After Obama

There is of course a huge flow of journalistic production. This is just a small bite. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to collect more links. In the very end, there are also a few links I had collected under the category "americana".

Taking it to the Kids

I had the chance yesterday to attend Barack Obama’s town hall meeting with some 100 Turkish university students. The event was broadcast live on Turkish television and seemed to me like another successful public diplomacy effort, particularly in a country where America’s image (or at least that of the American government) had sunk very low. Obama clearly has star power — "I love him!" one young woman told me — but listened carefully to the students’ questions and delivered serious, but down to earth, answers.

Obama to Turkey: "Evet" We Can

After charming his way through Europe, President Barack Obama has now worked his magic on Turkey. He smartly started his day in Ankara with the traditional visit to Ataturk’s mausoleum, followed by an all smiles meeting with president Abdullah Gul and a visit to parliament. There he met with leaders of opposition parties – including, significantly, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), somebody Turkey’s prime minister refuses to sit down with – and gave a very good speech.

Obama Impresses Many on Both Sides of Turkey’s Secular and Religious Divide – NYTimes.com

Briefing the President in Ankara

About the Author: Douglas Silliman serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

Turkey is a key Middle East bridge between East and West, not another Strasbourg Uncle Tom

Turkey is a key Middle East bridge between East and West, not another Strasbourg Uncle Tom. By John J Kelly

“Let me say this as clearly as I can. The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. . . “America’s relationship with the Muslim world world cannot and will not be based on opposition to Al Qaeda.” Barack Obama, Ankara, 6 April, 2009.

Turkish Military Shuns Parliament For Almost 2 Years Over Kurdish Party, Enters For Obama

Photo from Today’s Zaman

…Senior members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) who have not participated in ceremonies in Parliament for the past 21 months in a boycott against the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), which has been accused of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), went to Parliament on Monday to listen to a speech delivered by US President Barack Obama…

EU old boys play politics with Turkey

Centre-right governing parties have leapt on the awkward question of Turkey’s place in Europe for their own political advantage as they gear up for elections

2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream
Source: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

How has the economic crisis affected the American dream? Have American behavior and values shifted in the past year? The third MetLife Study of the American Dream set out to determine American attitudes and perceptions in light of our current economic situation and the ongoing erosion of traditional corporate and social safety nets. The study surveyed a cross-section of U.S. adults, in all generations and ethnic groups, to find out how lives have changed—and how the American dream itself has changed—in the past year.

The results show an American dream that has been revised, not reversed. Americans are resetting their priorities, and the dream is now buoyed by pragmatism rather than consumerism. While Americans are anxious about their finances and the national economy, most are still optimistic that they can achieve the dream—a redefined American dream with a greater focus on family, marriage, and financial security.

Other key findings of the study are:

Americans Trust Doctors and Scientists over Juries and Lawyers to Set Safety Standards for Medical Devices, Poll Shows
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America
Source: Free Press

With the Federal Communications Commission set to begin work on a national broadband strategy this week, Free Press has released Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America, a multimedia report that calls attention to the urban digital divide.