Can You Hear Me Now?

Sherry Turkle
05.07.07

Thanks to technology, people have never been more connected--or more alienated

I have traveled 36 hours to a conference on robotic technology in central Japan. The grand ballroom is Wi-Fi enabled, and the speaker is using the Web for his presentation. Laptops are open, fingers are flying. But the audience is not listening. Most seem to be doing their e-mail, downloading files, surfing the Web or looking for a cartoon to illustrate an upcoming presentation. Every once in a while audience members give the speaker some attention, lowering their laptop screens in a kind of digital curtsy. continue...

A look 'Inside Hamas'

A look 'Inside Hamas'
How a group from the slums of Gaza became the power that rocked the Palestinian territories.
Click here to read this article.

www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2007 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved

The Big Question: Why has social mobility declined, and what can be done to reverse the trend?

By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor
Published: 26 June 2007

Why are we talking about social mobility?  
New research confirms the image of Britain as a relatively rigid society. There is proportionately more chance that, if you're born poor in Britain, you'll stay poor. continue...

150,000 pupils targeted by homophobic bullies

By Tim Ross, PA Education Correspondent
Published: 26 June 2007

More than 150,000 pupils have been targeted by school bullies because they are gay, research suggested today.  continue...

Robert Fisk: After the Spaniards, who will be next to die in Lebanon?

Published: 26 June 2007

Which United Nations contingent in southern Lebanon will be next? It is a ghoulish, terrible question after the car bomb attack that killed six Spanish soldiers of the 13,000-strong international army on Sunday evening, but one which the officers of the UN Interim Force - Unifil - are asking at their intelligence meetings. For the UN army from 30 countries under the command of four Nato generals - the Spanish contributed 1,100 soldiers - is clearly going to be attacked again. The usual expressions of determination of Western leaders who are not going to "cut and run" - so reminiscent of the Iraq war - are not going to change that.  continue...

Spain offers jobs and visas to fight illegal migration

By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid and Claire Soares
Published: 26 June 2007

Spanish businessmen have taken a pioneering step towards stemming the waves of illegal African migrants, by travelling to Senegal to hire workers directly and offering them an alternative to a dangerous journey in a rickety boat. continue...

Is China good for Africa?

In a three-part series, The Christian Science Monitor examines how booming Chinese investment in Africa, and in Sudan in particular, is changing the face of the continent. With bilateral trade now in the billions, the stakes are high.

This series will cover issues such as: Chinese trade and investment in Africa; the business of oil; pressure for China to assist with the crisis in Darfur, and Chinese benevolence in Africa.

This three-part series begins today, Monday June 25. You may read each part in its entirety in print or online at www.csmonitor.com.

Read part one now.