In The News

In Europe, Going Global Means, Alas, English

John Tagliabue May 19, 2002
En inglés, auf Englisch, en anglaise, en inglese, in English, please. The number of schools and academies that teach English has increased dramatically in Europe. Indeed, as companies increasingly seek transnational markets and employees, English has become the 'lingua franca' of board meetings and cross-border communications. Company workers, especially high-ranking ones, are polishing...

The War on What?

Thomas Friedman May 8, 2002
With the end of the Cold War, the United States shifted its policy of supporting any regime that would repel communism to supporting the expansion of democracy. This policy change helped overthrow the Indonesian military dictator, Suharto, and strengthen a budding democratic system. New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, writes that Indonesians now are worried that the newest US policy shift...

Let Nike Stay in the Game

Bob Herbert May 6, 2002
Does the US Constitution protect freedom of speech even when that speech is full of lies? According to this opinion piece in The New York Times, it most certainly should. Last week, however, a lawsuit was brought against Nike charging the corporation with misrepresenting its overseas factories and falsely telling the public that it was in compliance with applicable wage and safety regulations....

Foreign Distillers Seek to Slake India's Thirst

Saritha Rai May 5, 2002
Diminished social disapproval of alcohol consumption among India's middle class, coupled with a national economy increasingly open to foreign investment, is attracting big foreign distillers to India. For decades, India vigilantly regulated foreign investment, choosing instead to bolster and develop its local industries. With increased pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to...

Auto Parts Makers Grinding to a Halt

Danny Hakim April 30, 2002
The globalization of automobile parts production and the search for a bigger bottom line have been putting pressure on suppliers all over the world. In this story, the New York Times profiles a Michigan auto-part manufacturer who is losing his business to a foreign supplier. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler used to develop all of their work in their backyard. Now, it's go on the Internet...

Online, the Armies Have No Borders

William J. Holstein April 28, 2002
Internet armies don't necessarily have fatigues, guns, or the same citizenship. What they do have, however, is internet technology and a common ideology. As author Richard Hunter contends in an interview with the New York Times, groups ranging from anti-globalization activists to Al Qaeda terrorists are increasingly held together by the internet. Though the fluid spread of ideas across...

An Age-Old Quest Could Be at an End: Chinese Hail Viagra

Elisabeth Rosenthal April 23, 2002
Traditional Chinese medicine has several treatments for curing impotence, or simply for stimulating more sexual energy. Two years ago, however, Viagra was made legal and introduced in China with immediate success. There are certain parts of China where Viagra is sold almost everywhere – including candy stores and soda stands. However, as Viagra’s demand grows, so does the production of imitation...