The Yale Globalist Blog

This past Friday, April 18, Yale hosted the 2008 Conference of Governors on Climate Change to sign a declaration to push for better state and federal legislature to fight against climate change. The Conference was attended by the governors of Connecticut, Kansas, New Jersey, and California, as well as by representatives from Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, and Washington. There were various international observers including the Premier of Quebec and Manitoba, the Environment Minister of the Czech Republic, and the Minister of Ecology of Sonora. Other notable attendants included Yale President Richard Levin and Nobel Laureate Dr. R.K. Pachauri.

Special guests included US Governors and foreign leaders
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We received a letter in response to Pete Martin’s article (Coal Nation), from a source that played a major role in the article. It is from Mike Murphy, a farmer who lives in Marissa, Illinois, and whose farm is threatened by the construction of the Prairie State power plant.

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The Yale Globalist recently selected its new editorial board for the upcoming academic year.

Congratulations to the members of the new editorial board.

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Last week, the Romanian capital welcomed the leaders of 26 countries for the 20^th annual NATO summit. One of the week’s many happenings raised eyebrows: Greece’s vote against the membership bid by Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Image details: Leaders Gather For NATO Summit served by picapp.com

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I came to Nigeria in the morning, before the sun had risen, and when the haze still gathers over the covered hills. It’s the kind of haze that the occasional palm tree can break, between the shadows of rolling ups and downs in the earth. The airport was quiet, but not in a way that matches the skies. The airport is quiet in an empty way—the way that guards are kept late into the night and the customs officials are scraping the sleep off their eyes as they hassle the incoming passengers.

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What can we learn about another region by reading their newspapers and watching their TV? It’s a question I’ve become interested in as I learn Arabic and have started to consume Arab media.

Much is not surprising. For example, during the Israeli incursions in the Palestine over the past few weeks, al-Jazeera reported that “martyrs were martyred” (istshhada shaheedan) rather than “civilians were killed” (qutila muwatinin).

The political cartoons are more blunt. The views expressed are typical of the “Arab street”: America sucks, Israel sucks, etc. But the visual language is fascinating.

A sheikh uses the American flag as a prayer mat. The flag reads, loosely translated, “Submission–not hunger!” The young Palestinian freedom fighter’s sign reads “Hunger–not submission!”

After the jump: a selection of more Arab political cartoons.
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