In The News

US Backs First-Strike Attack Plan

March 16, 2006
The Bush administration has released a document outlining its national security strategy - one that touches on many sensitive points all over the world. The document is released as polls continue to show a majority of US citizens questioning the war in Iraq and the direction of their own country. Singling out Iran as the greatest single current danger, the document defends the Bush administration...

Exporting Censorship

Xeni Jardin March 15, 2006
Censorship of the internet extends well beyond China and search-engine firms that cooperate. Xeni Jardin, co-editor of BoingBoing.net, recognized massive censorship was underway after receiving dozens of emails from readers who complained they were blocked from the site. A Silicon Valley product called Smart Filter prevented access because BoingBoing.net contained “nudity” – pictures of...

That Good Education Might Not Be Enough

Peter G. Gosselin March 15, 2006
During a trip to India, US President Bush met with a group of talented Indian business students, and used the occasion to dispense advice to young Americans about pursuing an education to compete in the global marketplace. By now, everyone knows that because of lopsided wages, living costs and health care benefits across the globe, the students from India can work for less income than their US...

Negative Perception of Islam Increasing

Claudia Deane March 15, 2006
As the war in Iraq enters its fourth year, a majority of US citizens express unfavorable views of Muslims, surpassing levels just after the 9/11 attacks, according to a Washington Post – ABC News poll. Most respondents noted that Islam contributes to violence. US citizens with an understanding of Islam stated that the religion is essentially peaceful, but were as likely as other respondents to...

Novels Found in Translation

J. Peder Zane March 9, 2006
Editors and writers often quote from translated material, without identifying the translator. Writer J. Peder Zane suggests that the neglect reveals a subconscious embarrassment about readers’ dependence on translations, a nagging doubt that the reading does not provide an authentic experience. Yet only because of translations, the average person can enjoy “Madame Bovary” or “Crime and...

Blame It on Voltaire: Muslims Ask French to Cancel 1741 Play

Andrew Higgins March 9, 2006
In the small French town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, a conflict arose in 2005 that prefigured the Danish cartoon crisis and tested willingness to defend the right to free speech. The target of Muslim outrage then was one of the Enlightenment’s leading men of letters – Voltaire, or Francois-Marie Arouet. A reading of his play, “Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet,” excited a small riot – “the most...

Seize Golden Opportunity of Rapid Globalization

Dave Young March 8, 2006
Current debates on China focus on its growing economic strength as a threat to the West. But China, moving from a rural to an urban economy, can also offer opportunity for the West. Over the next five years China will build more than 300 new cities, requiring expertise on infrastructure, financing and environmental protection. With China’s growing influence, the author says, world financial...