Syria

I am simply amazed at what is happening in Syria. The government has used tanks and live ammunition to suppress the protests, but despite the death of more than 500 protesters and the arrest of more than 5,000, the protests continue.

Friday marked the seventh week since protesters first took to the streets, initially in small numbers and to call only for reforms. But as the government has responded to the unrest with escalating force, so has the protest movement persisted and spread, and it now seems clear that much of the country is in open revolt against the regime.

Responding to calls by activists to stage a “day of defiance” to protest the security crackdown, people swarmed out of mosques after noontime prayers in dozens of locations around the country, many of them calling for the overthrow of the regime.

I don't see how this movement can succeed, but given the great bravery of the protesters, anything seems possible.