In The News

Terrorists and Their Tools – Part II

Gabriel Weimann April 26, 2004
Although technology may be value-free, in the hands of terrorists technological innovations can certainly help amplify the darker side of human nature. The Internet, observes communications scholar Gabriel Weimann, is no exception. The World Wide Web has been utilized by terrorist groups around the globe to recruit supporters, raise funds, and instill fear in modern society. Claims on terrorist...

The Trouble with Civilian Casualty Stories

Jefferson Morley April 15, 2004
A controversy is raging between the US military and several Arab news outlets over their coverage of the siege of Fallujah. General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command, criticized the Qatar-based Al Jazeera for portraying US military action "as purposely targeting civilians." "We absolutely do not do that, and I think everybody knows that," Abizaid said. "They...

China's ‘Big Mamas' in a Quandary

Paul Mooney April 12, 2004
For quite some time now, the Chinese government and its net-surfing citizens have been involved in a series of serious net games. While the government seems bent on restricting the free flow of certain types of information into China that it fears will prove destabilizing – such as Taiwan, the Falun Gong – China's 80 million netizens (net citizens) appear equally determined to keep access to...

Globalization 3.0 Has Shrunk the World

April 7, 2004
The process of globalization continues to produce new surprises. Thomas L. Friedman, whose 1999 classic “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” has been translated in 30 languages, offers an update on globalization since his last interview with YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda a year ago. Friedman says that the first phase of globalization - the globalization of countries - lasted from roughly 1400 until...

China's Net watchdogs: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Liyuan Lu April 3, 2004
Political dissidence in China has long searched for an appropriate outlet. With the advent of the internet, anger at politicians, foreigners, upper classes, and others has moved online. Sometimes, internet news forums have served as forces for progressive change – political prisoners have been released after online petitions and editorials became widespread. But at other times, the internet has...

Buying Outside the Microsoft Box

Alvin Pang April 1, 2004
Last week's landmark European Union ruling and US$613 million fine are nothing but a drop in the Microsoft ocean. The maker of the Windows operating system has already appealed, and, by the time the case is finally settled, the ruling's proscriptions will most likely be obsolete given the rate of IT development. But these developments still leave open the question of whether...

A Tale of Two Cities

Kerry A. Dolan March 29, 2004
Forbes magazine compares the stories of a dozen Americans laid off in Silicon Valley because of offshoring to those of their Indian counterparts who gained some of those jobs in Bangalore, India's offshoring hotspot. Before losing their jobs, American workers in the technology industry were going about their usual business –taking home plump checks, closing on a condo, and generally enjoying...