Two Syrian Female Activists Receive Global Recognition
MICH CAFE: One is a lawyer and human rights activist the other is a leading author but the bravery of both women has been acknowledged by a wider audience
Rape: The Culture of Impunity That Exists in Syria
MICH CAFE: The catalogue of brutal rapes and sexual assaults of women, men and children grows by the day. A new documentary makes grim viewing
Oqda: “I Will Film Until My Last Breath”. He Did.
MICH CAFE: Abdelkareem al-Oqda was a Syrian blogger and citizen journalist who exposed the horrors of the Syrian revolution and for that he has been killed.
Hollywood Stars Join Call to Free Syrian Filmmaker
MICH CAFE: Orwa Nyrabia has been missing for almost three weeks. Pressure is mounting to find out where he is though it’s being led from outside the Arab world.
Aleppo: Favourite City Under Attack ‘Familiar Sight’
ALEXANDER MCNABB: As a long term resident in the Middle East you become used to seeing favourite places under bombardment
Syria: We All Have 20:20 Vision in Hindsight
SYRIA NEWS WIRE: Eight years ago the prevailing opinion about the future of Syria was optimistic. A British journalist knew better than everyone apparently
‘This Is Not A Time for Fiction’: Arab Novelists’ Crisis
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Ahdaf Soueif said it first but many of her peers agree that the tumultuous events wracking the Arab world leave fiction irrelevant.
Dead Tweets: Citizen Journalists Pay the Price
MICH CAFE: With traditional media officially locked out of Syria since the start of the revolution there in March 2011, citizen journalism has taken over the mantle, at a great cost.
Foreign Powers Take Positions, Eye End Game in Syria
FRANCIS MATTHEW: The continuing fighting in Syria is a golden opportunity for foreign governments to put military forces on the ground in advance of any political end-game.
American ‘NeoCons’ Eye Arab Spring Spoils
RAMZY BAROUD: After a short respite, neoconservatives are back with their bizarre maps, bleak visions, and a fail-proof recipe for perpetual conflict.
Imagine it’s You Driving the Syrian Tank…
FRANCIS MATTHEW: This question is working deep into your mind, and leaving you sleepless at night with worry. Can you refuse to fire on fellow Syrians?
The Perilous Position of Syria’s Palestinian Refugees
RAMZY BAROUD: There has been a flood of Palestinian refugees into Syria and they’re facing desperate times.
Syria: Rebel Tank Attack
VIDEO: Amateur video purportedly shows a tank being hit and the crew fleeing in Aleppo, Syria. A report by ITN.
Jets Pound Aleppo: It All Smacks of Desperation
NEWS FROM SYRIA: Every day seems to bring yet another desperate move by the regime – now they’ve brought in jets to pound their people.
Syria in Balance: Broken Borders, Unbroken Alliances
DAVID ROBERTS: Russia is unfazed about alienating swathes of the Middle East not to mention the majority of Syrians, believing in time their position can be reasserted
Days, Weeks or Months But Assad’s Fall is Assured
DAVID ROBERTS: The tactical masterstroke that the Free Syrian Army unleashed on Assad’s regime marks a spiral downwards for the regime
Alawite Turks Fearful of Sectarianism
VIDEO, AL JAZEERA: Alawites in neighbouring Turkey are concerned at the increasingly sectarian tone of the uprising in neighbouring Syria…
Message for Assad: ‘You Know You’re In Trouble When…’
JUAN COLE: Things are looking grimmer by the day for the regime of Bashar al Assad. Here are a few indicators of major trouble.
The God Complex: The West’s Right to War in the Middle East
Jonathan Cook: If the West succeeds in its proxy intervention in Syria and disables yet another Arab state for refusing to toe its line, the stage will be set for the next target: Iran.
When Will West Have Its ‘Road to Damascus’ Moment?
DANIEL M. VARISCO: The only narrative seems to be ‘we can’t get involved in Syria because we’ll create another Iran’. There are alternative scenarios
