Tag: Politics
An American Traveler Remembers the ‘Ugly’ Years
by Eva Holland | 05.05.10 | 1:56 PM ET
Perceptive Travel has a thoughtful essay from Theresa Dowell Blackinton, looking back at her overseas reception across several years of travel—from the ’90s to 9/11, the Bush Years and the election of President Obama. Here’s a sample from her 2004 stint as an expat in Greece:
As a teacher, I found that America worked itself into every lesson plan, whether I wanted it to or not. “What do you think the main themes of To Kill a Mockingbird are?” I asked.
“That Americans are racist,” a student replied.
“Do you think that’s true?” I asked. “Are all Americans racist?” I wanted to dig deeper, to explore an issue that affects their culture as much as it does mine.
“Well they hate Muslims,” another student responded. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
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Yahoo! BuzzWorld Travel Watch: Travel Insurance Now Required in Cuba, Maoists Shut Down Kathmandu and More
by Larry Habegger | 05.05.10 | 11:14 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Rory Stewart: Member of Parliament?
by Michael Yessis | 05.03.10 | 11:36 AM ET
The author of “The Places in Between” is running for office in the U.K. No surprise how he’s campaigning. The man who walked from Iran to Nepal has, according to Slate, walked “300 miles over sheep-dotted hills” to familiarize himself with his potential constituency.
World Travel Watch: Strikes in Greece, Ongoing Protests in Thailand and More
by Larry Habegger | 04.28.10 | 10:38 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Will Arizona’s Immigration Law Lead to a Travel Boycott?
by Jim Benning | 04.27.10 | 11:52 AM ET
It’s starting to. Some groups are already canceling meetings there. San Francisco supervisors are expected to vote today on a resolution that would go well beyond travel and cancel all contracts with companies based in Arizona.
And in a man-bites-dog kind of twist, Mexico has issued an alert for Arizona, warning that “any Mexican citizen could be bothered and questioned for no other reason at any moment.”
World Travel Watch: Drug Violence in Acapulco, iPad Ban in Israel and More
by Larry Habegger | 04.21.10 | 12:40 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
EU: Traveling is a Human Right
by Eva Holland | 04.20.10 | 10:26 AM ET
Oh, Europe. While Americans continue to suffer from Shrinking Vacation Syndrome, the European Union has declared that vacationing is a right that should be accessible to all—and its bureaucrats are working on a plan to subsidize holidays for those who can’t afford them. Said the EU commissioner for enterprise and industry: “Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life.”
Alexis de Tocqueville: Bad Traveler?
by Eva Holland | 04.19.10 | 11:06 AM ET
A new book on Alexis de Tocqueville’s famous American travels is out. Slate’s Francois Furstenburg parses the new material and takes a second look at the trip that inspired Democracy in America. He writes:
“[W]e learn that Tocqueville would not have made a very good traveling companion. “Repose was contrary to his nature,” [his companion Gustave de] Beaumont later recalled. “The slightest loss of time was unpleasant to him. ... [H]e was always leaving before he arrived.”
Political Pundits, Lay Off the Kabuki References
by Eva Holland | 04.14.10 | 4:21 PM ET
Slate writer Jon Lackman has a message for America’s Washington-watchers and op-ed writers: Stop using “kabuki” as a stand-in for “political posturing.” Lackman thinks the stylized Japanese theater tradition deserves better. He writes:
[T]here’s nothing “kabuki” about the real Kabuki. Kabuki, I’ll have you know, is one of UNESCO’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity! And it’s nothing like politics. It does indeed use stylized gestures, expressions, and intonations, but it’s far from empty and monotonous… Unlike a Dick Durbin stemwinder, the quintessential Kabuki moment (known as a kata) is colorful and ruthlessly concise, packing meaning into a single gesture. It is synecdoche, synopsis, and metaphor rolled together—as when, in one Kabuki play, a gardener expecting a visit from the emperor cuts down all his chrysanthemums except one, the perfect one. And in contrast with our own shortsighted politics, Kabuki concerns not the present so much as a “dreamlike time shrouded in mist but ever present in the subconscious,” to quote critic Shuichi Kato.
The history he digs up on the term’s arrival in American political discourse is fascinating.
World Travel Watch: Chaos in Kyrgyzstan, Protests in Thailand and More
by Larry Habegger | 04.14.10 | 12:14 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Protests and Parties in Bangkok
by Eva Holland | 04.12.10 | 1:56 PM ET
The State Department has issued a warning for travelers to Thailand following this weekend’s violent clashes between protesters and police in Bangkok, which resulted in 21 deaths. From the latest alert:
U.S. citizens are reminded that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. U.S. citizens are urged to avoid the areas that may be targeted for demonstrations and to exercise caution in their movements around Bangkok.
Despite the warning, though, World Hum contributor Newley Purnell reports that it’s business as usual for tourists on Bangkok’s Khao San Road, where water fights have replaced the earlier unrest.
The water fights are “badass,” says Sayed Jiwa, a 20 year old from Calgary, Canada, when asked about the festivities. He added that the protests were no joking matter, however… It was scary, says Jiwa, but “the vibe is all good” now.
Spirit’s New Carry-On Bag Fee: ‘Outrageous’
by Eva Holland | 04.08.10 | 12:53 PM ET
That’s one word Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood used to describe the new carry-on baggage fees announced this week by Spirit Airlines. LaHood also told Christopher Elliott that his department aims to do something about it:
I think it’s a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I’ve told our people to try and figure out a way to mitigate that. I think it’s ridiculous.
Another ‘Slightly Creepy’ North Korean Night Out
by Eva Holland | 04.06.10 | 1:27 PM ET
A couple of weeks back we met the chain restaurant as done by North Koreans. Now, the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos offers a glimpse of a more “upscale” North Korean restaurant experience in Beijing. A sample: “[T]he experience is not, in the traditional sense, relaxing. The food is serviceable, though it always arrives with the slightly creepy sensation that dining out on North Korean fare just might be an act of exceptionally poor taste.”
Among the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.
by Rick Steves | 03.30.10 | 2:56 PM ET
Celebrating the arrival of spring and powerful words on a visit to the FDR Memorial
The Chain Restaurant, North Korean-Style
by Eva Holland | 03.24.10 | 2:07 PM ET
Slate’s Sebastian Strangio goes inside the Pyongyang restaurant chain, a government-owned operation that brings a taste of North Korea to diners across East and Southeast Asia—and, allegedly, launders money and funnels foreign currency back to the North Korean regime.
World Travel Watch: No Alcohol in Brunei, Air Strikes in Europe and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.24.10 | 11:10 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Protests in Thailand, Dingo Trouble in Australia and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.17.10 | 11:35 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Typhoid in Fiji, Khmer Rouge Tourism in Cambodia and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.10.10 | 10:41 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Chile Earthquake Aftermath, Rallies in Bangkok and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.03.10 | 11:01 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Dengue Fever in Brazil, Strikes Across Europe and More
by Larry Habegger | 02.24.10 | 11:16 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news