United States

YouTube assault video worsens Somali reputation

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:31:19 +0100

A group of Minneapolis teenagers have found themselves making headlines after publishing a video of themselves pushing people over in the street. Identified as of Somali origin, the pranksters will, our observer explains, only add fuel to the fire for the local anti-Somali press.

The six-minute-video was posted on YouTube by "madbi001" on 17 November. Despite a jovial introduction and upbeat soundtrack, the cruel scenes that follow were found far from funny by most YouTubers and soon came to the attention of the local police, leading to the immediate arrest of two members of the group. The incident soon found its way into the local headlines - many of them quick to report that the boys are Somali (when in fact they are American of Somali origin).

Immigration from Somalia into the US began in the early 1990s when the civil war started. Since then, tens of thousands of Somalis have arrived in the country, and Minnesota has received the largest numbers. The city estimates that 60-70,000 residents are of Somali origin.

Spot the difference

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:52:46 +0100

On the left, the US poster for Hollywood comedy romance "Couples Retreat". On the left, the same ad, but redesigned for a UK audience.

Black actors Faizon Love and Kali Hawk have been removed from the scene, along with their names. Filmmakers Universal said the decision was made "To simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets".

Not all Chinese Web users like Obama

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:57:56 +0100

US President Barack Obama was treated to a grandiose welcome in Beijing, where he met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Tuesday. The pair agreed to strengthen ties between the two countries. But on the Web, feelings were not so warm.

Forty-six percent of Chinese Web users say that they "do not like" Obama. Looking at online forums however, the extent of this dislike appears to be much stronger. For Lin20000xin, "This meeting with the American is stupid and pointless".

Contributor Wugu Shenlong says that "There's not one good thing about those American fiends". ‘Map' suggests that "The Senate has passed a law that means Americans have to kneel in front of a statue of Barack Obama when they get up and go to bed". There are also racist comments, like the following one from Milkman 007: The nigger is a cross-breed trying to conquer the world and mankind".

Source: hecaitou.net

Oubama from china-files on Vimeo.

A very controversial job at McDonald’s

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:03 +0100

This is a recruitment ad for a position at the Cuba branch of McDonald's. Strangely enough, they seem to have forgotten to mention, that the only McDonald's on the island, is in the Guantanamo Bay prison...

Six thousand hungry staff work at the controversial prison, seen below in 1994. Photo taken by a Navy Officer and published in Joint Task Force Guantanamo's in-house magazine.

"Clothesline", a dirty word in American suburbs

Team Observers — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:54:49 +0100

American environmentalists are fighting for their right to hang out their washing in the garden. In many states the practice remains illegal, and for one man, it cost him his life.

The Mississippi resident was murdered by his neighbour after he refused to take down his washing line. The killer told police that he was "sick of seeing the line from his window". Since the incident, which happened in July 2008, the washing line problem has become a major debate in the US. It not only concerns victims of irrational neighbours, but environmentalists too, who say that using a washing line instead of a dryer cuts your consumption of electricity by six percent.

Neighbourhood associations however, see it as a matter of pleasing the eye. Who wants to see clothes drying in the wind?

Nevertheless, Florida, Utah, and then Colorado, Hawaii and Vermont, all adopted a law in 2008 which protects the right to use a washing line. It might soon be introduced in Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia too.

Meanwhile, there's a legal association called the Laundry Line Project which has devoted itself to inter-neighbour battles over washing lines. In May next year, British filmmaker Steven Lake will release a documentary on the subject. Below, the trailer.

Fort Hood shoot-out: "I knew the killer"

Team Observers — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:16:00 +0100

On Wednesday a Muslim army psychiatrist shot and killed 13 soldiers in a Military Base in Fort Hood, Texas. Our Observer Ernesto Haibi knew the shooter: he worked as a medic in the same base.

Haibi was not on the premises when Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on rampage in the huge Texas base of Fort Hood, gunning down and killing 13 fellow soldiers and wounding 30 others. The killer himself was seriously injured, and is in intensive care at the base's hospital unit.

Hasan dealt with troops returning from combat and faced his own imminent deployment to Afghanistan. The shooter's cousin, who expressed shock and grief at the tragic attack, told the New York Times that his cousin was "mortified by the idea of having to deploy" and had been harassed by other soldiers for being a Muslim, particularly since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Ernesto Haibi, an army medic based at Fort Hood, regularly met Nidal Malik Hasan when he escorted wounded soldiers returning from combat to be examined at the psychiatric ward. He tell us his story.

Kosovars celebrate local hero, Bill Clinton

Julien — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:44:05 +0100

Photo posted by Rexhep Myftari on Flickr.

On November 1 the streets of the Kosovan capital Pristina were crowded with people waiting to see one of their favourite icons, former US president Bill Clinton. During his visit, a three-metre-tall bronze statue was unveiled on a corner of the same street that carries his name. The bronze Clinton clutches documents with the date 24 March 1999 stamped on them, marking the day NATO began its bombing of Serbian posts in Kosovo.

Photo posted by Rexhep Myftari on Flickr.

Photo posted by “BesnikS” on Flickr.

Dressing up as an "immigrant alien" for Halloween?

Julien — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:29:03 +0100

The costume sold on Amazon.

Political satire and Halloween often come hand in hand. Last year, one of the trendiest October 31 looks was undoubtedly that of Sarah Palin. As the US braces gears up for a new Halloween season, one particular disguise has sparked an uproar: the “illegal alien” costume.

The controversial outfit – sold by most retail chains like Target and Walgreens - comes complete with a Guantanamo-style orange jumpsuit, a space alien mask and a wooden “green” card. The words "illegal alien" appear stamped on the chest.

Is it an innocent pun using space creatures and the legal term "alien", which refers to non-citizens of the US?

Many in the country don’t see it that way. A number of immigrant rights groups and Hispanic organisations protested loudly, even calling for a boycott of stores that have the costume on sale. Meanwhile, several conservative TV commentators like Lou Dobbs (CNN) sought to make light of the affair and invoked freedom of speech.

The costumes, priced at between 18 and 27 euros, were soon pulled off the shelves by cautious retail chains like Target and Walgreens, and websites like Amazon.com. “It is never our intent to offend consumers with the products we offer,” Target said in a statement, adding that they had started selling the disguise after a “data entry error”.

Gay soldiers – why Obama can't do it alone

Team Observers — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:18:17 +0100

Obama reaffirmed his promise to repeal the US Army's ban on homosexual soldiers this month. But while gay activists across the country wait patiently for their right to serve in the army as openly homosexual, our Observer, a gay soldier who served in the sixties and seventies, explains why Obama needs the backing of Congress to fulfil his promise.

The "Don't ask don't tell" (DADT) legislation was pushed through by the Bill Clinton administration in 1993 after fierce opposition to a complete overturn of the ban. Although it meant that gay men could serve in the army, it did not allow them to be open about it, and intending to or actually engaging in sexual contact with members of the same sex remained a dischargeable offence, because "It would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."

Since then, close to 14,000 gay soldiers have been discharged from the US Army after admitting to being gay or being denounced as gay.

During a dinner held by the Human Rights Campaign on 10 October, President Obama reaffirmed his wish to scrap the law. The Senate Committee on Armed Service will hold a hearing on the DADT in November.

The wedding that captivated America

Julien — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:21:53 +0200

Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz weren’t expecting anyone but friends and family to watch when they posted a video of their wedding on YouTube. But just two days later, it had been viewed by three and a half million people. And within three months, that number had climbed to over 28 million. Since then, the Minnesota newlyweds have been invited onto some of America’s biggest talk shows, including Good Morning America (ABC) and The Today Show (MSNBC). Their biggest achievement? Perhaps being mimicked on the US version of sitcom The Office…

The original

The parody