The Middle East experienced a snowstorm–even in Cairo! Over a foot of snow fell in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the snow brought incredible misery to the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who are living in desperate conditions. NASA has released satellite photographs of the storm which was a rare event in the region. The second photograph[h is of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The US District Court of the District of Columbia has ruled that the NSA data collection is unconstitutional. In an historic case, Klayman v. Obama, the court ruled that the meta-searches violated the 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. The Obama Administration will likely appeal the decision, but I am cheered by the decision. It is hard now to prosecute Edward Snowden–the decision vindicates his stance as a whistle-blower.
The protests in Ukraine seem to be getting larger, contrary to the expectations of many. As the number of protesters continues to grow, it is difficult to see what the outcomes might be. The current President, Yanukovich, is slated to stay in power until 2015, so the only option would be his removal, whether legally (unlikely, as his party commands a majority in the Parliament) or illegally (as in a coup). A coup would be difficult to maintain since there is no clear opposition leader. Further, we have no idea of how Russian President Putin might react to the removal of Yanukovich. Ukraine is highly vulnerable to a cutoff of Russian natural gas.
World Politics News 
Leave a comment