· September, 2010

Stories about International Relations from September, 2010

Should Bangladesh Send Troops To Afghanistan?

  30 September 2010

The Bangladesh Army has earned a reputation in contributing troops for different United Nation Peacekeeping Operations across the world. However, recently the country received an extra-ordinary request for troops to join NATO forces to help secure Afghanistan against Taliban advances.

China and the U.S.A: Yuan's value and stock market's move

  30 September 2010

George Chen notices a coincidence happened before the China national day: Goldman Sachs chose the day to sell up to $2 billion-worth of shares of its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the China currency bill by a vote of 348-79.

Europe: “Mapping Stereotypes”

  28 September 2010

Via Dr Sean's Diary, “a series of maps of Europe mapping the (supposed) prejudices of various nations […] and, for some reason, also of gay men” by “Bulgarian visual artist, graphic designer and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov.” Also, “What European Tribes Think About One Another” – at eXile.ru; a similar map...

Russia, Czech Republic: “The Velvet Surrender”

  28 September 2010

Robert Amsterdam's blog links to an investigative report by Gregory Feifer and Brian Whitmore, published in the New Republic (full text available to subscribers only, however), which examines “Russia's ambitious nuclear diplomacy and foreign policy with the Czech Republic.”

Azerbaijan: Obama calls for bloggers’ release

  28 September 2010

Dönməzlik blog [AZ] says that it was surprised to discover that US President Barack Obama raised the issue of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video blogging youth activists imprisoned on charges of hooliganism by a court in Baku, with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, at the UN General Assembly....

Haiti: Slow Going

  27 September 2010

“Nine months after the devastating earthquake, many are criticizing the slow pace of relief for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Haiti”: The Haitian Blogger reports.

Russia: Controversy On Twitter Use in the Government

RuNet Echo  27 September 2010

Russian General Prosecutor's Office registered [RUS] a Twitter-account @genproc [RUS]. Previously [RUS], Federal Anti-monopoly Service got @rus_fas [RUS] account. While more than 20 high [RUS] Russian officials already started tweeting, country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sceptical about the new media which it considers an “information weapon.”

Bhutan: ‘Happiness’ As A Millennium Development Goal

  25 September 2010

It was nice to have a little laughter - even whimsical as it may have been - when the PM of Bhutan proposed “Happiness” be included as the 9th Millennium Development Goal at the the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

Russia, Poland: “The Fog Surrounding the Crash Remains”

  22 September 2010

Streetwise Professor writes about the ongoing inquiry into the April 10 plane crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others, reporting this, among other things: “Most peculiarly, the air traffic controller who was in charge when the plane crashed ‘retired’ three days after the crash, and Russian authorities claim...