Archive for the ‘countries & regions’ Category

How immigrants assimilate

There has been much talk in recent months about the growing Hispanic population in the United States and its effect on the country.  One of the fears articulated is that we could be creating a separate Spanish culture in the U.S.  However, a recent story in the Washington Post indicates that some of those fears may [...]

July 7, 2006 countries & regions 0 Comments

Contemplating American culture

Happy July 4th, Americans!  Today seems like a good day to contemplate some of the many facets of American culture. First, an article from the Journal Star of Lincoln, Nebraska, that examines some of what it means to be an American: Unlike many other countries where blood and birth define citizenship, America is a nation of [...]

July 4, 2006 countries & regions 0 Comments

Autonomy for Catalonia

More news on the burgeoning movements for autonomy or independence among unique cultural regions.  Voters in Catalonia approved a referendum that gives considerable autonomy to their region of northeastern Spain. The provisions, which give the Catalan government more tax powers and greater authority over judicial and immigration matters, will go into effect within days. New laws also [...]

June 21, 2006 countries & regions 0 Comments

America within the Americas

There was an interesting column recently in the Los Angeles Times by Richard Rodriguez in which he discussed what he saw as the birth of a Latin American consciousness in the United States.  He suggested that in the future the U.S. was more likely to see itself as an integral part of the Americas.  Here is an [...]

June 9, 2006 countries & regions 0 Comments

The country of Transdniestria?

What is a country?  That’s a more difficult question than it first appears, as we saw in the wake of Montenegro’s recent vote in favor of becoming an independent state.  Now, the Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article about “The Coming of the Micro-States.” Experts fear that many “frozen conflicts” around the world … could reignite as ethnic [...]

June 5, 2006 countries & regions 1 Comment

New country joins the world

Montenegro, the tiny Balkan country that has long been connected to Serbia, voted yesterday to become an independent country. Montenegro will thus become the 193rd member of the international community (or maybe the 192nd or 194th, depending on who is counting). There are 191 members of the United Nations.  However, the U.S. State Department and many other U.N. members recognize 192 [...]

May 22, 2006 countries & regions 4 Comments

Immigration and national identity

It goes without saying that immigrants are central to the U.S. identity.  But that doesn’t mean that Americans have always agreed about the issue of immigration.  Far from it. Descendants of the early U.S. settlers struggled to assimilate the southern and eastern Europeans that came after them, such as the Italians and the Poles.  Today, those immigrant groups are equally [...]

March 29, 2006 countries & regions 0 Comments
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