Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Futility of the Observers?

2049 GMT: There are impressive videos pouring in, and along with eyewitness reports, they show that protests continue into the night across Syria. So far, one of our favorite videos shows a protest taking place, almost completely in the dark after power was cut, in Khirbat al Ghazalah, Daraa. But perhaps the best-lit video shows a large protest in Irbeen, an important suburb of Damascus, and is posted by the Coalition of Free Damascenes For Peaceful Change:

2044 GMT: Two videos claim to show the moment security forces opened fire on protesters in Daraya, a Damascus suburb:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Mr Al-Dabi, Can You See the Violence Now?

A woman paints her message on a street in Deir Ez Zor in northeast Syria: "Down with Bashar"

See also Syria Special: Observing the Observers --- Evidence of The Abuses in Homs
Egypt Video: Alaa Abd-El Fattah Speaks Out After Release from Prison
Egypt Feature: "The One Citizen" --- Political Prisoner Maikel Nabil's Powerful Critique
Egypt Special: Are Writing and Walking Really Such a Threat to the Regime?
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Will Arab League Observers Make a Difference?

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1815 GMT: Egypt. With reports that the march swelled to 1000 demonstrators, protesters on the Free Maikel Nabil are now rallying outside the Supreme Court. On twitter, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi relays some of the chants:

Bring Maikal from the cell!' "Maikal Maikal you hero, your imprisonment sets the nation free.

O freedom where are you? Scaf is standing between us.

Continuing a strategy increasingly being seen in Egypt, activists are projecting footage of crimes and beatings committed by SCAF onto the Supreme Court walls:

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Syria Special: Who is Observing What, and What Will Happen When They Finish?

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I don't need to sugar coat this: there are a lot of people who have no faith in the Arab League mission in Syria. For starters, we already know what they will find. International observers, though limited in both numbers and opportunities to investigate independently, have given us conclusions. According to US Ambassador Robert Ford, or the UN delegation that visited in August, or the few reporters brave enough to smuggle themselves into Syria, President Assad is killing a lot of people and torturing many. And there is only one way to end this mess, with Assad giving up power.

Few of these facts are in question. Much of the counter-narrative provided by the Syrian regime has either been proven false or is a weak defense --- "some individuals are guilty of crimes" --- for the scale of the regime's carnage. If only half the claims of the activists are true, then the number of people who have died from violence in Syria this year is four times greater than in Egypt.

So why are there observers present, who are they, what will they see, and what will they do about it? Let's work backwards.

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