In The News

The Redistribution of Hope

December 24, 2010
The ability to compare and engage in long-term planning can inspire hope or fear. For the past four centuries, optimism gave Western nations advantages, as citizens embraced technology, progress and global connections. “Now hope is on the move,” suggests the Economist, as the can-do spirit emerges in China and Brazil. The US and UK are moody, hampered by polarized electorates that squabble over...

The Issue of Celebrities and Aid Is Deceptively Complex

Madeleine Bunting December 23, 2010
Nonprofits and charities increasingly rely on the goodwill of celebrities to promote worthy causes. In the past, celebrities have focused early attention on causes deemed unpopular including AIDS. Some suggest that use of celebrities provides a shortcut in reaching masses to secure funding, but critics question whether the excessive celebrity attention diminishes serious policy analysis or...

The Meaning of Russia 2018

Peter Tasker December 14, 2010
International sporting events can ease or accentuate competition and cultural differences among nations. Major events like the World Cup have great symbolic and financial value, and scheduling is a competition in itself. Russia's selection for World Cup 2018, Qatar for 2022, demonstrates “the new post-credit-crisis geopolitical realities,” explains Peter Tasker for Newsweek, as “cash-rich...

Diasporas Shape Politics Back Home from Afar

Terrence Lyons, Peter Mandaville November 19, 2010
Modern forms of communication, cell phones and internet, allow citizens anywhere to stay on top of politics in their native lands. Diasporas promote wars or peace, send remittances to families and political groups, lobby for good relations with other nations and organize protests to focus attention on problems. Members of any diaspora specialize in, depending on skills, resources and laws in the...

Needing Students, Maine School Hunts in China

Abby Goodnough November 5, 2010
Growth can deliver economic revival. Though an anti-immigration stance enjoys populist success in some regions of the US, other politicians recognize that immigration contributes a quick budget recharge. Courting foreign students for education programs provides some of immigration's benefits with no permanent ties. A public schools superintendent in Maine hopes to balance his budget by...

Internet Users to Exceed 2 Billion by the End of 2010

October 22, 2010
One of three people on earth now accesses the internet, and the bulk of new users are based in developing nations, reports the International Telecommunications Union in a BBC report. The developing world, with 20 percent users online, still has far to go in catching up with developed nations, where 70 percent are online. In some parts of Africa, the price of connecting far exceeds monthly wages....

Iranians Turn Off State TV After Soap Is Dropped

Najmeh Bozorgmehr October 20, 2010
Iran’s state television network refused to air a television program with a political theme – about an incompetent regime that refuses to admit its errors and bans them from history books. The show starred one of the country’s beloved actors, and the leading director effectively created a “private channel,” by aggressively promoting a DVD version with banners and word of mouth. State television,...