This blog is not being updated at the moment. Instead, it will show links - mainly news-related - I've looked at recently.
Source: Baladna, Syria, May 16, 2007Scott McCleod on the Syrian 'election':
No surprises here. Bashar "won" by a little less than that in 2000. And the actual number itself is meaningless because -- do I even have to say it? -- the books are completely cooked. I mean, really, if turnout was 95 percent as officials claim, that means the government counted about 20 million paper ballots in around 36 hours. No, the depressing part about the referendum was the Stalinist-style campaign that preceded it and which will continue through to the inauguration.
No surprises here. Bashar "won" by a little less than that in 2000. And the actual number itself is meaningless because -- do I even have to say it? -- the books are completely cooked. I mean, really, if turnout was 95 percent as officials claim, that means the government counted about 20 million paper ballots in around 36 hours.
