In The News

Silicon Valley Dons a Brave Face, Despite Worries

S.L. Bachman April 28, 2004
During the 1990s, Silicon Valley reigned supreme as the heart of technological innovation and the birthplace of the information technology revolution. Today, says globalization scholar S.L. Bachman, the tech hub is scrambling to mobilize regional resources to compete in the international technology market it helped to create. Economically, the San Francisco Bay region is recovering from the...

SARS Threatens Reappearance in China

Helen Pearson April 23, 2004
The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that a nurse in Beijing has tested positive for the SARS coronavirus in initial tests. Five of the 171 people with whom she had contact prior to showing symptoms have developed fevers, a strong indicator of SARS infection. In order to prevent another international epidemic, researchers must now examine the present strains to determine its mode of...

Terrorist Chemical Threat 'Worse than Suspected'

Mark Huband April 11, 2004
Small groups of chemical weapons experts uncovered in Europe appear to have a wide network of links. Two separate groups, one arrested in a Paris suburb by French counter terrorism officials and the other uncovered by British intelligence, are both reported to have received chemical weapons training in Chechnya, Russia's breakaway republic. The group arrested in France is said to have links...

R & D: India's New Star Industry

Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar April 10, 2004
American multinational companies are setting up research and development (R & D) centers in India, participating in a new trend in the contemporary era of global capitalism - the outsourcing of production activities.. No longer content to only look overseas for low-wage service sector jobs like call centers, large US corporations are tapping into the technical expertise and specialized...

Still Not Too Late to Prevent a Doomsday

James Gustave Speth March 10, 2004
When it comes to the global environment, optimistic views are few and far between. In his new book, Red Sky at Morning, James Gustave Speth, Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, tackles the challenges posed by global environmental problems with rare optimism. In this essay adapted from his book, he acknowledges that there is much to be pessimistic about. Although some...

China Clamps Down on Web News Discussion

Mark Magnier February 26, 2004
China has cracked down on the internet once again. This time, the government has targeted news discussion groups, which often feature independent reporting not approved by the government. While it is common for Beijing to quiet dissenting voices before an upcoming National People's Congress (one is scheduled for next week), some see this latest crackdown as particularly heavy-handed. In one...

Nuke Quarantine

Amir Mir February 26, 2004
The United States government is placing pressure on Pakistan to allow an inspection of its nuclear arsenal, and to put into place, a joint Pakistan-US monitoring mechanism. The American pressure follows the recent disclosure of a Pakistan based global network that supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Pakistan, a vital ally in the US led war against global terrorism, needs...