In The News

Brazil's Prized Exports Rely on Slaves and Scorched Land

Larry Rohter March 25, 2002
Slavery lurks in remote parts of the Brazilian Amazon as laborers are duped into working contracts that exploit them mercilessly. The prime exports of this resource-rich region – exotic woods and beef – have raised many controversies at both national and international levels. Human rights violations and environmental degradation – both difficult to monitor – often go unpunished or are even...

More Aid, More Need: Pledges Still Falling Short

Tim Weiner March 24, 2002
The US is not living up to its aid responsibilities despite growing concerns about global poverty after September 11, says this article in The New York Times. Though President Bush has drawn an explicit link between poverty and terrorism, and is substantially increasing aid to poor countries as a result, US aid remains restricted to specific counties and is still far less than aid from its...

India Asked to Join Central Asian Grouping

Atunl Aneja February 13, 2002
Kazakhstan wants India to join the security group Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which was originally founded to protect against terrorism flowing out of Afghanistan. Reasons for Kazakhstan’s support of India include geographical proximity and future predictions that India will be one of the largest consumers of engery in the world. Kazakhstan has large deposits of oil and natural gas....

Korean Actors Oppose End to Quota on US Films

January 29, 2002
For the last several decades, mainstream American films made in Hollywood have found a lucrative market around the world, controlling over 80 percent of the entire world market. In Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, watching Hollywood films is a unique opportunity for many to vicariously experience 'America.' For American filmmakers, the overseas market for Hollywood films is a...

Globalization Lessons from History

Harold James January 29, 2002
History professor Harold James argues that the political challenges globalization presents today are similar to the challenges at the turn of the twentieth century. These problems drive a wedge between the normal left/right division. As James notes, “a triple division, between anti-globalisation conservatives, pro-globalisation liberals and redistributionist leftists” occurs. With the...

That Dog Won’t Bark

William Safire January 24, 2002
China remains silent after it discovers 27 spying devices in a plane sold to them by the United States; Russia welcomes NATO to its borders; the Arab street does not publicly criticize the invasion of fellow religious extremists in Afghanistan. Why is it that whenever the United States resolves to “go it alone” anticipated opposition seems to melt away? Safire asserts that part of the reason is...

In Kashmir Sequel, Seeking a New Ending

Celia W. Dugger January 2, 2002
According to New York Times writer Celia W. Dugger, ''confrontations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the beautiful Himalayan land, have unfolded like movie sequels with the same discouraging plot line. But recently, the sheer force of events seems to have fast-forwarded the story line between these old enemies and suddenly a different, more hopeful ending seems possible, if...