Free Republic

PARIS - UNESCO's member nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a pact on protecting cultural diversity after a bitter debate left the United States isolated in opposition to what it sees as a threat to sales of American movies and music. The convention — championed by the European Union and Canada — aims to promote ethnic traditions and minority languages and to protect those local cultures from the negative effects of globalization, UNESCO said. The United States argued the convention could be used to erect trade barriers against cultural exports such as films and pop music as well as indirectly...