In The News

HIV Case Airs Secrets of Porn Industry

Alan Clendenning April 29, 2004
Boasting uninhibited women, lush tropical backdrops, and cheap production costs, Brazil has become a prime destination for adult film outsourcing. But Brazil also has the second highest incidence of HIV and AIDS in the western hemisphere. Last month, the porn industry's increasingly global risks surfaced when an American porn actor contracted HIV after shooting unprotected sex scenes with...

Olympics Insured Against Terrorism

Philip Hersh April 28, 2004
The upcoming Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Athens, Greece will feature athletes from all over the world and help promote the Olympic spirit of forging a global community through sports. In the contemporary era of global terrorism, however, it is particularly such international events that are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The organizers of the Games, the International...

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...

An Ominous Moment in Middle East Turmoil

Roger Cohen April 23, 2004
Despite numerous efforts to curry the favor of the Arab world – such as the establishment of the pro-American Al Hurra satellite network – the Bush administration has instead, according to some critics, stoked the fires of Arab resentment through the occupation of Iraq and support for Ariel Sharon and Israel. Some believe the vested interests of pro-Israeli and Evangelical Christian lobbies are...

Explaining The Passion

Gihan Shahine April 16, 2004
It’s no surprise that Christian Egyptians, like Christians worldwide, flocked to see Mel Gibson’s recent film The Passion of the Christ. Yet the majority of Egyptian moviegoers who bought tickets to the film were Muslims. The turnout is particularly startling because Islam generally condemns representations of prophets, and Egypt itself once banned The Prince of Egypt because of its portrayal of...

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...

Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Media: Anatomy of a Failure

Susan Moeller April 14, 2004
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made the decision to present terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and Iraq as a linked triple threat. Susan Moeller, professor of media and international affairs at the University of Maryland, argues that in the “stultifying patriotic climate” that followed the attacks, most mainstream...