Occupy London Special: Live Video Stream of Tonight's Protests

This entry has been moved to the top of the homepage....

Syria Special: Syrian Ambassador to US Responds to Accusations

As we noted yesterday, the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Imad Moustapha, spoke on NPR, and he tells a very different story than the evidence that we have collected here. In our conversation with NPR's Andy Carvin and Foreign Policy's Blake Hounshell, none of us have seen any video evidence that would support the Syrian government's claims, despite the fact that Moustapha claims there are hundreds of videotapes that the Syrian government has collected which show armed gangs killing innocent civilians.

Below we have posted the audio, one of our favorite excerpts (of which we have hundreds or thousands of counterexamples), and a link to the full transcript.

Click to read more ...

Syria Video Special: A Protest Movement Renewed

A massive anti-Assad protest in Douma, an important Damascus suburb, during the funeral of Yusef Al-Toukhi.

Just two weeks ago, I was beginning to think that the protests were losing steam. Every passing day, since the fall of Tripoli, we see larger and larger protests in Syria. Protests in some locations were becoming smaller. In other places, the activists who were protesting seemed almost defeated. Reports from contacts in the country hinted that the spirit of the protesters was very low. At least 473 people had been killed by the Assad military since the beginning of Ramadan, according to rights groups. The bloody month had proven that the protests were not going away, the genie of Arab Spring would never be returned to the bottle in Syria, but it had also proven that the violence had taken its toll.

Some activists in Syria had even begun to question whether a peaceful revolution would be successful

All of that has changed in the last two weeks.

What we are seeing is protests in locations where there were not protests before, which has in turn caused the Syrian military to kill in those locations, intensifying protests in those locations. While Aleppo and central Damascus still seem elusive targets for widespread protests, the areas around these cities are seeing larger and more widespread protest. Eventually, these protests may very well push into the centers of the last two holdouts of dissent.

Below we're collecting just a sample of videos of the day. We'll add to the list as the day goes on:

---

8. Protests in A'zaz, Aleppo (MAP). Earlier we noted daytime protests in Tall Rifat, halfway between A'zaz and downtown Aleppo, and there are also protests there this evening.

7. A puzzling yet impressive video. This clip claims to have been taken by soldiers during the siege of Daraa, and has apparently been set to (what we would assume is) victorious music, by the soldiers themselves. Smoke can be seen rising from the city, and smiling soldiers take up sniper positions on the rooftop.

Click to read more ...

Syria Video Special: Prayer & Protest on the Feast of Martyrs

Heavy security presence at a checkpoint today in Idlib:

In Hama, soldiers can be seen outside a shop. The camera man describes them as looting, though if that is so it happens out of the frame. Gunfire can be heard in the distance.

The dramatic part comes at the end of the video. Right before the video ends, a soldier levels his AK-47 to shoot at the camera man:

A large security presence deploys in Khalidiya, Homs:

Click to read more ...

Verifying Sources in the Era of Amateur Video (Zalman)

In an age where technology is changing the way news is reported, are the techniques that EA uses that unique or cutting edge? Dr. Amy Zalman, founder of Strategic Narrative, thinks so. In her words, we are "rewriting the terms of journalistic objectivity" in order to meet the needs of the 21st century, and overcome those dreaded words, "this video cannot be independently verified."

---

The competing narrative continuing to unfold about the ongoing violence in Syria reflect how completely amateur video has now transformed our understanding of what “news” is. Activists’ homemade videos have shattered the idea that the Syrian government’s claim to be restoring “stability” to towns under attack from “armed terrorists” can be taken at face value...

Click to read more ...

North Africa-Middle East-Iran-Everywhere Video: United We Rise

Brought to you by Charlie Chaplin, Peop1e, and those in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Algeria, Iran, Jordan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia seeking rights, justice, and reforms -- "United We Rise":

(Hat tip to @paparatti)