In The News

France's Mysterious Embrace of Blogs

Thomas Crampton August 4, 2006
In 18th century France, women hosted small parties in their salons, for gossip and politics. Eager for debate, modern-day French citizens have turned to blogs. Analysts characterize French blogs as lengthy, negative, with opinions that do not sway. The technology is so popular that a blog has become essential for any French politician. For example, some analysts credit bloggers for French...

Korea Greets New Era of Multiculturalism

Shin Hae-in August 3, 2006
In a world of quick travel and increasing flows of people in and out of countries, South Korea is reflecting on its prejudices toward foreigners and Korean children of mixed race. A nation that has endured centuries of invasions from China and Japan, South Korea has long had a national goal of maintaining a uniquely Korean bloodline. Some citizens worry that recent government revisions to...

How to Deal With NGOs – Part I, China

Paul Mooney August 1, 2006
Both China and Russia sat up and took notice of the role played by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the political unrest and subsequent color revolutions in Georgia, the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. This two-part series examines the two governments’ responses to NGO activity within their borders. China dispatched intelligence officers to research the NGO role in Central Asia and also conduct...

China’s Nomads Trade Up for an Easier Ride on the Range

Jim Yardley July 31, 2006
High up in the mountains of the Qinghai Province in China, the nomads who populate the region have switched from horses to motorcycles for transportation. The shift has a practical basis, with nomads moving tents and herding yaks and sheep back and forth between winter and summer pastures. Since the late 1980s, the herders no longer had to sell their animals at set prices to the government and...

Dare Violate a Copyright in Hong Kong? A Boy Scout May Be Watching Online

Keith Bradsher July 24, 2006
The Hong Kong government has unveiled a plan to use 200,000 young people from organizations like the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides as watchdogs for internet copyright infringement. Many civil liberties advocates question the use of teenagers in state-sponsored law enforcement. While Hong Kong authorities claim that the program encourages good citizenship among a population with a high rate of...

Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time

Clive Thompson July 23, 2006
The violence erupting in the Middle East is anything but a game. Desperate to eliminate world crises, philanthropists such as the MacArthur Foundation and academics are teaming up with developers of video games to teach new skills and values, particularly to youth who reject traditional media. For example, “Peacemaker” places its players in decision-making roles vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian...

Dare Violate a Copyright in Hong Kong? A Boy Scout May Be Watching Online

Keith Bradsher July 18, 2006
The Hong Kong government has unveiled a plan to use 200,000 young people from organizations like the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides as watchdogs for internet copyright infringement. Many civil liberties advocates question the use of teenagers in state-sponsored law enforcement. While Hong Kong authorities claim that the program encourages good citizenship among a population with a high rate of...