"...on the verge of nuclear war"

North Korea--nuclear armed North Korea--routinely makes bombastic threats against everyone.  By now, few take them seriously, but it's still a reminder of why the North Korean issue is so difficult to resolve.

North Korean Diplomats at the United Nations

In other DPRK news, here is a random insult generator, produced from actual North Korean state news archives. Click the button a few times and see what you get called.  :)

Changes to US activities in Afghanistan

This is the introduction to an article at Foreign Policy.com about changes to US strategy in Afghanistan.  There isn't much to the article, but we'll definitely return to this on 2 October, so read it.

Following a string of insider attacks by Afghan soldiers against their U.S. and NATO counterparts, Gen. John R. Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, issued a new set of limits on direct cooperation with Afghan forces.

More from Wired magazine.

But in reality, the persistence of Afghan troops attacking their American mentors has prompted a major shift in how the U.S. trains Afghans, to the point where it calls into question the cornerstone of the U.S. exit strategy.

Another AQ leader killed, but does it matter?

The #2 Al Qaeda leader in Yemen, killed by a US drone attack. 

Money Politics in the EU

In America, we have the Federal Reserve Bank.  It effectively prints money and determines the interest rate.  In theory, it is supposed to be separate from politics.  In Europe, the situation is more complicated, since there are many different countries in the European Union (which we'll talk about this week).

This post from the Economist describes how the European Central Bank is looking more and more like its American counterpart these days.

The Study of Foreign Policy

Sometimes students ask me how they should prepare if they want to take the Foreign Service exam (to work in a US Embassy abroad).  Back when I wanted to take it, I heard you should read the New York Times cover-to-cover for a year.  Here is another take on the same question from the magazine Foreign Policy.

Top 10 Things a Foreign Policy Wonk Should Study

Supplementary Readings Blog

Welcome to PS 2120 Introduction to International Politics.  This blog will host online readings to supplement our regular text's chapters.    I will usually post a short reading once or twice a week, and they are fair game for both in-class questions and the exams.  In addition, if you have something to say about the topic but are not fond of speaking up in class, please post them in the article's comments.

Most posts will have a short commentary about how the reading links to our class topic, then a link to the article for you to read.

Russia and the USSR at the Olympics

This summer you may have watched the Olympics, and seen the Russian team compete.  It didn't do badly, but it wasn't ever in real competition with the US or China for total medals.   There was a time--before you were born--when it went head to head with the US every time.  That, of course, was back when the Cold War raged on, which we'll talk about on Thursday.

How many medals would the USSR have won?