海角大神

Skip to footer
2018
March
23
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

March 23, 2018
Loading the player...
  • Follow us:
Clayton Collins
Director of Editorial Innovation

Technology keeps on delivering. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos showed up at a robotics conference on Monday .

But tech appeared to be in a dark kind of retrograde for much of this week.聽聽

An autonomous car was involved in a . The cybercurrency bitcoin was found to have illegal content of the blockchain 鈥� the decentralized database 鈥� that distributes it. Facebook had its .

What鈥檚 to keep us from living in a real-life 鈥淲estworld,鈥� a place of power without responsibility? Lawmakers on Wednesday , now headed to the president, that would weaken a legal shield that has kept online platforms from being sued for something a user posted.

of the Communications Decency Act dates to 1996. It鈥檚 the legal backbone of the modern internet. Without it, none of your favorite social media sites could exist. Exposure to the risk of devastating legal backlash would simply be too great.

It also has made it easier for child-sex traffickers, who have flourished online, to operate. But many critics see a Pandora鈥檚 box amid the good intention of congressional tinkering. Some cite censorship 鈥� or say it will only drive traffickers deeper underground.

This week, we鈥檝e again been shown a window on the complications of slipping a leash on an industry that鈥檚 on the dead run.

Now to our five stories for your Friday, looking beneath the headlines to highlight resolution, reinvention, and a proud episode of cultural reclamation.聽

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

In Trump emoluments case, ethics and constitutional intent

( 12 min. read )

Let鈥檚 stay on law for a bit longer. While White House staffing shakeups and decade-old sex-scandal allegations are lighting up TV screens, an important story is getting less attention: the work of ensuring that President Trump, a businessman turned politician, has kept those realms appropriately separate.

By Warren Richey , reporting from Washington
Back to top
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters
Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army fighters were deployed in Afrin, Syria, March 18.

As Turkey battles in Syria, a more religious nationalism emerges

( 6 min. read )

This next piece is about a strategic rebranding. Introducing religion into politics can squelch dissent and weaken democracy. The religious nationalism at play in Turkey not only helps President Erdo臒an鈥檚 war effort in Syria, it also helps solidify his hold on power.

By Scott Peterson , reporting from ISTANBUL and LONDON
Back to top

Marching with intent: How civics classes create teen leaders

( 9 min. read )

A new strain of teen activism appeared to emerge overnight after the Parkland, Fla., shooting. In fact, it had a running start. This story looks at the groundwork done by educators to nurture an informed and articulate generation.

By Story Hinckley , reporting from Boston
SOURCE:

State graduation requirements; Additional input for Tier 1 states from reports by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and discussion with its director, Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

|
Story Hinckley, research; Karen Norris, graphic/Staff
Back to top

After Maria, spring break in Puerto Rico means 'rebuild,' not 'relax'

( 7 min. read )

That same self-awareness and global outlook have also been reshaping the time-honored 鈥渟ervice trip.鈥� It has become much more about selflessness than selfies. Six months after hurricane Maria, that shift is being welcomed in Puerto Rico.

By Whitney Eulich , reporting from Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve and Barranquitas, Puerto Rico

Rebuilding on Break

Back to top
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Willa Boezak, a Khoi San scholar and activist, speaks in his home about the Afrikaans language, on March 6, in Cape Town, South Africa. The black ANC government is passing legislation to stop the use of Afrikaans in the schools. Mr. Boezak points out that Afrikaans was initially an indigenous language, not a white language. It is the first language of most white and multiracial people in Southern Africa.

In South Africa, reclaiming an Afrikaans as diverse as its speakers

( 7 min. read )

Language is about so much more than words. In South Africa, Afrikaans has long been associated with the apartheid-era government and with persistent inequality. But for millions of nonwhite South Africans, it鈥檚 also the language of home and proud identity.

By Ryan Lenora Brown , reporting from Cape Town, South Africa
Back to top

The Monitor's View

Europe backs Britain 鈥� and itself

The Kremlin鈥檚 drive to split apart Western democracies has run into turbulence. The European Union said Friday that it not only backs Britain鈥檚 claim of Russia being behind the poisoning of a former spy, but also that most EU states plan to take action against Russia. This club of democracies is standing in solidarity against the attempted murder of civilians on EU soil with a military-grade nerve agent. Europe, in other words, will not allow itself to become like Syria鈥檚 chemical battleground. The bloc鈥檚 鈥渦nqualified鈥� support is especially noteworthy because of its ongoing differences with Britain over the terms of that country鈥檚 exit from the Union. It is also surprising given that a few EU members tend to side with Russia on many issues. As more countries like Russia favor authoritarian rule, Europe may be waking up to the need to better embrace a rules-based international order and the democratic values that undergird it.

Back to top

A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥� in its various forms 鈥� is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥� The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥� whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Loving all, healing hatred

( 3 min. read )

Today鈥檚 column explores how letting tender seeds of spiritual perception take root and flourish in our hearts can help destroy hatred and support peace in the world.

By Laura Clayton
Back to top

A message of love

Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters
A military helicopter flew over the French village of Tr猫bes March 23 after a hostage situation there ended. The French government said that a 26-year-old attacker 鈥� known to police for petty crime 鈥� was shot and killed by police after killing three people, one during a car hijacking and two inside a supermarket. Agence France-Presse reported that the attacker had claimed allegiance to ISIS.
Back to top
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks for being here with us. Come back Monday. We鈥檒l be looking at Europe鈥檚 experience with the mental health aspect of the gun-violence crisis 鈥� and at what lessons it can offer.聽聽

Also: Get social with us this weekend. We鈥檒l have five young staffers managing and posting to our social media accounts from the March for Our Lives events in Washington and Boston. Watch Twitter and Instagram early Saturday (@csmonitor for both), and later Saturday and through the weekend.聽

Back to top

More issues

2018
March
23
Friday

Give us your feedback

We want to hear, did we miss an angle we should have covered? Should we come back to this topic? Or just give us a rating for this story. We want to hear from you.