Syria Audio Special: How Does This End?

"What we haven't seen yet is large-scale political defection. But those who have defected have talked about the fact that there are many others who are willing to defect, who are beginning to question whether or not Assad can survive this. And, you know, the economic impact is just incredible on the country. And it's really only a matter of time before the defectors or before more leaders decide to jump ship on Assad."

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Noticing Homs

People run for shelter from gunfire in Homs in Syria on Monday

See also Middle East Video: From Media Battle in Syria to Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger to Video Games
Monday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Open Protest, Open Repression

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2120 GMT: Back from an academic break to find this footage of people protesting in Barzeh outside the Syrian capital Damascus:

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Middle East Video: From Media Battle in Syria to Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger to Video Games

Al Jazeera's Listening Post, takes on the contest between the regime and opposition to frame the presentation of the conflict in Syria, the situation of imprisoned Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, the latest news from Wikileaks and Julian Assange, and the case of an Israeli whistle-blower.

And then there is the last item on how video games are being used to simulate the news, hopefully engaging, educating, and inspiring audiences along the way:

Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Open Protest, Open Repression

2021 GMT: Al Jazeera reports that 11 civilians have died today, and the Syrian opposition has asked for international support to stop the killing:

The appeal, issued by the Turkey-based Syrian National Council, came as activists reported that at least 11 people were killed across the country on Monday, including two children, in an ongoing crackdown on anti-government protesters by security forces.

Activists said that at least eight of the dead were in Homs where hundreds of residents protested against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, adding that government troops stormed several areas and made house-to-house arrests.

Heavy artillery clashes erupted between regime forces and presumed army defectors in Homs, activists reported, saying it was the fifth day of a "brutal siege on the brave city".

2030 GMT: Activists share this video, reportedly showing women protesting today in Douma, Syria, before the military fires shots into the air to scare them away:

2021 GMT: It might be a long night in Bahrain. An actist posts this report within the last 10 minutes, though we have no confirmation of the details:

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Syria Video Special: The Protests of Eid Al-Adha

Deir Ez Zor in northeast

Syrian military in the Damascus suburb of Douma

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Launch of an Opposition?

A woman with a Bahrain flag and then other protesters defy security forces, who respond by firing tear gas

See also Syria Video Special: The Protests of Eid Al-Adha

Syria 1st-Hand: A Motorcycle Ride to Homs
Syria Video and Transcript: The Speech by Opposition Leader Ghalioun
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Running Down a Protest

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2040 GMT: A special video from Syria today, with tens of thousands of people turning out for a protest rally in Jebel el Zawiya in the northwest:

1720 GMT: Activists have raised today's death toll at the hands of Syrian security forces to 11 --- nine in Homs, one in Hama, and one in Idlib Province.

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Syria 1st-Hand: A Motorcycle Ride to Homs (Schwartz)

It all began on a pleasant motorcycle trip I took last month from Beirut, Lebanon, to Tartous, Syria, that ended up becoming a semi-surreptitious probe of Hama and Homs, the twin flashpoints of the Syrian uprising. As an English professor at the American University of Beirut, armed only with a rare visa obtained over the summer at the Syrian Consulate in Houston, Texas, and a modicum of Arabic, I managed to pass muster at a series of military checkpoints and gain entry into these two besieged cities.

Once inside, I was able to meet and talk with protesters and see first-hand evidence of President Bashar al-Assad's violent crackdown on the demonstrations that have been rocking the country since March. More than 3,000 people are believed to have been killed over the last seven months, most of them peaceful protesters, according to international rights groups and Syrian activists.

This is the story of what I saw.

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Syria Video and Transcript: The Speech by Opposition Leader Ghalioun

Saturday night's televised address of Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council, to the Syrian people:

The great people of Syria,

I address you today on the eve of Eid al-Adha, as our country reels from the violent actions of an unjust regime which has transformed our country over the decades into a kingdom where power is inherited, where rights are deprived and where dignity and freedom are beyond reach of its people.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Running Down a Protest

Montage of protest and the response by security forces on Friday in Bahrain

See also Egypt Letter: Alaa Abd-El Fattah Blogs from Jail "These Are My Limits"
Egypt Feature: Activists Try to Bridge Digital Divide by Taking "Tweets to the Streets"
Syria Video Special: Another Friday of Protests
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And There Will Be Marches....

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2030 GMT: An anti-regime demonstration in the Midan district of the Syrian capital Damascus tonight:

1910 GMT: Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council, has addressed the Syrian people in a televised address tonight. A summary, provided on Twitter:

This crisis has unified efforts of all Syrians....Syria will no longer be like a farm owned by a single family....A new constitution will give rights to minorities, especially Kurds....Power will be in the hands of people, they decide who rule them.

Every drop of blood is one more step on the way to freedom....Those who use violence against their own people are traitors who will fall and lose.

The Syrian National Council is your way to make your voices heard around the world. We are honored by your support....We will not negotiate or compromise.

Regime attempts to buy time will not help them....We have asked the Arab League and UN to protect civilians in Syria....We salute the Free Syrian Army who defended their brothers and their peaceful protests....Syrians will not forget the sacrifices of those who defended the uprising.

We tell people who are undecided, this revolution is yours....Syrians will not forget those who supported their revolutions....The regime of tyranny has fallen, but they are still trying to cling to power.

New Syria is being built today....The future Syria will be coming soon, free, democratic, and without slavery....Long live free Syria.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And There Will Be Marches....

2118 GMT: The cynics said that the Syrian President was trying to buy time when he signed a deal two days ago with the Arab League. Today, the Syrian people tested the claims made by the regime, taking to the streets in nearly every major city and in every region across the country.

And now we have our answer from the regime: as many as 25 civilians are dead.

For two days, the video evidence, verified by shots of newspapers, protest signs, landmarks, and comparison against eyewitness accounts, has pointed towards a single conclusion. The Syrian military regime, led by Bashar al Assad, has no interest in negotiating, reforming, or ceding power. Today the regime sent two messages, as it showed that if you surrender then you may be spared, but if you continue to resist, we will shoot.

The first message was sent via State TV (SANA), but the regime has so little credibility that the US State Department advised Syrians not to take up Assad's offer of amnesty. The second message was sent with weapons, troops and tanks --- the instruments that the regime has used all along.

So, we have a return to a tag line we've written many times since March. The protesters, undeterred by violence, refuse to give in, the people want the "fall of the regime," and the regime, thus far, refuses to fall. So...what happens next?

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