· August, 2009

Stories about International Relations from August, 2009

Pakistan: Say No To Drone Attacks

  18 August 2009

Ziyad Faisal at Pak Tea House builds his logic against the US drone attacks on Pakistani civilians: “Isn’t it abundantly clear that US drone attacks are merely providing the Al-Qaeda militants and Taliban with a wonderful propaganda opportunity, to recruit yet more people using the destruction from US attacks as...

Haiti: H1N1 Vaccination

  18 August 2009

“The H1N1 virus is not as deadly as the common cold. The panic and fear being generated…stands to enrich the powerful pharmaceuticals who will make gianormous profits from any mandated vaccination”: The Haitian Blogger examines the issue.

Azerbaijan: Eurovision voting scandal

  18 August 2009

Although held in May, some media outlets in Azerbaijan last week reported that 43 people who voted for the Armenian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest have been identified by police and one has even been called in for questioning. Bloggers react.

India: Media And Shahrukh Khan's Detention

  17 August 2009

Did the Indian media overreact on the news of Bollywood Actor Shahrukh Khan's detention in the US? Harini Calamur at POV opines: “I wonder how much airtime was spent on this – and to the exclusion of what? [..] On the day Shahrukh Khan got detained for two hours [..]...

Morocco: New US Ambassador

Ibn Kafka writes about the newly appointed US Ambassador to Morocco – Samuel Kaplan and the remarks he made before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I doubt however that Kaplan, well past retirement age (he’s 73) and who isn’t presented as mastering either Arabic or French, will play much of...

India: Shahrukh Khan Detained At An US Airport

  15 August 2009

Aaman Lamba at Desicritics reacts on the detention of the Bollywood celebrity Shahrukh Khan at Newark Airport by the US Immigration Dept.: “There is a natural query on whether this may have any relationship to traveling while brown, or while Muslim, for that matter. Were Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt...

Azerbaijan: Another Eurovision controversy

  15 August 2009

A Fistful of Euros comments on news that the telephone numbers of Azeris who voted for the Armenian entry during this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been obtained by police and one person has already been called in for questioning. The blog compares the situation in both Armenia and Azerbaijan...

Haiti: The U.N. & Elections

  14 August 2009

Dying in Haiti publishes an article by Bob Corbett which speculates as to “why the United Nations could keep so silent about the fraud during Haiti's April Senatorial elections and the June runoffs”, adding: “It's time to make some significant changes; now.”

Southeast Asia: Twitter reactions on Suu Kyi guilty verdict

  13 August 2009

Myanmar opposition leader and global democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest for violating the terms of her detention. Suu Kyi’s conviction was condemned by world leaders, Burmese activists, and also bloggers. Twitterers based in Southeast Asia also reacted to the “harsh” sentence

Ukraine, Russia: More on Medvedev's Statements

  13 August 2009

Foreign Notes comments on president Medvedev's Ukraine address: “Maybe fearing that his boss may have overstepped the mark, deputy head of the Kremlin's administration Aleksey Gromov says today that Dmitriy Medvedev's statement on the bad blood between Moscow and Kyiv was not directed against the Ukrainian people, but only against...

Singapore: Reaction to Aung San Suu Kyi verdict

  12 August 2009

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement expressing disappointment that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar was found guilty and sentenced to three years hard labour. But the Ministry also recognized the “significant gestures” by the Myanmar Government

Russia, Ukraine: Music vs Politics

  12 August 2009

LJ user oleg_kozyrev asks (RUS) Ukrainians not to get offended at Russia because of president Medvedev's address and suggests that fellow-bloggers post “something Ukrainian today,” ending his post with a YouTube video of Vopli Vidoplyasova‘s Vesna (“Spring”) song.

Cambodia, Thailand: Visa Requirements

  12 August 2009

A Lil of Me is happy to learn that despite the border clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, the two countries have agreed to waive visa requirements for each other's citizens.