A minimum of 70 people were murdered in Syria, one of the worst 24 hours in Assad's killing spree. The largest single cluster of killed were in Daraa – and yet, as the above video documents, enormous crowds continue to gather in the city. The regional and international pressure continues to mount – Jordan's King Abdullah called for Assad's resignation, Turkey is threatening to cut off its electricity supply to Syria (possibly angered [NYT] by massive refugee influx), and the EU slapped on a series of new sanctions targeted at regime leadership. Anne-Marie Slaughter has some suggestions as to how the US can help:
The U.S. should encourage the Arab League to ask the UN for a resolution supporting the creation and defense of a buffer zone on the Turkish-Syrian border and the subsequent creation of safe corridors to that zone from cities where the Syrian government has concentrated its assault. Turkey would have to take the lead, along with the FSA, in implementing this resolution, but NATO could provide logistical support. At the same time, the U.S. should immediately begin organizing a medical and disaster relief response. If a government will not protect its own citizens, the doctrine of responsibility to protect allows the international community to step in, but not necessarily with soldiers.
Robert Danin has other non-military suggestions – including the threat of force. Steven Cook, going further, thinks it's past time for threats. Meanwhile, Syrians continue to be murdered:
The following sign reads "The Father [Hafez al-Assad] Killed My Father / The Son Killed My Son / I am the mother of the Martyr Kamel Shuhoud / I am the daughter of the Martyr Jameel Najar:"
Funerals for these martyrs, like this one in Idlib today, can become significant demonstrations themselves:
Finally, a protestor in Homs thrown in jail describes the effect of his imprisonment: "I feared for my life so I eventually started agreeing to everything they said. I would have confessed to owning a tank if they had asked me."
The Dish 
