U.S. Court - No Mercy for Strauss-Kahn

According to the Assistant U.S. District Attorney John Mcconnell who handles the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, DSK "poses a flight risk" and cannot be immediately set free on the basis of a bailing deal between the court and DSK's lawyer. For the next days he has to be kept in a single cell of Rikers Island State Prison. At least, DSK's attorney Benjamin Brafman seems to be an efficient specialist of the matter and is known from similar cases. Below are photos of three of his clients, Michael Jackson being among them.







What I didn't know the day before: The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn is already notorious for his "affaires amoureuses". In 2008, he became subject of an IMF enquiry upon his sexual relationship with a married Hungarian employee and who had been working in the African department of the IMF. Besides, he is known for his "straightforward approach of women in numerous cases and that should have resembled some kind of harrassment".
Sources: Blog of the French daily "Libération" on October 18, 2008.
U.S. paper "Wall Street Journaql" on October 18, 2008.

Palestine - Anniversary of the Catastrophe النكبة

قرابة 80% يؤيدون وثيقة الوفاق الوطني التي تم التوقيع عليها في
القاهرة, بينما أظهرت النتائج أن 70% يتوقعون انتفاضة ثالثة في
ظل تعثر المفاوضات الفلسطينية الإسرائيلية

القدس العربية

Today, on the Anniversary of the Catastrophe (al-Nakba) and which marks for the Palestinians the foundation of the Jewish state, the Palestinian Daily "Arabic Jerusalem" (al-Quds al-Arabiya) published the following lines:

"About 80% are in support of the document of national agreement (1)
which has come to be signed in Kairo [and] which is clarifying the
consequences [of the fact] that 70% are foreseeing a third Intifada
(2) in the shadow of the futile negociations between Palestinians and
Israelis."

1 = recent agreement between Palestinian organizations Hamas and PLO
2 = referring to earlier waves of uprising of Palestinians against Israel

Strauss-Kahn - Constructed Charges Against IMF Boss

Constructed Charges Against French Politician ?
Cas Construit Contre Politicien Français ?

Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), president of the International Monetary Fund IMF and one of the most profiled politicians in France, has been arrested in New York on charges of sexual harrassment and intended rape of a 33-year old colored chamber maid in a hotel belonging to the French chain Sofitel. After having left his hotel in a hurry, letting behind his cellphone and other personal belongings, he was arrested at JFK airport on board of an Air France plane bound for Paris and ready to take off. He is now being questioned at a police station in Haarlem while his alleged victim is reportedly held in an artificial coma. As charges against DSK are considered to be especially grave, he might be awaiting a sentence of many years in a U.S. prison, if this story turns out to be true.

First reactions of high-ranking French politicians are showing astonishment and rather disbelieve as he was not expected to suffer from the proverbial "Berlusconi syndrome". The overall reaction seems to be that "this does not resemble him". Ségolène Royal, a highly profiled politician in France as well, pointed out that "all is still waiting to be proved".

DSK was expected to leave New York that day in order to meet with Angela Merkel the German chancellor. His acceptance within his own country can be imagined from an opinion poll that put him into the first position of all socialist candidates in the French Primary Elections. Even though being known as an activist of the Socialist Party, DSK is respected by all of his colleagues whatever party they might represent. That is why even Marie Le Pen, leader of the right-wing party Front National has been showing her astonishment upon the charges awaiting Strauss-Kahn.

............... [Source: i-Télé, France] ...............

Dominique Strauss-Kahn DSK, le président de l'IMF (Fond Monétaire Internationale), a été inculpé d'agression sexuelle et de tentative de viol d'une femme colorée de chambre à l'hôtel Sofitel de New York. DSK était arrêté à l'aéroport JFK de N.Y. dans un avion prêt à décoller, ayant quitté sa chambre en toute hâte et en oubliant son portable et d'autres effets personnels. DSK était expecté de se rencontrer ces jours-ci avec le chancellier allemand Angela Merkel après la visite aux États Unies.

Au moment, DSK est détenu dans une station de police à Haarlem alors que la femme attaquée de 33 ans était transférée à un hôpital où elle serait tenue dans un coma artificiel. Le socialiste DSK est l'un des politiciens les plus acceptés de la France. Même ses adversaires lui respectent. C'est pourquoi beaucoup de ses compatriotes ne sont pas inclinés à croire les évènements qui se seraient déroulées dans cette chambre d'hôtel newyorkais. L'opinion qui prévaut: "Ça ne lui semble pas."



UPDATE: i-Télé evening news / les nouvelles du soir

The French TV broadcast includes a summary of the facts to be known at the moment and an evaluation of Strauss-Kahn's immediate arrest that is related to the efficient work of a special victim's unit of New York police. That police unit is in charge of all similar cases and known to be fast working in a town where crimes of sexual harrassment and rape are happening every minute. It seems that DSK's identification and tracking to JFK airport was simple routine work facilitated by the Patriot's Act against terrorism. DSK's status as a high-ranking politician of international importance was not known to New York police at this moment.

New evidence: Another colored employee of Sofitel New York and who wants to remain unknown to the public said to i-Télé that DSK behaved that morning like any other day and showed no hurry when he left the hotel.

The news are followed by a discussion between members of the French press on how much damage that development would bring to the Socialist Party in the frame of the following primary elections where DSK has been expected to be the prevailing socialist candidate.

Libya - Crazy Gadafi

In his ferocious speech shortly after the uprising began, Gadafi said
he would fight for "each piece of earth, each house, each residence
and each road" (شبر شبر بيت بيت دار دار زنقة زنقة).
That uncompromising text of his has been mixed with some kind of
stereotyped music and launched in different versions. Here is an
example which I consider to be among the best music videos on this
subject:
Zenga Zenga Song Official Music Video
By the way, "Zenga Zenga" means "street or road" and is taken from
the above text in Arabic.

The following video document is showing Colonel Gadafi delivering a
speech to the people of Guinea at Conakry. In his speech he tells
them not to sell raw materials for a low price to the Coca Cola
Company or to Pepsi Cola but instead to produce their own Cola.
Gadafi Fighting Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola

For further "amusement", here are the latest screenshots of Royal
Airforce attacks on Ghadafi's facilities in the Tripolis area:

Bin Laden Videos - Osama Watching Osama

Today, the Pentagon released 5 videos that had been captured during the raid on Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad. On one of those videos, Bin Laden can be seen watching TV and even watching himself:


Osama Bin Laden watching a famous video of himself (above and below)

"90% of Fight
is in the Media"
(Bin Laden)

---

Statement of the Taliban
Retaliation for Bin Laden

Today and after their statement on the U.S. killing of Bin Laden, the Taliban have launched four simultaneous attacks on government compounds in their "spiritual capital" of Kandahar in the Southern part of Afghanistan. One of their targets was the residence of the provincial governor of Kandahar province who remained unharmed.

Obama Addressing U.S. Troops

President Obama after the Killing of Osama Bin Laden

Tonight, only two hours ago and in the aftermath of the Bin Laden killing, President Obama spoke to U.S. troops at one of the greatest military bases inside the U.S.A.. Here is what he said. Some comments added by me are intended to give background information:

In his speech to Afghanistan veterans at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Obama said that the U.S. lived a "historic week in the life of their nation". He referred to his visit at Ground Zero in New York the day before and mentioned his visit, shortly before his speech, of the Navy SEAL team that killed Osama Bin Laden. "Those Navy SEALs deserve credit", he said and added: "Job well done!"

A president's visit of a U.S. military unit is considered to be the highest honour to be granted to U.S. servicemen. According to CNN, the SEAL team that came into action was most probably team No. 6 which seemed to be the best team, both, in size and training to fit the task of killing Bin Laden at Abbottabad. It was better suited for that mission than a 12-member team of the Green Barrets that would have been to small for a raid on the vast compound where Osama Bin Laden had been living for some time. The Navy SEAL unit had been originally founded in 1962 and is now stationed in the small town of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where inhabitants don't know much about them as they are behaving very discreetly.

The president then addressed his troops with a remark on the right treatment of wounded soldiers. He said: "You, on the front lines for nearly 10 years, deserve the best healthcare in the world when you are getting wounded."

At this point, I would like to mention earlier difficulties of wounded servicemen to get their treatment paid by the Veterans' Organization, a government run institution that is in charge of caring for wounded and retired soldiers of the U.S. army. Under the former Bush administration, an explosion of treatment costs, due to an increase of military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan, led the Veteran's Organization near to bankruptcy. There is one case that became widely known where the organization denied treatment to a wounded soldier and declared his wounds (parts of a shrapnel inside the body) as being inflicted by "non-combat activity".

Later, Obama praised the troops and said: "We're making progress in Afghanistan and have turned momentum of the Taliban. During my time, pressure on the Taliban has been greater than ever since November 11." And he spoke of a 14-year-old girl that lost her father on September 11 when she was 4. At that time, her father had been trapped in one of the twin-towers. During the last moments of his life and before the building toppled, he phoned his family and spoke to her mother. Her mother then handed over to her 4-year-old daughter who heard her father's voice for the last time, telling her that he would always be near her and watch over her. Obama learned her story from a letter the girl wrote to him. While telling that story to the soldiers, President Obama was obviously moved.

Finally, Obama reminded his troops of the importance of overcoming race discrimination and added an example where coloured students were finally able to study and develop their talents.

Bin Laden Raid - Further Pictures

Here are the "bad guys":



According to CNN, a courier who allegedly led the Navy Seals to Osama's residence and his brother were among the first who opened fire on the special unit. They died near to their master. The woman who protected Bin Laden was only wounded. Earlier reports said that she died at his side. Bin Laden himself was not armed but "tried to defend himself". That's why he was shot at once.

Screenshot and processed picture => Click to the photo !



U.S. special forces used modified Seahawk choppers to approach Bin Laden's residence. One of them exploded during the firefight and was left behind. It is obviously equipped with some stealth technology that helped to enter Pakistani airspace and approach the garrison town of Abbottabad without being noticed. Pakistani authorities are not amused:

Obama: U.S. Forces Killed Osama Bin Laden

أوباما: قوة أمريكية خاصة قادت العملية التي قتل فيها أسامة بن لادن زعيم تنظيم القاعدة
"Obama: American special forces conducted the operation during
which Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda organisation, was
killed."

Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head by U.S. special forces who took his dead body with them as a proof. Bin Laden was targeted in his hide-out, a fortified compound situated in a densely populated area of Abbottabad which is a rather medium-sized town about 30 miles away from Pakistan's capital Islamabad. These circumstances made it an especially difficult task for the special units to prevail. In a televised speech, President Obama pointed out that there were no U.S. losses during the firefight between U.S. Navy Seals and Al-Qaeda fighters.

According to the president who gave the direct order to attack, the whereabouts of Bin Laden had already been known for a certain time. Former media reports about Osama Bin Laden hiding in either Afghanistan or in the bordering tribal areas of Pakistan (i.e. Waziristan) did therefore not match reality.

Even though it is still dark night in New York and Washington, lots and lots of people are steadily gathering at Ground Zero (N.Y.) and in front of the White House, such celebrating that historical event.








Latest News:
- According to special unit's report, Bin Laden should have used a woman as a human shield when being shot at. That woman died with him. => Refer to the picture below.
- After tests had been made to ensure the identity of Bin Laden, the dead body was dropped into the Arabic Sea from a U.S. aircraft carrier and in the frame of a burial ceremony "according to Muslimic belief". The procedure of burial has been disapproved by some Muslims, among them the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, because the body was not properly buried on firm ground as requested by the Koran [Source: i-Télé, France]. Nevertheless, the U.S. decided to stick to a burial on sea in order to avoid generating a place of pilgrimage for Bin Laden's followers.
- Some voices like that of Prof. Tariq Ramadan and who is representing a French institute of historic studies of the Arab world, are saying they would rather have liked to see Bin Laden alive in order to listen to what he has to say [i-Télé, France].

Place of fighting:

Nato Air Raid - Gadafi Son Killed

One of Gadafi's sons, Saif al-Arab, was killed together with his wife in
a Nato air raid on his house in Tripolis. Some of Gadafi's grandchildren
were killed as well. Muamar al-Gadafi who stayed in the same building at
that time remained unhurt. Saif al-Arab kept a relatively low profile in
comparison with his brother Saif al-Islam and who openly defended his
father [CNN].

Subtitles by Al-Jazeera, Arabic TV:

النيتو يقول إن إحدى غارات استهدفت مركز قيادة في باب العزيزية بطرابلس
"Nato says that some [of its] attacks intended to concentrate
on the [military] command (*) at Bab al-Azizia in Tripolis."

* = The subtitle given by Al-Jazeera includes an expression that could
be translated either as "[military] command" or as "leadership". As the
related CNN report stressed that Nato was not targeting Libyan leader
Muamar al-Gadafi, the right translation should be "military command".



معارضون يشككون في إعلان طرابلس عن مقتل ابن القذافي و يصفونه بأنه سعي لكسب التعاطف
"Controversion and doubts over the declaration from Tripolis that a son
of Gadafi should have been killed and his characterisation that is trying
to gain him sympathy."

The above subtitle was added hours after the news of
Saif al-Arab's death became known for the first time.



Additional remarks by Ulysses:

According to a German radio source, Saif al-Arab once studied in Munich,
Germany. At that time, a member of the Gadafi clan, probably Saif al-
Arab, became known to Munich police for a nightly town racing during
which he crushed his expensive car. As being protected by his diplomatic
passport, he could not be charged for his breaking of different laws.

On this occasion, I would like to remember an Interpol request that
reached authorities in the area already controlled by freedom fighters.
This request was published by Al-Jazeera on March 5, 2011:

الإنتربول يصدر تحذيرا دوليا بشأن خطورة القذافي و 15 من عائلته و أعوانه
Interpol has released an international alert concerning imminent
danger from Gadafi and 15 [members] of his family and his helpers.

The Interpol request consists of different notes on different
subjects involved. Here are only two of them, characterized by
their vague style, which I tried to reconstruct from the Arabic
version.

Red Note:
[This note] brings about a request on the conditions of arrest of
persons on the run and being sought after on the purpose of [their]
extradition to [certain] countries [on behalf of such countries'
security sources]. .....

Blue Note:
Request of additional information on a person related with criminal
activity.

There is also a "Green Note", a "Yellow Note" and a "Black Note"
from Interpol.

Syrie - Appel au Soutien

نداء للتضامن مع الشعب السوري
يوم الخميس 28 نيسان /أبريل 2011

Yesterday, the Syrian opposition website launched a call for support
directed to Syrian citizens living in Europe. Tonight, a demonstration
should take place in Paris at the "Wall of Peace" which is located on
Champ de Mars near Metro station École Militaire. Being in favour of
any democracy movement in the Arabic world, I feel obliged to pro-
liferate that information without being directly involved in any kind
of organisation that is behind the demonstration.

Hier, l'opposition syrienne a lancé un appel au soutien du peuple
syrien dans sa lutte contre le système autoritaire du président
Assad. Voici l'information:

---

L'Attentat de Marrakech / The Marrakech Bombing

At about 1:00 pm GMT, first news came in about the bombing of a café
in the center of Marrakech in Morocco. One of the following screenshots
from i-Tele TV, France, documents the very first announcement of that
incident which I happened to record "on time". At that time, it was not
quite clear whether this was a criminal assault of international impor-
tance or a mere accident. Latest news are reporting a death-toll of
15 while at least 20 persons were wounded. Most victims are foreign
tourists, 6 of the dead are French. A minister of the Moroccan govern-
ment related the bombing to Islamist activity. It would be the second
time after the Casablanca bombing in 2007 that militant Islamists are
related to such incident.

According to own information, Morocco has been an Al-Qaeda strong-
hold for many years. Upcoming political movements in the frame of the
"Arab Awakening" in Tunisia and Algeria are adding to a situation of
latent uprising.

1:00 pm GMT / 2:00 pm CET


2:00 pm GMT / 3:00 CET


22:59 pm GMT / 23:59 CET

The Royal Wedding - Congratulations from France

Le mariage royal et les congratulations à part de la France

The following material has been chosen from a TV special of French
origin and that is dealing with the royal marriage in London between
Prince William and Kate. - By the way, don't take it too serious !

Le matériel présenté ici a été choisi d'une émission de TV d'origine
française et qui s'occupe du mariage royal de Londre entre Kate et
le Prince William. - D'ailleurs, ne le prenez pas trop au sérieux !

The pictures are showing two British fans of the royal family, one a
collector of royal fan articles, the other a fundamentalist follower of
the royals, now sleeping in front of the cathedral where the couple
is expected to marry. As the latter put it, he has been raised with
royalist values and would ever respect the queen.



Les images montrent deux amants fous de la famille royale, l'une
collectionneuse des articles fan et l'autre un royaliste décidé et qui
dorme vis-à-vis de la cathédrale où le couple royal doit se marrier.
Comme le royaliste le dit, il est élevé avec ces valeurs royalistes et
veut toujours respecter la reine.


The first video added is showing that royalist guy and, as well, an
international contest of couples looking like Kate and William. The
winning couple seems to be of British (man) and French-Italian
(woman) extraction as could be imagined from their accents.

Le premier vidéo montre le type royaliste déjà mentionné et, aussi,
un concours international de couples semblables à Kate et William.
Le couple vainqueur est composé d'un homme probablement anglais
et d'une femme dont on peut remarquer l'accent français-italien.



The following video is an animated cartoon on wedding events and
could be named: "A prince, a princess and a fairy tale becomes true".

Le vidéo suivant est une BD animée sur le évènements du marriage
et qui peut être nommé: "Un prince, une princesse et un conte de
fées devient réalité."

Syria - Call for Protest

Excerpts from the latest edition of
the opposition website FREE SYRIA
سورية الحرة

---

كاتب بريطاني يرى ان الاسد فشل في تحديث بلاده وينصحه بالتنحي والعودة الى الحياة الخاصة قبل فوات الأوان
A British author (*) tells that Assad failed to meet with the modernisation of his [country] and advice [is given] to him to abdicate and to return to a private life before it might be too late.
كتب الصحافي البريطاني أدريان هاملتون مقالاً نشرته صحيفة "ذي اندبندنت"ـ
* = British journalist Adrian Hamilton and publisher of an article in the journal "The Independent"

---

ابن خال الرئيس بشار الأسد رامي مخلوف يسيطر على %60 من اقتصاد سوريا
A cousin of president Bashar Assad, Rami Machluf, is in control of 60% of Syria's economy.

---

دعوة للتظاهر في الجمعة العظيمة
Invitation to protest in the "week of greatness"

The article reminds almost 50 years of autocratic rule which the Syrian people together with their Kurdish compatriots had to endure. It therefore calls for protest in the week of the Easter celebrations and is obviously targeting the Christian minority as well as Syrian and Kurdish Muslims.

Libya - Current Situation

مصادر عسكرية في مطار صنعاء
الجيش ينشر طائراته في عدد من المحافظات
A military source at the airfield of [Sanaha]:
The [Gadafi] army deployed its numerous airplanes in the provinces.

ـ6 طائرات حربية اخرى من طراز فـــ5 أقلعت في اتجاه مطار مدينة العتق في محافظة شبوة
Six further F5 warplanes took off in front of the airport of
[Al-Hatac] township in Shabua province.

---

استمرار تدفق النازحية الليبيين على الأراضي التونسية و دعوات لتقديم العون لهم
Continued exodus of Libyan citizens to the fertile [regions] of Tunisia
and appeals to provide them with assistance.

Libya - News of the Day - ليبيا

Developments in the Libyan Campaign
التطورات الميدانية في ليبيا

الثوار الليبيون يسيطرون على معبر وازن ـ الذهيبة على الحدود مع تونس, و فرار 13 ضابطات ليبيا بينهم لواء سلموا أنفسهم للجيش التونسي
Libyan rebels are in control of the passage of Wazan - [access] to the Tunisian border, and flight of 13 Libyan officers, among them a brigadier general, and who are saving themselves to the Tunisian army.

الثوار يقولون إنهم تمكنوا من السيطرة على معبر وازن الحدودي مع تونس بعد اشتباكات مع الكتائب
Rebels say they have taken control of the passage of Wazan which is bordering Tunisia after engagements with [Gadafi] units.

مقتل مصورين أحدهما بريطاني و الأخر أمريكي في مدينة مصراتة
Two photographers, one British the other American, died in the town of Misrata.

Additional Remarks:

The border crossing at Wazan in Western Libya which is now under rebel control is badly needed to ensure military supply for the freedom fighters.

The photographers who died in Misrata had been working for Getty images and Vanity Fair.





Even though Gadafi troops already left the center of Misrata, civilians are still fleeing that place because of heavy shooting from the outside and U.S. bombing of targets near the road to Tripolis. Many civilian casualties are reported. Nato warned civilians to keep away as far as possible from possible targets of their air raids. [Source: Al-Jazeera, Arabic service]

Foreign military advisers from France are on their way to the rebel army. [Source: Arte, Paris]

CUBA 2011 - Fidel's Resignation as Party Leader

Official resignation of Cuba's leader Fidel Castro. His brother Raul
taking over the charge of a secretary-general of Cuba's Communist
Party. The video is showing scenes from the actual 6th party congress,
the first after many years and that introduced new members of the
central committee. Most recent "Reflections of Fidel" on the political
development of Cuba are read by a speaker of Cubavision TV.

In his reflections, dated from April 18, 2011, Fidel remembered those many attempts to eliminate him. He considered that a most dangerous period of time had ended after the North-American Bush administration left place to a new government. At that time, he said, "mercenaries were already sitting on their luggage" ready to overthrow Communist rule in Cuba. As to the formation of a new central committee of the Communist Party, he said that two ideas were prevailing: The increase of feminine participation and the representation of members with an Afro-American background i.e. a background dating back to former times of slavery. Fidel also stressed the "revolutionary potential of Latin America" hinting at his friend and ally, the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. And he pointed out that "rule of capitalism" should not become an option for Cuba which his brother Raul had stated as well on the actual party congress. Fidel Castro, while referring to his retreat from daily politics, remembered that he has still preserved his ability of analyzing and writing. Nevertheless, he is now convinced that a leader's time of office should be restricted.

---

Pictures of the Week:
Click to the pictures to see more !


30.000 on a nightly demonstration in Homs (Syria).


Protesting Yemenite women in the streets of Sanaa.


Heavy fighting at Misrata and general Yunis, commander of the freedom fighters.


Egypt: Mubarak's former prime minister charged for corruption.


Japanese Fukushima plant: 9 month needed to cool off.

Arabic World - Latest Developments

LIBYA

While the English service of Al-Jazeera reported about further Nato bombings of Gadafi's military facilities, the Arabic service held a video conference with participants from Benghazi, Kairo and Paris on latest political development:

الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بانكي مون يدعو إلى حل "سياسي" و "وقف إطلاق نار فوري" في ليبيا
United Nation's secretary-general Banki Mun is urging a "political" solution and an "immediate cease-fire" in Libya.

أمين عام حلف الناتو يقول إن الحلف يحتاج لمزيد من الطائرات للقيام بمهمته على أكمل وجه
The Nato secretary-general says the alliance needs the majority of [their] airplanes for the most perfect accomplishment of their mission.

هيلاري كلينتون تحث حلف شمال الأطلسي على الحفاظ على وحدة الصف في مواجهة القذافي
Hillary Clinton has incited the North Atlantic Pact to guard their unity when it comes to face Gadafi.

وصول سفينة قطرية إلى ميناء الاسكندرية قادمة من ليبيا على متنها 630 مصريا
Arrival of a [regional] ship in the port of Alexandria, the first one from Libya carrying 630 Egyptians.
[Please note: The translation could as well be "a ship from Qatar" instead of "a regional ship", the latter making more sense if one has in mind that the state of Qatar as place of ship registration could be inserted without ambiguity by simply choosing another phrase construction. Anyway, the essential information about Egyptian migrants, held in camps and willing to leave Libya, remains clear.]

---

TUNISIA

Tunisian prosecutors want former president Ben Ali to face trial on the basis of 18 charges including drug trafficking and manslaughter. Ben Ali is now living in Saudi Arabia.

EGYPT

Former president Mubarak and both of his sons have been arrested only recently and are now facing charges of corruption.

YEMEN

Increasing pressure on Yemenite president Saleh to step down from office within a fortnight.

SYRIA

A new Syrian government has been formed on behalf of president Basher Assad following weeks of increasing unrest. Simultaneously, a release of political prisoners from a mass arrest has been ordered.



الخارجية الأمريكية: خطاب الأسد لا يرقى لمستوى الإصلاحات التي يريدها الشعب السوري و "يفتقر للجوهر"
اAccording to the U.S. secretary of foreign affairs, Assad's speech has not proceeded to the level of reforms wanted by the Syrian people and has been "lacking substance". [Al-Jazeera on March 30, 2011]


Shooting people from a car in the streets of Baniyas, allegedly targeting security forces, and increasing masses of protesters in Damascus:



The following news have been published on an Arabic website related to Syrian protesters. It is called FREE-SYRIA السورية الحرة

نظام الأسد يقتل الجنود الرافضين لاطلاق النار على المدنيين

استشهاد المجند \ من الفرقة الرابعة \: محمد موسى اسماعيل
الجراد ، من مدينة الحارة في درعا ، وذلك باطلاق النار عليه
ورميه امام القطعة ،لرفضه اطلاق النار على المدنيين في
بانياس ، وسلمت جثته الى اهله اليوم مضايا: عاجل: استشهاد
الضابط مراد حجو من مضايا كان الشهيد

" While shooting at citizens, the Assad
regime is killing deserted soldiers. "

" The example of a recruit / from the fourth brigade [or: division] /: Mahmud Moussa Ismail al-Djarad, from the township of al-Khara in Dira. This one has been shot at and hit by a shrapnel [that came in front of him] when he refused to target citizens in the [coastal] town of Baniyas. His carcass was delivered to his family the day [after]: Urgent [News]: Citation of the officer M. Kh. who is the witness of what happened. "