In The News

US Eating Habits Spreading

Lizette Albarez October 31, 2003
After making sure that every American has the opportunity to consume high calorie doughnuts, Krispy Kreme has expanded its market to include Europe. And it are not alone. With fast food chains opening and sugary food commercials all over television screens, Europe is adapting to the American diet – and scales show the result. An estimated 21 percent of men and 23.5 percent of women are now...

Migration Affects National Cultures

Jürgen Kaube October 31, 2003
Germany has only just begun to understand the implications of the increasing presence of migrant workers, says this article in a Germany weekly. Whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear head scarves in class is only a small part of the bigger questions of national identity, assimilation, and economic need. "By repeatedly expressing our unease about the mixed implications of...

Apples and Oranges Are Both Fruit, But…

William S. Turley October 24, 2003
Many US analysts have compared the current conflict in Iraq to the Vietnam War, citing similar trends - lack of support from allies, initial domestic support followed by growing doubt, and faulty intelligence. But, says Indochina expert William S. Turley, the two countries and their respective conflicts are strikingly different, making comparisons to Vietnam quite un-useful in analyses of the...

Roh Supports English as 2nd Official Language

October 24, 2003
South Korea's President Roh is throwing his weight behind a plan to make English his country's official second language. The Ministry of Finance and Economy expects to build 100 special zones nation-wide for English education, and several provinces are considering investing some of their own resources into English immersion schools. In a recent survey of 12 Asian countries, South...

15,000 Families Granted Asylum

October 24, 2003
With more asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in various parts of the world, receiving countries are experiencing some hard times. The UK, for example, is already feeling over burdened. Recently, the government announced that it would grant 15,000 families indefinite leave to remain and enable them to work in the UK, a right they don't currently enjoy. According to the Secretary of the Home...

All Over an Inch of Flesh

October 23, 2003
Last month, two schoolgirls were kicked out of school in France for wearing headscarves, a traditional Muslim symbol. While it is legal to wear religious symbols in school, French law forbids the wearing of certain ostentatious religious signs "that constitute an act of pressure, provocation, proselytism or propaganda." Thus, wearing headscarves is acceptable. But when the girls...

Elderly Immigrants Embrace Nursing Homes

Sarah Kershaw October 20, 2003
For many American families, nursing homes are a fact of life for the elderly. This article finds that immigrants too are embracing “the very American tradition of living the last years with peers, not family.” In particular, this trend is becoming more commonplace among Asian immigrants – many of whom still feel that the “decision to send a parent away is clouded with shame and ambivalence.”...