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Syrian Blogger Sentenced to Three Years in Jail
blind biker writes "The AP reports (via the Herald Tribune) of Tarek Bayassi, a 24-year old Syrian blogger sentenced to three years in jail for 'undermining the prestige of the state and weakening national morale.' The original sentence was six years but it was commuted on appeal. Apparently, this isn't an isolated case in Syria."
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Well ... somebody should probably explain the court that they did much more than the blogger, to undermine the prestige of the state (and to show the national morale as lacking), by simply convicting him.
Tie two birds together: although they have four wings, they cannot fly. (The blind man)
Lese majesty has been a crime since Roman times. Remember, it's only treason if you lose (the revolution).
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I would hate to be the grammar nazi who has to clean up that post...
Disclaimer: I am not god.
We may not be created equal
But we can be treated equal.
Better story about Tariq Bayassi here:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.almarfaa.net%2F%3Fp%3D117
His "Free Tariq" site:
http://209.85.171.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://ahmadblogs.net/freetariq
The problem I have with all of this is that we simply don't have very much evidence to go on as spectators. If someone was being brought up on trumped up charges, it would make a difference to me whether he was Fred Phelps or Fre Rogers. Justice should be blind, but sometimes taking the blindfold off and snuffing out truly vile people for the sake of the rest of us.
There isn't enough information at all about Tariq that is easily available, so we don't know if he was just bad mouthing Assad or if he was organizing assassination attempts on the President. Without context, I guess we should just cry for Free (as in Speech) Speech.
There's obviously a couple of homonyms at work here... "prestige of the state" and "weakening national morale". Because here in the UK at least, our perception of what makes us prestigious is that we ARE free to comment on the state, and what weakens our national morale as much as anything is when the state is seen to exercise excessive power over the freedom of the population.
The President of Syria has worked very hard at creating an image of being a humble, quietly-spoken, Western-educated ex-ophthalmologist who's had power lavished upon him almost inadvertently. Well it's back to the drawing board for the Damascus spin-doctors now then!
Well shit, if that were a crime here about half the population, myself included, would be guilty.
We're gonna fail! (Whatever you are thinking, just assume I mean that.)
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
I was not aware that Syria had prestige.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
At least they gave him a trial.
People are being freed from Guantamo after 6 years without ever even having being charged with anything. Can you imagine the torture of not even knowing when you are going to get out?
he didn't just disappear or have an appointment with a bullet.
perhaps the fact what he did was so easily available saved his life.
I do have to wonder how some people here actually thinks the Syrian leadership is any shape or form actually embarrassed by their handling of it let alone concerned what you think about it. On the world stage nothing much more expected out of a country like this and they wouldn't care anyway.
This is one the of many countries that only exists because its not PC or financially expedient to fix.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Or Guantanamo bay where things like legal constraints seem optional.
If its the former, no duh, we already knew that. If its the latter, are you trying to get us to want to do something about it? and if so, what do you propose? that we bring them democracy at the barrel of our depleted uranium guns?
Free trade with Syria is the answer. The more open a nation is to trade, the more open that nation is to communications with the outside world. Sanctions are a form of war, remember.
Of all ironies is that Bush, by invading Iraq, threw away the lessons of his own party. Republicans, for better or for worse, have been staunch free traders since Reagan and it is that commitment to free trade around the globe that has caused nations to adopt more open societies, not American bombers. Have a strong defense, but for god's sake, don't start any wars and try and sell people stuff. It's a simple game plan, and Republicans were so good at it. But, after Afghanistan they just got too cocky and thought we could knock off Iraq. I almost want to go back in time and throttle William Kristol, and say "no, no, no, it is not time to have a benevolent American Empire!"
But, we just have to get back to the original game plan. Don't lecture the likes of Syria. Sell them stuff.
While we are at it, get rid of all of this USA PATRIOT nonsense.
This is my sig.
Just because Syria has the power to do this does not make it right.
Interesting how your post tries to turn story about Syrian a dictatorship into a soapbox from which to pontificate about something unrelated. What does Israel have to do with how Syria mistreats its own people? Leave it out of the picture.
- Roey
though Indirect succession. Singapore also supports regime in Myanmar (Burma). They usually site racial tensions between Malay, Indian and ruling Chinese class as reason for continuing the dictatorship. "Elections" are held for appearances sake, but while I was living there they seized assets of any opposition politician that looked like they would come close to winning a seat, usually on phony charges like "libel" or such. If some area did manage to elect a representative not approved by the state, then that neighborhood basically kisses goodbye to certain public services, infrastructure upgrades (like MRT tube stations etc). Like withholding rice in neighbouring Indonesia, but for a modern country.
But don't worry, like many others around the world it is a US approved dictatorship.
I was always interested in syrian politics. I've been there last year.
I have walked (yes, by foot) from Damas to Alep and it's really a beautiful and welcoming country. Their sense of hospitality is the best I've come across so far. I walked hundreds of kilometers across the country without being controlled, in fact, I didn't even see the army and hardly the Police. I was expecting much more military presense in a state that is supposed to be so much controled.
Also, I had great long conversations with a lot of syrians about almost any subject, their only taboo is the world "Israel" that you shouldn't pronouce at any time. They use the word "Occupied Palestine" instead. Otherwise, I've been talking about politics and economics and most people are informed and open minded.
There is one thing to take into consideration : the dictatorship is mostly ethnically based. The elite who holds the economical and political power comes from the Alaouite tribe/chiism wich represents 10% of the syrian population.
For example, in the syrian Army, an alaouite lieutenant might overrule a non alaouite captain's order.
In my opinion, anyone who doesn't speak the original tongue (example: Beoqulf) is not speaking true English. I'd even be willing to accept the language of circa 1400 (example: Chaucer), but no one seems to want to cooperate and use the proper grammar. I guess we need a "Department of the Language" similar to how the French Despotic government has, to decide what is acceptable and what is not allowed, and imprison anyone who dares use a non-approved word.
/end sarcasm
Alas noone listens to me. They just keep evolving the language with new "inkhorn" words.
Terrible.
The government is not your daddy. Its purpose is not to raid middle-class neighbors' wallets and give it to you.
Proof positive: This same reply fifty years from now, when lolspeak has become the commonplace language of our time:
lolz, erreygrdles iz gud choiss, stoopid n00b. Frum da dicshunary:
i can has cut?u grammer nazis r goin to jus has 2 accept teh fact dat teh werd iz legitimate part ov teh language nao. u can fight it all u wants but teh language iz goin 2 evolve whethr u liek it or not.WHETHR U LIEK IT OR NOT.
I run Ubuntu skinned to look like a Mac on a PC. Go figure.
I find the above insightful, because you quoted something that touches on what it actually means to be a word.
ALL words start out in usage, and gradually get popular enough to be in the dictionary.
Like "blankie" and "cyberspace". They were "de facto" words, and then the dictionary people over at Webster made them words "per se" due to popular use.
It's just like an ISO standard, more or less. If the ISO (webster) publishes a standard, it is a standard "per se", whereas a "de facto" standard is simply one the world uses.
It's "de facto" if it's popular, and it's "per se" if some authoritative body says it is.
No, irregardless is a perfectly legitimate choice. From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
...
I wonder whether in your over-eager need to consult the web, you managed to discover the meaning of dialectical, or what any of the il, in, ir, or im prefixes mean? Here's a hint: you don't need to know any Latin to know that insensitiveless clod doesn't mean what you think it means.
You grammar Nazis are
Ignoring the obvious bias on the part of someone who opts for inflammatory terms, how is making use of a tortured (dialectical, if you prefer) double-negative construct (in place of a perfectly ordinary word like "regardless") evolutionary? Seems to me if you're trying to be helpful, justifying a poor and obviously confusing choice of words ain't it.
Then again, if knowledge and self-improvement isn't for you, and deference is out of the question, drink your Gatorade and leave the rest of us alone.