On Mar 28, 2011, at 1:32 PM, Fernando Cassia wrote:
> I think he fears the same "conspiracy" will be used against him. But
> paranoia has a limit... everyone and his mother can see that people in
> Siria want an end to the near 50 years old "state of emergency" for
> instance.
Not Yoshie Furuhashi, who's posted about a dozen videos of pro-Assad demonstrations to MRZine:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/syria270311.html
Her headnote:
> Bashar al-Assad, unlike other Arab heads of state, appears to have masses of supporters, who took to the streets on 26 March 2011, as shown in the videos below. (Search YouTube for تأييد بشار الأسد, and you'll find many more lovingly uploaded by his fans.) However, "God, Syria, only Bashar" and "With our soul and blood, we'll defend Bashar" (the slogans shouted by his supporters again and again in the videos, as if there is nothing else to say) won't do. They need an ideology larger than Bashar. -- Ed.
The rote citation of two simple-minded slogans might call into question the sincerity of the demonstrations, but not if you're a true believer.
Doug