Syrian Panem et Baath Circenses!

Syrians are patriots. Let there be no doubt about that. But their patriotism is not any different from any other variety out there, that is, it is no less susceptible to exploitation and/or degradation.

Indeed, and with regard to the former, the Syrian regime seems to have developed it into a virtual art-form, albeit a not too highly refined one – the members of the regimes are simply too rogue for refinement even in this regard. Continue reading “Syrian Panem et Baath Circenses!” →

Mumble Freedom!

Yes, we will mumble freedom first, to spell it out letter by letter, before we can shout it out. After all being free is a learning process. In practical terms, people are born neither free nor bonded, but with an internal readiness for both. Whatever happens to them next is a process of nurture and learning. Should society inform them that they are slaves, their learning could inform them otherwise. We are in essence but creatures of this ongoing interaction between what we are taught and what we learn from our own individual experiences in life. Continue reading →

The Unraveling!

Syria’s back in the headlines again, indeed, something is unraveling there. But what is it exactly? Is it the regime? Is it the opposition? Or is the entire country unraveling?

But then, perhaps we are all unraveling, all to the enjoyment of our viewers all over the world. Hey Bob, here goes the freaking region again. Don’t those people ever get tired of being mad? Continue reading “The Unraveling!” →

Breaking the Stalemate!

First posted on my short-lived blog Tharwalizations.

The various “color” and “flower” revolutions that have been taken place around the globe recently, in places like Georgia, the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, seems to be intricately connected to the workings of various American international NGOs. Moreover, the activities of these NGOs seem to reflect in many ways certain shifts in the US foreign policy and interests, and, in turn, the success or failure of the various revolutions seems to reflect these shifts as well. This is why the political convulsions of Uzbekistan (May 2005) and Azerbaijan (November 2005), for instance, did not result in such revolutions. Continue reading “Breaking the Stalemate!” →