The signs are clear: Bashar al-Assad is in a state of desperation, and his latest speech in front of Syrian parliament proves it: having played most of the cards at his disposal in attempting to crush the Syrian uprising (including the murder of peaceful protesters), he is now playing his final card, the "patriotism" card, by now insisting that the turmoil taking place in Syria is the result of a "foreign conspiracy." He has promised that he will resort to an "iron-first" approach to deal with the "terrorists" (i.e. peaceful protesters). He reiterated his promise during a surprise appearance in front of a crowd of supporters the following day.

As another month wraps up and the excitement of a new year wears off, there's still a lot to look forward to for activists. Some important campaigns for students are starting soon, workshops are getting back on their regular pre-holiday schedules and resolutions are getting off the ground. This week's roundup on the toolkit will keep you motivated with feminist, anti-oppression, action-based tools.

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Weekly roundup

If Time magazine is permitted to be generic with "The Protester" as Person of the Year, I would award a Concept of the Year for 2011: "Love and courage."

This coming week marks one year since the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year old Tunisian fruit vendor who lit himself on fire on the local government steps, after trying in vain to stop constant constant harassment by police. He died January 4, just over two weeks after his act of self-immolation.