USC, UCLA professors work on Israeli-Palestinian archaeological pact
May 30, 2008 Los Angeles Times
With a team of three Palestinian and three Israeli archaeologists, professors from rivals USC and UCLA have brokered an agreement for the sharing of the region’s culturally invaluable artifacts, should peace emerge. In what reporter Ashraf Khalil calls an “increasingly rare example of a successful Israeli-Palestinian effort toward a common goal,” the group overcame the traditional dynamic of the conflict – Israelis in power and control, Palestinians demanding more rights. Though their hypothetical approach is contingent on an end of conflict in the region, this type of academic collaboration may be one avenue to such peace. Read more about how Israeli and Palestinian archaeologists are agreeing to share some of the region’s most emotionally charged artifacts.
Immigration foes will search for common ground at conference
May 30, 2008 New York Sun
On Monday, advocates of using law enforcement in New York City to detain illegal immigrants will meet with proponents of supporting the illegal population in an attempt to find some common ground between their respective viewpoints. The goal is to create a mutually acceptable solution and to avoid politicizing the issue – to “move the debate forward to practical solutions from polemics.” Find out more on New York City’s efforts to create meaningful dialogue on the immigration issue.
Racial shift in a progressive city spurs talks
May 29, 2008 The New York Times
William Yardley reports on Portland’s efforts to build a dialogue between its black and white residents as the city undergoes what some are calling “gentrification.” The city-sponsored endeavor aims to reveal the racial tension caused by shifting demographics and to find a solution acceptable for both white and black communities. Its founders indicate that this “might mean that whites appeal to the city to help black businesses or complain to companies that put fliers on the doors of black property owners encouraging them to sell” in exchange for community membership. Find out more about how Portland is using dialogue to assuage racial conflict.
African immigrants find unity missing at home on Dallas soccer field
May 29, 2008 The Dallas Observer
This Saturday, the DFW International Alliance’s African Unity Cup soccer tournament will conclude, after young African immigrants shared the field for a week’s worth of friendly competition. Sporting players from such countries as Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Sudan, the tournament uses soccer to melt the “divisions that carry over to local immigrant communities.” Read more on how teamwork on the soccer field is transforming enemies into friends.
China’s Hu says working to resolve Taiwan direct-travel issues
May 28, 2008 Forbes
Chinese President Hu Jintao has made it clear that the establishment of direct travel between China and Taiwan is a top priority of diplomatic talks set to resume between the two countries soon. Such economic contact may be a first step in warming icy foreign relations across the Taiwan Strait and in reconstructing the two countries’ adversarial identities. Take a further look at how travel between China and Taiwan is an important start to a less oppositional relationship.
Germany and Poland find that trying to get along has its benefits
May 28, 2008 The New York Times
A simple act – a friendly Sunday dinner between the two nations’ foreign ministers – reflects a conscious effort to ease cultural and historical friction between Poland and Germany in this article by Nicholas Kulish. The informal meeting represents a “new pragmatism” for both powers, the understanding that cooperation alone will preserve their regional influence and stability. Find out more about the two countries’ conciliatory gestures and mutual interests.
