In The News

Communist Party at Crossroads

Chua Chin Hon July 11, 2006
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained its grip on power in China for 85 years, and by many estimates, is still going strong. Abroad, China’s influence continues to grow, while at home, membership in the party and its local organizations has also increased. Observers point out, however, a myriad of domestic problems facing the CCP that could erode its power: environmental problems, ongoing...

A Promise Not Kept

Paul Blustein June 30, 2006
Few can deny that the wealthiest nations have an edge over poor countries when it comes to trade – and many economists argue that opening US and European markets to agricultural goods from small nations could substantially reduce poverty. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has repeatedly tried to address the inequities since 2001, with its Doha round of talks. Reducing farm tariffs and subsidies...

Push for New Tactics as War on Malaria Falters

Celia W. Dugger June 30, 2006
Malaria should be easy to control. Mosquito nets, insecticides and even medicine are inexpensive – and yet funds have tended to go toward consultants and research rather than treatment. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of children die from malaria, more than any other disease – a statistic that attracts yet more funds from major donors along with new scrutiny. In the US, Bush administration...

Coming to Terms With the Forces of Anti-Globalization

Nick Mathiason June 23, 2006
Increasing criticism of capitalism and multinationals, even by British Conservatives, neglects an emerging trend in global commerce. Cited in the May/June issue of “Foreign Affairs” by IBM chairman and chief executive Samuel Palmisano, the “globally integrated enterprise,” or GIE, is a new trend. The GIE no longer invests in outsourcing cheap labor to poor countries while reserving the...

Migrants, Bound for Spain, Set off a Boom

Meg Bortin June 21, 2006
Many West Africans pool funds to finance their own illegal immigration to the Spanish Canary Islands by boat. Fish was the lead export for Senegal in 2003, but the bountiful oceans of Western Africa have long been decimated by massive foreign fishing trawlers that took advantage of the coast’s once abundant fish supply. So the one-time fishermen of Senegal have found another way to generate...

Holocaust Memories Hover Over Refugees

Peter Hirschberg June 20, 2006
Sudanese refugees who have illegally crossed the border into Israel are either forced back into Egypt or arrested and detained. Some of those arrested are released by the courts and taken in by kibbutzim, while others remain in prison waiting to be charged. The refugees pose a moral dilemma to the citizens and government of Israel; the chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum, wrote in...

Diaspora – Selective Immigration Policies and the Brain Drain

Bathseba H. Belai June 19, 2006
In an age of rapid information and globalization, developing countries need an educated workforce more than ever. However, the wealthiest nations entice the most talented workers with high wages – creating a void of intellectual capital in the most impoverished countries. As the populations of wealthy nations age, many governments have increased incentives for specialists to immigrate, although...