Stories about U.S.A. from February, 2007
Jamaica, USA: On privacy
“The irony is that the American achievement of new community and the Jamaican devolution into isolation is fueled by the same source: the Internet,” writes Jamaican novelist Marlon James. “Through the internet Americans have found a new way to interact while Jamaicans have found a new way to cut off...
Cuba: Arriving in Miami
Marta Darby remembers arriving in the US from Cuba with her family in 1961, on the day before Valentine's Day: “Back then, in early 1961, Cubans would still go to the airport to greet other arriving exiles. I remember being oh-so-tired and happy. I remember seeing my dad on the...
Afghanistan: Eradication
Joshua Foust says it is a bad sign for drug eradication efforts in Afghanistan that the US is sending its former ambassador to Colombia to head its Kabul embassy.
Lebanon: Hip Hop and Public Diplomacy
Want to learn more about the relationship between hip hop and public diplomacy? Read what Lebanese blogger Abu Aardvark has to say about it here.
Iraq: Important Question
Iraqi blogger Truth Teller says a reader asked him why the US was being blamed for all the ills in Iraq. His answer is here.
The Balkans: Iraq Jobs
Neretva River reports on an American firm recruiting the unemployed in the Balkans “to carry out various jobs assisting the US military in Iraq in fields of work ranging from truck driving to engineering”: “One 22 year old prospective KBR employ noted that his family were praying that he wouldn’t...
Kurdistance: A Medley
Welcome to this week's edition of Kurdistance, where we will roam the world over to see what the Kurds are discussing. Diaspora News Most of the Kurdish bloggers are Diaspora, but this week we are going to look at the areas in which they are talking about. Vladimir, who writes...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: U.S. Bosnian Serbs Deported
Finding Karadzic thinks it's a bad idea for the U.S. to go ahead with deportation of 14,000 Bosnian Serb men who “may bear a connection to war crimes” – primarily because it “serves as a distraction in our efforts to catch the real bad guys. You know, the ones with...
Egypt: Super Bowl Superheros?
Freedom for Egyptians is not at all enchanted with the Super Bowl. “Anyway, the game was over and the trophy was about to be awarded to the winning team. The presenter said now the trophy goes to the “world’s champion Indianapolis Colts”. I looked at my friends and said did...
Guatemala: Skeptical of US Troop Deployment
Noting the dubious track record of the US military program New Horizons and the upcoming elections, Patrick of the Guatemala Solidarity Network remains skeptical of the latest US troop deployment in San Marcos, Guatemala.
USA, Colombia: “Nothing new for Plan Colombia 2″
“About an hour ago, the State Department released the broad outlines of its 2008 aid request. Its so-called “Function 150″ document gives us a rough, but pretty fair, estimate of what the Bush administration is asking Congress to give Colombia next year.” According to Adam Isacson of the Center for...
Czech Republic: A Message to Condoleezza Rice
On one wall in Brno, the second-largest Czech city, there's a collective letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. When Swobodin v Brne discovered it, he asked a friend to do an English translation of the text that appears next to Ms. Rice's portrait and a reproduction of a...
What is Madagascar to Americans?
Malagasy aty California explains (Fr) Americans’ challenges with Madagascar's geography: “I often had to confirm that Madagascar is not close to the Middle East, that it is not a city, not in Europe and mostly that people don't speak Spanish there … Don't expect a correct answer when you ask...
“Belarus” and “Minsk” – the Bands
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about two Western bands named after… well, after Belarus and its capital, Minsk.
Palestine: Blogger Gets Rapped by US State Department
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah engages in a tongue in cheek tirade with the US State Department, after accusing the US of commiting acts of terrorism in Iraq.
Syria: The Politicisation of Global Warming
Syrian blogger Omar gives us an interesting synopsis of a paper on global warming, which stresses that “the (US) government intervenes with genuine scientific studies, in an attempt to delude the public of the serious, and eminent problem of global warming.”
Iran: Danes Against Bush
Ad Blog Arabia points to an advertisement which appeared in an Iranian paper, which says that Iran has the right to procure nuclear energy while the US has no right to bomb it. “This is an interesting advertisement published in the Tehran Times newspaper on behalf of a group called...
Lebanon: Violence, Paris 3 and Cluster Bombs
The past week was a violent week for Lebanon. Fighting broke out around one of the universities in Beirut between pro and anti government students. This was two days after a general strike, accompanied by riots, that was staged by the opposition. On the same day of the strike, the...
“Made in Madagascar” Labels in the USA
At group blog Malagasy Miray, US-based contributor Malagasy aty California explains (Fr): “When I go shopping, it is generally to cope with homesickness. So I … look scrupulously for tags that say ‘Made in Madagascar’. When I lived in Cincinatti, I looked for those in vein.. [But .in California] ‘Made...