World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

North Korea has vehemently denied any involvement in the hacking of Sony computers.   US President Obama accused North Korea of the act, and the suspicion is that the hacking was designed to prevent the release of a movie about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jung-un.  Sony pictures has decided to not release the movie to theaters on Christmas Day, raising serious concerns about future problems that may arise from similar extortion attempts  to deny free expression.   Obama has declared that the US will respond “proportionately” to the attack, but it is not all clear what that may mean with respect to North Korea.  On a similar matter, Facebook has been accused of censorship because it has taken down a page calling for mass protests in support of Russian President Valdimir Putin’s most prominent opponent Alexei Navalny.  The suspicion is that Facebook gave in to pressure from Russian authorities.

Tunisia has essentially completed its transition from an authoritarian state to a democratic state as a Presidential election seems to have gone in favor of Beji Caid Essebsi, the candidate for the secular Nidaa Tounes Party.  That party already controls the Parliament, and the country that started off the “Arab Spring” in January of 2011 has completed its transition.  Tunisia stands as the lone Arab state so far that has gone so far.

Today is the Winter Solstice, which many people regard as the shortest period of visible light in the Northern hemisphere.  Curiously, it is not the day of the earliest sunset or the latest sunrise because of the difference between “clock time” and “solar time.”  Unfortunately, it is also not the coldest period of the year.  We have to wait until January before we can expect temperatures to begin to rise.  No matter–we will turn the corner on winter soon.  Get those shorts ready!