The Taylor Report: Meeting Assad

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ane Stillwater's first words to President Assad were "Thank you for saving Syria," and there are a lot of Kurds undoubtedly saying the same thing right now.

Stillwater, a member of the Screen Actors Guild/ACTRA, recently attended a meeting of union representatives in Syria. Unlike in the United States, Stillwater found a receptive attitude towards unions from Syria' President, who said "skilled workers represent the veins and arteries of every society. If the working class is okay, the society is okay." President Assad apparently feels more empowered to promote working-class language than many North American labour leaders. Stillwater captured his important comments.

Stillwater also describes student interest in the recent lecture by Prof. Tim Anderson in Damascus, and the backfiring of profligate use of U.S. sanctions.