In The News

The War on Terror in Southeast Asia Could Hurt Civil Liberties

Sidney Jones December 6, 2002
The war on terror in Southeast Asia has a quickened tempo in the wake of the discovery of a bombing plot in Singapore and the Bali bomb attacks killing nearly 200 people. These heightened anti-terrorist measures come just as countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are emerging from years of despotic rule. According to some observers, already there are worrisome signals that the new...

PM's gaffe leaves a hostile Asian audience

Tom Allard December 3, 2002
The American enunciation of a doctrine of preemption brought muted criticism , perhaps because American power is unchallenged. A similar claim to the right to launch preemptive attack on neighbors if they harbored terrorists planning to attack Australia brought howls of criticism from Asian neighbors. There is a danger that Australia’s tough talk may harm its relations with neighbors without...

Startling His Neighbors, Australian Leader Favors First Strikes

John Shaw December 2, 2002
Close on the heels of President George W.Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive attack to deter terrorist strike against the US, a close ally, Australia has adopted the same principle. In a television interview Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he would be willing to strike at terrorists in another country if there were evidence of a plan to attack Australia. . He said that it was necessary...

Spotlight Falls on a Heavily Globalised Industry

Daniel Dombey November 20, 2002
After the oil tanker, the Prestige, broke in half off the Spanish coast and began gushing forth its slick contents, thousands of fishing families and businesses who depend on the ocean and pristine beaches began asking who should be held liable. As this Financial Times article notes, "the Prestige, registered in the Bahamas, owned by a Liberian company, managed by a Greek company and...

Emptying the Oceans

Michael Richardson November 17, 2002
World fisheries are suffering. With huge fishing fleets subsidized by governments, ineffective or non-existent multi-lateral agreements to control overfishing, and rampant piracy, the world’s oceans are not merely overfished, they are being laid bare. Add new technology that allows fishers to trawl in waters previously unsafe, and supermarkets that offer big payouts for uncommon fish, and the...

Job Subsidies May Clash with EU Law

Carola Schlagheck November 15, 2002
EU antitrust regulation has placed strict restrictions on government subsidies to private businesses. The German government’s plan to create jobs by financing job placement agencies and temporary employment contracts may contradict EU policy, and infringement proceedings against the country are pending. For the one million Germans who benefit from publicly-subsidized employment, the results of...

Malaysian State to Whip 400 Illegal Immigrants

November 15, 2002
After a four-month amnesty has expired for all illegal immigrants in Malaysia, one southern state is beginning to crackdown on stragglers. Over 400 illegal immigrants will be whipped for their failure to depart. These punitive measures have been decried by Indonesia and the Philippines. Yet along with such cruel and unusual punishment, Malaysia also seems to be biting the hand that feeds it....