June 2010 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Qaddafi to compensate IRA victims

Even from over 2000 miles away, Libyan leader Muammar al Qaddafi was able to fan the flames in 1970's Ireland. A staunch support of anti-imperialist, anti-West rebel movements, Qaddafi sympathized with the campaign of the Irish Revolutionary Army...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 8:25 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, International Relations

The refugees won't go home

What happens when a refugee is no longer temporary? What does it mean when 6.6 of the world's citizens reside in no country? And what is the world to make of the 5.5 million people whose countries are in protracted conflict -- meaning they won't...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 7:37 AM by FP Passport

It's a swarm of bees! It's a herd of elephants! It's a... pack of vuvuzelas!

The first African World Cup was always going to be a unique event, and the first four days of the tournament have been full of the good, the bad, and the Green . Particularly noteworthy (and relished by this observer) was France's dismal performance...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 7:07 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Culture, Sports, World Cup

Japan accused of bribery over whaling rights

It's no secret that Japan seeks an end to the longstanding moratorium on commercial whaling passed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. Nor is Japan a stranger to allegations that it's bribed other IWC members to vote for its...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 6:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Japan, Environment

Morning Brief: BP accused of cutting corners, leading to Gulf oil spill

BP accused of cutting corners, leading to Gulf oil spill Top story: Two House Democrats released a letter accusing BP of making a series of decisions that sacrificed safety in order to save time and money, and ultimately resulted in the oil rig explosion...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 5:08 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

More on Afghanistan's mineral riches

The Pentagon held a press briefing today on that New York Times story I blogged about last night, and cleared up a few things that were garbled in the original reporting. One important point is that there is new work being done beyond what the USGS did...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 7:04 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Afghanistan

The legacy of Ixtoc

I wouldn't say that Glenn Garvin's look back at the 1979 Ixtoc 1 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico makes one more optimistic about the current prospects for recovery, but it's at provides some useful perspective: Soto, who followed the fish...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 11:13 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Oil, Oil / Energy Disaster / Problem / Shennanigans

After 3 months, Iraqi parliament meets... for 18 minutes

After months of court challenges, coalition building, and sectarian brinksmanship, today's 18-minute parliamentary session seems a little anticlimactic : Given the deadlock, the brevity of the session was expected. It was recessed until an unspecified...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 10:50 AM by FP Passport

Castro: swastika has become Israeli flag

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 In lieu of his famous and longwinded diatribes (his longest speech clocked in at 7 hours and 10 minutes), Castro -- or, more likely, a loyal ghostwriter -- now communes with the...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 9:49 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, Israel/Palestine

Morning Brief: Thousands flee violence in southern Kyrgyzstan

Thousands flee violence in southern Kyrgyzstan Top story: Three days of ethnic violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan have left at least 117 dead and set around 100,000 Uzbek refugees to seek safety across the border in neighboring Uzbekistan. Gangs of Kyrgyz...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 5:55 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Say what? Afghanistan has $1 trillion in untapped mineral resources?

I'll get to the main point in a little bit, but bear with me for a second ... A series of recent news stories has deeply damaged the Obama administration's case for continued patience with U.S.-led counterinsurgency campaign, which has shown little...

Published Sun, Jun 13 2010 10:20 PM by FP Passport

South Korea's secret weapon: girl groups?

In the wake of the sinking of the South Korean ship the Cheonan, Lee Myung-bak's government in Seoul threatened to resume propaganda broadcasts into North Korea, setting up loudspeakers along the demilitarized zone. When the North reacted with fury...

Published Sun, Jun 13 2010 7:20 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North Korea, East Asia

Friday Photo: Dog Songs

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 05: 'Darwin' the Basset Hound sits with his owner at the 'Music for Dogs' concert for canines as part of the Vivid LIVE festival at the Sydney Opera House forecourt on June 5, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The concert...

Published Fri, Jun 11 2010 2:59 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Friday Photo

What Asia gets about the iPad that the U.S. doesn't

Even as U.S. consumers continue to debate whether the iPad is more like a gigantic iPhone or a miniature laptop, international entrepreneurs have already gotten over the "what-am-I-supposed-to-do-with-this?" factor and are already putting Apple's...

Published Fri, Jun 11 2010 2:21 PM by FP Passport

France to charge Pinochet officials

Almost 37 years after the violent coup that ushered Augusto Pinochet into power in Chile, France will charge fourteen officials from Pinochet's administration with kidnapping, torturing, and murdering four French citizens -- including the dictator's...

Published Fri, Jun 11 2010 2:08 PM by FP Passport