im actually glad that assad bailed to russia immediately. why? because i can relate to him, just a guy working on getting rich and taking care of his elites, knowing that his state is actually just a larp and cant survive even a gentle push  and when news hits that rebels are on the attack, just immediately bundles his family into a plane and makes like a tree. no indecision, no coping, no hiding from reality, just making the right decision at a key moment. he must have had an escape plan set to execute on a moments notice. i would love to talk with him and ask him how it went down, i dunno, maybe its just liking winners. all the major decisions in his career ended up being the right ones  at least, personally.
Canada