In The News

A Bigger Economy Doesn't Always Buy Happiness

Eric Weiner November 14, 2006
Economists rely on the size and growth of a nation’s gross domestic product to determine the health of any economy. But the GDP covers the sale of weapons, mindless video games, excessive packaging that ends up in landfills, prescription drugs that treat anxiety or depression, and expenditures for war. Robert Kennedy once said that GDP doesn’t measure "the beauty of our poetry or the...

Viewed From Chinese Border, North Korea Is More Curiosity Than Threat

Lauren Keane November 9, 2006
Beijing has declared its official opposition to the nuclear tests conducted by North Korea and even responded to international calls to impose partial economic sanctions on its historic ally. Despite their government’s seemingly forceful reaction, however, the Chinese people seem largely unconcerned about a nuclear North Korea. Many cite the historically friendly relationship between the two...

Kazakhs Seek Stronger Ties With Israel

Ruth Eglash November 7, 2006
Kazakhstan is abruptly the center of global attention, thanks to a film set in the US with a British star who is Jewish. British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen poses as a Kazakh television reporter, who is congenial, but also sexist and anti-Semitic. Kazakhstan officials protested the satiric film – “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” – for an...

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...

Kremlin Puts Foreign NGO’s on Notice

C.J. Chivers October 24, 2006
The Russian government stopped operations of foreign non-profit organizations operating in Russia, such as Amnesty International, while reviewing bureaucratic registrations required under a new law. For now, the bureaucratic process, combined with closures and described as temporary, has quieted normally vocal non-government organization spokespeople. The closures, according to the “New York...

Social Networking Sites Keep Their Local Flavor as They Go Global

James Shih October 18, 2006
Internet social-networking sites pop up regionally, but quickly gather members around the globe. Sites like MySpace and Facebook started the online friendship-tracking trend in the US, and similar sites have emerged in South Korea, Australia, Germany and elsewhere. Regional online sites can quickly acquire global stature, analysts suggest. "The majority of large Internet companies in the US...

A Clash of Civilizations in Europe?

Patrick Sabatier October 17, 2006
Secular Europe and some of its Muslims citizens continue to clash – not in direct battle but over cartoons, operas, newspaper essays and school customs. The clashes are a product of a globalized media system, according to French journalist Patrick Sabatier, with instant information about any perceived slight to faith over satellite television or internet obscuring complex issues and provoking...