US ambassador Robert Ford’s visit last week to show solidarity with protesters in the Syrian city of Hama touched– no, hammered– a nerve in the Assad regime.
A report on Syrian TV claims that Ford was met with hostility by the residents of Hama.
In fact, his welcome was quite enthusiastic. The above report carefully edits out the olive branches and roses that Hama residents carried and showered on his car.
And speaking of official Syrian media dishonesty, check out this photo, which appeared on the website of the government news agency SANA:
The Atlantic Wire reports:
When the Syrian Arab News Agency released an article yesterday on President Bashar al-Assad swearing in the new (and presumably more compliant) governor of the volatile province of Hama, The Guardian's photo expert, David McCoy, noticed something strange. The story's photo, which showed the two men awkwardly staring at one another (or Assad giving the governor his "directives," as SANA put it), appeared to be two pictures "merged to make it seem like the men are in the same room.”
Of course you don’t need to be an expert to detect something fishy about the photo. Let’s hope that the Syrian regime’s efforts to remain in power ultimately prove as clumsy and futile as its Photoshopping skills.
(Hat tip: DaveM)
