· August, 2012

Stories about U.S.A. from August, 2012

Combatting Cocaine Production in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru

Drug production and trafficking is a major issue in Latin America that governments are constantly trying to deal with. However, as the continent leaders gathered last April in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas fully agreed, the so far US-led war on drugs has failed in the Region. Peru, Colombia and Bolivia are the three largest illegal cocaine producing countries in the world. What are these Andean Countries doing to combat illegal drugs?

30 August 2012

Taiwan: ‘National Health Insurance’ System in Crisis

The National Health Insurance system in Taiwan is quite often used as a model for reform in countries where health care depends on private insurance system. Yet, the inconvenient truth unknown to the outside world is that, the seemingly efficient health care system is built upon the exploitation of medical personnel.

28 August 2012

Hong Kong: Occupy Central – Before Forced Eviction

The Occupy Central campaign in Hong Kong has lasted for more than 10 months and is probably one of the longest among the worldwide occupy movement. Recently the HSBC obtained a court order to evict the occupants by 9 pm, 27 August, 2012.

27 August 2012

China: Neil Bush on Sina Weibo

Former U.S president's brother Neil Bush has a Sina Weibo account with more than 120 thousand followers. His recent joke about joining the Chinese Communist Party has caught some attention...

27 August 2012

Puerto Rico: Racist Tweets Against Obama Cause Outrage

Heidi Wys Toro, one of the advisors of the current speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives Jennifer González, posted some racist comments about the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle on Twitter. This is not the first time that Wys, who favors that Puerto Rico becomes a state of the United States, used this network to insult president Obama.

8 August 2012

Myanmar: Outrage Over ‘Buddha Shoes’

Myanmar netizens are outraged over the ‘Buddha shoes' created by a United States company called Icon Shoes. They flooded the website and Facebook page of the company with complaints and it seems to have worked because the controversial shoes have been removed from the online store

6 August 2012

Global: BRICS vs. NATO – Battlefield of Ideas on Interventions

China’s and Russia’s recent decision to veto the United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria -has reignited the debate over the relationship between 'new' powers Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - the BRICS - with 'old' powers - NATO - in international interventions.

2 August 2012

Bolivia: Anti-US Rhetoric Harming its Diplomatic Relations?

Bolivia took a radical turn in its foreign policy six years based on an anti-US agenda giving it more leverage in the region. But since then, changes in relations with key player Brazil and lingering strategic issues have raised the question of how well the country is actually surviving in the regional system.

1 August 2012