In The News

Climate Change and the New Tech Revolution

Barrie Pittock June 3, 2015
International reports on scientific research into climate change focus on the many dangers including rising sea levels, extreme storms, and challenges for agriculture and other industries. Barrie Pittock, a climate scientist, urges that the research community and media could reframe the debate to win support of investors, the business community and the general public by also reporting on “...

Muslims in Texas Walk a Fine Line After Garland Shooting

Manny Fernandez and Laurie Goodstein May 18, 2015
Muslim leaders in Texas pointedly ignored plans for a Dallas exhibition of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, but worried how free speech could devolve into hate speech that incites violence. Sure enough, two men storming the event with guns were shot and killed. An article in the New York Times describes how one leader pondered a “response that would walk a fine line: clearly condemning the extremists...

Free-Wheeling Web Commentary Challenges Media's Traditional Power

Nayef Al-Rodhan March 31, 2015
The internet revolutionized politics, trade and social interactions. Blogs contribute so much to that revolution, and in 2007 author, philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist Nayef Al-Rodhan referred to them as the “fifth estate.” The designation of “estate” for media is often “contested simply because the media does not implement policy or mandate particular activity, yet these criticisms...

Chinese Authorities Snuff out Last Online Remnants of the New York Times

David Dawson February 12, 2015
Chinese internet censors have eliminated the New York Times from the Sina Weibo site, essentially removing any trace of the major newspaper-of-record for the United States. “The New York Times’ Sina Weibo account didn’t tackle subjects with the same sensitivity as those in the publication, which is probably why it outlasted the other social media accounts of the Chinese edition of the newspaper...

Encyclopedias: The Truths du Jour

Immanuel Wallerstein January 20, 2015
Encyclopedias are plentiful, designed to assist contemporary scholars with research. Yet they're also historical documents, reflecting choices made for a period of time and a society’s understanding of the globe. In making room for new events, encyclopedia editors tend to shrink the past. “We can learn much about the evolution of the world’s institutions and modes of thinking by using...

Terror Attacks Cannot Save Islam's “Honor”

Husain Haqqani January 13, 2015
Terror attacks in Europe and exaggerated threats on social media are not acts of courage or faith. “More important, terrorism is unlikely to dissuade anyone so inclined to refrain from insulting Islam, its prophet or Muslims,” writes Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan envoy to the United States, for the Times of India. Such attacks are not new, with Haqqani pointing to the 1929 murder of a Hindu...

Je Suis Charlie: Stand Together in the Face of Violence

Stefan Kuzmany January 9, 2015
The offices of Charlie Hebdo were attacked by three men with assault rifles, leaving 12 dead, including staff members and two police officers, one of those a Muslim. The suspects include two extremists, brothers raised in France as orphans. A horrific act by a few does not mean that provocative art practiced by publications like Charlie Hebdo is stupid or wrong, that Muslims are evil, as some...