The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

Bashar The Boring

Syria: speech by Bashar al-Assad, 16 April 2011:

For the Syrian citizens, the new government means new blood; and new blood means new and great expectations. But for this blood not to become old in a short period of time, we need to renew it constantly. This renewal happens by introducing new ideas. This new blood is not necessarily related to the individuals who join the government, but rather related to the new ideas which we produce every day. The world is moving fast around us, and we need to move at the same pace so that we can say that we are developing. Otherwise, we will be moving backwards. The world is moving ahead every month, every week, and sometimes every day.

 Oh spare me this unbearable banality. I can't bear to read the whole thing.