RFE/RL in the Media
# “The New York Times” quotes “RFE/RL” reporting on the new Pussy Riot video
# Read Deana Kjuka in “The Atlantic” on the Russian Orthodox video game that allows you to “whack” Pussy Riot
# “The Verge” on Smith-Mundt amendments
# Eurasianet cites RFE/RL Uzbek service reporting on government’s “banning” of Iftar
Aleksei Navalny
# Navalny found guilty of embezzlement - sentence soon
# “Alexei Navalny verdict: Russia's Mandela moment?” - Daniel Sanford, “BBC”
# Ellen Barry Tweet: Today's guilty verdict in @navalny case feels like bookend: conclusion to procss that began 12/5/11, with first large middle-class protest.
Russia
# “Snowden's Sentence: Life in Putin's Police State” - David Francis, “The Fiscal Times”
# Would U.S. boycott winter Olympics in Russia?
# A defense of Putin in “The Moscow Times”
# Heavy vodka taxes leading to surge in homemade booze
Egypt
# Who’s who in new Egypt interim cabinet
# Last time military tried to crush the Muslim brotherhood it “didn’t end well”
# “We have replaced the 'enemies of Islam' scarecrow with the 'enemies of the state' scarecrow” - Bassem Youssef, Egypt’s version of John Stewart
Afghanistan/Pakistan
# A senior Taliban commander’s letter to Malala
# Bangladeshi Islamist leader sentenced to death for 1971 war crimes
# “How to Bargain With a Newly Drone-Skeptical Islamabad” - Daniel Markey, “Foreign Affairs”
# Marine has few regrets about urinating on dead Taliban; plans book
Eastern Europe
# Belarus presents commemorative birth certificate to Israel President Shimon Peres
# “Why Did Conservative Bloggers Shill for the Ukrainian Government?” - Eric Levenson, “The Atlantic”
# “RFE/RL” interview with Moldovan president
Iran
# “Does the U.S. expect Iran to capitulate to sanctions in a way it would not?” - Sam Cutler, "Medium"
# Rouhani calls Israel a “miserable regional country”
# A dissident kisses the feet of a Baha’i boy, following example of the Pope
Caucasus
“Russian Blood on the Asphalt, Armenian Hands on the Wheel” - Kevin Rothrock, “Global Voices”
Central Asia
# Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, battle over land, water
# Maksim Bakiyev’s U.S. assets frozen
Of Interest
#Dzhokar Tsarnaev “Rolling Stone” cover causes controversy
#The battle to stamp out journalistic “false balance”
# In confirmation hearings, Samantha Power says she’ll push for Israel seat on U.N. Security Council
# “Foreign Affairs” on Samantha Power - “Meet Richard Holbrooke 2.0”