In The News

The World's Most Utterly Failed State

October 10, 2008
Piracy is one of the oldest legacies of globalization; as goods are traded among increasingly connected peoples, others carve their place in the global economy by disrupting trade and stealing what they can on the high seas. Since the end of its "Golden Age" in the 1800s, piracy has taken on a largely nostalgic role in pop culture and travel attractions in the West, but remains a...

China’s Image Sullied by Tainted Milk

Mary Kay Magistad October 1, 2008
The latest scandal involving tainted milk adds to the perception that the label “Made in China” covers layers of warnings: a potentially resentful work force, suffering low pay and abuse; managers who place profits over safety, striving for quantity over quality in production; minimal quality-inspection procedures and enforcement; and government authorities conditioned to hide rather than expose...

Chinese Ordered Cover-Up of Tainted Milk Scandal

Richard Spencer September 25, 2008
China’s government had good reason to be ashamed after more than 50,000 infants fell sick after drinking milk tainted with melamine, a fertilizer ingredient. But the Chinese government’s ordering a cover-up, as reported by the Telegraph, only compounded the crime. Reports of infants falling ill with kidney stones and urinary tract difficulties have emerged since early 2008, but neither the...

Saving Face, Not Lives

Anne-Marie Brady September 23, 2008
More than 50,000 children have fallen ill, after drinking milk contaminated with melamine, a fertilizer ingredient. Chinese and dairy officials – including China’s San Lu, with a 43 percent share owned by New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra – colluded to suppress negative press before or during the Olympics, reports author Anne-Marie Brady for the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand. Chinese families...

Immigrants Facing Deportation by US Hospitals

Deborah Sontag August 11, 2008
It’s no secret that there are serious problems with both the US health-care system and US immigration policy. Less obvious, though, are the ways in which those problems can overlap. The US government requires hospitals to care for all in need of lifesaving medical treatment – including foreign immigrants, but does not cover all costs for that care. Some hospitals, eager to rid themselves of the...

Zimbabwe and the AU: Getting Away With Murder

July 5, 2008
Robert Mugabe lost an election to Morgan Tsvangirai in March. But instead of gracefully transferring power, he intimidated Tsvangirai’s supporters with threats and violence, A June 27 run-off election offered a ballot that carried only Mugabe’s name. While some leaders in Africa have demanded Mugabe’s ouster, most have remained timid, as Zimbabwe's dictator attended and addressed an African...

Tiny Voices Defy Child Marriage in Yemen

Robert F. Worth July 2, 2008
Poverty, combined with families producing more children than they can afford, can end childhood for girls as young as eight years of age. “Pulled out of school and forced to have children before their bodies are ready, many rural Yemeni women end up illiterate and with serious health problems,” writes Robert F. Worth for the New York Times. “Their babies are often stunted, too.” Some Islamic...