Foreign Policy Blogs

Media and Foreign Policy

Nasrallah to address world on Gaza

Nasrallah to address world on Gaza

Hezbollah announced yesterday that its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah will be making an address on Al Manar TV at (1 pm EST) in response to Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Various sources have reported that air strikes have so far led to over 200 deaths, with Hamas security and police forces […]

read more

Hamas celebrates 21st anniversary amid 'severe cash crisis'

Hamas celebrates 21st anniversary amid 'severe cash crisis'

Hundreds of cars and motorcycles reportedly took part in the biggest parade ever held in the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip today in preparation for Hamas's 21st anniversary celebration tomorrow, according to the group's Palestinian Information Center (PIC) news. The Palestinian Ma’an News Network reports that Hamas has placed its supporters and […]

read more

Mongol

Mongol

"Mongol" is solid for what it is: a portrayal of the young Genghis Khan in 12th century Mongolia. With landscapes that provide stunning backdrops of just about every scene, this movie is easy on the eyes. The problem, however, is with what the film leaves out. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/28OLBrW6PSM” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] The life of […]

read more

German Soldiers "Too Fat to Fight?"

This post was written by Transatlantic Media Network intern Cecily Boggs German media and officials are irritated by a fresh revelation about the 3,600 German troops stationed in the north of Afghanistan: they drink a lot of beer and wine. The news came on top of constant complaints from other NATO allies about the German […]

read more

Europeans Doubtful About Obama's Team

This post was written by Transatlantic Media Network Intern Cecily Boggs  The European media have given a cautious, and frequently critical, welcome to President-elect Barack Obama's nomination of his foreign policy and security team, and particularly his choice his defeated rival Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. Many commentators asked whether such a well-known and […]

read more

European Media Against Detroit Bail-Out

As the "Big Three' American automakers continue their quest for a government bail-out, European commentators have tended to take to the view that they should submit to the "survival-of-the-fittest" logic of market forces , not least, perhaps, because many European companies fear that a U.S. bail-out would give the American manufacturers an unfair competitive advantage. […]

read more

American Movies Don't Boost U.S. Image

A report by Tom Arango in the New York Times, "World Falls for American Media, Even as It Sours on America,' says that while the image of the United States around the world remains negative, according to the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project (released in June), the viewing of American movies and television has dramatically […]

read more

CNN to Challenge the Associated Press

At a time when most newspapers are rapidly increasing their online and video content, the international television giant CNN is making a lunge in the reverse direction. At a meeting of editors at its Atlanta headquarters this week, CNN plans to unveil details of a new service, CNN Wire, which it will market to newspapers […]

read more

Damascus to host conference on Palestinian 'right of return'

Damascus to host conference on Palestinian 'right of return'

Syria's SANA News Agency reports that tomorrow Damascus will play host to an international conference on the Palestinian ‘right of return’. According to SANA, the conference will aim to the solidify the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland as a condition without exception, refusing any moves to nationalize Palestinian refugees in their host […]

read more

European Automakers Want Bail-Out Too

While the Big Three U.S. automakers plead for massive public bail-outs, European carmakers have followed hot on their heels, asking governments for large soft loans to help keep their businesses afloat as credit markets tighten. The requests have led to a similar debate to that raging in Washington over whether the car industry deserves support […]

read more

Coverage and responses to Iraq security pact

Coverage and responses to Iraq security pact

After receiving the cabinet's approval this past weekend, the Iraqi parliament is expected to pass the long-debated security pact sometime over the next few days. Disagreement has centered on the concept of security vs. sovereignty, i.e. should security, which would be helped with an extended US military presence in Iraq, take precedence over an ‘unoccupied’ […]

read more

Europe Cautious over Top Job for Hillary

The European media have reacted cautiously, even skeptically, to reports that President-elect Barack Obama is considering offering the job of Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton, his bitter rival for the Presidential nomination in the lengthy Democratic primaries. As the reports below suggest, many European commentators believe that it would be a mistake for Obama […]

read more

A British Lesson on Auto Bailouts

Nelson D. Schwartz of the New York Times uses an example from the sorry history of the British motor industry to warn that auto bailouts, currently a hot topic in the United States, may not necessarily bring about the desired results. As a parallel with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, Schwartz describes the once-mighty British […]

read more

Euro-Onions Now Free to Differ

The New York Times' Stephen Castle reports from Brussels that on Wednesday November 12, the European Union has mostly done away with rules that banned "extra knobbly or oddly shaped produce' from grocery stores.  The previous report that we cited on the matter concluded that Mariann Fischer Boel, the Danish European Commissioner for Agriculture faced […]

read more

Osama

Osama

"Osama" is the story of a 12 year-old girl living in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. When the girl and her mother lose their jobs at the local hospital because of the Taliban crackdown on women's rights, she must cut her hair and pretend to be a boy so she can work. The […]

read more