In The News

US Cannot Tune Out Its Iraq Crisis

Ghida Fakhry May 2, 2004
As the violence in Iraq continues, the Bush administration is faced with a more difficult challenge, says news anchor Ghida Fakhry of Al-Hayat/LBC television network. In addition to the war on the ground, America must also fight its negative media image in the Arab world, which grows by the day thanks to broadcasts by independent Arabic news channels. Stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya...

Is a Do-Gooder Company a Good Thing?

Amy Harmon May 2, 2004
Is Google, the ubiquitous search-engine website, a completely neutral resource for users worldwide? The corporate motto of the company is “don’t do evil,” but as reporter Amy Harmon of the New York Times writes, Google is so influential that questions of morality are difficult to address. Rankings in search results, for example, can make or break small businesses selling through the internet....

The Hollowing-Out of Hollywood

Christina Klein April 30, 2004
The blockbuster "Kill Bill" films exemplify the increasingly global nature of Hollywood, and not solely because of director Quentin Tarantino's heavy incorporation of foreign stylistic elements, writes media scholar Christina Klein. Like a growing number of Hollywood productions, both "Kill Bill Volume 1" and "Volume 2" relied heavily on offshore labor. While...

Bavaria Hopping Mad Over World Cup Ban

Elizabeth Goetze April 30, 2004
The 2006 World Cup will be held in Germany, but thanks to FIFA sponsoring contracts, visitors should not expect German food or drink at stadiums. Officials in Bavaria are especially angry that German beer will not be allowed – one government official said that guests of the World Cup must be presented with "distinctively Bavarian cultural assets", and another went even further,...

HIV Case Airs Secrets of Porn Industry

Alan Clendenning April 29, 2004
Boasting uninhibited women, lush tropical backdrops, and cheap production costs, Brazil has become a prime destination for adult film outsourcing. But Brazil also has the second highest incidence of HIV and AIDS in the western hemisphere. Last month, the porn industry's increasingly global risks surfaced when an American porn actor contracted HIV after shooting unprotected sex scenes with...

Canadians Allow Islamic Courts to Decide Disputes

DeNeen L. Brown April 28, 2004
In Ontario, Canada, Muslims can now choose to decide civil disputes under sharia, a form of Islamic law. Practitioners may agree to arbitration in tribunals separate from the Canadian judicial system, run by imams and Muslim elders. The power of these courts would be limited, and the Canadian government reserves the right to overturn decisions. The idea for establishing sharia in Canada came from...

Olympics Insured Against Terrorism

Philip Hersh April 28, 2004
The upcoming Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Athens, Greece will feature athletes from all over the world and help promote the Olympic spirit of forging a global community through sports. In the contemporary era of global terrorism, however, it is particularly such international events that are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The organizers of the Games, the International...