United States
What's McCain doing in Israel?
John McCain arrived in Israel on Tuesday as part of a trip to the Middle East. Is the White House hopeful really interested in helping with a peace process in the region as he says, or just looking to please the pro-Israeli electorate in the US? Our Observers for the country pose the question. Read more...
Bloggers react to Bush’s speech on Iraq
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, George Bush made a speech to the Pentagon today, in which he insisted that the controversial offensive had opened a "major strategic victory" in the broader war on terror. Two American bloggers criticise their president's speech, but for very different reasons. Read more...
What Obama's "spiritual adviser" really said
Since Barack Obama's close ties to black pastor Jeremiah Wright emerged in the mainstream media last week, comments deemed anti-patriotic and racist from the democratic candidate's "spiritual adviser" have dominated the news. See some of these infamous remarks straight from the horse's mouth, notably about September 11th, along with viewpoints from our Observers on both Democrat and Republican fronts. Read more...
CNN accused of bending the truth about Tibet
This image is all over Chinese discussion boards. Web-users are saying that the photo, published by CNN, proves that the American channel is manipulating information about the Tibet crisis in order to cast China in a negative light. Read more
UPDATE (19 March 2.30pm): CNN has sent us a statement in response to the claims, saying that the image was cropped due to space constraints. Read the full statement.
Chuck Norris, American idol
Actor Chuck Norris has become quite an idol at American military bases. His posters are as frequent on camp walls as the obligatory pin-up, and soldiers at the Baghdad helicopter base have even erected an altar in his glory. Read more and watch our pick of Chuck videos.
The Legend of Chuck Norris posted by "mikethedirector" 25 Feb. 07
The prostitute that brought down the New York governor
"Obama never studied in an Islamic madrassa"
Rully Dasaad, a fellow pupil at Barack Obama's primary school - labeled as an "Islamic madrassa" by the conservative American media - tells us about their childhood growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the polemic that it's causing now. Read more…
A bit of hash with your Viagra sergeant?
Did Clinton blacken Obama?
Tension seems to be mounting between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A post on the political blog Daily Kos generated a firestorm of controversy. Read more…
Jack backs Clinton
Barack Obama might enjoy the support of stars Robert De Niro, Scarlett Johansson and George Clooney, but film favourite Jack Nicholson decided to side with Hillary Clinton in a video clip, helping to pull the “doomed” democrat candidate out of what seemed like a political grave only last week. Clinton’s wins in Ohio and Texas come after 11 consecutive defeats, and an endorsement video from Nicholson. Read more and see the clip, along with the Obama takeoff, of course.
