In The News

The Galling Rise of English

February 27, 2003
English is spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, but until recently the European Union was a place where French sometimes dominated. The EU is headquartered in Brussels, and an elite group of French-speaking bureaucrats has influenced the organization for years. New EU member states have been increasingly English-oriented, however, and as more European students learn...

How the Protesters Mobilized

Jennifer Lee February 23, 2003
Between the internet, cell phones, and text messaging, new ways are constantly being invented to disseminate information and organize large bodies of people across the globe. The February 15th worldwide protests against the impending war in Iraq stretched these means to their full potential. Protest organization can now be dispersed, non-hierarchal, and in tune with up-to-date information....

Draw Foreigners to Private Singapore Schools - and Be Paid for It

Sandra Davie February 20, 2003
Some Singapore private schools are offering monetary sums up to S$1000 for actualized referrals of foreign students. Recruiters believe that prospective students will be more receptive to offers by their friends and acquaintances than by simple brochures. Increasingly higher incentives for foreign students to attend Singapore private schools reflect the competition in the world market for fee-...

Dating of Australian Remains Backs Theory of Early Migration of Humans

Nicholas Wade February 19, 2003
The newest dating of an archaeological site in Australia supports the "out of Africa" theory of human migration. Human remains found at Lake Mungo, in southeastern Australia, were formerly dated as being 62,000 years old. However, a new team of archaeologists have revised that date to be closer to 40,000 years old. This new dating now supports the theory that human society...

Not Coming to a Theatre Near You…

Phil Reeves February 18, 2003
The tradition Bengalese drama form jatra has gained widespread popularity in India. Traveling acting companies, many of them from West Bengal, perform jatras (which include nonstop music, overwrought love songs, and elaborate pyrotechnics) to sold-out crowds. The art form is both entertainment and, for many in rural areas where illiteracy runs high and access to foreign news is limited, a way of...

An Illicit Paradise for the Motion Picture Buff

Richard McGregor February 18, 2003
The movie piracy industry, which accounts for the sale of almost all movies in China, has managed to succeed due to new technology as well as lax regulations. The ability of these companies to mass-produce movies at low prices and short time has allowed Hollywood movies, a major item of American cultural export to penetrate widely into China. Although the producers are currently losing money...

From New York to Melbourne, Protest Against War on Iraq

Robert D. McFadden February 16, 2003
In what may be the largest, most diverse worldwide peace protest since the Vietnam War, millions of people protested against a war on Iraq. Under the umbrella organization United for Peace and Justice, protests were coordinated worldwide in many major cities, including one which saw thousands turn out in below freezing temperatures in New York. – YaleGlobal