In The News

Faces of Globalization

Jong-Heon Lee July 1, 2004
Korean films have recently experienced increased popularity such that they now control 70 percent of the domestic market share, a figure which is up from 35.1 percent in 2000. Whereas, in the past, South Korean films were of poor quality and attracted few viewers, now the industry is producing blockbusters like "Taegukgi" (the South Korean national flag) which not only fared well...

U.S. Restrictions on Trips to Cuba are Inhumane

Jim Defede June 29, 2004
This commentary in the Miami Herald discusses the new travel restrictions enforced by the Bush administration, which will limit family visits to Cuba from once a year to once every three years. The author argues that this new policy is merely an election-year strategy designed to get older Cuban-Americans to vote for the Republican incumbent in November's US presidential election. The travel...

Give the Transatlantic Alliance a Fresh Start

Charles Powell June 28, 2004
Transatlantic relations are in a "terminal" stage and must be mended, writes Charles Powell, former adviser on foreign affairs and defense to Margaret Thatcher. The transatlantic alliance once enjoyed great heights – especially during the cold war – but now differences over the Iraq War have cast doubt on the concept of ‘the West’ as a global leader. Currently politicians and laypeople...

Globalize Soccer? Not in Your Lifetime, Chum

Edward Rothstein June 26, 2004
From outward appearances, soccer epitomizes globalization by enjoying worldwide appeal and trading players internationally. The culture of soccer, however, refuses to homogenize across borders or even across towns. Instead, says this article in the New York Times, local soccer teams come to embody the specific nationalist or tribal emotions of their local fan bases. For example, over the last...

Can of Worms?

Gamal Nkrumah June 25, 2004
Al-Qaeda may have penetrated deep into the Saudi security apparatus, says this article in Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly. Officials deny that there is a problem and are working hard to contain the terrorists, even killing Al-Qaeda’s reputed leader in Saudi Arabia last Friday. But the rapid replacement of this man by Al-Oufi, a former policeman and war veteran of Afghanistan, suggests both the...

Can Corporations Safeguard Labor and Human Rights?

Susan Ariel Aaronson June 24, 2004
Recent scandals over US mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan have badly tarnished America’s human rights record. Grave as the abuses are, says globalization scholar Susan Ariel Aaronson, the Bush administration can help restore at least a measure of goodwill by promoting human rights and labor protections in the factories of US-based multinational corporations. The anti-...

Key Cocaine Routes Closed, Feds Say

Jay Weaver June 24, 2004
US officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration have arrested another 50 cocaine smugglers, cutting the total supply of cocaine entering the US by 10 percent over five years. Colombia has long been the main source of cocaine for the American market, but smugglers have had to take a circuitous route through the Caribbean island nations to get to their drop off points in southern Florida....