Following are excerpts from two phone calls to Syrian TV, which were posted on YouTube on April 26 and June 13, 2011:
June 13, 2011
Host: "Go ahead, Zubeida."
Zubeida, on the phone: "Good morning to you, to Der'a, and to Jisr Al-Shughour."
Host: "Good morning."
Zubeida: "Good morning to Der'a and to Jisr Al-Shughour, which are sinking into rivers of blood, while you sing the praises of that corrupt man [Bashar Al-Assad]. Don't you hear what's going on?"
Host: "Now I can hear you, sister Zubeida. Your voice is extremely faint in my earphone. Go ahead."
Zubeida: "You liars…"
Host: Please turn on the local speaker…
Zubeida: "You are fabricating, you are being stubborn, you are lying… How long, my brothers, will you continue like this? How long will our media continue to…"
Host: "Let's take a break because we have a problem with the sound…"
Cut to pro-Assad propaganda.
April 26, 2011
Artist Hassan Hassan, on the phone: "I'd like to say a few words before we move on to the subject."
Host: "Go ahead."
Hassan Hassan: "Ask my parents, ask my grandparents, ask my forefathers, ask nobility, ask God, ask whatever you want, but the Ba'th Party is my religion, and Bashar Al-Assad is my god."
Host: "My artist brothers… I'd just like to explain what the artist Hassan Hassan said. He was reciting poetry. His words shouldn't be taken at face value. This is a form of a metaphoric superlative. He does not mean exactly what he said. This is a kind of metaphor.
"It is like when a boy loves a girl and he says to her: I worship you. He does not really worship her. He only loves her very much. His overflowing love [of Assad] made him use this metaphor." […]
