15 December 2012

Stories from 15 December 2012

On Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly

RuNet Echo  15 December 2012

RuNet Echo contributor Donna Welles compiles [en] netizen reactions to President Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly (ru, en), highlighting which passages best resonated with bloggers and how they interpreted and understood his latest initiatives.

Saudi Judge: Bashar al-Assad is the Outcome of Democracy

  15 December 2012

The ninth hearing session of one of Saudi Arabia's rare public trials of two prominent human rights activists Mohammad Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamid was held today [Dec 15, 2012] at the Riyadh Criminal Court. In the last hearing session, the defendants presented their defenses, and today, the defendants provided additional clarifications and they were questioned by the judge.

Minister Wert Sparks Humour on the Net

  15 December 2012

An article on online newspaper Núvol with the title “Send up #Wert” [ca] collects discussions, cartoons, jokes and word games inspired by statements and the education law reform proposed by Spanish Minister José Ignacio Wert.

Power of Rumor in Turkmenistan

  15 December 2012

In Turkmenistan, where it is almost impossible to access any news other than those reported by state-run media, rumors have unusual power. A recent Facebook post [tr] about an ‘imminent’ collapse of the US dollar has created panic among the country's Internet users, with some people rushing to exchange their dollars for local...

Kazakhstan: Looking Strong, Acting Weak?

  15 December 2012

[A]n unnecessary attack on Kazakhstan’s still-fledgling political opposition is not the behavior of a growing, confident, young, dynamic country, which is what Kazakhstan clearly wants to be. It is the behavior of a weak, insecure, terribly afraid regime. Which could potentially be dangerous in the long run...