"... but in Syria, Bashar Assad is popular ..."

Via Friday-Lunch-Club

"... Tunisia had Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Egypt had Hosni Mubarak. Other nations in the region have unpopular rulers and kings who typically have controlled their countries for decades. But in Syria, President Bashar Assad is popular ....Assad's popularity derives from his foreign policy, particularly his tough stance toward the United States and Israel. If anything, economic sanctions and constant rebuke from the U.S. have helped him appear as the underdog fighting imperialist outsiders. Inside the country, as a cautious reformer who has to appease an old guard and a large military. "The only people who don't like Bashar Assad are the people who want to be in his place," said medical student Abodi Nova. "They're not the people."

 'I choose, ...you choose',... Where are they now?

That doesn't mean the Syrian government isn't watching other countries and taking steps toward change, however incremental they may be....  Like Egypt, Syria operates under an emergency law. The Syrian version, which began in 1963 -- predating Egypt's law by 18 years -- is often employed for arbitrary detention, which circumvents clauses in the constitution guaranteeing freedom of expression. Most recently, the 20-year-old activist Almlouhi Tal was sentenced to five years in prison. A high court accused her of divulging information to the U.S., according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. She has a blog with poetry and opinions about Palestinian rights, but has stayed away from Syrian politics. Young people say they have a little more freedom than their parents' generation did. When Assad came to power, he slowly opened up the economy, establishing ties with Turkey that have brought consumer goods and easier travel between the two neighbors. "Since Bashar took the presidency, we can talk more freely," Nabhan said. "Our parents always taught us not to talk about politics. Now we are more open. Bashar Assad was the best for Syrians.".....  A handful of figures with close ties to the government control a vast majority of business in Syria. Droughts have pushed farmers into urban areas, and the American-led invasion of Iraq drove a million refugees into the country. But on the streets of Syria's two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, one hardly gets the impression that the nation is beset by the kind of economic problems troubling Egypt. While the president's minority Alawi sect holds several prominent positions in government, different groups and religions generally get along, at least on the surface. "I don't think a revolution would accomplish anything," Nabhan said. "Quite the contrary, it could cause a civil war. We've worked hard to get where we are."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 9:00 PM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian