A rare CNN report from inside Syria provides valuable footage of protests on the ground. It's important to keep in mind how dangerous it is to produce such dispatches: French journalist Gilles Jacquier was killed today covering the violence in Homs (EA has compiled a tribute to him here). If you wonder where the Assad regime is getting the weapons to continue murdering people for so long, look to Russia. Hussain Abdul-Hussain has more on that country's Syria policy:
Moscow has a clear interest in the survival of the regime of President Bashar Assad, a major importer of Russian arms. Syria reportedly buys 10 percent of Russia’s annual arms exports at a cost of $1 billion. In Libya, Russian arms makers lost close to $4 billion in contracts with the downfall of Moammar Gadhafi. Moscow is keen to prevent a repeat in Syria…Should the Arab mission be deemed a failure, world opinion would certainly tilt in favor of U.N. intervention. In that case, Russia would find itself alone at the U.N. fending off another Western diplomatic offensive. Meanwhile, indicators show that Assad’s grip on power is weakening and his finances – needed to keep his military machine going – deteriorating. In a second diplomatic showdown at the U.N., expected in February, Russia might not rush to Assad’s defense and could instead compromise with other world powers over his removal.
Right now, of course the UN isn't doing much of anything. EA flags a series of humor videos made by the Syrian opposition and Zeinobia reviews an old documentary about the Hama massacre. Here's a large funeral/protest in Deir ez-Zour:
Here's another one in Hama:
Finally, these are a protestor's last breaths after being shot in the head in Homs:
The Dish 