February 2010 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Chilean coins misspell Chile

A batch of 50-peso coins, each worth about a dime, have returned to cause a headache for the Chilean mint. The coins spell the country's name C-H-I-I-E -- a typo that has recently cost the the general manager of the mint his job. The most remarkable...

Published Fri, Feb 12 2010 7:45 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Fun Stuff, South America, Economics

Morning Brief: Europe vaguely promises help for Greece

Europe vaguely promises help for Greece Top story: After a discussion of Greece's budget troubles in Brussels, EU leaders promised to "take determined and coordinated action, if needed, to safeguard financial stability in the euro area as a whole...

Published Fri, Feb 12 2010 5:38 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

A huge victory for the bad guys

There's a lot of disappointment in the U.S. blogosphere today after the Iranian opposition apparently failed to overcome the regime's vigorous efforts to suppress any signs of disunity on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Scott Lucas...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 8:12 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Iran

GQ gets the Wonkette treatment

I poked some fun last fall at GQ 's " 50 most powerful people in D.C. " list, which ranked various Washington poobahs who "truly have clout" in the U.S. capital. Today comes word that ex- Wonkette and longtime blogosphere fixture...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 3:26 PM by FP Passport

China's plane diplomacy

We've heard of ping-pong diplomacy and panda diplomacy ... and now there's plane diplomacy. Actually, the fact that state-run Chinese airlines make politically motivated decisions about whether to give contracts to Boeing or Airbus -- or to split...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 3:22 PM by FP Passport

FP contributors weigh in on the latest from Iran

We've had a whole lot of content on Iran this week tied to today's demonstrations. Here's a quick guide: Colum Lynch profiled the key players in the Iran sanctions debate. Daniel Drezner wondered how we will be able to tell if the protests...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 3:06 PM by FP Passport

Berlusconi's latest assault on free speech

Italy has now essentially banned talk shows on state broadcaster RAI from commenting on politics ahead of regional elections: The ruling PDL Party's majority on the parliamentary watchdog that oversees public broadcaster RAI forced through rules that...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 12:22 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Media

Global warming advocates don't care enough about global warming

Back in my days as an editor at Washington Monthly , we were taught to report on something colleagues called the "culture of bureacracy." This may sound like a snoozer topic, but the point is that you can learn a lot about how an institution...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 10:48 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Environment

Quiz: How much did opium poppy cultivation change in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009?

For those of you who don't subscribe to the bimonthly print edition of Foreign Policy , you're missing a great feature: the FP Quiz. It has eight intriguing questions about how the world works. (Meanwhile, prepare for the Olympics' opening...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 10:39 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Drugs & Crime, Afghanistan, South Asia, Food/Agriculture, AfPak

Haitian judge recommends release for missionaries

The judge deciding whether 10 U.S. missionaries should face child kidnapping charges for trying to remove children from the earthquake-battered country, has apparently decided they should be released: "After listening to the families, I see the possibility...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 9:08 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Haiti's Disaster

Zahra Rahnavard beaten by police

The Wall Street Journal passes along a report from the website of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi that his wife Zahra Rahnavard was attacked by police: The site says that Ms. Rahnavard suffered injuries to her head and back from punch es...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 8:37 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Iran

Race and the Winter Olympics

With the Winter Olympics starting tomorrow in Vancouver, Andrew Swift and Kayvan Farzaneh, our excellent researchers, put together a beautiful photo essay of athletes from warm-climate countries, like Taiwan, Israel, and Ghana: the outliers. The photo...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 8:19 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Olympics

Profile in courage

Over at Enduring America , a good source for Iran protest news, Scott Lucas flags this photo of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key swing player in Iranian politics, hanging out at a pro-regime rally: Read More...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 7:11 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Ahmadinejad declares Iran a "nuclear state" as protests rage

Ahmadinejad declares Iran a "nuclear state" as protests rage Top news: Huge crowds gathered in central Tehran today for the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution as opposition protesters clashed with security forces and President Mahmoud...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 5:24 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Another day of drama looms for Iran

Thursday is shaping up to be another huge day of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in Iran, with pro- and anti-Ahmadinejad factions looking to demonstrate their ability to bring people into the streets for 22 Bahman, the anniversary of the founding...

Published Wed, Feb 10 2010 7:12 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Iran

February 2010 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

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Chilean coins misspell Chile

Morning Brief: Europe vaguely promises help for Greece

A huge victory for the bad guys

GQ gets the Wonkette treatment

China's plane diplomacy

FP contributors weigh in on the latest from Iran

Berlusconi's latest assault on free speech

Global warming advocates don't care enough about global warming

Quiz: How much did opium poppy cultivation change in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009?

Haitian judge recommends release for missionaries

Zahra Rahnavard beaten by police

Race and the Winter Olympics

Profile in courage

Morning Brief: Ahmadinejad declares Iran a "nuclear state" as protests rage

Another day of drama looms for Iran