In The News

Korea to Fight Web Attacks from China

Kim Tae-gyu March 2, 2006
In an effort to combat a growing problem of identity theft, the Korean government is taking steps to prevent access to its backdoor internet pathways from abroad. Data leakage from Korea, especially to China, has become particularly troublesome, with hackers using illegal internet providers as their main means of stealing restricted information, including resident registration numbers. The...

Truly a World Wide Web

February 24, 2006
As modernization of the world accelerates, access to computers and the internet are also increasing. A recent Pew Global Attitudes poll reveals more people using computers and spending time online than in 2002. Some of the poll’s specifics are surprising: For example, in many countries, new computer use is most prominent among people over 50. However, in countries with low internet use, young...

Time for Russia to Join the WTO?

Bruce Stokes February 24, 2006
With immense oil revenues and growing foreign investment, Russia is positioning itself to join the WTO. However, Russia’s membership largely depends on the US, and Congress granting Russia permanent trading partner status later this year could clarify Russia’s chances for WTO membership. But many US companies and interests still have concerns about Russia’s readiness for WTO privileges. The...

So Long Dalai Lama: Google Adapts to China

Joseph Kahn February 15, 2006
Free-speech advocates continue to reproach the world’s technology and media giants for ready cooperation with the Chinese government’s moves to censor the internet. Yahoo offered up information about users’ email accounts that led to the convictions of so-called dissidents in 2003 and 2005. Microsoft pulled the plug on a major blog that drew the ire of Chinese censors. Cisco sold equipment...

Chinese Censors of Internet Face “Hacktivists” in US

Geoffrey A. Fowler February 14, 2006
The Chinese government tries to maintain strict control over citizens’ access to the internet, but computer-savvy free-speech activists abroad are making that job more difficult. Among those activists is Bill Xia, a North Carolinian who distributes a program called “Freegate” that allows Chinese web surfers to circumvent their government’s online censorship. Designed by a Chinese-American,...

Bonfire of the Pieties

Amir Taheri February 8, 2006
Many commentators have framed the recent furor over Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a harbinger of a clash of civilizations, a sign that Islam and Western secular and religious traditions are incompatible. But, as author Amir Taheri writes, the violent protests over the cartoons do not reflect true Islamic theology or practice. The rioting is largely the result of...

Cartoon Jihad

Sadanand Dhume February 7, 2006
The forces of globalization are responsible not only for spread of capitalism, but the growing influence of radical Islam. Enraged Muslim protesters rely on the tools produced by modern capitalism: mobile text messaging, the internet, satellite television, and desktop publishing. Such technology is contributing to a united community of believers, or “ummah,” a long-held Islamic goal. Analyzing...