Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

The secret Somalia anti-piracy force

An un-named Muslim country is funding the creation of a well-armed and privately trained militia force in Somalia's north to fight piracy, the AP reports today. And behind the scenes consulting are the George W. Bush administration's former ambassador...

Published Thu, Dec 02 2010 2:51 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: South Korea: We will retaliate if North strikes again

South Korea: We will retaliate if North strikes again Top news: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's nominee to take over as defense chief said in his parliamentary confirmation hearing that his jets would bomb the North if North Korea forces staged...

Published Fri, Dec 03 2010 6:05 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Are the pirates and the Islamists in cahoots?

Somalia has two big scourges these days: Islamist milititas the run most of the country (and are linked to al Qaeda ) and piracy off the coast. (The combination yields a desperate humanitarian situation sandwiched in between.) But what if the two scourges...

Published Wed, Feb 03 2010 9:52 AM by FP Passport

Sen. Richard Shelby and the horrible hold

The big news in Washington -- aside from Snowpocalpyse Part II/#snOMG/Snowmageddon 2/panic caused by relatively common weather -- comes from the office of Sen. Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama. Yesterday, TPM reported, Shelby slapped a hold on all...

Published Fri, Feb 05 2010 12:56 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: U.S. Congress

Morning Brief: China escalates trade spats with U.S. and E.U.

China escalates trade spats with U.S. and E.U. Top news: One day after U.S. President Barack Obama promised to "get much tougher about enforcing existing rules" on trade with China and said he would pressure Beijing to let the Yuan appreciate...

Published Thu, Feb 04 2010 5:46 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Morning Brief: U.S. soldiers and children killed in Pakistan school bombing

U.S. soldiers and children killed in Pakistan school bombing Top news: A bomb planted outside a girls' school in the Lower Dir district of Pakistan Northwest Frontier Province killed three U.S. soldiers, three children and a Pakistani soldier on Wednesday...

Published Wed, Feb 03 2010 5:59 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

The Syrian charnel house

The above image is actually one of the less graphic photos coming out of the Syria today, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces stand accused of massacring Sunni families en masse. The more gruesome images and videos speak to a brutal campaign...

Published Sat, May 04 2013 1:41 PM by FP Passport

Video: The Iconic Brandenburg Speeches Obama Must Live Up To

Back in 2008, Barack Obama's rollicking overseas tour hit a snag. The Democratic presidential candidate, James Mann later wrote in The Obamians , wanted to deliver a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin that would showcase his widespread popularity...

Published Wed, Jun 19 2013 5:30 AM by FP Passport

Can the U.S. Create a National Park on the Moon?

The Hill is reporting the rather startling news that Reps. Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) have introduced legislation to create a National Historic Park at the Apollo landing sites on the moon. "As commercial enterprises and...

Published Tue, Jul 09 2013 12:10 PM by FP Passport

Moscow Press Corps Reacts with Shock, Despair to Navalny Conviction

With the conviction this morning of anti-corruption crusader Alexey Navalny on charges of embezzling $500,000 from a state-owned timber company, the Kremlin sent a strong message that it has little tolerance for dissent. Navalny's five-year prison...

Published Thu, Jul 18 2013 9:00 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia

Could China's love of cash be as much about trust as lack of trust?

In Tuesday's New York Times , Shanghai-based business reporter David Barboza takes a look at the preponderance of cash in Chinese daily life, and suggests that the phenomenon may stem from people's mistrust of Chinese banks and the Communist Party...

Published Wed, May 01 2013 9:20 AM by FP Passport

Are fake funerals the next big thing?

This past weekend, Zeng Jia prepared and participated in her own funeral -- except she was alive the whole time. The Chinese college student, whose grandfather's recent death inspired her to organize her own -- rather premature -- funeral, said that...

Published Mon, Apr 01 2013 4:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China

The EU got sued by a lot of dictators this year

In this notoriously bad year for dictators, it seems that faltering strongmen were taking their frustration out on the one institution that may have rivaled them for unpopularity in 2011, the European Union : Eighty two people, entities or groups of entities...

Published Fri, Dec 23 2011 9:32 AM by FP Passport

Integration by inertia

The members of the European Union like to disagree about internal policy. A lot. Foremost among these disputes -- besides the Common Agricultural Policy , anyway -- is the existence and allocation of "structural funds." There are essentially...

Published Thu, Sep 02 2010 7:45 AM by FP Passport

Muslim Brotherhood starts its own Facebook - by Brian Fung

Search for the Muslim Brotherhood on Facebook, and you'll probably find little more than an unofficial community page whose members barely exceed 120 -- although, amusingly, one of them happens to be somebody posing as Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein's...

Published Tue, Jul 06 2010 12:58 PM by FP Passport

Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

The secret Somalia anti-piracy force

Morning Brief: South Korea: We will retaliate if North strikes again

Are the pirates and the Islamists in cahoots?

Sen. Richard Shelby and the horrible hold

Morning Brief: China escalates trade spats with U.S. and E.U.

Morning Brief: U.S. soldiers and children killed in Pakistan school bombing

The Syrian charnel house

Video: The Iconic Brandenburg Speeches Obama Must Live Up To

Can the U.S. Create a National Park on the Moon?

Moscow Press Corps Reacts with Shock, Despair to Navalny Conviction

Could China's love of cash be as much about trust as lack of trust?

Are fake funerals the next big thing?

The EU got sued by a lot of dictators this year

Integration by inertia

Muslim Brotherhood starts its own Facebook - by Brian Fung