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Two years ago, residents in much of the Southeast underwent an utter revamping of their lifestyle. Instead of blindly showering water across their lawns and leaving faucets running on end, they were forced to self-ration their own usage, and in many cases eliminate certain activities. In North Carolina, Governor Michael Easley urged his constituents to cease using water for all purposes not essential to public health and safety, while the nearly five million inhabitants of the Atlanta metropolitan area faced fines upwards in the thousands for violating certain water restrictions.

Less than 300 miles from the Japanese capital of Tokyo rests a small town named ‘Obama’.  And in that tiny neighborhood, both young and old danced in the streets and celebrated last November when Barack Obama took home the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.  Just off the heels of the one-year anniversary of that historic day, our country’s first Black President embarks on a bold, complex and challenging trip to Asia.  Unlike past Presidents, Obama must maintain a delicate balance between our economic interests in the region during such a critical global financial crisis, and broader human rights concerns in countries like China.  Our country’s 44 th however, has one secret weapon that just may assist him on this ambitious mission:  his own personal Asia-Pacific connection

Most Americans forget that there’s a war going on outside – or rather more than one.  In the midst of chasing after celebrities and keeping up on the latest gadgets, we’re often pushed into some sort of forced seclusion that bars us from the ongoing reality of two active wars.  And for the last 18 years, a ban on coverage of dead soldiers brought back home only further masked the harsh truth of conflict.  Dating back to the 1991 Gulf war, the bodies of young men and women killed overseas were blocked from media coverage – that is, until now. After lifting the media coverage ban earlier this year, President Obama himself made it a point to stand throughout the midnight hours last week as the newest casualties of the Afghan war were lifted off of a cargo plane one by one at Dover Air Force Base.  Saluting each flag covered casket as it was carried out, the President witnessed first hand the human cost of war, something our previous President never did.  And the American people were also able to observe this somber ceremony where 15 soldiers and three D.E.A.

Gary Younge Europeans haven't stopped looking for alternatives to capitalism. read more