In The News

The Medium Shapes the Message

Seth Fein May 7, 2004
The fact that US President George W. Bush addressed audiences on Arab television this week made clear to all that Washington sees a need to communicate better with people in the Middle East about its policies and programs. Nonetheless, says Yale historian Seth Fein, past US efforts to promote American foreign policy goals through the media have met only with skepticism and distrust. A news...

For Many in U.S., Money Talks Even as Jobs Walk

David Streitfeld May 6, 2004
Recent public debates on outsourcing appear to have borne little fruit or changed consumer behavior in the United States. Eighty bills regulating and restricting outsourcing of American jobs to countries with cheaper labor have been introduced in the U.S Congress and state legislatures. None has passed so far. At the same time, almost half of the Fortune 500 companies have moved at least some...

Death Sentence for Medics in Libyan HIV Case

Simon Jeffery May 6, 2004
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were sentenced to death after being found guilty of intentionally infecting 400 Libyan children while working in a hospital in the late 1990s. The scandalous accusation that aid workers would purposefully harm those they are supposed to help has shocked the world. Libyans originally accused the medics of running experiments on children to...

Iraq Prisoner Abuse Draws Global Media Outrage

May 5, 2004
Revelations of Iraqi prisoner abuse and torture at the hands of Americans have shocked the world. A survey of 128 editorials in 44 countries compiled by the US Department of State's Office of Research finds great revulsion and contempt for the American actions. Some papers demand the US be charged with war crimes, while others see the torture as a "major defeat" for the US and...

Language Schools Fight Image War

May 5, 2004
Japan's language schools for foreigners are experiencing a reputation crisis. While trying to help their foreign students, many of whom are from China, to get through the college entrance exam in Japan, these schools have found that not all of the students are serious about learning and getting ready for college. Recent unpleasant events have included illegal jobs held by foreign students...

North Korea Builds Up Missiles

Joo Sang-min May 5, 2004
According to a South Korean newspaper, North Korea is building two underground launching sites capable of deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles. If successfully established, the new missiles could reach as far as Guam and possibly Hawaii, says the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Defense experts say that Pyongyang is trying to demonstrate its limited military muscle. But, they caution, it could...

Iraqi Prison Scandal Hits US in a Big Way

Ilnur Cevic May 5, 2004
The recent uproar in the US over the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners in US custody is really not big 'news' in the Arab world, says this editorial in the Turkish Daily News. Although the humiliating photos circulating the globe may have "devastating consequences" for the US, writes Ilnur Cevic, the problems are seen by many in Iraq and the Middle East as just another...