Say hi to Hi!

July 18, 2003 10:37 AM

The U.S. government launches Hi, a new Arabic-language lifestyle magazine targeted at 18-35 year olds in Middle Eastern countries. Story ideas for the first issue.
posted by monju_bosatsu (13 comments total)

Hrm, Ok, here are a few:

Why McDonalds and Coca Cola will lead to a better life.

Do you have some money? Here's how to spend it!

Firmer thighs in 5 days!

Where to find the nearest Old Navy store.

...Is that about it?

posted by thanotopsis at 10:53 AM on July 18, 2003

Sand boarding is sure to convince the suicide bomber set that we aren't after their oil.

On a side note, I had no idea that you could put the scroll bar on the left side of the page. Hi magazine just blew my mind
posted by trbrts at 11:05 AM on July 18, 2003

At $2 per copy, how many people in their target audience (even those with jobs) can afford it?
posted by trondant at 11:08 AM on July 18, 2003

There are other cultural-exchange mags for youth out there, but I can't imagine one backed by the govt., and positioned as a tool in the war on terror, having any editorial values.
posted by scarabic at 11:18 AM on July 18, 2003

On a side note, I had no idea that you could put the scroll bar on the left side of the page
Its trickery with frames! Evil!! Aiiiieeee
posted by ac at 11:24 AM on July 18, 2003

Is this person the same as this person?
posted by the fire you left me at 11:25 AM on July 18, 2003

ac, it actually isn't frames trickery. The "DIR=RTL" directive in the tag causes it in IE; "direction:rtl" causes it in IE and other CSS-compliant browsers.
posted by zsazsa at 11:42 AM on July 18, 2003

I have no idea what that survey was, but I chose the second option "?????? ??????"
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:49 AM on July 18, 2003

Damn, it worked in preview.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:49 AM on July 18, 2003

Wow, fire who left me, good catch!
posted by tittergrrl at 12:25 PM on July 18, 2003

And I would imagine the scroll bar is on the left because Arabic is read right to left, isn't it?
posted by pjgulliver at 1:18 PM on July 18, 2003

...Is that about it?

How about :

How to tell your parents you've gone Christian!

New to liquor? Bartending for the recently liberated!

I married a GI, and he's dreamy!

Oil! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'!

posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:31 PM on July 18, 2003

It may blow our minds, but I suspect it will not exactly do the same on a great proportion of the not-so-modern computers with dialup connections owned by our target audience. Here's hoping some of that Arabic says, "Click and link here for the plainer low-bandwidth version of all the vapid propaganda you love."
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:37 PM on July 18, 2003