In The News

Slumdog Paradox

Sadanand Dhume February 4, 2009
“Slumdog Millionaire” is a rag-to-riches love story that has captured the world’s imagination. An orphan growing up in the squalor of Mumbai’s poorest neighborhoods overcomes overwhelming odds that life throws at him, learning in the process much that prepares him to compete in a popular game show and reunite with childhood sweetheart. Even as international audiences cheer the orphan’s goal – not...

Gaza Conflict Plays Out Online Through Social Media

Corey Flintoff January 15, 2009
Israel has stopped journalists from entering the war zone, but photos and reports continue to flow. As war rages in the Gaza Strip, cross-border social networking continues on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. “Online media are conglomerating their information, and governments are getting into the act,” reports Corey Flintoff for National Public Radio. The public has changed the way it...

Arts and Bards, Political Branch

Jed Yoong January 8, 2009
Art is an individual’s reaction to the world around him or her, criticizing flaws or reflecting a vision of what could be. As such, art is subversive and can make political leaders and managers uncomfortable.With that in mind, the rise of opposition politics and activism in Malaysia also spurs the art community, writes Jed Yoong for the Asia Sentinel. A play that describes an interrogation that...

Atheist Bus Ad Campaign Provokes Bitterness in Barcelona

Giles Tremlett January 7, 2009
In an age where ideas travel the globe in an instant, atheists in Barcelona have copied a UK ad campaign by posting ads on buses to present a possibility that God does not exist and urge the public to “stop worrying.” Spain is a traditionally Catholic nation, where the church receives some government funding. Some critics of the ad campaign blame the socialist government, with one leader calling...

Many in Denial Over Rising Population

Mark O'Connor January 2, 2009
As 2008 came to a close, government leaders fretted about ongoing conflicts and economic crisis. But few admit that a climbing population exacerbates any problems, argues Mark O’Connor in an essay for the Sydney Morning Herald. O’Connor’s essay focuses on Australia as one of the few developed nations that reports an above-average birth rate. A larger population results in more pressure for the...

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....