In The News

YouTube Banned by Russian Court

Tom Parfitt August 3, 2010
Hundreds of thousands of official and amateur videos from around the globe from cooking to music, fitness, pets, business, and politics are uploaded to YouTube daily. Users, like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, even create their own YouTube channels. Purportedly targeting a single nationalist video, a Russian regional court took the extreme step of blocking the popular website among local...

Iranian Exiles Struggle to Stay Involved

Neil MacFarquhar July 30, 2010
The reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 sparked some of the worst social unrest in Iran since the1979 Islamic Revolution. Using popular networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, protesters mobilized quickly on streets and university campuses. Swift government repression ensued causing some protesters to seek refuge abroad. Away from home, using internet...

The Whistleblowers: Is WikiLeaks a Blessing or Curse for Democracy?

John Goetz, Marcel Rosenbach July 29, 2010
Wikileaks posted more than 91,000 internal US military documents online – unleashing debate about an unpopular war, secrecy and media, technology, whistle-blowing, and whether the release is courageous exposure or a dire security threat. WikiLeaks.org publishes leaked documents deemed secret by companies and governments. Documents titled the Afghan War Diary are archived into 100 categories as...

US Blocks China Fibre Optics Deal Over Security

Stephanie Kirchgaessner July 2, 2010
Fiber optics and other technologies add to globalization’s speed. But national-security concerns lead the US to apply the brakes. Plans for a joint venture between a New Mexico manufacturer of fiber-optic and solar-panel components and a Chinese investment firm were dropped after the government announced some "regulatory concerns." The US Committee on Foreign Investment – chaired by the...

Our Vuvuzelas, Ourselves

Anne Applebaum June 30, 2010
Crowd noise is nothing new at soccer matches. And the same goes for the long trumpet-like plastic instrument South African soccer fans call “vuvuzela.” Yet the horn’s indiscriminate – indeed, overwhelming – use at World Cup matches sparked controversy: Even as some Germans want to ban the “mood killer” and French TV viewers can digitally filter out the “stadium tinnitus,” Chinese distributors...

Move Over US Soaps, Telenovelas Seduce the Globe

Susan Froetschel June 1, 2010
There was time when the US dominated daytime television programming with soap operas designed for housewives. Spanning decades, television producers and storylines kept up with social themes, like AIDS or racism, but did not adjust to changing US demographics or work patterns. Directors in Mexico, on the other hand, tweaked the US model early on, initially emphasizing Catholic values, but also...

Taming Globalization? Kebabs, Mini-Skirts and Meth – Part I

Jamsheed K. Choksy and Carol E.B. Choksy May 18, 2010
Politicians try to rile or sooth citizens as needed with a few select details of globalization. Yet with the speed and far-reaching nature of modern trade, travel and communication, these attempts to corral bits and pieces of globalization are futile. A savvy public – young or old – comes to understand other intricate connections and recognize the attempts as distractions from far more serious...