World press on the war in Syria (September 23, 2014)"The Syrian Front: Waiting to Die in Aleppo" reads the title of an article by Christoph Reuter published by the Spiegel."Eastern Aleppo has been virtually abandoned, as have most residential districts located away from the front. Those left in the city prefer to crowd into housing right up against the battle lines, which have remained virtually static in the last two years. Paradoxically, people feel safest living within range of enemy tank and sniper fire. Such are the rules of Aleppo", begins the article."The reasons are pragmatic. For one, the lower floors of the buildings along the front still offer some protection from artillery shells. More important, however, is the fact that no "baramil" fall here, those half-ton barrel bombs dropped from helicopters flying high overhead. The bombs are murderously effective, but they are so imprecise that the Syrian Air Force refrains from using them too close to its own troops", explains Reuter. "Almost 90 percent of residents have fled since late 2013, when the systematic bombing began. Since then, the explosives have claimed the lives of some 2,500 people. Nevertheless, 200,000 to 300,000 people still live in the eastern half of the city", continues the article."It would be misleading to say that the fighting around Aleppo has quieted down after two years. Still, the number of fighters on the front lines has declined. Until a few months ago, the regime still had more than 1,000 Iraqi militants on its side, along with battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon and mercenaries from Afghanistan, a Shiite alliance that has since almost completely disappeared", describes Reuters."The Iraqis have gone home, now that Islamic State is threatening Baghdad while Hezbollah has ordered its soldiers to Damascus. On the other side, the rebels in August sent thousands of fighters from Aleppo to the north to stop the advances of Islamic State militants. The front lines have frozen and neither side is moving anymore. Local residents refer to it as a "cold front.""
"The Syrian Front: Waiting to Die in Aleppo" reads the title of an article by Christoph Reuter published by the Spiegel.
"Eastern Aleppo has been virtually abandoned, as have most residential districts located away from the front. Those left in the city prefer to crowd into housing right up against the battle lines, which have remained virtually static in the last two years. Paradoxically, people feel safest living within range of enemy tank and sniper fire. Such are the rules of Aleppo", begins the article.
"The reasons are pragmatic. For one, the lower floors of the buildings along the front still offer some protection from artillery shells. More important, however, is the fact that no "baramil" fall here, those half-ton barrel bombs dropped from helicopters flying high overhead. The bombs are murderously effective, but they are so imprecise that the Syrian Air Force refrains from using them too close to its own troops", explains Reuter.
"Almost 90 percent of residents have fled since late 2013, when the systematic bombing began. Since then, the explosives have claimed the lives of some 2,500 people. Nevertheless, 200,000 to 300,000 people still live in the eastern half of the city", continues the article.
"It would be misleading to say that the fighting around Aleppo has quieted down after two years. Still, the number of fighters on the front lines has declined. Until a few months ago, the regime still had more than 1,000 Iraqi militants on its side, along with battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon and mercenaries from Afghanistan, a Shiite alliance that has since almost completely disappeared", describes Reuters."The Iraqis have gone home, now that Islamic State is threatening Baghdad while Hezbollah has ordered its soldiers to Damascus. On the other side, the rebels in August sent thousands of fighters from Aleppo to the north to stop the advances of Islamic State militants. The front lines have frozen and neither side is moving anymore. Local residents refer to it as a "cold front.""
"Putin's Cyberphobia" is an article which appeared in the Foreign Policy on September 24.
"Russia's actions in Ukraine have distracted the world from the Kremlin's invasion of the Internet. Now, as the world is consumed by other Putin-related headlines, Russia's Internet freedom is quickly slipping away. This is not just a technology story. Putin's attitude toward the web sheds further light on his isolationism and his fear of domestic critics. The current Internet crackdown also suggests that Putin, despite high approval ratings, may not be as secure as he appears. Generally speaking, confident leaders do not feel seriously threatened by social media," the artile reads.
"Now Russia is reportedly considering measures to isolate Russia from the global Internet, apparently to defend the country from aggressive acts by the West."
"This is not to say that millions of Russians are scrambling to find alternatives to state propaganda. They're not. There is no denying that Putin enjoys considerable support," the author of the article claims.
"But all of these factors could change, and they could change fast. Authoritarian leaders may seem to be worried about freedom of speech, but they are far more concerned about freedom of assembly. It's hardly a coincidence that Russia's Internet crackdown was sparked by street demonstrations. Furthermore, those protests were largely a surprise. Even a year earlier, anyone suggesting that demonstrations were on the horizon would have been widely mocked. In Russia's current political climate, predicting mass protests may seem equally naive. Yet while the Internet alone will not bring Russians into the streets, an economic crisis could. In such an event social media would probably play an important role. Putin seems to understand this. Furthermore, destabilizing protest movements sometimes appear to come out of the blue. In Moscow, the government survived protests. In Kiev, the government did not."
