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Saturday, 23 April 2011
Friday, 22 April 2011
Nuclear Installations: Accidents: 8 Mar 2011: Written answers and statements (TheyWorkForYou.com)
Charles Hendry (Minister of State (Renewable Energy), Energy and Climate Change; Wealden, Conservative)
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE/NII) screens incident reports made by licensees to identify those which have had the potential to challenge a nuclear safety system. A search of the raw input data for such screening from January 2005 to the end of December 2010 has been undertaken for details of leaks and fires at nuclear installations.
A 'coolant leak' has been interpreted as being a loss of coolant, including clean coolant, from an item of plant into the working environment of the licensed site. Coolant itself has been interpreted as being water, carbon dioxide or hydrogen on a power station, and water elsewhere.
A 'fire' has been interpreted as being a situation where ignition of material has taken place on the licensed site or instances of smouldering where such ignition could not reasonably be ruled out given the information in the record.
Coolant leaks Date Installation Incident 2005 1 January Heysham 2 Steam leak on Turbine Generator 7 5 February Hinkley Point B Carbon dioxide leak from tank 19 February Hinkley Point B Carbon dioxide leak from tank 25 February Torness Carbon dioxide leak through in-service inspection penetration 15 March Torness Carbon dioxide leak from ring main 25 June Dungeness A Carbon dioxide leak from main CO2 plant 4 July Sellafield Damp patch discovered adjacent to B30 pond wall 25 July Oldbury Steam leak through thermocouple pocket of Boiler 4 on Reactor 1 4 August Hinkley Point B Carbon dioxide leak from vaporiser valve 30 October Dungeness A Carbon dioxide leak through failed isolation valve to pressure gauge 2006 30 January Sellafield Leak of dosed cooling water from B832 cooling tower 18 February Sellafield Leak of pond water through expansion joint above the stainless steel seal in B310 AGR storage pond 24 March Hunterston B Carbon dioxide leak in pipe trench 11 September Hinkley point B Carbon dioxide leak from supply pump 23 September Hartlepool Alternator hydrogen coolant leak 26 September Hartlepool Fracture of emergency cooling water main 2 October Dungeness B Auxiliary cooling water pipe work leak 15 October Sizewell A Steam leak from Turbine Alternator 1 18 November Heysham 2 Steam leak from Reactor 7 2007 7 January Sizewell A Fracture of pond recirculating water system pipe work 18 January Sellafield Waste Vitrification Plant electrical inductor cooling water leak 1 March Hinkley Point B Carbon dioxide leak outside plant room 26 March Dungeness B Carbon dioxide leak in reactor basement 1 June Hunterston B Leak from condensate booster pump 2 June Heysham 2 Leak in low pressure feed heater pipe work 18 July Dungeness B Leak of tritiated water identified 19 September Hartlepool Leak of pressure vessel cooling water identified on boiler closure unit 26 September Dungeness B Carbon dioxide leak from storage tank 28 September Hunterston B Steam leaks in high pressure gland pipe work 27 October Oldbury Carbon dioxide leak from fuelling machine 2008 19 February Oldbury Carbon dioxide leak from storage tank 20 February Torness Carbon dioxide leak from gas bypass plant 26 June Heysham 2 Steam leak in gland steam drain line 26 July Heysham 1 Carbon dioxide leak from storage tank 7 October Wylfa Carbon dioxide leak from storage tank 23 December Torness Carbon dioxide leak from valve in the fuel machine standby CO2 coolant supply. 2009 24 April Hartlepool Hydrogen leak from Unit 2 alternator frame 26 May Heysham 1 Turbine cooling water leak 28 May Hinkley Point B Pressure vessel cooling water leak from Reactor 4 sump 25 June Heysham 2 Loss of Hydrogen from turbo alternator 8 July Torness Leak from spent fuel pond cooling water system 9 December Sellafield Fuel pond chiller water leakage 21 December Heysham 1 Back up cooling water leak soon after start up 2010 22 January Sellafield Leakage of cooling water to active storage tanks 7 June Dungeness B Gland steam leak after start up 26 October Heysham 1 Small water leak from buffer store drain line 8 November Heysham 1 Emergency cooling water pipe failure and leak
Fire Date Site Incident 2005 4 February Heysham 1 Smouldering lagging on turbine 8 March Heysham 2 Fire on reactor basement sump pump 22 April Harwell Capacitor fire in building 459 22 June Torness Variable frequency output transformer fire 30 June Barrow Portacabin fire 14 July Heysham 2 Fire in bearing of fuel handling plant extract fan 16 September Torness Fire in purge air compressor no. 2 31 October Dungeness A Fire in bulk group 4 LF power supply 2006 23 January Sellafield Smoking bitumen seal around pipe on Combined Heat and Power Plant turbine 24 March Dounreay Hydrogen ignition during waste cutting operation in Prototype Fast Reactor 21 April Springfields Uranium shredder fire in building 338 23 October Heysham 2 Smouldering leak management tray beside hot turbine reheat pipe work 23 December Burghfield Smouldering cable in plant room 2007 1 February Hinkley Point B Fire in bund of gas circulator lube system 2 June Hunterston B Bearing fire on turbo generator 7 12 August Heysham 2 Bearing fire in cooling water pump 2008 7 January Dounreay Fire in office suite of D1208 13 March GE Healthcare Fire in inactive recycling plant 15 June Rolls Royce Manufacturing Fire in glove box 2 December Hartlepool Aerosol can fire 3 December Trawsfynydd convector heater fire in ponds office 2009 12 March Heysham 1 Lagging smoke/fire 15 March GE Healthcare Fire in services spine duct 31 March Barrow Fire on the casing of Astute Boat 2 during welding/grinding operations 18 April Barrow Fire on the bridge fin of Astute Boat I 29 April Oldbury Smoking air circuit breaker 18 May Wylfa Fire in Turbine alternator 22 July Sellafield Extract fan bearing fire 23November Dungeness B Boiler annex hydraulic fluid caught fire 2010 28 May Dounreay Small in cell fire of sodium residues 2 July Sizewell B Fire in ductwork in heating and ventilation building 4 July Aldermaston Solvent fire minor bums to one person 2 August Oldbury Lagging fire near turbo alternator 22 September Sizewell B Condensate pump fire 30 September Wylfa Smouldering electrical contactor in Turbine Hall 25 October Hinkley Point B Fire in circulator workshop 8 December Heysham 2 Bearing failure causing smoke in services building
Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown, meet Watson
SAN JOSE - Gov. Jerry Brown, arriving early for an event at an IBM research facility this morning, was introduced to Watson, the supercomputer that bested human competitors on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!"
There the famously brainy governor was instructed in the most basic rule of the game.
"Why do you say, 'What is?'" Brown asked.
"In 'Jeopardy!' you have to answer in the form of a question," said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Brown wondered aloud about people who spend time learning sufficient trivia to be competitive on "Jeopardy!," but in Watson he saw potential.
"Are you ready to sell it?" he said.
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Elisabeth Sladen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Elisabeth Sladen Born Elisabeth Claira Heath Sladen
1 February 1946
Liverpool, England, UKDied 19 April 2011 (aged 65)
Southall, London, England, UK[1]Cause of death Cancer Other names Elizabeth Sladen Occupation Actress, presenter, writer Years active 1965–2010 Spouse Brian Miller
(m. 1968–2011; her death)Children Sadie Miller Elisabeth Claira Heath Sladen[2] (1 February 1946[3][4][1][5] – 19 April 2011) was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She appeared as a regular from 1973 to 1976, opposite both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Contents
[hide]Early life
Sladen was an only child whose father fought in World War I, and served in the Home Guard during World War II.[clarification needed] Her mother's maiden name was Trainor, which is a Northern Irish name commonly seen in Liverpool.
Sladen developed an interest in performing at an early age, beginning dance lessons when she was five, and dancing in one production with the Royal Ballet. She was a primary school contemporary of future politician Edwina Currie (née Cohen), appearing in at least one school production with her; and a grammar school contemporary of Peter Goldsmith, the future Attorney-General, when both attended Quarry Bank School (now Calderstones School).[citation needed]
Career
Early career
After attending drama school for two years, Sladen began work at the Liverpool Playhouse repertory company as an assistant stage manager. Her first stage appearance was as a corpse. However, she was scolded for giggling on stage, thanks to a young actor, Brian Miller, whispering the words, "Respiration nil, Aston Villa two" in her ear while he was playing a doctor. Sladen was so good as an assistant stage manager that she did not get many acting roles, a problem she solved by deliberately making mistakes on several occasions.[citation needed] This got her told off again, but she started to get more on-stage roles.
Sladen made her first, uncredited, screen appearance in 1965 in the film Ferry Cross the Mersey as an extra.
Sladen eventually moved into weekly repertory work, travelling around to various locations in England. Sladen and Miller, now married, moved to Manchester, spending three years there. She appeared in numerous roles, most notably as Desdemona in Othello, her first appearance as a leading lady. She also got the odd part on Leeds Radio and Granada Television, eventually appearing as a barmaid in 1970 in six episodes of the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. In 1971, Sladen was in two episodes of Z-Cars. Then, in 1972, she was appearing in a play that moved down to London, and they had to move along with it. Her first television role in London was as a terrorist in an episode of Doomwatch. This was followed by guest roles in Z-Cars (again),[6] Public Eye, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Special Branch.
Sarah Jane Smith
In 1973, Doctor Who actress Katy Manning, who was playing the Third Doctor's assistant Jo Grant opposite Jon Pertwee, was leaving the series. Producer Barry Letts was growing increasingly desperate in his search for a replacement, when Z-Cars producer Ron Craddock gave Sladen an enthusiastic recommendation.
Sladen arrived at the audition not knowing it was for the new companion role, and was amazed at Letts's thoroughness. She was introduced to Pertwee, whom she found intimidating at the time. As she chatted with Letts and Pertwee, each time she turned to look at one of them the other would signal a thumbs-up.[7] She was offered and accepted the part of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith.
She stayed on Doctor Who for three and a half seasons, alongside Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Tom Baker as the Fourth, receiving both popular and critical acclaim for her role as Sarah Jane. When she left the series, in the 1976 serial The Hand of Fear, it made front page news,[citation needed] where previously only a change of Doctors had received such attention. In October, 2009, Sladen paid tribute to her boss and friend, Barry Letts, after he died. She said Letts was her closest friend on Doctor Who.
Sladen returned to the character of Sarah Jane Smith on numerous occasions. In 1981, new Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner asked her to return to the series to ease the transition between Tom Baker and new Doctor Peter Davison. She declined but accepted his second offer of doing a pilot for a spin-off series called K-9 and Company, co-starring K-9, the popular robot dog from Doctor Who. However, the pilot was not picked up for a series. Two years later Sladen appeared in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors.
She reprised the role in the 1993 Children in Need special Dimensions in Time, and in the 1995 independently produced video Downtime alongside former co-star Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield. This was her last on-screen appearance as Sarah Jane Smith for some time.
Sladen played Sarah Jane in several audio plays. Two of them were produced for BBC Radio, The Paradise of Death (Radio 5, 1993), and The Ghosts of N-Space (Radio 2, 1996), together with Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney. Big Finish Productions has also produced two series of Sarah Jane Smith audio adventures set in the present day, released in 2002 and 2006. Her daughter Sadie has also appeared in the audios.
In later years, Sladen had also participated re-visiting a few classic Doctor Who serials on DVD in doing audio commentaries and interviews (in the stories she starred in), but as of 2008 she stated in an interview that she was no longer doing them due to "contractual reasons with 2entertain".[8]
Following the successful revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Sladen guest starred as Sarah Jane in "School Reunion", an episode of the 2006 series, along with John Leeson, who returned as the voice of the robot dog K-9, and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Sladen was ever faithful to the character and worked a lot of the characterisation herself, in the lead-up to the broadcast of "School Reunion" she was quoted in The Daily Mirror as saying: "Sarah Jane used to be a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Each week it used to be, 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor', and you had to flesh your character out in your mind — because if you didn't, no one else would." She also spoke favourably of the characterisation in the new series.[9]
Following her successful appearance in the series, Sladen later starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a Doctor Who spin-off focusing on Sarah Jane, produced by BBC Wales for CBBC and created by Russell T Davies. A 60-minute special aired on New Year's Day 2007, with a 10-episode series commencing broadcast in September 2007. The programme was nominated for a prestigious Royal Television Society award[10] and was recommissioned for a second 12-episode series which was broadcast in late 2008.[11] The third series was broadcast in Autumn 2009, and again achieved audience ratings well in excess of the usual average figures for the time slot (sometimes even double). A fourth season began airing in October 2010.
Sladen also read two original audio stories for The Sarah Jane Adventures,[6] which were released in November 2007 on CD: The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole and The Thirteenth Stone by Justin Richards. This was the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio.[12] Two new audio stories ("Ghost House" and "Time Capsule") were released in November 2008, both read again by Sladen.[13]
Sladen appeared in the final two episodes of Doctor Who’s 2008 series (season 4) finale "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" and was credited in the title sequence of both episodes.[14] Her final appearance in Doctor Who was a cameo in the concluding part of "The End of Time", Tennant's last episode as the Doctor.[15]
Other work
After Doctor Who, Sladen returned to Liverpool with her husband and performed in a series of plays. This included a two-hander with Miller in Moonie and his Caravans. Notable appearances following that include a two-year stint as a presenter for the children's programme Stepping Stones, a lead role with Miller playing her husband in ITV drama Send In The Girls, a BBC Play For Today, a role as a stand-up comic's spouse in Take My Wife, and a small part in the movie Silver Dream Racer as a bank secretary in 1980, only her second motion picture appearance. In 1981, former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast her as the female lead in the BBC Classics production of Gulliver in Lilliput.
She continued to appear in various advertisements and in another Letts production, Alice in Wonderland (playing the Dormouse), as well as attending conventions in the United States. After the birth of her daughter Sadie Miller in 1985, Sladen went into semi-retirement, placing her family first, but finding time for the occasional television appearance. In 1995, she played Dr Pat Hewer in 4 episodes of Peak Practice. In 1996, she played Sophie in Faith in the Future, and appeared in 15 episodes of the BBC schools programme Numbertime, which was repeated annually for around ten years. This was her last television acting appearance until the 2006 Doctor Who episode "School Reunion".
In 1991, she starred as Alexa opposite Colin Baker in The Stranger audio adventure The Last Mission for BBV Audio. Sladen also appeared in a Bernice Summerfield audio drama, Kate Orman's Walking to Babylon.
In 2008–09, Sladen appeared in a panto production of Peter Pan at the Theatre Royal Windsor, playing Mrs. Darling and a beautiful mermaid.[16]
Personal life
Sladen was married to actor Brian Miller from 1968 until her death. Their daughter, Sadie Miller, appeared with her in the range of Sarah Jane Smith audio plays by Big Finish Productions. As a child, Sadie appeared along-side Sladen in the 1996 documentary, Thirty Years in the TARDIS, wearing a replica of the Andy Pandy overalls Sladen wore in The Hand of Fear.
Sladen died early on 19 April 2011,[17] after having cancer for many months.[18][19][20] Series Six of Doctor Who starts on the Saturday following Elisabeth Sladen's death, In which straight after 'Doctor Who', a special tribute called 'My Sarah Jane Smith' will be aired. A spokeswoman for the show said that "something suitable is being planned" as a tribute to the actress.[19] Sladen had also been interested in being involved in the Doctor Who Fourth Doctor Big Finish series.[21]
References
- ^ a b "Elisabeth Sladen: Actress who came to fame as Dr Who's assistant and later had her own spin-off series". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/elisabeth-sladen-actress-who-came-to-fame-as-dr-whos-assistant-and-later-had-her-own-spinoff-series-2270576.html. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "Obituary: Elisabeth Sladen". Digital Spy. 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a315494/obituary-elisabeth-sladen.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ General Register Office index of births registered in January, February and March, 1946 - Name: Sladen, Elisabeth, C.H. District: Liverpool South Volume: 8B Page: 303.
- ^ "Elizabeth Sladen". The Times Online. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article2993294.ece. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "Elisabeth Sladen obituary". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/20/doctor-who-fantasy. Retrieved 21 April 2011. "Elisabeth Sladen (Elisabeth Claira Heath-Sladen), actor, born 1 February 1946"
- ^ a b "Elisabeth Sladen interview". Southport TV. http://www.southport.tv/page.php?id=Elisabeth-Sladen. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ Barry Letts, commentary to DVD 'The Time Warrior'
- ^ "Elisabeth Sladen (The Sarah Jane Adventures) Interview". Lastbroadcast.co.uk. http://www.lastbroadcast.co.uk/tv/v/7081-elisabeth-sladen-the-sarah-jane-adventures-interview.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ Robertson, Cameron (2006-04-18). "Dr Who's 'cut-out' girl back". The Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16958042%26method=full%26siteid=94762%26headline=exclusive%2d%2ddr%2dwho%2ds%2d%2dcut%2dout%2d%2dgirl%2dback-name_page.html. Retrieved 2006-04-21.
- ^ "Programme Awards 2007: Winners". Royal Television Society website. 2008-02-06. http://www.rts.org.uk/Information_page_+_3_pic_det.asp?sec_id=503&id=34996. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "'Sarah Jane' gets second season". Digital Spy. 2008-03-19. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a88755/sarah-jane-gets-second-season.html. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "The Sarah Jane Audios". BBC Doctor Who website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/10/01/49352.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ "The Sarah Jane Audios". BBC Doctor Who website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/10/01/49352.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ "Sarah Jane – The Return. UPDATED!". SFX. 2008-01-77. http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=sarah_jane_the_return_again. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (13 April 2009). "Star Trek Comedy And Doctor Who Tragedy — Revealed!". io9. http://io9.com/5209494/star-trek-comedy-and-doctor-who-tragedy--revealed. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
- ^ "Theatre Royal Windsor.". 2008-12-28. http://www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk/microsites/peterpan/. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ Telegraph Obituary
- ^ "Doctor Who - Elisabeth Sladen - News & Features". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_110419_01/Elisabeth_Sladen. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ a b "BBC News - Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen dies". BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13137674. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ Tuesday, April 19 2011, 20:50 BST. "TV - News - Elisabeth Sladen dies, aged 63". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/s7/doctor-who/news/a315485/elisabeth-sladen-dies-aged-63.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ http://bigfinish.com/news/Elisabeth-Sladen
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elisabeth Sladen
- Online TV Interview on Liverpool Reporter hosted by Jonathan Thompson with Elisabeth Sladen in 2006
- BBC Norfolk webTV: Elisabeth Sladen previews the Sarah Jane Adventures
- Elisabeth Sladen at the Internet Movie Database
- "Elisabeth Sladen". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68617275. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- BBC Norfolk webTV: Lis Sladen reflects on School Reunion - October 2006
- BBC Norfolk webTV: Elisabeth Sladen interview from April 2006
- BBC confirm return of Sarah Jane Smith
- Interview from 2001
- Den of Geek interview with Elisabeth Sladen
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Sladen"Categories: 1946 births | 2011 deaths | English film actors | English radio actors | English stage actors | English television actors | Cancer deaths in England | Actors from Liverpool | English people of Irish descentHidden categories: Wikipedia semi-protected pages | Articles with hCards | All pages needing cleanup | Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2011 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from April 2011 | Articles with unsourced statements from August 2008 | Use dmy dates from August 2010
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BBC News - Syria's spontaneously organised protests
22 April 2011 Last updated at 12:38Syria's spontaneously organised protests
By Kim Ghattas BBC News, BeirutRami Nakhle has created an online avatar for himself
While the Syrian army deployed overnight to the restive city of Homs, preparations were under way in dozens of towns and cities across Syria to make this Friday's protests the biggest yet.
Small committees in neighbourhoods and mosques - formed over the last few weeks - came together discreetly to plan when and where to protest.
Meanwhile, an informal army of cyber activists swung into action - sharing information between the towns to keep the momentum going.
On Twitter, the account of @SyRevoSlogans, created on 18 April, offered a flood of slogans for people to use during demonstrations across the country - many suggested by fellow Twitter users.
User @syrianjasmine spread news of "thugs'' being bussed into the town of Daraya, while @wissamtarif kept track of student protests and arbitrary detentions in the capital Damascus.
The Facebook page of 'Syrian Revolution 2011', with its 120,000 followers, called on people to take to the streets for Friday protests. It said they have no excuse not to join now that the barrier of fear has fallen.
With almost no foreign reporters allowed into Syria, it called on anyone with pictures or videos to send them to Syriarage@gmail.com. International media can contact the page to confirm details or talk to eyewitnesses, it adds.
These are the two layers of the movement - the people on the ground who organise day-to-day events at a local level; and the online community which helps give the protests a sense of cohesion on a national level.
"Those of us online are not actually organising the demonstrations, but helping people on the ground to stay connected," said one cyber activist, speaking to the BBC on Skype. He asked to not to be named for safety reasons.
"We help the people in Deraa, for example, to know that they're not alone in their demonstrations," he added.
'Cyberspace most-wanted'The 'Syrian Revolution 2011' Facebook page has over 120,000 fans
Just like the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, the protests in Syria are a grassroots movement, with no real leaders but with a number of prominent activists who keep things going.
Rami Nakhle, a 28-year-old political science student, operated under the pseudonym Malath Aumran until his cover was blown late last year and he had to flee to Beirut.
He became politically active in 2006, when his attempts to protest against so-called honour killings were blocked.
With a group of friends, he launched an online newspaper and started to raise awareness about corruption in Syria. He met some of Syria's prominent intellectual dissidents.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Rami Nakhle Cyber activistWe can't stop now or we will go back 10 years - every single person who filmed the protests or who showed his face will be picked up”
He created his online pseudonym Malath Aumran and launched an e-mail campaign to distribute information around Syria on how to circumvent internet censorship with the use of proxies.
In 2010, he was interrogated 40 times and often asked whether he knew Malath Aumran, who was fast becoming the most-wanted cyber dissident in Syria.
"[The protest movement] started online and on Facebook, but now Facebook is really just 1% of the movement," said Mr Nakhle, chain smoking in a Beirut cafe, his blue eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.
In December 2010, Syrian security services made the connection between Malath Aumran and the unassuming Mr Nakhle.
He arranged to be smuggled to Lebanon and settled in a Christian neighbourhood - the safest area, in his view, in a country where Syrian influence and reach is still considerable.
Mr Nakhle's journey - from his hometown of Suweida on the border with Jordan to his life in a Beirut safehouse - exemplifies the slow political and intellectual journey made by scores of young people across the region over the last few years, until the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia in December spurred them into action.
Today, Mr Nakhle helps to keep the Syrian protest movement alive online from Beirut. He speaks of a large network of cyber activists who hold Skype conference calls and spend their days confirming events on the ground - arrests, deaths, protests - and e-mailing information around and out of Syria.
Street-drivenPeople took to the streets in March, even before online calls for protest
Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid, who lives in exile in Washington, says some cyber activists wanted to wait until the summer to launch the protests to allow for better preparation and co-ordination.
In the end, ordinary people spontaneously took over and took to the streets in March.
Mr Abdulhamid says members of the network of dissidents are mostly secular, intellectual liberals.
A group of 10, mostly inside Syria, slowly connected with more and more people across the country, through regional networks including in mosques.
Several of the dissidents - who requested anonymity - agreed that while connecting with religious networks was important, their movement was secular.
They reject the traditional opposition groups and figures, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad's uncle.
No-one in Syria is calling today's protests decisive - it's unclear whether big crowds will manage to take to the streets in Damascus or take over a square in another Syrian city.
The Syrian government's response, whether it uses excessive violence or announces further more meaningful concessions, will also determine the course of events.
But the persistence of the protests shows that Syria has fully joined the wider regional call for more freedom, despite President Assad's recent assertions that Syria was different from Egypt and Tunisia.
"We can't stop now or we will go back 10 years," said Mr Nakhle. "Every single person who filmed the protests or who showed his face will be picked up."
via bbc.co.uk
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