be further alienated from international support and aid and vindicate the Assad regime's rhetoric that the FSA are criminal terrorists.
There's no dispute over the bombing of the Iman Mosque in Damascus, which killed dozens and wounded almost a hundred others. Among the dead was imam of the Ummayyad Mosque. Mohammad al-Buti, who made weekly televised sermons condemning the uprising and urging the Syrian people to side with Assad. The Free Syrian Army has denied any connection with the bombing.
There is a leaked video that shows Al-Buti surviving the explosion without being harmed… then some guy went straight to him and shot him in the head. I can't say whether that videos is genuine or not though.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10876884 Two women are beheaded after three nights of torture after being accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea. Another women and her two daughters are accused of the same and are to be beheaded as well as the goverment has sent a single police officer to try and negotiate their release.
Also it has legislation that protects people who commit violence on those they suspect of witchcraft from prosecution.
@No:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10876884 Two women are beheaded after three nights of torture after being accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea. Another women and her two daughters are accused of the same and are to be beheaded as well as the goverment has sent a single police officer to try and negotiate their release.
Also it has legislation that protects people who commit violence on those they suspect of witchcraft from prosecution.
Wrong thread yo.
@Monkey:
Wrong thread yo.
I've had the other open at the same time so I guess I kinda messed up.
Still topical, kinda, sorta not realy.
Just found this
We found another defector, a doctor. ‘I lived as a robot. I was not a human being,’ she said.I asked: ‘If you as a doctor had said, “We need more money for medicine for the patients”, what would have happened?’ ‘They would kill me that very day,’ she said.
I can't even grasp how this is possible.
There was a huge massacre near Damascus a few days back, consensus points towards Assad's army being responsible.
Strike 2 for Maliki, and things might not wait for a strike 3 before going to shit.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/04/201342384528294340.html
.. Meanwhile in Syria the fight between the FSA and Hezbolla is intense in Homs and its suburbs, especially in Al-Qusair, which is near the Lebanese border. With Hezbolla being open about their participation like that, and involving Lebanese cities in their fight, some Sunni Sheikhs in Lebanon has called for a response against Hezbolla, which will probably mean even more Lebanese cities and citizens will get involve in this fight, and Lebanon might have a war of its own to deal with.
As if Lebanon hadn't been through enough war already, Jesus
The Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo is a World Heritage site. The minaret in the background dates back to 1090 and is the oldest extent part of the mosque.
Today:
Increased predictions of social upheavel is in talks more and more for the money having' Arab countries, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Bahrain (well that we knew), Qatar and the big Saud.
Not sure how open if at all any users we have from those places can be, but It'd be nice to hear thoughts of anyone. Maybe people whove visited.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22310544
The title seemed so promising till I read on only to discover they are replacing the phosphorus with a gas instead that repicates the same effect.
How many innocent people will be mutilated by this stuff till the international community does anything. Oh waits its Israel…a country immune to criticism.
A protocol to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons bans the use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations or in air attacks against enemy forces in civilian areas.
we expect Syria to tow the line and not break international law while giving Israel immunity.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Despite claims by both sides that chemical weapons were deployed the other day, analysts say that there's little to support that.
no statements or evidence released so far gives any kind of solid indication that they were used, just that it would be a likely option.
Personally I have doubts about it being true. It's not that I don't think they would use them freely without the concern of innocents being caught by it. But that they know it would be the few acts they could commit that would bring the UN to their doorstep.
Meanwhile, Obama is in Israel. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/21/17396987-obama-appeals-to-israelis-give-justice-to-the-palestinians
"I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with these kids, they’d say, 'I want these kids to succeed, I want them to prosper, I want them to have opportunities just like my kids do,'" he added to applause.
i loath this kind of PR crap.
I don't have the time to find it now. But I wanted to post a documentary about Israel and Palestine. It basically gives a solid insight into how the generations of kids are taught early on the dispize the opposition.
Instead of wanting to be firemen, police and all your typical childish ambitions, they dream of being warriors, pilots and part of a military machine in place to destroy their enemies. It was pretty damn depressing.
Sudanese rebels are on their way to Khartoum to take out Omar yo.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/04/2013427143845319920.html
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/17/saudi-arabia-deported-men-for-being-too-handsome/
If anyone was doubting Saudi gender policies have nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with insane possessiveness of "OUR WIMMENS" this should pretty much end it.
@Monkey:
If anyone was doubting Saudi gender policies have nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with insane possessiveness of "OUR WIMMENS" this should pretty much end it.
It's both, dude .