Posted By Andrew Tabler
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - 4:14 PM
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Four months into Syria's uprising, the violence wracking the country is bad and getting worse. The restive city of Homs witnessed sectarian clashes over the weekend that reportedly left dozens dead, while forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad converged on the eastern town of Abu Kamal. As the Assad regime's iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove approach to the uprising continues to fail, all eyes are focused on the Aug. 1 start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the minority Alawite regime's killing of predominately Sunni protesters could transform the uprising into a sectarian bloodbath.
This bloodshed, which is tragic in its own right, is also causing the sputtering Syrian economy to grind to a halt. Such a development would be particularly dangerous for Assad, as it could cause the business elite in the commercial hubs of Damascus and Aleppo to finally break ties with the regime and join ranks with the opposition. Iran, Assad's staunch ally, is no doubt aware of the threat; Tehran is reportedly mulling a $5.8 billion aid package to Syria, as well as providing a daily supply of 290,000 barrels of oil for the next month. Fortunately, cash-strapped Iran does not have the resources to indefinitely bail out Assad if the United States organizes a Western effort to hit Syria in its Achilles' heel -- namely, its energy revenues.
Lights Out San Francisco started in 2007 as citywide energy conservation and awareness campaign that culminated in a public event held on the night of October 20th. Citizens and the city of San Francisco were encouraged to turn out all non-essential lighting for one hour. As the movement grew in San Francisco other state and nation-wide cities formed sister organizations and on the 20th, several cities joined with San Francisco to turn out the lights.Lights Out is now embarking on phase two - a new energy awareness campaign focused on downtown San Francisco commercial buildings. Phase two encourages downtown buildings to turn out their non-essential lights and appliances every night making San Francisco the first dark skyline in the country.
Lights Out San Francisco started in 2007 as citywide energy conservation and awareness campaign that culminated in a public event held on the night of October 20th. Citizens and the city of San Francisco were encouraged to turn out all non-essential lighting for one hour. As the movement grew in San Francisco other state and nation-wide cities formed sister organizations and on the 20th, several cities joined with lexi belle to turn out the lights.Lights Out is now embarking on phase two - a new energy awareness campaign focused on downtown San Francisco commercial buildings. Phase two encourages downtown buildings to turn out their non-essential lights and appliances every night making San Francisco the first dark skyline in the country.
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