In The News

Immigrants May Be Forced to Learn German

Aaron Kirchfeld July 11, 2003
Under a proposed bill, all new immigrants and foreigners residing in Germany who receive welfare and unemployment benefits would be required to enroll in a German language course. Reduced welfare and unemployment benefits, apart from difficulty in becoming a permanent resident, would be the penalties for not taking the course. Proponents of the bill believe that language will reduce barriers to...

Al-Jazeera, A Channel To Another World

Ken Ringle July 10, 2003
In the minds of most Americans, the Arab news station, al-Jazeera, is associated with tapes of Osama Bin Laden and therefore with extremist Muslims. However, as this Washington Post article points out, al-Jazeera's reporters "aren't the problem in the Middle East: They may be the start of the solution." Citing a new documentary by film-maker Ben Anthony, the article reveals...

Editorial: Remember SARS as More than a Disease

July 10, 2003
China should not remember SARS as a period of panic or as evidence of weaknesses and failings in the Chinese government, this editorial in an official Chinese paper says. Rather, the rapid defeat of the disease should evince the dedication, energy, and lightning speed of China's "efficient and centralized command team." The editorial downplays the secrecy that allowed SARS to...

Welcome to the Grid: Unlimited PC Power at Your Fingertips

Alok Jha July 3, 2003
The internet changed the world by making information accessible to computer users across the globe. Now, the evolution of the internet will increase those global ties tenfold while changing the way the world solves problems. Most users of the internet currently download information from servers onto their personal computers, or PCs. They are limited in how they use that information by the power...

Debate on Freedoms Splits Hong Kong

Peter S. Goodman June 30, 2003
Hong Kong should be celebrating – SARS has been contained, and the island just signed a free trade agreement with mainland China. But Hong Kong's independence and freedom are under threat, worry some critics. Democracy advocates and businesspeople fear that a proposed new law, called 'Article 23', will undermine the openness that has long attracted investors and enabled Hong Kong...

Millions Celebrate Pride Around the World

June 30, 2003
This year, the annual gay pride celebrations taking place in major cities throughout the United States had an additional reason to celebrate: The US Supreme Court passed a landmark decision decriminalizing private, gay sex between consenting adults. Public officials present at the gay pride parades lauded the landmark decision. In New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle alone,...

Iran Is Trying to Curb Porn and Politics on Web

Neil MacFarquhar June 29, 2003
The Iranian government is attempting to control the internet, the last refuge of unadulterated information – and pornography – in the country. Newspapers, television, and other forms of media have long been censored by the government, prevented from printing sexually explicit pictures and from criticizing the regime. Thus far, the internet has remained immune to such controls, with student...