Stories International Relations from August, 2008

Live-Tweeting the DNC: Reactions to Barack Obama's Speech

  August 29, 2008

Continuing our coverage of the Twittersphere's response to the Democratic National Convention, we move forward to reactions to Barack Obama's speech. Obama, who took the stage at 10:15 EST, started by thanking the audience profusely, for which he received some teasing from amiraalhussaini and nplaughlin. As the speech begins, African...

Europe: Understanding the United States of America

  August 28, 2008

How are the US elections perceived in Europe? One blogger, currently at the convention, in Denver, Colorado, tries to explain why graspingthe nuances of the US presidential elections (or the US of A in general for that matter) is not an easy task from a foreigner's perspective. Lova Rakotomalala explains.

Global: The dust settles on the Biden pick

  August 25, 2008

It’s morning in America. After the initial shock, the dust seems to have settled. The United States -- and the rest of the world -- has come to terms with the fact that presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama has named Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. The Obama-Biden ticket will now face presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and his as-yet-unnamed sidekick to see who will become the next President of the United States. Bloggers of all stripes have moved passed their initial gut reactions on the freshly minted Democratic ticket and have started to formulate more solid opinions based on fact. That’s what covering politics is all about, isn’t it?

Global: What does the Obama-Biden Ticket mean?

  August 24, 2008

First, there was a lot of speculation. Then the world got its answer in 3am SMS text messages this morning. Barack Obama has selected Joe Biden, the Delaware Senator, as his running mate in the race to the White House. Here's a quick review of what bloggers from around the world have to say about the selection - and how it will impact their countries' relations with the US should the pair make it to the Oval Office.

Who can ignore Bill Clinton?

  August 15, 2008

It’s difficult to keep Bill Clinton out of the spotlight. Whether it was helping his wife, Hillary, campaign for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States or, most recently, his decision to get back to work on the Clinton Foundation, which works around the world to diminish greenhouse gasses, pushing low-cost drugs for those suffering from HIV/AIDS and battling childhood obesity. He most recently made news for a recent six-day trip to Africa took him to Ethiopia, Rwanda, Liberia and Senegal.

MENA: Visas of Fulbright scholars revoked

  August 15, 2008

Earlier this week three Palestinians, recipients of prestigious Fulbright scholarships to study in the United States, had their visas revoked by the US, preventing them from taking up the scholarships. A fourth, a high-school student on a separate programme, was also stopped. Yet two and a half months ago, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had personally intervened to make sure that the grant winners would be able to go. Why the last-minute change of heart? Bloggers from around the Middle East have a number of theories.

Korea: Why did Bush come to Korea?

  August 12, 2008

Bush’s visit to Korea for one night and two days on the fifth of August made a lot of people busy: A big group who welcomed his visit in one street of Seoul, another big group who were opposed to his visit in the other street of Seoul, the police who were busy suppressing the [...]

Georgia, Russia and the U.S. Presidential Election

  August 11, 2008

With the massive deployment of Russian forces in Georgia, the small South Caucasus country's conflict with Moscow over the breakaway region of South Ossetia has obvious political ramifications thousands of miles away in the United States where presidential elections will be held on 4 November. With some alleging that the crisis reflects a struggle between the West and Russia, where the U.S. Presidential candidates stand on the matter is fast becoming a significant campaign issue.

Armenia: Oil, Genocide and Obama

  August 8, 2008

Writing for Voices Without Votes in June, Jillian York introduced readers to Facebook's Armenians for Obama and some of what was being said on the social networking site. Since then, however, other Facebook Groups have sprung up which seem to identify a strong backing from Armenians, both inside and outside the republic, for the Democratic candidate in the November 4 U.S. Presidential Election.