Tag: Politics
Morning Links: Australia’s Great Ocean Road, LEGO N.Y. and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.04.09 | 8:21 AM ET
- World Hum contributor Tony Perrottet drives Australia’s Great Ocean Road.
- Scott McCartney: “Perhaps no other consumer-service business is so rule-bound as the airline industry.”
- Travelers can now link Delta and Northwest frequent flier accounts.
- Arjun Basu meditates on the size of airports.
- Photos: The making of an Interstate highway (via Coudal)
- Slate calls Aung San Suu Kyi “the world’s most effectively sidelined leader.”
- These baggage handlers at Edinburgh Airport “played tig” while waiting for planes to land.
- I LEGO N.Y. is currently the most emailed story at the New York Times.
- Video: Did you know Steve Martin was on Flight 1549?
- I’m fantasizing about a future of travel that involves this.
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Yahoo! BuzzWhen Planning a Trip, Do Local Politics Matter?
by Jenna Schnuer | 01.30.09 | 11:57 AM ET
No, you didn’t imagine that loud (and long-lasting) yay coming from Nashville on Jan. 22. It was the sound of the city’s English-only? seriously? contingent celebrating after the ridiculous measure was defeated in a (costly) special election.
While nothing could come between me and my Nashville (cause it’s a pretty damned fantastic city), it did get me wondering how much local politics play a role in other people’s travel choices. Have you ever put the kibosh on a trip because you didn’t like the politics of the place?
Burma, Redrawn
by Julia Ross | 01.29.09 | 9:39 AM ET
I wonder if Burma’s generals are kicking themselves for allowing an unassuming Canadian cartoonist to live within their borders for 14 months. They should be. Guy Delisle’s terrific graphic memoir, Burma Chronicles, portrays the surrealism of life under the junta in a way few Western journalists have been able to conjure.
In his third illustrated travelogue, Delisle, who traveled to Burma in 2005 to accompany his aid worker wife, has fun at his own expense, drawing himself as a wide-eyed foreigner and stay-at-home dad who observes the quirks of Rangoon from behind a baby stroller. He opens a Time magazine to find articles mysteriously cut out by censors; struggles to make change in bills issued in denominations of 15, 45 and 90; and watches bemusedly as the government packs up and moves, virtually overnight, to a new capital city.
Nevada’s Brothels Only Want to Help
by Sophia Dembling | 01.27.09 | 4:21 PM ET
Tourism and other forms of revenue are dropping off in Nevada and so the state’s brothels are offering to help out by paying their fair share of taxes, the New York Times reports. The state is not jumping to accept. Over at “The New Republic,” Michelle Cottle read the story and was intrigued to note that while prostitution is legal in some Nevada counties, “no county allows brothels to have men who sell sexual services.” She calls this discrimination and a lost business opportunity.
Morning Links: Road Tripping ‘Amexica,’ Titty Ho and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.26.09 | 8:12 AM ET
- Ed Vulliamy drives the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. Or, as he calls it, “Amexica.”
- Is Mexico City now the world’s greatest food city?
- Paramedics bought Big Macs for stranded AeroMexico passengers in Portland. That might be the only pleasant news from the incident.
- The “tourism gold rush” has subsided in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Blame Mugabe.
- Toronto wrestles with its identity.
- USA Today explores the question of whether the Obama presidency will influence travel to the U.S.
- Super Bowl travel packages are “not exactly a hot ticket.”
- Looks who’s taking on the bad travel economy: William Shatner.
- Motherwell. Glenrothes. New Cumnock. These three towns are in the running for the most dismal in Scotland.
- Crapstone. Titty Ho. Penistone, These and other snicker-worthy place names in Britain have had bloggers, Tweeters and New York Times readers snickering all weekend. Myself included.
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Barack Obama and the White House Shaka
by Pam Mandel | 01.21.09 | 3:12 PM ET
REUTERS/Larry Downing Maybe you caught it. Our new president, Barack Hussein Obama—and his little daughter, Sasha—threw the “shaka” at the Punahou School Marching Band during the inauguration parade. If you’ve driven in Hawaii, you’ve seen the shaka more than once—when you let the guy merge in front of you or stopped to let someone cross the street to the beach. Wikipedia has the most consistent origin story for the greeting which means, depending on context: it’s cool, hang loose, right on ...
One theory according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, prevailing local lore credited the gesture to Kalili Hamana of Laie, who lost the three middle fingers of his right hand while working at the Kahuku Sugar Mill. Hamana was then shifted to guarding the sugar train, and his all-clear wave of thumb and pinkie is said to have evolved over the years into the “shaka.”
I can’t help but wonder what other signs of island culture the 44th president is going to bring to Capitol Hill.
Aloha, Washington-Style
by Pam Mandel | 01.20.09 | 1:58 PM ET
It’s way too late now to get a ticket to the Hawaii Inaugural Ball, but if you’re looking to find some of the island spirit while you’re in D.C. today, National Geographic Traveler has the lowdown on Where the Hawaiians Hang Out. You might still be able to get in to the luau at the Hotel Monaco, just two blocks from the inauguration. Attire? “Aloha Formal,” of course.
Travel as History
by World Hum | 01.20.09 | 1:49 PM ET
REUTERS/Mike Segar The helicopter carrying former U.S. President George W. Bush leaves the U.S. Capitol following the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Obama and the Departure Seen ‘Round the World
by Jim Benning | 01.20.09 | 1:00 PM ET
REUTERS/Mike Segar I wouldn’t have anticipated it, but for me, the most powerful moment of today’s inaugural events didn’t come during the swearing-in ceremony or President Obama’s speech. It came at the end: the moment former President Bush boarded the helicopter near the Capitol and departed, his chopper moving away from the seat of power, becoming ever smaller as it receded into the distance. We experience departures all the time, but few so symbolic for so many people around the world. What a sight. Travel as history.
The Traveler’s Guide to Barack Obama
by Michael Yessis | 01.20.09 | 8:39 AM ET
President Obama’s ‘Green’ Inauguration?
by Joanna Kakissis | 01.16.09 | 1:10 PM ET
Photo by tifotter (Creative Commons). Depends on what “green”—that “it” word with the elastic definition—means. The event will no doubt leave a giant carbon footprint, since there will be lots of flying and driving to get the estimated four million people expected to attend the 44th president’s swearing-in to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. But if green means less wasteful, then those organizing the Inauguration of Barack Obama and veep Joe Biden are taking a few thoughtful and symbolic steps. For one, Obama will be the first president in history to take the oath of office on a carpet made out of recycled material. The Inauguration committee has also recruited 6,000 volunteers to gather recycling along the National Mall and parade route, is offering electronic versions of media guides (less printing), and even plans to gather the manure from the event’s horses for a nearby farm.
Eat Like Abe Lincoln. Sort of.
by David Farley | 01.16.09 | 12:02 PM ET
Barack Obama’s taste in food has gotten a fair amount of attention in the last year: when it came out that he likes arugula, the anti-intellectuals of the country wrinkled their collective noses (and then wondered what the hell arugula was). And a just-surfaced video showed him waxing about no-frills Southern food. Then there was all the hubbub about whether or not he was going to tell White House chef, Cristeta Comerford, to go pack her knives, replacing the Filipino-born, Vienna-trained top toque of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with a big name all-organic locavore of a chef.
Now comes word that the Inauguration lunch is going to be Lincoln-themed: the 44th president has been reading the 16th president’s writings of late, and he’s even going to be sworn in on the Bible that Lincoln used at his Inauguration, so why not ape his food choices, too? But WWLE (What would Linoln eat), you ask?
With Obama as President, Will Americans Get a Warmer Reception Overseas?
by Rolf Potts | 01.16.09 | 10:07 AM ET
Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
What We Loved This Week: Barack Obama, George W. Bush and More
by World Hum | 01.09.09 | 5:16 PM ET
Photo by Micah Clark For Inauguration Travelers, Saner Options
by Julia Ross | 01.08.09 | 4:22 PM ET
As a Washington, DC, native, I’ve attended my share of inauguration ceremonies, usually braving a bitter cold to catch a fleeting view of the proceedings. My earliest inaugural memory dates to Jimmy Carter’s swearing-in in 1977. Despite my parents’ determination that I witness history, all I remember are the reams of red-white-and-blue bunting draped across the Capitol and a very distant Rosalynn Carter standing next to her husband in a blue coat.
This time around, I’m opting out. Today’s Washington Post warns of up to 3 million visitors on January 20, and I’d prefer to avoid the chaos. For inauguration travelers who are of like mind, the Washington Post’s Inauguration Watch blog plans to post a listing of venues that will screen the event live. I’ve already stumbled across one that might tempt me off the couch: the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, will show a big-screen broadcast beginning at 10 a.m., free of charge. Access to popcorn and no metal detectors: hard to beat.
A Bad Year Saved (Maybe)
by Tom Swick | 12.31.08 | 9:54 AM ET
REUTERS/Charles Platiau Contemplating and celebrating the world of travel
R.I.P. Samuel Huntington
by Jim Benning | 12.30.08 | 1:43 PM ET
The author of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order and other influential books has died at the age of 81.
I read “The Clash of Civilizations” while traveling in Asia in early 2001 and found Huntington’s theories about culture and the world fascinating, even if I didn’t always agree with them. (The book was based on this article.) I always thought the book should be essential reading for any traveler with even a slightly wonkish bent trying to make sense of the world.
In retrospect, early 2001 was an interesting time to be reading the book. As the New York Times obituary points out, Huntington was startling prescient, writing: “Somewhere in the Middle East, a half-dozen young men could well be dressed in jeans, drinking Coke, listening to rap, and between their bows to Mecca, putting together a bomb to blow up an American airliner.”
Other writers, like Benjamin Barber in Jihad vs. McWorld, have offered what I thought were compelling counter-arguments to Huntington’s theory, suggesting that it’s not so much a clash of civilizations but other factors behind many of today’s terrorist attacks. The two books could well be read together.
Huntington wrote many books, including, more recently, a controversial volume about American culture and immigration. It angered many.
Regardless, he was a thoughtful writer and an important thinker. Many readers—including travelers—will miss him and his contributions to political science and our understanding of the world.
Cuban Exiles Recall Flights to U.S.
by Julia Ross | 12.29.08 | 3:32 PM ET
For the 265,000 Cubans who fled their homeland on U.S.-sponsored “Freedom Flights” from 1965 to 1973, the emotional 45-minute flight to a new life remains etched in memory. Now, a Miami Herald series on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution has given Cuban-Americans a chance to share photos and memories of their “Freedom Flight” experience, in conjunction with a database that makes names and arrival dates of refugees available to the public for the first time.
In reading through the online recollections submitted by exiles who were children at the time, I was struck by how many remember their first taste of the U.S.—a coke, a ham sandwich, a pack of Wrigley’s gum, many handed out in box lunches at Miami’s airport. Others recall the tense days leading up to their departure, and the clothes, jewelry, and dolls left behind.
With the recent publication of Rachel Kushner’s novel, Telex from Cuba, and Tom Gjelten’s Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause, along with the much-anticipated release of Steven Soderbergh’s Che next month, it seems Cuban history remains a hot topic in the U.S. Kudos to the Herald for rounding out that history with an important public record.
Ethical Travel for the Mindful Tourist
by Joanna Kakissis | 12.23.08 | 1:25 PM ET
Photo by joiseyshowaa (Creative Commons).
Argentina, Bolivia and Bulgaria top the 2008 list of the top ten ethical travel destinations, according to Ethical Traveler, a project of the San Francisco-based nonprofit Earth Island Institute. Researchers studied 70 developing countries “from Albania to Zimbabwe” to see which are actively improving their natural environment and the lives of their people through tourism. Half of the countries on the list are in Latin America but none in Asia, where runaway development has wreaked havoc on the land and human rights abuses continue to worsen.
D.C.’s Obama Souvenir Trail: Good, Bad and Ugly
by Julia Ross | 12.22.08 | 1:35 PM ET
Photo by Julia Ross. There’s nothing like a presidential inauguration to stoke Washington’s entrepreneurial spirit. With the big event less than a month away, Obama souvenirs are multiplying like “real Americans” at a Sarah Palin rally. I’m keeping an eye out for particularly egregious examples, but here’s a snapshot of what I’ve seen around town thus far: