Reports of Japanese workers changing the ground rules that govern how they relate to their employers could well serve as harbingers for companies that span the globe. With virtually ubiquitous internet access, workers in other countries – and especially in places where the culture places the company over the individual – could see what is happening in Japan and begin to test their own independence through whistle blowing, litigation, or both. If this phenomenon does expand, ... Read More

China’s nudge to Sudan on seeking peace in Darfur is remarkable from several political and diplomatic perspectives. Its public airing, however, is a major communications initiative for China, which seems to be leveraging the power of the global media more and more ahead of the Summer Olympics. Operating for decades under a strict non-intervention philosophy, China has recently spoken out on several international issues that it previously only addressed in diplomatic forums such as the UN. ... Read More

Warnings about a possible connection between heavy cell phone use and malignant brain tumors are nothing new. They have re-surfaced so many times over the years that they have achieved urban legend status. With Senator Ted Kennedy’s recent brain cancer diagnosis, those scare stories are attracting fresh attention. There is no credible scientific evidence linking cell phone use to anything worse than rude behavior in restaurants. But that shouldn’t give anyone in the cell phone business ... Read More

For the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of legal rights for the Guantanamo detainees, this time specifying absolutely that they have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts. We can only hope that this time the Bush administration honors the rule of law and allows the prisoners, some of whom have been held for more than six years without a hearing or a trial, access ... Read More

Last month, Atlantic Richfield Company agreed to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency some of the funds spent on cleanup of the old Anaconda Copper Mine Site near Reno, Nevada. As part of that deal, ARCO also agreed to fund a technical assistance program that will allow local stakeholder groups to hire an expert who will help citizens understand the technicalities of this Superfund cleanup. This trend in “stakeholder involvement” – as it has come to ... Read More

The Federal Trade Commission’s decision to issue subpoenas in its antitrust investigation of Intel for anticompetitive conduct is, in part, the successful result of an intensive strategic communications campaign launched years ago by Intel’s chief U.S. rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). According to media reports, the FTC investigation will probe accusations that Intel’s pricing policies have been designed to maintain a near-monopoly on the microprocessor market. For years, AMD has waged a global legal and public ... Read More