Stories about International Relations from June, 2007
Discovering the Mozambican blogosphere through the “Diary of a Sociologist”
While navigating around the Mozambican blogosphere, I came across the “Diary of a Sociologist” – a blog by Carlos Serra, a Maputo-based Mozambican sociologist associated to the University Eduardo Mondlane, the country’s public university. It has, therefore, the potential to offer an interesting mix of personal commentary and academic observation,...
Trinidad & Tobago: Short Term vs. Long Term
“In a world where everything happens faster, are we as a species focused more on short term success than long term success?” KnowProSE.com explores the question.
Russia: Sochi-2014?
Inside Krasnodar is “waiting with baited breath” for the July 4 announcement of the winner of the 2014 Winter Olympics bid: “Apparently the city of Sochi is also gearing-up for the announcement by declaring the 4th and 5th of July as holidays and preparing to have a free concert with...
Russia, Sweden: Lavrov and Georgian Wine
Vilhelm Konnander reports that the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was drinking Georgian wine banned in Russia during his recent visit to Sweden.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Miroslav Lajcak
Balkanizer posts a lengthy and detailed post on the legacy of the outgoing High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina: “[…] an unrefined and unedited thinking about the departure of the old High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Christian Schwarz-Schilling) and the arrival of new HR – Slovakian diplomat Miroslav Lajcak.”
Russia: Rewriting History
Kosmopolit blogs about Putin's attempts to re-write Russian history.
Japan should work with China to tackle photochemical smog problem
Some scientists have been arguing that air pollution in China is responsible for increased incidents of photochemical smog in Japan. Kaz points out Japan's responsibility as a nation which suffered its own pollution in the past and says that Japan should build a good working relation with China in order...
Ukraine: A Spanish Embassy Ordeal
In an ideal world, there'd be no need for travelers to waste their time and money obtaining visas: buying a plane ticket and booking a hotel room would suffice. Tanya Kremen, a Ukrainian journalist, studies Spanish but feels that a plane ticket to Latin America costs too much. So she decided to go to Spain. She had a valid visa - unlike the two of her friends who wanted to go along. What follows is the story of their frustrating visit to the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv, posted by Tanya on her blog at Korrespondent.net.
Lebanon: Syria's “in the eye of the storm”
A strange conversation took place last April between Syrian president Bashar El Assad and UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, writes Sophia. The meeeting ends with Bashar El Assad telling Ban Ki Moon: “We are in the eye of the storm. You will need to stay in contact with us.”
Syrian Blogsphere: Reform, Arab Nationalism and Travel
Why was a Syrian student blogger sued in the US? What should the Syrians do in Lebanon? Where is Arab Nationalism leading us to and what do you feel when you pack five cities into 11 days? These are some of the issues Syrian bloggers were talking about in this week's review by Yazan Badran.
Nepal: Refugees in Austria
United We Blog! on Nepali refugees in Austria.
CAR: Amnesty International calls for UN troops
Amnesty International is calling for the immediate deployment of UN troops (Fr) to the Central African Republic to address the worsening security situation in the north of the country highlighted in a new UN report (Fr), Alliance Pour La Democratie et Le Progres writes.
Russia, U.S.: Comparative Presidential Popularity
As Putin and Bush are about to meet on Sunday, Sean's Russia Blog discusses a survey comparing the two leaders’ popularity.
Russia, Belarus: Blaming Putin and Lukashenko
Adam Goodman of Being Had admits that life is tough in Belarus and Russia, but disagrees with La Russophobe‘s perspective: “[…] I refuse to believe, just as I have since I started writing about Belarus, that it is appropriate to place the blame solely on Lukashenka or Putin.”
Poland, Germany: “Stepmother of Europe”
Publius Pundit quotes from a BBC piece on the Polish-German relations and reproduces the controversial cover of the Polish weekly Wprost, featuring a computer-generated image of German Chancellor Angela Merkel breastfeeding Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and President Lech Kaczynski.
Russia: CNN International's “Eye on Russia”
Sean's Russia Blog is disappointed that it's CNN International – not CNN in the United States – that's broadcasting a whole week of daily half-hour series called “Eye on Russia: The New Dawn.”
Moldova: Development Strategy
“Moldova's development concept lacks any connection to the external environment, perpetuating isolation and self-centeredness,” Public Policy Watch writes about Moldova's “Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (EGPRSP), developed with the support of the World Bank.”
Estonia: Interior Minister
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's interior minister.
Latvia: Economy
Edward Hugh of A Fistful of Euros posts a thorough examination of Latvia's economy, complete with some policy proposals.
Serbia, Russia: “What About the Russians?”
Jasmina Tešanović guest-blogs at Boing Boing about what may appear as Serbia's misguided trust in Russia: “Back in 1999, Russians didn’t veto the bombing of Serbia. The Russians are using the Kosovo issue in order to reclaim ex-Soviet territories with Russian populations. Serbs know that the Russians have their own...
China: Boycotting Beijing Olympics? They have ill intentions.
From Mia Farrow to François Bayrou to US Congressmen, every news or report about boycotting Beijing Olympics has provoked rounds of anger from China's netizens. In a widely cross-posted blog post Boycotting Olympic: A farce doomed to failure, Wang Chong, a political commentor, grouped the boycotting Beijing Olympics advocators into...
