SYRIA ELECTION: a Sham built on a farceASSAD: The Reign of the Bloody Boot

Who speaks for Gemayel or Hariri?

“We shall sacrifice soul and blood for you,” “Yes forever,” and especially “We love you”. Loudspeakers spewing slogans  in Syria before Assad's corrrpt relelection Full article here

On Sunday evening Damascus celebrated the "victory" of Bashar el Assad in the referendum on the renewal of his mandate for seven years. The official results have not yet been published, but despite the opposition's boycott, the victory of the current president is already assured. Guysen reporting.

The bloody boot gets its mandate. Make sure to thank Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Jihad party, for  emboldening this dictorial slave driver.  Sandmonkey said it here:

"I was in Turkey a couple of weeks ago and I met a couple of Syrian activists. They one thing they told me that was really funny about the Pelosi visit. After Pelosi came to Syria two things happened. People on Syrian TV were saying, "We forced the Americans to knock on the Damascus gate!" Sort of like an admission that we messed things up in Iraq so much that America had to come and beg for their help.

But the day after Pelosi's visits there were immediate arrests of Syrian activists. That was the fruit she yielded. "Oh the Americans came over and they said they have a different foreign policy  and they're more interested in placating Bashar's ego." And he went out and got [arrested] everyone he wanted because he knew he had an ally in Washington that wouldn't pressure him as much.

More hell guaranteed for the Syrians. Expect the crushing of dissidents and freedom fighters to continue apace - accelerating by Nancy Peloshia's visit. That dunb .......... Syria: Voting Under Way In No-Contest Presidential Poll

NO CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT Reform Party of Syria

Syrians were voting on Sunday in a no-contest referendum which will give President Bashar al - Assad another seven years at the helm of a Middle East regional heavyweight.

The Presidential Referendum was described by Syrian opposition as " a Sham built on a farce".
The opposition said it is boycotting the referendum and urged its supporters to vote "no to Bashar " if they had to participate.

The referendum will keep Assad 41 as president of Syria until the year 2014.

The ruling Baath party has called on voters to give a resounding "yes" to a new mandate for Assad, who it said "will express the hopes of the people and the expectations of the nation".

HA! laughing with blood

Sunday's referendum, in which about 12 million Syrians are eligible to vote, is the second involving Bashar al-Assad. Polling stations opened at 0400 GMT and are due to shut at 1600 GMT.

"Turnout is very weak this morning" ................... read it all here.

Syria's president guaranteed new term

There is a critical tome coming out that must be read. Buy it here.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SYRIA By Barry Rubin

Among the biggest world problems and greatest threats are terrorism, radical Islamism, and Middle East crises. Among its greatest challenges are the Iraq issue, the growing power of Iran, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In all of these issues, Syria plays

a central role; in most of them it is one of the greatest or the number-one obstacle. Today, Syria sponsors terrorist groups that attack the United States, Iraq, Israel, and Lebanon.

Syria is central to America’s current role in the world, the dangers it faces, and the wars that engage it. This book provides a comprehensive explanation of Syria’s regime, interests, policies, and society. In turn, Syria provides a model for understanding the Arab and Muslim worlds today.

While the Syrian regime poses as being desirous of peace and engagement with the West, in fact its institutions, ideology, propaganda, and activities go in the exact opposite direction. To survive, the minority-dominated, dictatorial, and economically incompetent government needs radicalism, instability, anti-Americanism, and using Israel as a scapegoat.

The Truth About Syria explains how the country has run; how it tries to attack U.S. interests; and why the regime is incapable of another type of policy.

Barry Rubin has been a writer and analyst on the Middle East for more than 30 years. He was written 23 books and edited an additional 32 books on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. Dr. Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, the world’s largest journal on the region.

Moreover MEMRI has an inportant piece on:

The Political Economy Under Bashar Al-Assad by Nimrod Raphaeli

Syria's economy, which is predominantly state-controlled, was characterized in a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as "stable but stagnant economy"(1) because of the failure of the narrowly confined political establishment to implement extensive economic reforms. An old-fashioned inefficient and heavily regulated socialist command economy, restricted political freedoms under a totalitarian system of government, and wide-scale corruption at the highest levels of government have impeded the emergence of a viable market economy. The three revenue sectors that Syria relies on annually are oil production; taxes from government services; and the government-owned industrial companies, which are widely politicized, greatly inefficient, and bleeding red ink. Only three segments of the economy are somewhat profitable and, not surprisingly, the three are monopolies: tobacco, telecommunications, and banking, although the latter is being opened slowly to private banking. The tobacco monopoly is run by a member of the Assad family which has a complete ownership of the business and is not subject to pricing control. 

Al-Qaeda Chief Urges Iraqis to Export Jihad, Envisions an Islamic "Greater Syria" - Uzi Mahnaimi
The deputy leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged supporters in Iraq to extend their "holy war" to other Middle Eastern countries. In a recent letter, Zawahiri claims al-Qaeda is defeating U.S. forces and urges followers to expand their campaign of terror. He conjures a vision of an Islamic "greater Syria" comprising Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, where al-Qaeda has already gained its first footholds. (Sunday Times-UK)