❊ Using Sex to Sell the Syrian Revolution ?

Apparently, President Assad has been exchanging flirtatious emails with a mysterious woman who sent him a semi-naked picture of herself (picture). This could very well be true. It could indeed be what was actually happening, and not some clumsy smear effort to divide and conquer’s Assad’s picture-perfect family and his united front with his wife. But could this be part of a larger trend?

Is it just me or have you also noticed that the media is talking a lot about rape in Syria lately? This increased sexualization of the coverage of the revolution could be the result of the dictator in Damascus issuing high commands to his soldiers to rape in the name of patriotism, but could it also be the result of something else?

What if the propaganda barrons (on both sides) have realized that people have a limited capacity for watching explosions and dead children on prime time TV? Could it be that Arab Idol is becoming a better proposition for evening family entertainment than watching wailing mothers explaining how half their families starved to death and the other half was killed in an explosion?

What if the sexing up of the coverage was a desperate, last-ditch effort to recapture the attention of people who are shutting Syria out of their minds?