And We're Back: Enduring America at Full Service

Actually, we didn't go away. A big thanks to Ali Yenidunya, who did such a great job looking after Enduring America that Mike Dunn and I are thinking of taking another week's holiday. Ali has a new analysis today of the aftermath of the meeting between President Obama and Palestinian Authority leader Mahomoud Abbas as well as an inside critique of the latest US manoeuvres with Syria.

And, as a thank you to our readers, we'll have a Sunday treat: "The Young Cons", two conservative rappers laying down the real deal on taxes, Atlas Shrugged, and Guantanamo Bay --- "Superman that socialism, waterboard that terrorism".

Video: Palestine Latest - Settlements and Blockades but No Reconstruction

Latest Post: Damascus Matters - Syria, the US, and the New Middle East
After The Obama-Abbas Meeting: A Palestinian Stuck between Washington and Tel Aviv
Video and Full Transcript of Obama-Abbas Meeting (28 May)

Maxwell Gaylard, the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and UN Coordinator for Humanitarian and Development Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, appeared on Enduring America the day before the end of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, announcing that Tel Aviv “deliberately blocked the United Nations from building up vital food supplies in Gaza that feed a million people daily”.

Gaylard is back, declaring on Thursday, “Blockades continue in order to protect Israeli settlements.” There are now 630 blockades in the West Bank for 139 outposts with more than 400,000 Israelis.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXV2MxUgrD8[/youtube]

Gaylard added that 80 percent of civilians in Gaza now rely on some sort of assistance either through the United Nations or other international aid institutions. No cement, wood or other housing items have been allowed in, even though more than 40,0000homes were damaged or destroyed by missiles and gunfire in December and January.

Gaylard concluded that, although donor countries had pledged billions of dollars for Gaza’s reconstruction, this could not begin because of the blockade. The only "solution" is the words of Gaylard's UN colleague, Robert Serry: “We will wait and see…”

Enduring America Links Up With Global Post

We are very pleased to announce that Enduring America has linked up with Global Post.

Launched in January, Global Post has already established itself as one of the leading sources of international news and analysis. We believe that its international coverage is the ideal complement to Enduring America's analysis of US politics and foreign policy.

The latest stories from Global Post can be reached via the link in the centre column of our homepage.

An Enduring America Record (Thanks to You and Winnie the Pooh)

With a last-minute assist from Winnie the Pooh's intervention on Swine Flu, Enduring America has set a monthly record for pageviews. Obama's bow to the Saudi King also gave us a big boost, but there were lots of followers for stories from Somalian piracy to Ahmadinjad's Durban speech to teabagging.

Enduring America is now six months old and we want to build on this success. If you like the site please consider doing all or some of the following:

• Subscribe: make sure you receive our latest posts by subscribing to our FeedBurner feed. You can choose to receive a daily email digest, or up-to-the-minute updates via RSS.


• Spread the word: we'd love you to tell your friends about the site, and if there's a post you particularly like you can email it or post it to your favourite social networking site using the sharing buttons at the bottom.


• Join the conversation: send us your feedback  and comments via our contact form, or better yet join the discussion in our comments. You might also like to submit a guest post.


• Finally, please visit our sponsor GlobalPost. They're doing some very promising work in online journalism, and you can read their top stories by clicking the 'Headlines From GlobalPost' widget in our middle column.

Thanks to all our readers and here's to the next six months!

Podcast Special: George Lipsitz on America's "Bitter but Beautiful Struggle"

For decades, Professor George Lipsitz has been at the forefront of academic debates over "American Studies", from the place of music, television, and film in American society to the continuing importance of "class" in the US to the nature and importance of protest.

Two weeks ago, Lipsitz delivered a powerful lecture, drawing from historical reminders and the change brought by the Obama Presidency to consider "The Bitter But Beautiful Struggle: Why American Studies Matters Now". Thanks to our partners, The Journal of American Studies, the talk is now on-line.

For both academic specialists and general viewers of the US, we think this is a timely and important presentation, in line with Enduring America's mission of "engaging with the notion of America".

Listen to podcast....