In The News

South China Morning Post: Concern Over Chinese Leaders of Global Bodies

Sarah Zheng October 9, 2018
Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization of 192 member countries that cooperate on solving and fighting crimes, and so the sudden disappearance of Interpol’s president activated immediate global attention. The detention of Meng Hongwei during a trip to China, followed by a bribery accusation with little explanation and his resignation, has shaken confidence in Chinese...

New York Times: Trump and Suspect Tax Schemes

David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner October 3, 2018
At first glance, an investigative New York Times report on Donald Trump’s participation in a long list of questionable tax schemes before he was president seems to have little to do with globalization and the world at large. Not so long ago, the United States was regarded, not simply as a superpower but as a moral leader and model for democratic governance including fair taxation. Today the...

BBC: Fentanyl Crisis and Source of Illegal Drugs

September 24, 2018
The escalating trade quarrel between China and the United States prompts other worries and accusations. “The US believes factory-produced opioids - powerful painkillers increasingly abused by US citizens - are being made in China and sold from there too,” reports BBC News. ”One of the main ones is fentanyl - 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine - which is only approved in the US for severe pain...

HuffPost: Manafort Is Tiny Part of DC Lobbying Corruption

Paul Blumenthal August 22, 2018
Foreign governments make their preferences known about leaders of other nations, with some attempting to influence policies and even elections. Paul Manafort, the former chairman of the Trump campaign, has been found guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. The jury could not reach a decision on 10 other counts....

Stratfor: War on Drugs – A Conflict as Old as Humanity

Ian Morris August 17, 2018
Drug addiction as a security issue threatens workplaces, communities and individual health. Archeologists have found evidence of societies throughout history embracing and battling certain drugs, explains Ian Morris. Ancient Peruvians used cacti for mescaline and Ice Age cave painters may have used hallucinogens. “When Greek traders started showing up in the West Mediterranean, only one thing...

Spiegel: Syria's Uncertain Future

Christoph Reuter, Fritz Schaap and Christian Werner August 16, 2018
Syria’s civil war is winding down with Bashar al-Assad still in power. The country is devastated with more than 400,000 people dead and more than 11 million displaced. One estimate of the war’s damages is $250 billion, and the economic losses could be much higher. Assad, a dictator, and his supporters, a minority, regard the rebels who initially tried peaceful protests as terrorists, and the fate...

AP: Children Killed as Airstrikes Hit Bus in Yemen

Ahmed al-Haj August 10, 2018
Rebels in Yemen claim that a Saudi-led airstrike hit a market and schoolbus carrying children on a field trip. More than 50 people were killed and 75 were wounded. Associated Press reports: “U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the coalition air strike and called on all parties to spare civilians and ‘to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular...