In The News

Everybody Wants One Now

December 12, 2006
English-language television news channels have been cropping up all over the globe, in places as diverse as China, Russia, the Middle East and, surprisingly enough, in France. Many of these stations are at least partly government-owned, and some viewers question their ability to avoid becoming a mouthpiece for certain policies. Proponents counter that these broadcasts will cover areas neglected...

The New Dot-Economy

Alan Sipress December 11, 2006
Half a decade after the dot-com bubble burst, the US is experiencing another boom in internet business. Economic and technological innovation has sent costs into free-fall, encouraging small start-ups to enter high-tech markets considered too expensive until recently. Advances in computer chips, high-speed internet access and open-source software have reduced operating costs dramatically: Web...

Kazakhstan Learns to Love Borat

Ryan Kennedy December 1, 2006
Kazakhstan leaders were appalled at how the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” portrayed their nation as backward and anti-Semitic. The comedy-documentary, with a British actor posing as a Kazakh journalist seeking to learn lessons from the US, has yet to be shown in either Kazakhstan or Russia. Initial Kazakh reactions to the film – such as removing...

Internet Extends Reach of Bangladeshi Villagers

Kevin Sullivan November 29, 2006
The developed world takes for granted the internet and its limitless spectrum of resources. Until recently, such access was unimaginable for the poor people of Bangladesh. Cellular phone technology has brought internet access to more than 100 Bangladeshi villages, with hundreds more internet centers expected to open by the end of the year. With the help of GrameenPhone, a branch of the Grameen...

Relax, Democrats Might Not Be So Protectionist After All

Edward Gresser November 14, 2006
Pundits worldwide suggest that Democratic control of the US Senate and House of Representatives after the November 7 election spells doom for free trade. But the Democratic Party has a tradition of economic internationalism, beginning with presidents such as Woodrow Wilson who served from 1913 to 1921. The party’s leaders have put forward a domestic agenda that aims at calming the anxiety of...

Universities Move to Hide Work From US Eyes

Caroline Alphonso November 13, 2006
The internet tool RefWorks allows professors and students to organize and store research, automatically creating bibliographies. The firm RefWorks describes itself as an international company – but it is based in the US, home of the Patriot Act, which after the 9/11 attacks granted federal authorities wide powers to examine databases without warrants or notice for security risks. Concerned about...

US Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer

William J. Broad November 3, 2006
Intent on proving that Iraq was pursuing weapons of mass destruction before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Republican politicians in the US demanded release of an archive of Iraqi documents, and President George Bush gave the nod. Weapons analysts, from agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, now describe the release as a...