Source: Dawn.com
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THE events rocking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire have been compared to the ‘Arab Spring’. That may be an exaggeration, but there is at least one respect in which the analogy isn’t spurious: the British political establishment appears to have overcome its fear of Murdoch.
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The loss of fear was instrumental in precipitating the rebellions that have stirred the Arab world — but not, at least thus far, substantially changed it.
Syria has lately been the primary focus of attention, with regular reports of violence — and fatalities — pouring in from various parts of the country, amid half-hearted steps towards the possibility of peaceful reform. Some of the deadliest confrontations have occurred in Hama, which nearly 30 years ago became a byword for ruthless repression when Hafez Al Assad’s regime massacred up to 20,000 Syrians, purportedly to put down an Islamist rebellion.