Stories about International Relations from September, 2011
Poland: “Hot Autumn in Politics”
Politics, Economy, Society writes about the upcoming Oct. 9 parliamentary elections in Poland.
Russia: Jokes and Xenophobia
Donna Welles writes about Russian jokes (and a blog that translates Russian and Ukrainian jokes into English) – and about xenophobia.
Ukraine: Euro 2012 “Travel Advisory”
“Travel advisory for Ukraine and EURO-2012” from uaMuzik's Vasyl – “short and sweet”: “Travel there with extreme caution – levels of barbarity and disrespect for human life by law enforcement officials is at intolerable levels by international standards. They claim that there will be law enforcement officials that speak your...
Azerbaijan: Peace Corps Reflections
Aaron in Azerbaijan comments on a Global Voices post on the U.S. Peace Corps in Turkmenistan and reflects on the situation as a volunteer in Azerbaijan.
Slovenia: Government Loses Confidence Vote
Sleeping With Pengovsky reports that the government of PM Borut Pahor has lost a confidence vote in parliament.
Bermuda: No Easy Fix for Term Limits
Respice Finem says that when it comes to term limits, there are no simple solutions and recommends that “now is a good time to revisit and assess if its current form is best suited to Bermuda today.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Non-Communicable Diseases
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar recently brought the issue of non-communicable diseases to the attention of the United Nations; aka_lol agrees: “It will be no point taking guns and drugs of the streets while letting killer foods roam the country like an honorary citizen with diplomatic immunity.”
Cuba: Milanes’ Miami Concert Stirs Controversy Among Cubans
On August 27th, Cuban music legend Pablo Milanés performed in Miami, marking his first concert in South Florida since the 1970s. On Cuba-focused blogs and news sites, bitter disagreement over the event’s political significance reverberated throughout the weeks surrounding Milanés’ performance.
Russia: Google Office Invites Iranian Ambassador to ‘Disperse Myths’ About ‘Contemporary Persia’
“Mr Ambassador [Reza Sajadi] had told us about contemporary Persia: about progress in science and technology in his country, developing tourism, situation of women in the Iranian society, had dispersed many myths around Iran and its traditions, and had invited us to visit Iran and enjoy ancient culture of the...
Qatar: Wadah Khanfar Resigns as Al Jazeera Head
Al Jazeera Network director general Wadah Khanfar announced his resignation today, creating a stir on social networking site Twitter. The Palestinian-born journalist, who was at the helm of the network for eight years, is being replaced by a member of the Qatar royal family Shaikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani.
South Korea: The Diplomats Who Can't Speak English
It was revealed on September 13, 2011, that four out of ten South Korean diplomats find it nearly impossible to use proper diplomatic language in English, prompting the public to raise questions on the competency of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
Curacao: Financial Reality
“Yesterday an IMF delegation presented their 2011 Article IV Consultation Discussions: Preliminary Conclusions with the usual rhetoric, cut, reform, kill mantra”: TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA posts a poem intended to show “that these programmed Washington DC economists are not gods.”
South Korea: More Blocking of Pro-North Korean Internet Content
Quoting DongA newspaper's report on the censorship of internet content in South Korea, Martyn Williams from North Korea Tech blog wrote that there has been a sharp increase of the number of South Korean police requests demanding the deletion of pro-North Korean internet content.
Kyrgyzstan: Intelligence cooperation with China
Marat Sartpaev ponders on the fact that top officers of the Kyrgyz special service paid a visit to China in an attempt to set up cooperation ties and, probably, bargain for the closer international partners’ attention.
Afghanistan: The country's relations with China
Nasim Fekratْ looks into the historic background and current state of Afghan-Chinese political, trade and economic relationships.
Russia, Ukraine: Gas Relations Analysis
Nils van der Vegte of RussiaWatchers examines the current status of the gas relations between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine: Possible Explanations of Plagiarism in President's Book
Alexander Motyl of Ukraine's Orange Blues offers possible explanations for plagiarism in President Victor Yanukovych’s recently-published English-language book, Opportunity Ukraine.
Ukraine: Geopolitics in Crimea
Odessablog writes that “the macro-geopolitical battle over Ukraine between the EU and Russia” is at its most intense in Crimea.
Ukraine, EU: Visa Regime “Like Modern Berlin Wall”
Anatoliy Martsynovski of BlogActiv.eu writes that the visa regime is one of the most important and most sensitive issues in the EU-Ukraine relations: “It is quite true that for us current visa regime very often is something like modern Berlin Wall.”
France, Africa: Suitcases Filled with Cash Expose the Françafrique Connection
In the wake of the Dominique Strauss Kahn scandal, a new furore is now rocking France and the upcoming 2012 French presidential campaign. Robert Bourgi, a shady lawyer and advisor for "African affairs" has confessed to acting as a go-between for French politicians and Francophone Africa heads of state.
Malaysia: Mahathir Says Bush Lied About 9/11
As the world commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack in the United States, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad came out again to declare that it was not the work of Muslim extremists. Jerrenn Lam reports.
