Assad fiddles while Syria Burns.

[RIPP_n_WIPE]

And the first lady wonders if $7,000 heels are worth it...

(CNN) -- A cache of e-mails leaked to CNN is giving extraordinary insight into the life of Syria's first family during the regime's move to crush a now-year-long civilian uprising.

The e-mails were obtained by CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" from a source in the region after the e-mail accounts were hacked. They appear to shed light on a family often occupied with YouTube videos and shopping while the brutal crackdown continued, and they also apparently reveal some of Iran's influence over Syria's president.

Just before Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech January 10, an aide apparently e-mailed him, saying a political adviser to the Iranian ambassador was encouraging al-Assad to use "strong and violent" language.

In that speech, al-Assad then promised to strike the opposition with an "iron fist."
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There are also e-mails from a man named Hosein Mortada, who -- according to his Facebook page -- is the Damascus bureau chief for two Iranian news networks. Mortada twice offers advice to the president's aide, who passes it on to al-Assad.

On Christmas Eve, Mortada apparently wrote to an al-Assad aide that al Qaeda should not be blamed for a recent attack.

"I even received calls from Iran and Hezbollah, being the director of several Iranian and Lebanese channels, and they advised me NOT to even mention al Qaeda being behind the incident ... because this would be a serious tactical media error," Mortada wrote, according to the e-mail.

December 24 was the day Syrian troops began their onslaught on the Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs, according to activists. The next day, an apparent e-mail from Mortada said his "friends" in the city reported armed people in front of every door were threatening residents and forcing them to protest.

The next day, with Arab League monitors on the ground in Syria, Mortada apparently e-mailed the same aide that Syrian supporters needed to make sure opposition members did not turn out in large numbers in public.

"We need to take control of public squares during this period," he wrote. "At the same time, groups affiliated with us will fill the squares ... so we don't leave them open for others, since the opposition is getting ready to move with the presence of the monitors. In this case, we will block their way and (prevent them) from reaching any square."

CNN has tried to reach Mortada to ask about the authenticity of the e-mails but so far has received no response.

The monitors stayed in Syria for several weeks, visiting various cities and towns as they tried to assess whether the government was upholding its commitment to end the crackdown.

Shortly after the monitors' arrival in late December, an apparently amused al-Assad sent one of his closest advisers a YouTube video that mocked a theory the regime had hidden tanks during the monitors' visit.

"Check out this video on YouTube," al-Assad wrote on December 29, according to the e-mail. The reply in English: "Hahahahahahaha, OMG!!! This is amazing!"

Some of the most interesting insights in the al-Assad e-mails are personal.

In November, as the Syrian military ramped up its attack on Homs, first lady Asma al-Assad seemed more concerned with the latest "Harry Potter" DVD, apparently asking a friend to bring the movie when she comes for a visit.

The first lady in the past year also seems to have spent much of her time online shopping for expensive jewelry, art, and furniture, and e-mailing boutiques in London and Paris.

In one e-mail exchange with an art dealer in London, Asma al-Assad, apparently using a false name, inquires about six artworks that all feature butterflies. The dealer responds that the works cost between £5,000 and £10,500 ($7,800 and $16,500).

The art inquiry was sent October 28, the same day Syrian protesters staged a massive demonstration in the city of Hama, in which they called for an end to al-Assad's rule.

On February 3 -- the same day opposition activists reported more than 200 killed in the "Homs massacre," and a day before the U.N. Security Council was scheduled to meet on Syria -- the first lady apparently e-mails a friend asking whether she should reserve Christian Louboutin shoes costing as much as $7,000 a pair.

"These are really iconic pieces for Spring and some fabulous styles," the e-mail says.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/world/mea ... ?hpt=hp_t1

[Flagg]

And just like Nero, Assad is winning. With Russia and China backing him up the west won't do a damned thing. I can hope that his people get the upper hand thanks to these emails and we get some exile or ICC action, rather than heads on pikes. Though knowing that part of the world and what a cunt this man and his wife are the pikes look like the safer bet.