In The News

The Fallout from the Iraq War

Barry Rubin May 7, 2003
During the Iraq War, media reports on American 24-hour news networks mainly reflected the views of US journalists 'embedded' with the US military. In the Middle East, however, Arab-language networks such as Al-Jazeera presented a starkly different image and interpretation of how things were going on the ground. Middle East scholar Barry Rubin writes that regional media led Arab...

Sars Gives China a Lesson in Globalization

Frank Ching May 2, 2003
China may have begun opening its economy 20 years ago, but Sars has shown that capitalist economic reforms aren't the only criteria for being part of the global economy. Control of the media is still seen as a basic function and right of the Chinese Communist Party, but it is precisely the party's obsessive control of information that helped fan the spread of Sars after its initial...

The Roots of Anti-Americanism in Germany

Dominic Sachsenmaier April 30, 2003
Media coverage of the Iraq War varied to such an extent that viewers in the US and in Europe were left with distinctly different understandings of what was going on. Some Europeans claimed that America's 'embedded journalists' were simply 'in bed with' the US military, acting as propaganda machines for the US government. Meanwhile, massive and constant anti-war...

U.S. Troops Fire on Iraqi Protesters, Leaving 15 Dead

Ian Fisher April 29, 2003
Violent clashes between American troops and Iraqis continue even as the United States moves from a military offensive to a humanitarian and reconstruction phase in Iraq. According to a US official account, a group of mostly armed Iraqis began unprovoked fire at the US troops who were stationed at the US Army headquarters in a largely Sunni neighborhood. US troops returned fire in self defense...

If Nike Defends Itself, Is That a Commercial?

Linda Feldmann April 23, 2003
Nike Inc. is the world's largest athletic footwear company. Nike, with its 900 factories in 51 countries and more than 600,000 employees, is currently embroiled in a Supreme Court case in the US. This case stems from a 1998 lawsuit, in which San Francisco activist Marc Kasky charged that Nike had made false statements about sweatshop conditions in its Asian factories. Mr. Kasky asserted...

Globalization's Challenge to Islam

Riaz Hassan April 17, 2003
The telephone, satellite television and the Internet have connected the Islamic community of 1.2 billion people across the globe. This connectivity has strengthened Muslims' sense of belonging to one community, which Islamic scholars call ummah. But it has also brought the realization that Islam, as practiced around the globe, is heterogenous. A group of Muslims in oil-rich Saudi Arabia have...

Sony Leads Charge to Cash in on Iraq

Julia Day April 10, 2003
Sony has registered the phrase “shock and awe,” used to describe US military tactics at the beginning of the war in Iraq, for a possible computer game. However, the game may not be sold in Britain and Europe if the scenario is set in Iraq owing to the European criticism of the war. Sony registered the name on March 21 one day after the war began. Other companies have also sought to capture patent...