So sad. He was so incredibly fearless. What a huge loss.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 17 February 2012 14:36 (twelve years ago) link
RIP. An invaluable reporter.
― Suede - the fabric, not the band (DL), Friday, 17 February 2012 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
he was such a beautiful writer, too. the thought of all the work that won't be written now is so sad.
― horseshoe, Friday, 17 February 2012 17:15 (twelve years ago) link
This is horrible, he was one of the greatest
― HO WBEAUTIFUL IS THE GENTLYFALLINGBLOOD? (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 17 February 2012 17:31 (twelve years ago) link
RIP
― the late great, Friday, 17 February 2012 19:23 (twelve years ago) link
he did the video podcast from beirut, right?
i will miss those so much
http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20120221/ML.Syria/?cid=hero_media
A French photojournalist and a prominent American war correspondent working for a British newspaper were killed Wednesday by Syrian shelling of the opposition stronghold Homs as President Bashar Assad's regime escalated its attacks on rebel bases by strafing from helicopter gunships, activists said.
...This tragic incident is another example of the shameless brutality of the Assad regime." U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of the journalists killed.
"That's enough now, the regime must go," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy after his government confirmed the two deaths.
French spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse identified those killed as French photojournalist Remi Ochlik and American reporter Marie Colvin, who was working for Britain's Sunday Times.
France's Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, said the attacks show the "increasingly intolerable repression" by Syrian forces. French Communication Minister Frederic Mitterrand said of the journalists killed: "It's abominable."
Syrian activists said at least two other Western journalists — French reporter Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro and British photographer Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times — were wounded in Wednesday's shelling, which claimed at least 13 lives.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 14:57 (twelve years ago) link
Marie Colvin was on the news just last night
― Charles Kennedy Jumped Up, He Called 'Oh No'. (Tom D.), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 14:59 (twelve years ago) link
Good luck in convincing the Russians, Chinese, and Iranians about this.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 15:14 (twelve years ago) link
I guess folks upset over civilian deaths from drone attacks are also bothered by ugly regime attacks from the likes of Syria (or maybe they just expect better from the US and other Western nations that profess to be better and state that they are trying to avoid casualties, while the likes of Syria are clearly intending to cause them)
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, was just going to say that.http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/22/marie-colvin
― Striking Minors (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
fwiw killing journalists /= killing civilians in the world of realpolitik. not saying I agree with this evaluation, but they are viewed differently.
― erotic war comedy pollster (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
A United Nations report concluded on Thursday that Syria had committed “gross human rights violations” as a matter of state policy, as the country’s forces continued attacks in Homs
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 23 February 2012 18:55 (twelve years ago) link
The last few days have been really depressing
― Striking Minors (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 24 February 2012 00:14 (twelve years ago) link
yeah.
otoh it's kind of surprising that this was the first Arab Spring uprising-type thing to go, really REALLY bad. Like, I would not have put odds on the successful overthrow of Qaddafi or Mubarak a few years ago.
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 24 February 2012 00:20 (twelve years ago) link
so this conference today seems like a pretty clear signal that ramping up for full-scale civil war is imminent...
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 24 February 2012 16:56 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/world/middleeast/friends-of-syria-gather-in-tunis-to-pressure-assad.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2
Russia has said it will not attend the Tunisia meeting and news reports on Thursday said China had not committed, blunting the gathering’s chances of securing strong action against Mr. Assad’s government.
...
The photographer and Ms. Colvin had been working in a makeshift media center that was destroyed in the assault. Activists said that the center had been targeted and that Syrian reconnaissance aircraft had probably spotted satellite transmitters on the roof of the building where it was located. The government denied targeting journalists.
One of the wounded journalists, Edith Bouvier, 31, is a freelance reporter for the French newspaper Le Figaro. Videos on YouTube showed her and Paul Conroy, a photographer who lives in Britain, appealing for help.
One of the videos also shows a Syrian man in medical scrubs and a stethoscope who seconded Ms. Bouvier’s call for immediate evacuation and said her life was in danger. “We need help to stop the bombardments and save Edith,” the man said in Arabic.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 February 2012 17:34 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/friends-of-syria-to-call-for-un-to-start-planning-syria-peacekeeping-mission/2012/02/24/gIQA0LUdXR_story_1.html
Despite the show of unity, which diplomats said they hoped would impress upon Assad that the end of his family’s four-decade autocratic rule is inevitable and at hand, there were signs of division. Some nations argued for arming Assad’s foes, while others called for the creation of protected humanitarian corridors to deliver aid.Neither idea was included in the conference’s final document, which instead focused on steps nations should take to tighten the noose on the regime, including boycotting Syrian oil, imposing travel and financial sanctions on Assad’s inner circle, and working with the opposition to prepare for a post-Assad Syria, including lucrative commercial deals. It also welcomed the appointment of former U.N. chief Kofi Annan to be a joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy for Syria.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 February 2012 21:57 (twelve years ago) link
This whole Paul Conroy situation appears to have become a massive clusterfuck.
― James Mitchell, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 10:46 (twelve years ago) link
What do you mean? British Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy is no longer in Syria, having been smuggled out of the besieged city of Homs and the Syrian constitutional referendum passed, all is good!
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 15:06 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, At least 59 Syrian civilians and soldiers were killed on Sunday
Bodies found dumped. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-activists-dozens-of-bodies-found-near-homs-in-one-of-worst-mass-killings-of-conflict/2012/02/27/gIQANnebeR_story.html?hpid=z1
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 15:09 (twelve years ago) link
7,500+
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Wednesday, 29 February 2012 05:47 (twelve years ago) link
Maybe we should start arming the opposition even if we know nothing about them. Likely not to be worse, right?
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 29 February 2012 13:25 (twelve years ago) link
from what I can tell there are PLENTY of weapons in Syria, the bigger issue is probably organizational - safe communications, supply lines, etc.
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 29 February 2012 17:04 (twelve years ago) link
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/02/29/venezuela-aids-syria-regime-with-fuel-shipments/
This does not help
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 29 February 2012 17:09 (twelve years ago) link
http://news.yahoo.com/terrified-residents-syrian-border-cities-quseirare-fleeing-lebanon-103500866.html
― "marvellously inoffensive" (Eazy), Thursday, 8 March 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
Not entirely convinced given the sources (Stratfor via Wikileaks, Jerusalem Post), but anyway:
Alawite defections from Syrian army may be on rise
― Pauper Management Improved (Sanpaku), Thursday, 8 March 2012 16:55 (twelve years ago) link
In a video posted on the Internet, Abdo Hussameldin, the deputy oil minister, said he had defected from President Bashar al-Assad’s government, making him one of the highest-ranking civilian officials to bail on Mr. Assad in the increasingly chaotic insurgency, which the United Nations estimates has left at least 7,500 people dead.
But http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/222843/u.s._officials_warn_against_syrian_intervention.html
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 8 March 2012 20:05 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/egypts-ngo-raids-are-a-full-frontal-assault-on-civil-society/2012/03/11/gIQAP1jx5R_story.html
This is the 2nd piece I have read suggesting that Fayza Aboulnaga, Egypt’s minister for planning and international cooperation, a holdover from the Mubarak regime, is a problematic presence
― curmudgeon, Monday, 12 March 2012 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/12/analysis-stopping-syria-via-russia/
We'll see if US efforts to get Russia to alter their view will work. I'm skeptical
― curmudgeon, Monday, 12 March 2012 15:27 (twelve years ago) link
The Obama administration has decided to resume funding for Egypt’s military and will bypass congressional requirements that U.S. officials certify the country’s progress toward democracy, according to Capitol Hill aides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-to-resume-aid-to-egypt/2012/03/22/gIQA3B3UUS_story.html
This decision seems wrong to me
― curmudgeon, Friday, 23 March 2012 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
The post-Gaddaffi Libyan situation has now created chaos in Mali
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46813540
― curmudgeon, Friday, 23 March 2012 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rebels-running-out-of-ammunition-as-government-presses-offensive/2012/03/22/gIQA05CNUS_story.html
Can I advocate supporting the Syrian rebels without sounding like a neo-con and their not well thought out ideas regarding Iraq, Iran and Syria?
― curmudgeon, Friday, 23 March 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
x-post-I guess that Malian coup will prevent the election scheduled there in around a month
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 24 March 2012 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
So I am sure the EU's new sanctions on Assad's wife will cause her hubby to give up.
The £3,795 that Asma Assad spent on a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes with crystal heels, or the £29,200 she spent on candlesticks and chandeliers from Paris, were just a fraction of the real price that Syria’s First Lady will have to pay for such excesses. They are about to cost her
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 27 March 2012 16:17 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syria-accepts-annans-peace-plan-china-russia-also-on-board/2012/03/27/gIQAjav7dS_story.html
I knew it, his wife made him do this. (yes I am kidding )
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 27 March 2012 19:00 (twelve years ago) link
crystal heels....
He's gonna break this deal though, the question is how soon
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 27 March 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-soft-landing-for-syria-that-could-oust-assad/2012/03/28/gIQAKhkNhS_story.html?hpid=z3
W. Post columnist is optimistic about this plan (but no mention of candlesticks, chandeliers, and crystal heels)
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 29 March 2012 19:59 (twelve years ago) link
US State Department folks were on NPR this morning defending the renewal of US military aid to Egypt. An Egyptian blogger who was interviewed (and who had been previously jailed) disagreed.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 29 March 2012 20:01 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.negrophonic.com/2012/cairo-city-of-sand/
DJ Rupture's week in Cairo
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 20:26 (twelve years ago) link
via Greenwald, long NYT Mag piece on lawlessness and militia rule in post-Qaddafi Libya:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/in-libya-the-captors-have-become-the-captive.html
Also, from Tuesday's NYT:
Truckloads of armed men attacked the Tripoli headquarters of Libya’s interim prime minister on Tuesday, in a new demonstration of the lawlessness pervading the capital just weeks before a scheduled national election. . . . Security in the capital is negligible, and gunfights between armed groups from rival neighborhoods or towns are a frequent occurrence in its streets. . . .
“You know that security here is a big joke,” Fathi Baja, a council member, said at the time. With an antiaircraft gun mounted on a pickup truck, he said, “you can do whatever you want — nobody can stop you.”
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:02 (twelve years ago) link
So Greenwald is pointing out that Libya is now chaotic. Ok. But if the US and the others involved in getting rid of Q, had instead decided to stick around to help maintain order in the transition, wouldn't Greenwald be grumbling about the US and Western powers being in yet another country?
― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 May 2012 17:39 (twelve years ago) link
Or is he arguing that a Q dictatorship was preferable in a Mussolini trains run on time kinda way.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 May 2012 17:40 (twelve years ago) link
this seems stupid. of course it's chaotic, they're remaking their country after 50 years.
― Roger Barfing (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
it's the NYT not GG dooing the reporting.... All that's being illustrated is you don't get to go "yay, victory, democracy via bombs and an execution, cue Star Wars medal theme."
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:47 (twelve years ago) link
so, Rumsfeld-style "messiness"
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
pretty sure 99% of democracies started with bombs/executions tbh
― Roger Barfing (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
generally speaking peaceful transitions from one form of government to another don't happen
― Roger Barfing (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:49 (twelve years ago) link
Around 1/3 of Americans were loyalists during the Revolution and many were tarred and feathered (usually fatally) and forcibly disposssed of their property. Also, the Whiskey Rebellion....
― Love Max Ophüls of us all (Michael White), Friday, 11 May 2012 17:56 (twelve years ago) link