· June, 2009

Stories about International Relations from June, 2009

India, Pakistan: Diplomacy Lesson From A Tennis Duo

  29 June 2009

Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan highlights the bond between the India-Pakistan Tennis duo Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi and Prakash Armitraj who are playing together in the Wimbledon. They are one of the finest examples of citizen diplomacy in promoting goodwill and improving perceptions between the two nations.

Cuba, U.S.A.: Connecting the Dots

  29 June 2009

Call it coincidence, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense thinks that in light of news that Cuban human rights activists Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez” and his wife were once again arrested, “it might be best to connect the dots”, particularly “in the wake of the NED ceremony, at which Antúnez...

Cuba: Fear of Change?

  29 June 2009

“Like the seemingly never ending US blockade that attacks Cuba’s economy from without, from the inside a corrosion process is gradually eating away at the relatively young 50-year revolution”: From Havana, Circles Robinson says that “there is a conservative political class of managers at most workplaces and government offices who...

Palestine: Rafah Crossing Open For 72 Hours

Laila El-Haddad is hoping she will see her parents soon, as the Rafah Crossing from Gaza into Egypt is temporarily opened: “Of the some 5000 Palestinians registered to cross, only 250 were allowed out of Gaza on the first day (a total of 5 buses), and only 4 buses scheduled...

Palestine: Website Honors Memory of Fallen Daughters

Among the casualties of the Gaza war with Israel this winter were four young women of the Abuelaish family. Daughters For Life is Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish's tribute to their memory. Jewschool calls it: “A powerful endorsement of non-violence in the face of Palestinian extremism and Israeli belligerence.”

Russia, Nigeria: Nigaz

Eternal Remont writes that “Gazprom has created a joint venture with Nigeria's state-owned NNPC gas company” and that the new company's name is Nigaz. License Plate Poetry has a poem on this – “But no, my dear, Russia is not racist” (via @jilliancyork).

Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama & “Antúnez”

  26 June 2009

Cuban human rights activist Jorge Luis García “Antúnez” said that President Obama's words of support make a big difference for those fighting for Cuban liberty, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense is still of the opinion that “Obama should of, and could of, done more to honor the Democracy Award nominees.”

Ukraine: “Lady Ethnographer”

Maria Sonevytsky of My Simferopol Home writes on being a “lady ethnographer” in Ukraine and on xenophobia in Crimea: “Ukraine today is caught between two warring accounts of history, as it is caught between two different attitudes towards otherness, be it gendered, ethnic or raced otherness.”

Cuba, U.S.A.: Missed Opportunity

  25 June 2009

Havana Times reports that U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement in which he said he hoped that all Cuban political prisoners would be released, but Uncommon Sense thinks that Cuban activists deserved better: “A busy schedule or confusion about the dates, is not enough of an excuse for President...

Cuba: Unanswered Questions

  25 June 2009

“I am waiting for a clarification about why he hasn’t accepted Obama’s proposal for U.S. telecommunications companies to provide Internet to the Cuban people. I demand, like many around me, a convincing argument for why we are not going to join the OAS…”: Generation Y says that “the list of...

USA: Celebrating Tel Aviv's 100th in New York

New Yorkers may have been shocked to encounter a beach party, and accompanying artificial beach, in the midst of Central Park this weekend. The event, organized by the Tel Aviv/Jaffa and New York City municipalities in celebration of Tel Aviv's 100th birthday, included thousands of partygoers and 15 tons of...

Israel: Music Videos Unite Jewish & Arab Youth

Windows for Peace, a nonprofit based in Tel Aviv, Israel, is waging practical solutions for peace. This summer, Jewish and Arab Israeli teens will unite to create short music videos that represent their ideals. According to Israelity, the project's goal is “showing young people in the region that communication with...