In The News

In Germany, Harder Line Looms

Ian Johnson September 16, 2005
Following the London bombings and communal violence in the Netherlands, Europe's relations with its Muslim citizens have grown increasingly strained. Governments are now turning a sterner eye towards Islamic organizations within their borders, hoping to nip domestic Islamic radicalism in the bud. In Germany, attorneys have launched an investigation into the dealings of the Islamic Community...

Our House of Cards

Andrew Leonard September 16, 2005
Most critics of globalization point to the suffering of workers, the ordeals of displacement, or the brutality of poverty that it causes. Others, like Barry Lynn, former editor of Global Business, shirk such conventional leftist rhetoric. In his book, "End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation," Lynn sketches the demise of the prevailing economic order in its...

Civil society transcends right-left gap

Severyn T. Bruyn September 16, 2005
Sociologists ponder how the current US social and political climate will influence the future – and some experts predict a backlash to the polarization, suggesting that responsible global governance will restrain excessive national power and capitalist markets. The catalyst for such an outcome, the force of civil society, can reinforce common values in an age of partisanship. Civil society has...

The Center of the World

Brook Larmer September 15, 2005
After the global narcotics trade, sport is the world's most globalized and profitable business. With a television audience spanning 200 countries, the NBA boasts a larger global footprint than the United Nations. The crown jewel in the basketball league's push to lure international talent is undoubtedly Yao Ming, the center for the Houston Rockets. Yao's towering stature casts a...

Europe's Political Parties Buffeted by Globalization

Jonathan Fenby September 8, 2005
September 18, the date of the German elections, marks a crucial moment in European politics. The poll results will reveal whether the burgeoning protest movements will continue to nibble away at the mainstream parties. As Jonathan Fenby writes, moderate left-right political polarity in Europe may be giving way to a more fragmented system. Haunted by the specter of the ‘Polish plumber’ and...

Invisible Earth

Annalee Newitz August 31, 2005
Technology giant Google has recently extended its global reach. It's new product, Google Earth, is a 3-D mapping program that allows users to view any point on the planet at the click of a mouse. With detailed satellite photos, Google Earth is touted as a tool not just for education, but also for communication; special features include comments "tagged" to specific locations, as...

Creating Islamist Phantoms

Adam Curtis August 30, 2005
In a Guardian commentary, Adam Curtis writes that it was a mistake, in the wake of 9/11, for the West to exaggerate the status of al-Qaida by painting a hyperbolic picture of an organized and far-reaching terrorist network. Curtis suggests that the true threat came not from a sophisticated network, but from individuals and groups linked by an idea. After the London bombings, many experts seem...