Nikolas N. Gvosdev is the former Editor of the bi-monthly foreign policy journal, The National Interest. He was appointed to the post in 2005, after having been the journal's Executive Editor and the founding Editor of the journal's now-defunct separate web edition, In The National Interest [1]. Upon leaving the editorship in 2008, he was succeeded by Justine Rosenthal; he remains associated with the journal as a contributing editor.

Gvosdev received his D.Phil. as a Rhodes Scholar at St Antony's College, Oxford. He writes widely as a specialist on US foreign policy as well as international politics as they affect Russia and its neighbors. He also edits the weblog, The Washington Realist [2]. Gvosdev lived in Washington DC and served as Senior Fellow for strategic studies at the Nixon Center, and as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and George Washington University until 2007. In 2008 he moved to Newport, RI and started teaching at the Naval War College. He is married with one son.

The Syrian uprising is an ongoing, violent internal conflict in Syria. It is part of the wider Arab Spring, a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab world. Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, the overthrow of his government, and an end to nearly five decades of Ba’ath Party rule.

Since spring 2011, the Syrian government has deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising. Several cities have been besieged, but nevertheless the unrest continues. According to witnesses, soldiers who refused to open fire on civilians were summarily executed by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed "armed gangs" for causing trouble. Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against the Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacks an organized leadership.

David Robert Speedie (born 20 February 1960 in Glenrothes, Scotland) is a retired Scottish footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 football league appearances and scored almost 150 goals in a 14 year professional career. He also earned ten international caps for Scotland.

Born in Scotland but raised in Yorkshire, Speedie worked as a coalminer, playing for Brodsworth Welfare, before signing professional terms with Barnsley in 1978. Without having scored a single goal for Barnsley in 21 appearances, he moved to Darlington in 1980, where his talent first became apparent. Just two years later, he was spotted by then-Chelsea manager John Neal, who signed him for £80,000 in May 1982.

Speedie is arguably most notable for his five-year stint at Chelsea where he formed a prolific strike partnership with Kerry Dixon. Speedie's strength, scoring prowess, work-rate and unlikely heading ability (he is 5 ft 7 in tall) perfectly complemented both Dixon and winger Pat Nevin as the trio notched up almost 200 goals between them in three years. Before the arrival of Nevin and Dixon, however, Speedie had played an important part in Chelsea's survival in the Second Division a year earlier, with his seven goals (including two on his debut against Oldham Athletic) that season proving crucial. In 1986, he became the first player since Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick at Wembley, as Chelsea defeated Manchester City 5–4 in the Full Members Cup final.

Greg Reid (born September 8, 1990) is a collegiate football cornerback and punt returner for the Florida State Seminoles. He led college football in yards per punt return in 2009, and was named defensive MVP in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

After a senior season in which he rushed for over 1200 yards, scored 18 touchdowns and had nine interceptions, Reid was named the fourth best cornerback in the nation, and the top overall prospect in Georgia. He also earned All-American honors from Parade and SuperPrep, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution named him "Georgia Player of the Year", and he was named the class five-A "Georgia Player of the Decade".

Reid was heavily recruited out of high school, earning five star ratings from both Rivals and Scouts, and received scholarship offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida (he initially chose Florida over FSU during the recruiting process) and Georgia, among others.

Due to a lack of depth at the cornerback position, Reid played all thirteen games of the 2009 season, intercepting two passes, and leading the NCAA in punt return average. He was also named a freshman All-American.