Water Ink » Obama left China with a new name. I was a bit surprised to learn that US embassy in China is working to ‘standardize the translation of common vocabulary in Chinese.’
They want White House to be translated as Bai Wu (白屋), instead of Bai Gong (白宫, meaning white palace), and Obama to be Oubama (欧巴马) instead of Aobama (奥巴马). Well they are fighting a losing battle. Bai Gong has been commonly used to call the White House for many years (I doubt it has ever been called anything else). Bai Wu is plainly ridicules. I’m not sure whether this is political correctness or purely bureaucratic – in order for Chinese not to confuse President Obama with a monarch? Washington Post also managed to read into the choice of Aobama and Oubama as a political gesture.
Perhaps we shouldn’t dwell on Obama’s official Chinese name, because he’s in danger of acquiring an unflattering nickname there. Chinese internet users, the proud ‘netizens’ as they call themselves, were not amused. Inside Obama's West Wing (washingtonpost.com) My first take on The Speech. President Obama's speech today in Cairo met the bar he set for himself.
In an address modeled after the Philadelphia speech on race, he forewent soaring oratory in favor of a thoughtful, nuanced and challenging reflection on America's relations with the Muslims around the world (not "the Muslim world", which for some reason became a major issue in American punditry over the last few days). As he frankly recognized, no one speech can overcome the many problems he addressed. But this speech is an essential starting point in a genuine conversation, a respectful dialogue on core issues.
After the initial rush of instant commentaries and attempts to inflame controversy pass, it should become the foundation for a serious, ongoing conversation which could, as the President put it, "remake this world. " Before I get into the substance of the speech, a few preliminary notes. Third, I am going to refrain from commenting on the Arab response for now. OK, now to the speech itself. Violent Extremism. Op-Ed Columnist - Has a ‘Katrina Moment’ Arrived? Obama's potential green team. So what exactly does change look like?
Barack Obama has ambitious energy and environmental plans. If he wins on November 4, who will he recruit to carry them out? Will he rely more heavily on Washington newcomers or on Clinton administration veterans who know their way around the White House? (See who John McCain might choose to green his White House here) Obama's choice for a transition team leader — John Podesta, former Clinton chief of staff — suggests he's willing to look back to the Clinton years for top staff. Secretary of Energy Managing the nation's energy policy and nuclear safety is one of the most glamourless, thankless Cabinet-level positions, according to former Department of Energy officials. Bitter Patter: Comment.
Last Wednesday’s two-hour televised smackdown in Philadelphia between the two remaining Democratic candidates for President, which might have been billed as the Élite Treat v. the Boilermaker Belle, turned into something worse—something akin to a federal crime.
Call it the case of the Walt Disney Company v. People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (and of the United States, for that matter). Seldom has a large corporation so heedlessly inflicted so much civic damage in such a short space of time. None of the other debates had been models of philosophic rigor. But, right from the start, there were clues that the sponsor of this one—ABC News, a part of the ABC network, which is owned by Disney—might establish new benchmarks of degradation. After the break, one of ABC’s moderators, Charles Gibson, asked Clinton and Obama to “pledge now” that whichever of them wins the Presidential nomination take the runner-up as his or her running mate.