In The News

Think Again: International Courts

Helena Cobban May 8, 2006
Human-rights activists envision international courts as a source for justice and peace. Author Helena Cobban, however, questions the worth of international courts, especially when cases are prolonged as in the case of Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Serbia. In Rwanda, the court has spent more than $1 billion prosecuting about 25 cases from the 1994 genocide. Cobban says the court...

Not Out of the Woods Just Yet

Don Melnick May 5, 2006
Forests are an essential part of the earth’s delicate ecosystem. But corporations and governments promote rapid cutting for profits, and more than a billion acres of forestland have been lost since 1970. Forests not only provide fuel and building products, but also protect water supplies and mitigate the effects of global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide. Biology Professor Don Melnick and...

An Ugly Side of Free Trade: Sweatshops in Jordan

Steven Greenhouse May 4, 2006
The story of abusive sweatshops is familiar, but still haunting. Reports suggest that as quickly as retailers and critics improve conditions in one location, new factories and abuses emerge in other nations. Jordan is the center of attention for impoverished people desperate for work and new criticism. A report from the National Labor Committee, based in the US, points out that workers are...

IMF Expands Role in Seeking to Reduce Trade Imbalances

Paul Blustein April 25, 2006
The International Monetary Fund has focused attention a new concern – massive global imbalances. Of particular concern are the burgeoning US budget deficit; China’s currency, which some claim is undervalued; and increasing investment in the energy-related infrastructure of oil-producing countries. The IMF was created 60 years ago to deflect international crisis. But some economists suggest that...

On Tape, Bin Laden Warns of Long War

Craig Whitlock April 24, 2006
Osama bin Laden insists that the US War on Terrorism is really a War on Islam and warns his followers by audiotape to prepare for long conflict. The tape contradicts his previous message from January that called for a long-term truce with the US for withdrawal from Iraq. In the April tape, bin Laden urges followers to head to Sudan and fight with peacekeepers, suggesting that the West wants to...

Chinese Turn to Civic Power as a New Tool

Howard W. French April 19, 2006
It’s human nature to complain. As China encounters more social problems – land seizures, accidental AIDS transmissions, pollution and corruption – citizens expect some legal recourse. Disgruntled citizens turn to the media, community groups and even public protests to point out social problems. Nongovernmental organizations – more than 280,000 registered in all – have taken a lead in giving...

Mothers Want Hope for Their Children

Sonia Nazario April 19, 2006
The tide of illegal immigrants to American shores has become unmanageable, with numbers far outstripping those at any other time in US history. Immigrants take jobs that are unpopular with native US workers, often at reduced wages, thus allowing US firms to compete globally. The immigrant workforce reduces US food and clothing costs and makes child-care readily available for US families,...