Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Hunger Strike of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja

2121 GMT: According to our sources, and many reports on Twitter, there is chaos in many parts of Bahrain, particularly in Manama where there are many night protests and clashes with police:

صورة ؛ اجياب الخليفية تقتحم البلاد القديم من شرق ، pic;roit police attacking bilad alqadeem w/jeeps @BiladQadeem twitter.com/elnetfa/status…

— ZahraNew (@elnetfa) April 5, 2012

29 #Bahrain #UK #USA #HumanRights All roads are on fire demanding the immediate release of #AlKhawaja twitter.com/14Feb_Media/st…

— 14 Feb Media Network (@14Feb_Media) April 5, 2012

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Bahrain Propaganda Special: Introducing the Regime's Best Friends in the US Congress

Members of Congress Jim Himes (second from left), Eni Faleomaveaga (third from left), and Marcia Fudge (third from right) with the President of Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority, Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa (fourth from right)

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So four Representatives, two of them long-established supporters of the Bahraini regime, are currently visiting the Kingdom and providing photo opportunities and articles praising the "sweeping and broad" reforms of King Hamad.

Who's paying? Well, let's just say that if it is not the dime of the US taxpayers, let's just speculate that the regime's quarter and half-dollar might be involved, with a helping hand from the Bahrain American Council.

And what effect might this have on US foreign policy --- and the presentation of Bahrain in the US media --- as the political conflict continues?

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