Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
I saw some pics of South Sudan, it is very raw with very little infrastrucure, their Military are mainly militiamen who have been fighting the North for decades. They will need to start from the ground up, invest in education, job training, quality of life, etc. since they have oil, the foreign investment will be there. People won't ignore them like Somalia and the Ivory Coast because of that.
And also they want South Sudan to do well. They wanted all of Sudan to do well, but clearly Bashy old boy was having none of that with his imposition of Sharia Law and the Arabic language.
This will be so much better than the years of civil wars. The South will have its protection from the horde and the West will add it as another bastion against the horde. Thus will it be supported.
So, it is in interesting times that we watch HG. I also enjoy wondering about this "democracy" movement in the ME. It's quickly becoming clearer though.
Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.
Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions. He is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to lift emergency laws in place since 1963 and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms. More than 60 people have died since March 18 as security forces cracked down on protesters, Human Rights Watch said.
State TV said Tuesday Assad accepted the resignation of the 32-member Cabinet headed by Naji al-Otari, who has been in place since September 23. The Cabinet will continue running the country's affairs until the formation of a new government. The resignations will not affect Assad, who holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime.�The announcement came hours after hundreds of thousands of supporters of Syria's hard-line regime poured into the streets Tuesday as the government tried to show it has mass support.
Protests that began March 18 and ensuing violence has brought sectarian tensions in Syria out in the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic here because the country has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam. Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria. But he also has used increased economic freedom and prosperity to win the allegiance of the prosperous Sunni Muslim merchant classes, while punishing dissenters with arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse.
The Muslims can lose a hundred times in a row and come back to fight the 101st time.
But Israel only has to lose once and it's all over.
The Jews lost their "Chosen People" status a long, long time ago.The Muslims can lose a hundred times in a row and come back to fight the 101st time.
But Israel only has to lose once and it's all over.
Israel has been persecuted (lost) since Jacob wanted to marry Racheal. They have been enslaved, captured, murdered, droughted, diseased, and yet, they are still here. Can you name any other culture that has survived those odds/challenges, and is still producing world leaders (many winning Noble prizes, when it still meant something), in every field of human endeavor (just maybe, you might want to rethink that "belief" that they are not the Lord's chosen, how else could they have survived?). Feel free to list all those great accomplishments of the "culture" that conquered and pillaged for its wealth, and claims it is "most civilized" and educated. Don't go Persian empire, that was before the "culture" of death and destruction.
These are fine young men who have their priorities correct.
This brings what comes...
Welcome to the boardI am tired of the Jews making us think that THEY have something for us. LONG LIVE PEACEFUL IRAN!!!
The Jews lost their "Chosen People" status a long, long time ago.The Muslims can lose a hundred times in a row and come back to fight the 101st time.
But Israel only has to lose once and it's all over.
Israel has been persecuted (lost) since Jacob wanted to marry Racheal. They have been enslaved, captured, murdered, droughted, diseased, and yet, they are still here. Can you name any other culture that has survived those odds/challenges, and is still producing world leaders (many winning Noble prizes, when it still meant something), in every field of human endeavor (just maybe, you might want to rethink that "belief" that they are not the Lord's chosen, how else could they have survived?). Feel free to list all those great accomplishments of the "culture" that conquered and pillaged for its wealth, and claims it is "most civilized" and educated. Don't go Persian empire, that was before the "culture" of death and destruction.
They are referred to as the members of the "synagouge of satan" in the New Testament.
DAMASCUS, Syria Syrian President Bashar Assad blamed "conspirators" Wednesday for an extraordinary wave of dissent against his authoritarian rule, but he failed to lift the country's despised emergency law or offer any concessions in his first speech since the protests began nearly two weeks ago.
Within hours of Assad's speech, residents of the port city of Latakia said troops opened fire during a protest by about 100 people although it was not immediately clear whether they were firing in the air or at the protesters. The residents asked that their names not be published for fear of reprisals.
Assad said Wednesday that Syria is facing "a major conspiracy" that aims to weaken this country of 23 million. The Assad family has ruled Syria for nearly 40 years, using the feared security services to monitor and control even the smallest rumblings of opposition. Draconian laws have all but eradicated civil liberties and political freedoms.
"We don't seek battles," Assad, 45, said in an unusually short, televised speech before legislators who cheered for him and shouted support from their seats. "But if a battle is imposed on us today, we welcome it."
He made only a passing reference to the protesters' calls for change, saying "we are for reform" and promising that certain measures were being studied.
Social networking sites immediately exploded with activists calling on Syrians to take to the streets.
Assad's speech was surprising not so much for what he said but for what he left out. His adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, said last week that Syria had formed a committee to study a series of reforms, including lifting the state of emergency laws, which have been in place since 1963 and give the regime a free hand to arrest people without charge.
Assad had been widely expected to formally announce the changes. But the fact that he failed to mention any of them was a major disappointment for thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets since March 18. Human rights groups say more than 60 people have been killed as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations.
Assad, who inherited power 11 years ago from his father, appears to be following the playbook of other autocratic leaders in the region who scrambled to put down popular uprisings by offering minor concessions coupled with brutal crackdowns.
Of course Syria blames it on others. It is the Muslim way. That way they can turn themselves into Muslims being mistreated and enforce a jihad.
Then they can kill their own who are against their Allah.
Of course Syria blames it on others. It is the Muslim way. That way they can turn themselves into Muslims being mistreated and enforce a jihad.
Then they can kill their own who are against their Allah.
These old dictators have made their careers blaming all their problems on Israel and the US, that way the peoples anger will be directed outside, not internally.
Of course Syria blames it on others. It is the Muslim way. That way they can turn themselves into Muslims being mistreated and enforce a jihad.
Then they can kill their own who are against their Allah.
These old dictators have made their careers blaming all their problems on Israel and the US, that way the peoples anger will be directed outside, not internally.
It's their way. You can see how they blame everyone outside of their country. It's their way but be clear, the pattern of acting in a way that creates an attack in which they take the response by unbelievers allow them to wage their "Peaceful Islamic Jihad" (sarcasm intended).
It's all part of their systemic and endemic method. It can't be the leaders, so who can it be?
It doesn't help that Assad is a fringe Shia group, not Sunni and all those he controls are Sunni.
Not an easy fix.
They can blame the Jews all they want, but they kill each other. That's the proof.
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Facing a massive protest movement demanding reform, Syria's president set up a committee Thursday to look into replacing decades-old emergency laws that give the regime a free hand to arrest people without charge.
The move appears to be a carefully designed attempt by President Bashar Assad to show he will not be pressured to implement reform instead, he will make changes at his own pace. On Wednesday, he dashed expectations that he would announce sweeping changes, blaming two weeks of popular fury that has gripped Syria on a foreign conspiracy.
It was not immediately clear whether the move would succeed in pacifying a growing protest movement in one of Mideast's most autocratic regimes, with thousands of Syrians calling for change. Activists have called for massive demonstrations across Syrian provinces on Friday, dubbing it "Martyrs Day."
The day could prove to be a turning point in the country's future.
The state-run news agency said the committee would complete its study by April 25.
Syrian TV said the ruling Baath Party's regional command formed the committee made up of legal experts to study legislation that would "guarantee the country's security and dignity of Syrians and combat terrorism."
"This would pave the way for lifting the state of emergency laws," it said.
Assad fired his 32-member Cabinet on Tuesday in a move designed to mollify the anti-government protesters, but the overture was largely symbolic. Assad holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime, and there are no real opposition figures or alternatives to the current leadership.
The protests were touched off by the arrest of several teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on walls in the southern city of Daraa. They spread to other parts of the country last week, and human rights groups say more than 60 people have been killed since March 18 as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations.
Reporting from Jerusalem As popular unrest threatens to topple another Arab neighbor, Israel finds itself again quietly rooting for the survival of an autocratic yet predictable regime, rather than face an untested new government in its place.
Syrian President Bashar Assad's race to tamp down public unrest is stirring anxiety in Israel that is even higher than its hand-wringing over Egypt's recent regime change. Unlike Israel and Egypt, Israel and Syria have no peace agreement, and Syria, with a large arsenal of sophisticated weapons, is one of Israel's strongest enemies.
Though Israel has frequently criticized Assad for cozying up to Iran, arming Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and sheltering leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, many in Israel think their country might be better off if Assad keeps the reins of power.
"You want to work with the devil you know," said Moshe Maoz, a former government advisor and Syria expert at Hebrew University's Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace.
Several Israeli government and military officials declined to speak in depth about Assad, fearing any comments could backfire given the strong anti-Israel sentiments in the Arab world. That's what happened when some Israeli officials attempted to bolster Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before he resigned Feb. 11.
"Officially it's better to avoid any reaction and watch the situation," said Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, the Defense Ministry's policy director. He predicted Assad's regime would survive the unrest.
Privately, Israeli officials confirmed that although Assad is no friend, he's probably better than the immediate alternatives, which could include civil war, an Iraq-style insurgency or an Islamist takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Israel is worried about what might happen to Syria's arsenal, including Scud missiles, thousands of rockets capable of reaching all of Israel, chemical warheads, advanced surface-to-air systems and an aging air force.
After spending billions of dollars in recent years to bolster its army in a bid to catch up to Israel's military capability, Syria was reportedly pursuing a nuclear program until Israel bombed its suspected reactor facility in 2007.
Despite Syria's ambitions, Assad has been a predictable foe and something of a paper tiger, analysts say. He did not retaliate for the 2007 airstrike and, like his predecessor and father, Hafez Assad, has been careful to avoid direct confrontation with Israel, preferring instead to arm anti-Israel militias such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
Assad has even flirted with peace talks with Israel, though he insists that Israel return the Golan Heights, which Israel seized during the 1967 Middle East War.
"Despite problematic aspects, Bashar maintains a stability," said Eyal Zisser, head of Mideast studies at Tel Aviv University. "The border is quiet. You know where you stand with him. On the other hand, when you go toward the unknown, it is really unknown."
If Assad were to fall, many in Israel say, the best-case scenario would be a government of moderate Sunni Muslims. Syria's Sunni majority has long resented rule by Assad's Alawite-minority family, and some hope that a Sunni-led government would break Syria's ties with Iran.
"A Sunni regime would clearly distance itself from the Shiite Iran and Hezbollah," Zisser said. "Any other regime would be less committed to such an alliance."
