163 people killed in Syria today, according to a local activist committee. The fact that one of them was a Michigan woman has turned heads at the State Department; according to both AP and John McCain, the regime has recently gained the upper hand in the two-year-old conflict, which has claimed roughly 80,000 lives so far. source
The White House on Wednesday released almost 100 pages of internal emails regarding the talking points that Ambassador Susan Rice and other officials used on Sunday shows following the deadly Benghazi, Libya attack on September 11, 2012.
You can read ‘em here. Meanwhile, the President is going to give a statement on the IRS scandal in 20 minutes.
As Islamists increasingly fill the ranks of Syrian rebels, President Bashar al-Assad is waging an energized campaign to persuade the United States that it is on the wrong side of the war
“If the Syrian regime falls, al Qaeda wins.” That’s what Bashar al-Assad wants US officials to believe: By playing off US fears of Islamic terrorism, he’s hoping America will shift its support from the Syrian rebels to the incumbent regime, or at least withhold providing any more material support for the rebels. Because at least one rebel faction is allied with al Qaeda, it’s not an altogether crazy strategy. The regime is reportedly relying on Khaled Mahjoub, a Syrian-American businessman, to relay this message to US officials. “We are partners in fighting terrorism,” said Wael Nader al-Halqi, Syria’s prime minister.
NBC News is reporting that the Syrian military has loaded precursor chemicals for the deadly nerve agent sarin into aerial bombs, and is now awaiting instructions from President Bashar al-Assad. Sources say that the bombs, if deployed, would be used against anti-Assad forces in the country, but added they haven’t yet been loaded onto planes. Meanwhile, a US official confirms that several countries have given Assad “informal” offers of asylum (h/t TPM)
![A year after Hosni Mubarak’s fall, new round of protests in Egypt: Tear gas filled the streets and 15 were injured in protests after President Mohammed Morsi issued a decree yesterday greatly expanding his own power. The decree shields any of the president’s decisions from legal challenge until a new parliament is elected; protects the Islamist-dominated assembly, which is in the process of crafting a new constitution for the country, from being dissolved; and calls for retrials of Hosni Mubarak and other members of the old guard. 18 liberal and Christain members of the aforementioned assembly recently withdrew from the process, claiming that their input wasn’t being addressed; Morsi’s claims that his decree will only be in effect until the new constitution is drafted. Both pro- and anti-Morsi protesters clashed in Egyptian streets today, numbering in the thousands. source [1] [2] [3] (Photo credit: Reuters)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdyj3dfO9p1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
A year after Hosni Mubarak’s fall, new round of protests in Egypt: Tear gas filled the streets and 15 were injured in protests after President Mohammed Morsi issued a decree yesterday greatly expanding his own power. The decree shields any of the president’s decisions from legal challenge until a new parliament is elected; protects the Islamist-dominated assembly, which is in the process of crafting a new constitution for the country, from being dissolved; and calls for retrials of Hosni Mubarak and other members of the old guard. 18 liberal and Christain members of the aforementioned assembly recently withdrew from the process, claiming that their input wasn’t being addressed; Morsi’s claims that his decree will only be in effect until the new constitution is drafted. Both pro- and anti-Morsi protesters clashed in Egyptian streets today, numbering in the thousands. source [1] [2] [3] (Photo credit: Reuters)
[Romney’s] doubling down on criticism of the President for the statement coming out of Cairo is likely to be seen as one of the most craven and ill-advised tactical moves in this entire campaign.Time’s Mark Halperin. In case you missed it: Yesterday, Mitt Romney knocked President Obama for “sympathiz[ing] with those who waged the attacks” on US diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt. This claim was false to begin with—Obama didn’t express any sympathy for the attackers—but was made all the more awkward when, six hours after Romney’s statement, news came out that the US ambassador to Libya was killed in the attacks. After that revelation, Romney doubled-down on his attacks on POTUS, and so now, it seems a bit as if Romney is claiming that Obama supported the killing of one of his own ambassadors. Notable here is that very few prominent Republicans are backing Romney up on this—he’s more or less alone. source
apocalypsesunshine says: If you’re interested in what’s happening in Syria, this is good. That said, I find it mildly disturbing that they refer to it as a recap of sorts, as I identify recaps with entertainment media. Pop culture, stop infiltrating absolutely everything.
» SFB says: Recap is a synonym of “summary,” and it’s useful when writing not to keep repeating phrases. To just make a point on this, sort of a general thought on these types of comments, which we seem to get a lot: If we treat every phrase like a loaded word, we miss out on the big picture. Let’s consider the full context instead of the semantics. — Ernie @ SFB
Civilians in and around the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo are increasingly at risk from aerial attacks, artillery shelling and gunfire. Commanders of Syrian government forces and the opposition Free Syrian Army should ensure that their troops abide by the laws of war and never target civilians or conduct indiscriminate attacks.
Read more after the jump.
Scenes from a quickly-heating-up warzone.
He was given two options: to either take the office of prime minister or be killed. He had a third option in mind: to plan his own defection in order to direct a blow to the regime from within, and today, he is declaring his defection.A spokesman for Riyad Hijab, who defected today from his post as Syrian Prime Minister • Hijab, a former agricultural secretary, was named Prime Minister in June, but according to his spokesman, he’d planned his defection since before then. One thing to keep in mind: While it’s impossible to know for sure, many of these high-level Syrian defections are likely as much a result of pragmatism—that is, the recognition that the al-Assad regime will soon fall—as they are the result of moral objections to the regime’s actions. source (via • follow)
In her last days, my mother occasionally became confused....
”The reporter...
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Drip, drip drip: Riyad Hijab, who was appointed Prime Minsister of Syria last June, has defected to Jordan and joined the opposition. Jordanian officials confirmed to Al-Jazeera that Hijab is with his family after having been smuggled across the border, and his spokesman claims that the defection had been planned for months in collusion with the Free Syrian Army. The Syrian government claims Hijab was fired, but either way, this is probably the highest-level defection President Bashar al-Assad has suffered so far, and a sign to many that his power is waning. source
Zintan, Libya | July 14, 2012 Omar, 26, sits in the car he drove to the front lines during last year’s Libyan uprising. He refuses to fix his windshield “the sniper’s round went past my head… This car took care of me, so I can’t change it.” But more than anything the windshield is a constant reminder to Omar of the life he took and the friends he lost. “The first time I killed … It was him or me. For three days after I cried and mumbled and thought I went crazy. ” #iLibya #photography #photojournalism #documentary #hipstamatic #magnumfoundation #emergencyfund #libya #Zintan (Taken with Instagram)
Photo of the day. Easy.
Intentions unclear: Analysts are divided as to why this is happening. The most obvious reason would be that the government intends to use the weapons—which include sarin gas and cyanide—against rebel fighters in the country; however, this could increase global antipathy toward the Assad regime and inadvertently advance Western efforts to force President Assad’s ouster. So, some postulate, perhaps the regime is moving the weapons in order to prevent them from falling into rebel hands? Yet another school of thought holds that the transfer is simply an attempt to avoid Western attempts to track the weapons. Regardless of the motivation, this is scary, significant stuff.
The former Egyptian leader, shown from the cage he was held inside the courtroom, is the first former leader convicted in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions in the past 16 months. Mubarak’s conviction, however, may not stand — he was convicted for killings of unarmed protesters in the early days of the protests in Egypt, but many of the officials under him were acquitted for the same actions. Nonetheless, a significant event in the Arab Spring’s history. (photo via Reuters TV)
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