In The News

Dangers to the Constitution

Elise Kissling May 28, 2004
This week's agreement on an expanded immigration law in Germany allows wider and freer entry for foreign nationals, but the political debates leading up to it have raised questions and concerns on many levels. Elise Kissling, in Germany's F.A.Z. Weekly, writes that an earlier legal proposal, strongly backed by German Interior Minister Otto Schily in the name of security from terrorism,...

Looking After Number One

Abbas Ali May 28, 2004
The American occupation in Iraq has the Iranian government torn in two different directions: their obvious interest in guiding the shape of the neighboring government is at odds with not wanting to cooperate with the United States. Iran’s ties to Iraq are ancient and critical. Holy sites and burial grounds that are among the most sacred to Iranian Muslims are located in Iraq, and studies of the...

Kerry Vows to Rebuild Alliances, Confront Terrorism

Jim VandeHei May 28, 2004
The United States political climate is heating up as the November presidential election nears. Presumptive democratic candidate for president John F. Kerry viscerally attacked current president George W. Bush about matters of foreign policy yesterday, saying actions taken over the course of Bush's term had undermined a legacy of cooperative US leadership that had stood for decades. Kerry’s...

Green Cuisine

Maricel E. Presilla May 27, 2004
The global ties that bind are found in avenues both obvious and unexpected. In this Miami Herald article, chef Maricel Presilla writes of the universality of unripened tropical fruits. From the American South to Latin America to India and Southeast Asia, “each person born in the tropics has a story to tell about green fruits,” says a Columbian horticulturist. Hard peas, mangoes, and papayas have...

Paving the Way for a Sustainable Taiwan

Chen Shui-Bian May 20, 2004
Newly-reelected Taiwanese President Chen Shui-Bian delivered an inaugural address this week titled, "Paving the Way for a Sustainable Taiwan." In the speech, Chen assessed the progress of Taiwan's democratization. He said, "Democratic advancement occurs only through constant and gradual endeavor, one step at a time." Chen described Taiwan's new electoral processes,...

Burma: Feel-Good US Sanctions Wrongheaded

David I. Steinberg May 19, 2004
President Bush's recent decision to extend sanctions against Burma for another year is emotionally satisfying but ineffective as a means of promoting democracy in the military-ruled state, argues David I. Steinberg, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Although US allies like India or Southeast Asian nations share its concern about the junta...

Globalisation in African continent

Syed Jamaluddin May 18, 2004
A host of factors, including the continent-wide financial, industrial, and political difficulties since the end of the colonial age have reduced economic performance in Africa to often pitiable levels. Despite starting “from behind” and the current obstacles to economic growth, this editorial highlights progress Africa has made, and the future development that can be speeded up by proper...