In The News

An Alliance of Values

Tony Blair December 24, 2008
"To work effectively, globalization needs values like trust, confidence, openness and justice," explains former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in an opinion essay for the International Herald Tribune. It’s one of ten lessons Blair relayed as a visiting professor at Yale University, citing the need to "find a way to reconcile faith and globalization." If religion acts as a...

Doctor Freed After Court Forbids Forced Marriage

Ian Johnston December 17, 2008
A judge in Bangladesh intervened on behalf of a National Health Service physician held by her parents in Bangladesh and expected her to marry a man of their choosing. “Her lawyers said the case set a precedent in Bangladesh and it is also one of the first cases where legal action was taken in the UK since the Forced Marriages Act became law last month,” reports Ian Johnston for the Independent....

Mice Starting to Win in the Beijing Blogosphere

Kirsty Needham December 4, 2008
Computers add to the challenges of censorship in the world’s most populated nation. “Tens of millions of mice over-ran China's internet trap this year, swamping it with chatter, nibbling towards freedom of speech,” explains Kirsty Needham, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald. China has more than 100 million bloggers, and natural disaster, political protests, business fraud and corruption...

When Nobody Understands

November 13, 2008
Most of the languages spoken around the world, up to 90 percent, could disappear by the end of the century, and debate ensues on what to do: Language conservationists pose a range of arguments, including “multilingual children do better academically,” but policymakers find that educating children in a dominant language, such as English, Mandarin or Spanish is more practical than a regional tongue...

Music: True Agent of Globalization

Alan Paul October 21, 2008
Many bands are cobbled together by people who share a simple desire to perform. Alan Paul describes his experiences with a blues band consisting of Chinese and American players. “We believe that with music, there is one people,” Paul announces, after stepping on stage for a Beijing music festival. Audiences respond to traditional songs, laden with meaning, from one land or the other. “To me, this...

Our Vanishing Night

Verlyn Klinkenborg October 20, 2008
The growth of cities across the globe has obscured the line between night and day. Artificial lights that regularly brighten the night sky for human activity in metropolises and their suburbs has repercussions on humans and other living organisms that are only now beginning to be understood. Increased light disrupts the migratory patterns of birds, confuses newborn sea turtles, upsets amphibious...

Turkish Soap Star Sparks Divorces in Arab World

October 2, 2008
A male lead in a Turkish television show, “Noor,” has demonstrated that husbands can be good looking, charming and attentive to the ambitions of their wives. Muslim clerics criticize the show, but female viewers in Palestine, Saudia Arabia and other Muslim nations are fascinated by an idealized relationship, albeit an arranged marriage, with both man and woman striving for equality and...