Assad's Forces Kill 12 as Arab League Monitors Look on

(EYE) BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian security forces, undaunted by the presence of Arab League observers, have killed at least 12 protesters as hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said.
Five members of the security forces were also killed in a shooting in the city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday.
Assad, 46, has signed up to an Arab League plan for a verifiable withdrawal of his troops and heavy weaponry from towns and cities, where they have been trying to crush protests that have raged since March.
But the presence of Arab League monitors in hotspots across Syria since Monday has, if anything, energised the protesters, while provoking scepticism in Western countries.
Demonstrators determined to show the scale of their movement to the monitors threw rocks at security forces in the Damascus suburb of Douma, where troops tear-gassed the chanting crowds.
Five people were shot dead in the city of Hama and five in the city of Deraa as crowds braved army and police, the Observatory reported, adding that at least two dozen people had been injured in Douma. More...

So if college loan debt EXCEEDS credit card debt, and 45% aged 18-29 are not working...

The community activism worked out great... didn't it? It's kind of like Woodstock... er Woodstock 99. Thanks hippies. Thanks for taking the advice of Yoko Ono. Peace!

(h/t ibloga) CNN: In 2008, the youth vote helped sweep Barack Obama into office. Americans 18-29 spread the word on social media, energized fundraising and went to the polls. In 2012, the youth vote is moving on and throwing those omnipresent “Hope” bumper stickers and t-shirts in garbage bins.Not because of apathy. Not because another candidate generates more enthusiasm. Not because of his character. Not because they think voting is pointless. The 18-29 vote is up for grabs in 2012 because youth can’t afford cars to put bumper stickers on and those t-shirts are worn out from too many days sitting on the couch unemployed. The sobering reality: just 55.3 percent of Americans between 16 and 29 have jobs. And earlier this year, Americans’ student loan debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever. Rather than develop a lasting initiative to help young unemployed Americans, the President launched “Greater Together” – a campaign tool that offers community forums rather than jobs. Rather than provide a bailout to those crushed by the burden of educational loans, his student debt relief program was pathetic – only reducing interest rates by a measly 0.5 percent. No wonder less than half of Americans 18-29 approve of Obama.

....yeah... thanks hippies. thanks for all the "Activism". Thanks for keeping your youth occupied... might be nice to pay us or we will kill you. You want to know what youth do who have nothing but community activism? well... um... Hie Dee Ho! They start raping your daughters! oh... won't the feminists on the left be pleased... and that will of course will lead to a Leftist Police state full of feminine hysteria. Oh,,, but the ladies are the one segment of the population who have jobs because of the service sector. The vaginas will be doing just fine... if they can make it to work without getting raped. Oh, and those police officers that they hire to keep the youth from raping the laides... oh... they are corrupt and cheat on you. sigh... it will make monogamy completely unsustainable... and that will lead to more panic... and fear. And of course you will blame a blogger like me and ship me off to Washington State for pointing out the reality here.... but nothing to see here. nothing at all. move along...

Hugo Chaves reflects

(Redrawing Cancer)(Hugo Chavez in hospital 'for kidney failure')

(Redrawing Cancer)(Hugo Chavez in hospital 'for kidney failure')

(Simply Jews) Judging by the photo, Comical Hugo lost nothing of his charm and penetrating intellect, missing hair notwithstanding. So, when he says:

It would not be strange if they [USA, of course] had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... I don't know.

you better listen. This relates to the following sad fact:

Chavez, Fernandez, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have all been diagnosed recently with cancer. All of them are leftists.

And of course, when he adds: "I'm just reflecting," it's because of his all-encompassing humbleness.
As for the picture above being accompanied by this caption "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives to commemorate the death anniversary of national hero Simon Bolivar at the national cemetery in Caracas": is he looking for a suitable lot near Bolivar? Just in case, you know.
Oh, and speaking about cemeteries:

Caracas - Venezuela is on track to set a new record for murders and to remain South America's most violent country, according to data released by a crime watchdog.
The Venezuela Violence Monitor (OVV) said Tuesday that 19,336 people had been murdered in 2011, an average of 53 per day in a country of 29 million.

Must be some secret CIA mind control technique too.