EA Special: Mitt Romney's "Deviant" Politics, a Slain Ambassador, and the Death of American Objectivity

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There are legitimate reasons to question the administration on many issues, including foreign policy. There are looming questions, like whether drone strikes in Yemen have made us safer, whether there should be intervention in Syria, or how the US can stop Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from pre-emptively striking Iran and dragging us into a war that our military commanders do not want to fight. There are questions about Pakistan and Afghanistan, China and Mexico, Bahrain and Egypt and Libya. But we're not discussing these because, rather than confront President Obama within the sphere of legitimate controversy, Romney and the GOP have resorted to pulling our entire political dialogue into the sphere of deviance.

This has dangerous implications for American politics. And the media has played an important role in the downward spiral. Terrible daily coverage of the Middle East has led to sensational coverage of events that are more drama than substance. At the same time, a fear of confronting deviance has lent legitimacy to questions that are not legitimate. Those wishing to exploit the media's fear of perceived bias have poisoned the well of public discourse, and the media has distributed the water because, well, they think that it is their job.

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

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Egypt Special: Dramatic Footage from the Maspero Attacks

On Sunday, at least 24 people were killed in the Maspero district of Cairo as Coptic Christians protested their inadequate protection by the Egyptian government. The military says that they were attacked by protesters, and the protesters say that they were attacked by other civilans, the media, and the military.

We supply the videos here for your viewing. Judge them for yourself.

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Bahrain Special: New Martyrs, New Protests, New Crackdown

Protesters chanting after police force withdrew from the village of Dair, 15 September

See also Bahrain Feature: Repression Tears Apart a Country

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I remember when I read my first article about protests in Bahrain. It was short: in the second paragraph, the author said that the King of Bahrain was going to give the people of his country more than $2650 per family. The conclusion was that it was highly unlikely that protests would catch on.

It's hard to be more wrong.

More than seven months later, and protests are becoming a nightly occurrence. The protest movement has been reinvigorated in recent weeks, partially inspired by Libya, partially inspired by fresh martyrs, entirely dedicated to regain the momentum they had at the start.

On Wednesday, 31 August, 14 year old Ali Jawad was shot through the eye with a tear gas canister that fired directly at civilians by police who were standing less than 30 feet away.

Within a week, protests were growing, specifically in Sitra, the home of young Jawad. On 4 September, we received this video, a man standing in from of a police convoy, refusing to stand down:

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Won't Give Up, Won't Back Down

1911 GMT: Al Jazeera offers their latest summary of the events in Syria, which echos much of our own coverage:

1907 GMT: This video was reportedly taken today in Homs, where State Run SANA TV claims 1 soldier was killed. In the video, we see plain-clothed Shabiha ("ghosts", paramilitary) walking along with Syrian military and firing at unseen targets. None of the Syrian security forces seem too nervous, as if their targets are unarmed. I repeat a question posed by an activist earlier, do these people look like they are being shot at?

1842 GMT: Multiple sources and activists are reporting that Joabr, Damascus, has been sealed off by security forces.

1839 GMT: A video claiming to show a large protest today in Hama:

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Syria Video Special: Death Rather Than Humiliation

11. Tanks entering Idlib. The first video is Kevromh, the next a very large convoy entering Idlib city:

10. Irbeen, Damascus, gunfire rings out and protesters scatter. At least one person was reportedly killed:

9. This video claims to show anti-aircraft guns firing into the city of Deir Ez Zor, yesterday:

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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:

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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.

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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:

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Syria Video Special: Assad Kills Protesters, but Can't Kill Protests

We've already received dozens of new videos, night protests in defiance of the massacres. How many people will Assad have to kill before he realizes that killing his own people is only swelling the ranks of the protesters? As the night wears on, we will add more videos to this list

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Syrian civilians in Homs hold up notes for the UN fact-finding delegation to read:

Qalamoun district of Damasacus:

Khalidiya district, Homs:

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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)