Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: US

Tweeting Domestic Elections

At the 14o Characters (tee hee) Conference some peeps were talking about using Twitter to monitor elections. Yes yes, we’ve been over that before. Shenanigans in authoritarian regimes, blah blah. Ah, but they were talking about America. The WSJ wrote it up. “This is something we can do without running to the lawyers on election […]

read more

Human Rights for All

The US State Department recently released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. This is done every year as a requirement of the Foreign Assistance Act and normally does not gain much attention. However this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made waves with the announcement that the US will be subjecting itself […]

read more

Prospects for US-Pak Civilian Nuclear Deal

Prospects for US-Pak Civilian Nuclear Deal

President Asif Ali Zardari, in a meeting with Director of US National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, urged US to assist Pakistan in its own civilian nuclear technology deal to help overcome its dire energy needs. President had suggested that this kind of deal will not only bridge the trust deficit between the two countries, but […]

read more

Lula, the Squid

Lula, the Squid

In Brazil, nicknames are very common, especially for famous people and even politicians. President Lula da Silva received his nickname when he was  young, since the common nickname for Luiz, his given name, is Lula (similar to calling a person named Robert, Bob). However, given that lula means squid in Portuguese, the president has really […]

read more

The Rightist Judicio-Politico Mafia

The Rightist Judicio-Politico Mafia

Nawaz Sharif present flowers to Justice Khawaja – daylife Saturday February 13 – The Chief Justice of Pakistan defied Presidential orders through a suo moto action against the Presidential notification for appointment of certain judges. Chief Justice, in a rare nightly emergency session, formed a three members bench that suspended two recommendations for judges’ appointment […]

read more

Reconciliation Is No Silver Bullet

Reconciliation Is No Silver Bullet

Two years ago – February 2008 – Pakistan began its transformation to democracy with a general election that brought Benazir Bhutto’s PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) into power. The party decided to continue its policy, introduced by its slain leader Ms. Bhutto, of reconciliation with all political players. It formed a coalition government with its rival […]

read more

Electricity and The Future of War

Perhaps it is a complete coincidence that Brazil experienced a massive blackout affecting 60 million people only days after last week’s 60 Minutes showed a segment on cyber attacks on infrastructure including banks, internal governmental computer systems and power grids. In it, they mentioned a previously successful attack on a major electric power grid, which sources […]

read more

Terror Ties: Pakistan's Costs Run Deep

Current news on the group with which perpetrators of last years Mumbai atrocities are linked, are connected to Pakistan. While news outlets report on Lashkar-E-Taibba’s, it is important to that these connections are viewed within the context of a history of U.S. Pakistan relations, and Pakistan’s current commitment to fighting terrorism. Some reporting on the issue of Lashkar-E-Taibba lacks this comprehensive discussion on Pakistan by overlooking the costs and immediate interest Islamabad has in uprooting terrorism.

read more

Rising Powers v. OPEC

Rising Powers v. OPEC

One of the untold stories in the headlines during the past few months is that the price of oil has climbed.  Recent reports have shown oil at $61 a barrel in the 4th quarter, definitely higher than the $30 reached in 2008.  Many financial analysts contribute the rise in price mainly to OPEC cuts.  Bloomberg […]

read more

Is China the key to North Korea?

Is China the key to North Korea?

It’s no secret that North Korea and China are close.  Of all Pyongyang’s neighbors, it has the most intricate and rosy relationship with Beijing.  Today Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao welcomed North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong-Il (not to be confused with Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il) to Beijing.  The two men held a very cordial conversation […]

read more

Sino-U.S. Relations: A Marriage of Convenience?

Sino-U.S. Relations: A Marriage of Convenience?

In his inaugural speech, President Barack Obama asserted that the United States remains “the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth.” No matter how powerful a nation is, however, its priorities still need to be rearranged and sometimes compromised, especially when dealing with key allies and partners. This much was evident by U.S. Secretary of State […]

read more

About Us

Foreign Policy Blogs is a network of global affairs blogs and a supplement to the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions program. Staffed by professional contributors from the worlds of journalism, academia, business, non-profits and think tanks, the FPB network tracks global developments on Great Decisions 2014 topics, daily. The FPB network is a production of the Foreign Policy Association.