In The News

Internet Extends Reach of Bangladeshi Villagers

Kevin Sullivan November 29, 2006
The developed world takes for granted the internet and its limitless spectrum of resources. Until recently, such access was unimaginable for the poor people of Bangladesh. Cellular phone technology has brought internet access to more than 100 Bangladeshi villages, with hundreds more internet centers expected to open by the end of the year. With the help of GrameenPhone, a branch of the Grameen...

IoS 2060: Tsunami Horror Hits Britain

Geoffrey Lean November 6, 2006
Nations have slacked off in reducing energy use and efforts to combat global warming. Nations meeting in Nairobi on setting new targets for pollution reduction will hear three reports – the Stern Report in the UK on economics and global warming, the United Nations report on national efforts and an Institute on Public Policy Research report from the UK that suggests the need for immediate policy...

Climate Chaos? Don't Believe It

Christopher Monckton November 6, 2006
Most scientific evidence points toward an alarming trend of a warmer planet, with a meltdown of polar caps, extinction of species and extreme weather that will threaten populated coasts throughout the world. A small group of people – including writer, puzzle-maker and former advisor to Margaret Thatcher Christopher Monckton – suggests that the warnings about global warming are alarmist and...

Spy Agencies Now Share the Wikipedia Way

Greg Miller November 2, 2006
Typically, the US intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense invent gadgets that often find their way into daily American life. But aiming for better teamwork, US spies have turned to open-source software as invented by Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia where anyone can propose, write or edit entries. US Intellipedia, not open to the public, will allow staff of 16 intelligence agencies...

Google Defiant Over Censorship in China

David Smith November 1, 2006
Defenders of free speech reject any controls over the internet. This issue and others were debated by more than 90 countries attending the first Internet Governance Forum in Athens. Companies like Google do business in China despite some censorship, and Google maintains that simply providing a connection is a major first step to creating an open society. To deny access to restrictive regimes only...

As Jobs Leave America's Shores... The New Face of Class War

Paul Craig Roberts October 30, 2006
A series of US presidents ignored the implications of corporations relocating jobs and factories to developing nations with low labor costs. Such off-shoring has enriched a small and select group while gradually destroying US industries, occupations and communities. “No country benefits from trading its professional jobs, such as engineering, for domestic service jobs,” claims journalist Paul...

The Planet in Peril – Part II

Jim Hansen October 24, 2006
People have some measure of control over how much the climate will change, explains Jim Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. In the second of a two-part series, he makes specific recommendations that do require some sacrifice: Humans must end their reliance on fossil fuels; governments can impose carbon taxes in a way that provides incentives to decrease fuel...