In The News

Charlie Hebdo Attacks Stir Resolve and Contemplation

Stathis N. Kalyvas January 15, 2015
Terrorists hope to incite fear, panic and capitulation, but so far Europe is resisting such response after surprise attacks on the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, and a Kosher grocery store. “And because they are so shocking, these attacks tempt those targeted into reacting in a kneejerk way, ultimately playing into the hands of the attackers and becoming self-fulfilling...

Je Suis Charlie: Stand Together in the Face of Violence

Stefan Kuzmany January 9, 2015
The offices of Charlie Hebdo were attacked by three men with assault rifles, leaving 12 dead, including staff members and two police officers, one of those a Muslim. The suspects include two extremists, brothers raised in France as orphans. A horrific act by a few does not mean that provocative art practiced by publications like Charlie Hebdo is stupid or wrong, that Muslims are evil, as some...

Why #I'llRideWithYou Worked

Husna Haq December 19, 2014
Muslims represent about 2 percent of Australia’s population. After a lone extremist, out on bail for serious charges, terrorized a group in a Sydney chocolate store, Twitter users realized that Muslims might expect a backlash and started a campaign on #I’llRideWithYou: “the hashtag began with a Facebook post … [by a woman] who said a Muslim woman sitting next to her on a train in Sydney had...

Government Approval Not Enough, Businesses Need Social License

John Morrison October 21, 2014
Globalization drives business deals around the globe along with keen new awareness about social, environmental and other consequences of development. Best business practice now demands consent of the local people, suggests John Morrison, author of The Social License: How to Keep Your Organization Legitimate. The need for such pacts began with oil and mining projects to prevent costly delays and...

New Theater of Cruelty: Beheadings Demand Civilization’s Response

Joji Sakurai October 9, 2014
Islamic State extremists burst forth on the world scene with brutal acts, with all the absurd petulance of an angry, bullying yet powerless adolescent desperate for attention. In an era of rapid communications, images and messages spread instantly. The depraved put on a performance – a new theater of cruelty – perverting a centuries-old religion, and globalization ensures instant judgment....

Chinese Authorities Offer Money for Mixed Marriages

Jamil Anderlini September 4, 2014
Hoping for assimilation in multi-ethnic China and to curtail protests and unrest, Chinese officials have started paying cash bonuses for interracial marriages, reports Jamil Anderlini for Financial Times – an annual payment of $1600, or the 135 percent of average annual rural incomes, for up to five years. Uighurs, Mongolians and other minorities make up about 10 percent of the Chinese population...

Israel Faces International Criticism for Land Grab Revenge

Inna Lazareva September 2, 2014
Soon after the rockets and bombs stopped falling with the long-term ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, Israel dropped a bombshell of an announcement. The international community quickly condemned Israel’s plan to designate more Palestinian-claimed territory near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank as “state land,” paving the way for more Israeli settlements: “More than 300,000 Israelis live...