In The News

Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of US

Eric Lipton October 5, 2006
It’s no secret that world opinion of the US has hit a low point. So the US Department of Homeland Security is funding university research to develop software and monitor negative opinions expressed in foreign newspaper accounts. The agency will rely on the analysis “to identify potential threats to the nation,” explains journalist Eric Lipton. Spies traditionally rely on reading newspapers to...

Tools of Engagement

R. S. Zaharna October 4, 2006
A report from the US Government Accountability Office admits that the US confronts significant anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world. However, the report’s recommendation that the US must combine public relations and diplomacy “ignores the decline in US credibility,” argues R.S. Zaharna, communications professor, in “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The US report urges repeating...

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting US Terror Fight

Karen DeYoung September 25, 2006
A US intelligence document concludes what many have long suspected: The war in Iraq has encouraged Islamic extremist recruitment and violence, while weakening US influence in the global struggle against terrorism. The intelligence agencies agree that the US did succeed in weakening Al Qaeda, but extremism has spread and decentralized. President George Bush and other top administration officials...

What Went Wrong With the Dialogue Between Cultures?

Traugott Schoefthaler September 21, 2006
Cultural diversity in and of itself has value, and yet cultures continue to clash about which cultural practices work best for the world. Mutual respect for differences, along with language that can address those differences, is required in a civil world, argues author Traugott Schoefthaler. More than a billion Muslims throughout the world remain frustrated, questioning why Western values often...

Safety Last

Robert X. Cringely September 6, 2006
When it comes to technology, businesses and consumers prioritize power over safety. With fierce global competition in the computer and mobile-phone markets, firms move products to market quickly, regardless of risks. Apple Computer and Dell Computer recently recalled lithium-ion batteries, which produced high power, but were also prone to explosions. In the competitive markets, the companies...

Online Game, Made in US, Seizes the Globe

Seth Schiesel September 5, 2006
Almost 7 million people around the world join in playing World of Warcraft, an online game that offers true global competition. Developed by Blizzard Entertainment, based in California, the game breaks cultural barriers by appealing to a massive global audience and offering an increasing array of languages. In the past, popular interactive games attracted hundreds of thousands of players at most...

Look Who's Fair and Balanced

Lawrence Pintak August 28, 2006
If modern journalists went back in time to cover the American Revolution during the late 1770s, many would call the fighters “terrorists” or “martyrs,” depending on which side they supported. That’s because many journalists simply accept the language provided by their government sources. Unlike the US journalists, Arab media such as Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya resist using labels to describe...