Topic: Eastern Europe
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Foreign affairs: 23 new books I wish Obama and Romney would read
In preparation for the upcoming presidential debate on foreign policy, check out these 23 books that offer the kind of nuance and context mostly overlooked during a campaign.
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Presidential debate: 7 defining moments in history (+video)
From Ronald Reagan’s one-liner, “There you go again,” to Al Gore’s heavy sighs and eye rolls, zingers and mannerisms can define a presidential debate even more than the candidates’ positions on critical issues. Here is a look back at seven defining debate moments.
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Top 5 ways to save on your summer vacation
If you're pining for a summer vacation but worried about costs, consider how Wayne and Pat Dunlap of Del Mar, Calif., managed to tour 51 countries over two years, marvel at the Egyptian pyramids, scale a New Zealand glacier, and visit Laotian Buddhist monks all for less than $100 a day. "We often stayed at guesthouses and hostels, ate at local family restaurants, took public transportation, and in some cases, traveled on cruise ships offering reduced rates," says Mr. Dunlap, author of the travel book "Plan Your Escape." This year amid price worries and higher summer airfares, especially to Europe such ingenuity could prove essential. Here are five cost-cutting strategies that can help:
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Quadrantid meteors and 11 other big skywatching events of 2012
What lies ahead sky-wise for 2012? Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist, selected what he considers to be the top 12 "skylights" for this coming year,
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Top 10 most nuclear-dependent nations
Japan’s earthquake and tsunami has pushed 11 of its 52 nuclear reactors offline. If they don’t power up soon, Japan will be hard-pressed to provide power to its people, since the reactors provide 30 percent of its electricity. As dependent as Japan is on nuclear power, 12 nations are even more reliant it, according to the World Nuclear Association. Using 2007 data, here are the Top 10 most nuclear-dependent nations:
All Content
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The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm
Despite some noteworthy shortcomings, Paul Reid's examination of the last third of Churchill's life gives us the British statesman in all his robust complexity.
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Focus
Baltic nations offer ex-Soviet states a Western modelThe tiny states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, having shed their Russian-dominated past and joined the EU and NATO, are looking to help their post-Soviet neighbors to do the same.
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Energy Voices
US energy: What's oil production got to do with national security?National security and foreign policy planners can make some reasonable assumptions about what the American energy revolution and oil boom could mean for US interests, Rogers writes.
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China is the only country with a plan to secure scarce global resources
Competition for scarce resources is driving up commodity prices. China's strategy is to invest in resource-rich economies overlooked by the West. These economies are watching to see which model – US or Chinese-style capitalism and government – best delivers growth.
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Iron Curtain
You won't find a better book about the beginnings of the Cold War than this National Book Award-nominated study by Anne Applebaum.
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Progress Watch
Poland takes top honors for 'most improved' in cutting red tapeIt's getting easier to do business in many countries, according to a World Bank report, with Eastern Europe and Central Asia making significant strides this year.
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As Europe scrimps, budget airline Ryanair soars
Europeans may be tightening their belts, but they're still flying Ryanair, whose profits were up in the first half of 2012. And the airline is eying expansion in Eastern Europe, Africa, and even the US.
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Cover Story
Is Europe really on the brink?Europe's biggest crisis in the postwar era is not just about the economy. It's about a search for identity – and a rationale for staying unified.
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Foreign affairs: 23 new books I wish Obama and Romney would read
In preparation for the upcoming presidential debate on foreign policy, check out these 23 books that offer the kind of nuance and context mostly overlooked during a campaign.
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How the Obama-Romney foreign-policy debate could determine the election
With turmoil increasing in world hot spots, foreign policy and national security have become major presidential campaign issues. From China to Israel, Iran to Syria, stateless terrorists to struggling alliances, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will have plenty to debate Monday night.
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Polish city of Wroclaw comes to terms with its German past
Communist Poland tried to stamp out Wroclaw's history – as the once-German city of Breslau – upon taking control of the city after World War II. But Wroclaw now is embracing its past.
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Chapter & Verse
National Book Award finalists are announcedJunot Diaz, Dave Eggers, and Katherine Boo all made the cut for final consideration for the award.
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Presidential debate: 7 defining moments in history (+video)
From Ronald Reagan’s one-liner, “There you go again,” to Al Gore’s heavy sighs and eye rolls, zingers and mannerisms can define a presidential debate even more than the candidates’ positions on critical issues. Here is a look back at seven defining debate moments.
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Opinion: Beware Russia's hand in elections in Georgia, Ukraine, Lithuania
A top priority of Russian President Vladimir Putin is the reintegration of former Soviet republics – based on tighter economic links and culminating in a political and security pact centered around Russia. Meddling in Eastern European elections is one way to fulfill Putin's regional ambition.
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Editor's Blog
Balancing food, weather, and populationThe drought that has hit the United States and other grain-producing nations could be global warming or just a one-season aberration. But while weather fluctuates year to year, global population doesn't. And that means that feeding 9 billion mouths by 2050 will require unprecedented effort.
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Decoder Wire
Swing state polls: Is Mitt Romney running out of time?President Obama's edge in key swing states appears to be growing. And while he may only hold single-digit leads, it's getting harder to see how Mitt Romney can reverse the current trajectory.
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Cover Story
Human trafficking: a misunderstood global scourgeSex trafficking has become an American cause célèbre. But does it divert attention from the broader human trafficking issue of modern-day slavery?
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Opinion: Obama speech: Despite foreign policy successes, a need for the big view (+video)
In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Obama pointed to foreign policy successes, such as killing Osama bin Laden. But he and GOP nominee Mitt Romney still need to lay out a vision for a changing world. US influence depends on its competitiveness.
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France dismantles camps, deports Gypsies
Unlike former President Sarkozy's virulent anti-immigrant media campaigns, the new Socialist government says it is motivated by health, sanitation, and security.
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Change Agent
A modern, wired university grows in NigeriaThe American University of Nigeria provides a modern education right in the backyard of Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown terrorist group. One clue: The campus claims 55 percent of all the Internet traffic in Nigeria.
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Romney visit: Poles disappointed with Obama foreign policy
The idea that America has lost interest in maintaining Poland as its strategic ally in Eastern Europe remains a popular opinion among many Poles.
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At end of rocky Europe tour, Romney visits Poland
Mitt Romney hopes to capitalize on Polish disappointment with the Obama administration, after cancellation of missile shield plans in 2009. Will he capture the Polish-American vote?
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Mitt Romney's overseas trip: where he's going and why
Mitt Romney, the man who rescued the Winter Olympics of 2002, is making London the first stop on his tour abroad. From Britain he'll travel to Israel and Poland, with an eye both on policy differences and domestic constituencies.
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Difference Maker
Son of an anti-Nazi hero uses family estate to teach teensHelmuth Caspar von Moltke, son of an anti-Nazi hero, uses the family estate in Poland to teach teenagers about democracy and protecting human rights.
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Stefan Karlsson
Race against time: Eastern Europe growing old before rich?With the labor force soon starting to shrink dramatically because of the lagged effect of the collapse of birth rates in the early 1990s, Stefan Karlsson believes that most, if not all, Eastern European countries will grow old before they grow rich.
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