In The News

How Headlines Change the Way We Think

Maria Konnikova December 31, 2014
First impressions matter, global researchers agree. With a constant onslaught of data, reports and opinions online and off, headlines must be thorough, enticing and accurate, suggests Maria Konnikova in an essay for the New Yorker. Busy readers, especially those active on social media, often only have time for headlines. “By now, everyone knows that a headline determines how many people will read...

Dear Snow-Trolls: Winter Weather Does Not Refute Global Warming

Chris Mooney November 28, 2014
After a period of cool weather or heavy snow, those ignorant on science and research proclaim that climate change cannot possibly be true. “Despite the fact that weather and climate are not the same thing – climate is the statistical average of weather – extremely cold winters do appear to shift climate beliefs,” writes Chris Mooney for the Washington Post. He goes on to explain that cold weather...

The Olympic Games and Asia’s Rise

Susan Brownell November 27, 2014
The Olympics are global mega events. The world briefly pauses to admire athletic skill and dedication. The audience also assesses the host city’s customs and capability. Anthropology professor Susan Brownell points out that the Olympic Games are increasingly being hosted by nontraditional powers like China. “Concern that this is a sign of Asia’s rise and the West’s decline is unfounded,” she...

New Theater of Cruelty: Beheadings Demand Civilization’s Response

Joji Sakurai October 9, 2014
Islamic State extremists burst forth on the world scene with brutal acts, with all the absurd petulance of an angry, bullying yet powerless adolescent desperate for attention. In an era of rapid communications, images and messages spread instantly. The depraved put on a performance – a new theater of cruelty – perverting a centuries-old religion, and globalization ensures instant judgment....

Facebook and Gmail Face Blacklist Under Russian Web Laws

Roland Oliphant October 7, 2014
Russia has demanded that Western internet companies like Gmail, Facebook and Twitter register with Russia’s communication watchdog group and create servers that Russian officials can access. Officials have warned that companies that do not comply will face sanctions and, as some westerners expect, possible expulsion. The big companies fall into the net of Russia’s “blogger laws,” imposed in...

In “Umbrella Revolution,” China Confronts Limits of Its Power

David Lague, James Pomfret and Greg Torode October 2, 2014
The “one country, two systems” approach in Hong Kong is not working well for China. A free press, critical of controls, and independent courts that have already released student leaders are weakening China’s control of the island: Chinese authorities “need to contain the campaign for democracy in one of Asia’s leading financial hubs without the tools employed on the mainland to suppress dissent...

Foreign Funding of Think Tanks Is Corrupting Our Democracy

John B. Judis September 17, 2014
Foreign governments donate millions to US think tanks to promote their positons, suggests a report in the New York Times. Research costs money; donors, foreign or domestic, may influence topics of research, sources and conclusions. “Washington think tanks, which were originally intended as a source of impartial, objective, and disinterested information, have become arms of foreign as well as...