In The News

Obama Is the Key Example of Globalization

Nury Vittachi January 29, 2009
Some customs, from security procedures at airports to requirements for suits and ties at restaurants, divide people in unnecessary ways. But the election of US President Barack Obama – "a Chicago man, born in Hawaii, with an African father, an Indonesian stepfather and a mother from English-Irish stock with Native American elements" – stands as a reminder that a mixture of people and...

Hu Jintao Takes Personal Charge of Fight Against Charter 08

Mark O'Neill January 16, 2009
A small group of Chinese intellectuals and activists published what’s called Charter 08, calling for an independent legal system, freedom of association and the end of one-party rule, timing their call with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reports Mark O’Neill for the Asia Sentinel. As the global economic downturn reduces demand for manufactured goods, closes...

Gaza Conflict Plays Out Online Through Social Media

Corey Flintoff January 15, 2009
Israel has stopped journalists from entering the war zone, but photos and reports continue to flow. As war rages in the Gaza Strip, cross-border social networking continues on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. “Online media are conglomerating their information, and governments are getting into the act,” reports Corey Flintoff for National Public Radio. The public has changed the way it...

Arts and Bards, Political Branch

Jed Yoong January 8, 2009
Art is an individual’s reaction to the world around him or her, criticizing flaws or reflecting a vision of what could be. As such, art is subversive and can make political leaders and managers uncomfortable.With that in mind, the rise of opposition politics and activism in Malaysia also spurs the art community, writes Jed Yoong for the Asia Sentinel. A play that describes an interrogation that...

Atheist Bus Ad Campaign Provokes Bitterness in Barcelona

Giles Tremlett January 7, 2009
In an age where ideas travel the globe in an instant, atheists in Barcelona have copied a UK ad campaign by posting ads on buses to present a possibility that God does not exist and urge the public to “stop worrying.” Spain is a traditionally Catholic nation, where the church receives some government funding. Some critics of the ad campaign blame the socialist government, with one leader calling...

The End of a Gilded Age

Harold James January 6, 2009
Waves of globalization are characterized by intense innovation, along with increased wealth, productivity and consumption, notes Princeton professor Harold James in an opinion essay for the Baltimore Examiner. Agriculture gave way to manufacturing, manufacturing gave way to services, and services gave way to online interactions, and James notes that “In each case, a dramatic crisis created the...

Many in Denial Over Rising Population

Mark O'Connor January 2, 2009
As 2008 came to a close, government leaders fretted about ongoing conflicts and economic crisis. But few admit that a climbing population exacerbates any problems, argues Mark O’Connor in an essay for the Sydney Morning Herald. O’Connor’s essay focuses on Australia as one of the few developed nations that reports an above-average birth rate. A larger population results in more pressure for the...