The Rundown -- September 2

RFE/RL in the Media

# U.S. Embassy in Baku condemns "disgusting personal attacks" on Khadija Ismayilova

# Human Rights Watch video on crackdown cites Ismayilova attacks as example of government abuses

Syria

# The legal case for R2P; legal case against

# On the difficulties of "calibrating" the Syria attack

# 5 consequences of Obama's decision

# "Are You Syrious?" - Joe Klein, "Time"

# View of a British soldier who served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan

# Syrian state newspaper calls Obama decision "start of the historic American retreat"

# Infographics - Syria's allies and enemies; shifting alliances on Egypt and Syria

Middle East

# Morsi to be tried for inciting violence

# Interview with Chas Freeman on changing dynamics between Saudi Arabia, U.S. and Russia over Syria and Egypt

# "Egypt’s Tunisian Future" - Michael J. Koplow, "Foreign Affairs"

# Middle East crises breathe life into Al-Qaeda

Iran

# Iran Foreign Minister posts thoughts on chemical weapons on Facebook

# Ex-Iran President Rafsanjani says Syrian government responsible for attack

# Iran MPs meet with Assad in Damascus

Russia

# Russia unprepared for looming economic crisis - "Kommersant"

# One of Russia's top judges pursued by Kremlin

# "U.S.-Russia Feud Over Snowden Cuts Both Ways" - Tina Susman, "Los Angeles Times"

# Homophobic attacks on the rise

Afghanistan/Pakistan

# "U.S. Soldiers Find Surprise on Returning to Afghan Valley: Peace" - Azam Ahmed, "The New York Times"

# Afghan women fear life after U.S. withdrawal

# "The Pakistan Ideology: History of a Grand Concoction" - Nadeem F. Paracha, Dawn

Central Asia

# Kanye in Kazakhstan for Nazarbayev's grandson's wedding

# Riots in Almaty after concert abruptly stops (Not Kanye-related)

# "The Aga Khan's tightrope walk in Tajikistan" - Joshua Kucera, Al Jazeera

Eastern Europe

# Homophobic attacks "spilling over" into Ukraine

# Femen founders flee Ukraine to Paris

# Belarus-Russia dispute escalates

Caucasus

# Human Rights Watch accuses Azerbaijan of pre-election crackdown

Of Interest

# Cocktail party cheat sheet

# "Making it New" - Seamus Heaney, "The New York Review of Books" (1984)

# The disappearance of East German identity

# David Frost has died. Some interviews: Frost/ Saakashvili; Putin; Bhutto; Kasparov