July 2012 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

A panda diplomacy setback

Panda diplomacy has become a pillar of China's soft power strategy, but the death of a week-old baby panda in Japan -- the first born to Tokyo's Ueno zoo in 24 years -- stands to disappoint those who hoped that its birth would motivate "...

Published Wed, Jul 11 2012 9:33 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Japan, Diplomacy, East Asia, China, International Relations

Porn filter or prelude to censorship?

For FP 's May/June "Sex Issue," I discussed how filtering systems billed as anti-pornography measures -- China's "Green Dam" for instance, were often used as a trojan horse for more controversial forms of web censorship: China...

Published Wed, Jul 11 2012 8:04 AM by FP Passport

After Lubanga, who's next on the ICC's docket?

The International Criminal Court handed down its first sentence on Tuesday to Congolese war criminal Thomas Lubanga for the use of child soldiers. After over three years at trial , and following his conviction in March of this year, the court issued a...

Published Wed, Jul 11 2012 7:07 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Africa, Human Rights, Law, International Relations, International Organizations, Sudan

Morning Brief: Spain unveils new austerity measures

Spain unveils new austerity measures Top news: A day after eurozone finance ministers approved a $37 billion bailout for Spain's ailing banks and an easing of its deficit reduction targets, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced an austerity...

Published Wed, Jul 11 2012 5:28 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Ukraine's fighting words

When U.S. President John F. Kennedy turned 45, Marilyn Monroe performed her infamous rendition of "happy birthday" in Madison Square Garden. When Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 58, he received an erotic calendar from young journalists...

Published Tue, Jul 10 2012 1:22 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Politics, Eastern Europe

Bahrain activist jailed for Tweet against prime minister

Bahrain's government may have avoided the fate of Egypt, Libya, or even Syria, but it can't be feeling all that secure if it's jailing people for tweeting and detaining small children. Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced...

Published Tue, Jul 10 2012 1:04 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Human Rights, Middle East

Jordanian MP pulls gun, raises bar for bad parliamentary behavior

Clausewitz said that war is the extension of politics by other means. But Jordanian lawmaker Mohammed Shawabka seems to have gotten the Prussian military strategist's aphorism backwards. Last Thursday, Shawabka heaved his shoe and then pointed a pistol...

Published Tue, Jul 10 2012 9:47 AM by FP Passport

No Olympics for Kosovo

The fledgling country's EU-esque flag will not be making the rounds in London's Olympic Stadium on June 27, RFE/RL reports , a major diasppointment to athletes like table tennis player Azari Blerta, shown above: Kosovo had hoped to send a team...

Published Tue, Jul 10 2012 9:26 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Egyptian parliament reconvenes, defying court order

Egyptian parliament reconvenes, defying court order Top news: Newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi briefly reconvened parliament today, defying an order from the country's Supreme Court, which dissolved the body shortly before his election...

Published Tue, Jul 10 2012 5:29 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Saudi princess seeks political asylum

Saudi Arabia's "Barbie" is striking back. In a far call from the extravagant upbringing that earned her the nickname, Princess Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz publicly filed a request for political asylum in Britain on July 6 th , claiming...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 2:55 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Diplomacy, Middle East, Saudi Arabia

As South Sudan turns 1, scandal looms

On the eve of his country's first anniversary of independence , prominent South Sudanese human rights activist Deng Athuai was found brutally beaten and tied in a bag by the side of the road in Juba, the capital. According to local sources : A military...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 1:36 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Corruption, Human Rights, Economics, Democracy

Is it a copout to blame Japanese culture for the Fukushima disaster?

Imagine, for a moment, that 9/11 Commission Report Chairman Thomas Kean had begun his group's historic 2004 report by blaming the country's inability to prevent the attack on the "ingrained conventions of American culture" -- perhaps...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 12:03 PM by FP Passport

Israel plans for naval buildup

Energy resources are a hot commodity in the Levant Basin days, and with 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil, 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, and 5 billion barrels of natural gas liquids at stake, the Israeli defense ministry is asking for...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 10:37 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Security, Middle East, Israel/Palestine, Military

Where transmitting HIV is a crime

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law , a group commissioned by the U.N. Development Program and chaired by former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has released a study today on the role laws and institutions play in the spread of HIV...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 10:31 AM by FP Passport

Bashar al-Assad has some thoughts on the English language

WikiLeaks' document dump of emails from Syrian government officials has so far been light on scandalous details about either the Assad family or the opposition. But today's release did provide one unexpected revelation: Bashar al-Assad appears...

Published Mon, Jul 09 2012 10:27 AM by FP Passport