Word: urbanely
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...thing that will be very familiar to the new First Family is city life. Unlike every other President stretching all the way back to Theodore Roosevelt, Obama has spent his entire life living in urban areas. Some of his supporters believe this background makes him more culturally sophisticated than many of his predecessors (they're relieved he won't call the city "Warshington"), while others say it allows him to better understand multicultural, 21st century America. But the fact that Obama has spent weekends walking down the street to the barbershop instead of riding a 4x4 across a ranch...
...Urban is often employed as a euphemism for "African American," but in Obama's case it's simply the most accurate way to locate him. The roster of his past addresses includes some of the world's largest cities: Jakarta, Indonesia (9 million), Los Angeles (3.8 million), New York City (8 million), Chicago (3 million). Obama's hometown of Honolulu, with a population of 300,000, is the smallest place he has ever lived. Compare that with Hope, Ark. (pop. 10,000), or Crawford, Texas (pop. 789). "The last President who was grounded in a city the same...
...urban legend about Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac, 86, was that she was really Amy Camus (spelled backwards) from Brooklyn; another was that she had a five-octave range. Neither was true, but Sumac's unusual voice and multinational repertoire made her a popular 50s curio. She was an exotic singer the way other women were exotic dancers...
...much of Hamas' military capability has not yet been committed to the confrontation underscores the fact that its leadership is not feeling desperate. Hamas leaders believe their key weapon is the mounting pile of civilian casualties and inevitable humanitarian crisis that accompanies military action in a densely populated urban setting. The longer the Israeli military operation endures, Hamas believes, the more it damages the Israelis' political goal of isolating and weakening the radical movement. A cease-fire that ends rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel won't necessarily be a setback for Hamas; the organization has, in fact, demanded such...
...just before the ground offensive began captures the mood well. "Our enemies were mistaken when they believed that we were weak and would not fight back," it read. Israelis hope that optimism and sense of momentum lasts. But a kidnapping or two, or some serious engagements in Gaza's urban jungle, and the mood could change very quickly...