In The News

YouTube Declines Senator Lieberman Request to Remove Terrorist-Produced Videos

Heather Havenstein May 23, 2008
If US Senator Joe Lieberman had his way, videos of a droning Osama bin Laden and fuzzy car bombs would be banned from the internet. YouTube – the popular site for short internet videos on all manner of topics, from pets to politics – rejected his request to remove videos sponsored by terrorist organizations that “promote violence against the West,” writes Heather Havenstein for Computerworld....

Crisis and Response – Part III

Wenran Jiang May 23, 2008
An earthquake, 7.9 in magnitude, struck China on May 12, in the midst of global protests about the country’s crackdown on Tibet, complaints about press censorship and grumbling about trade imbalances. This YaleGlobal series compares the domestic and international responses to the earthquake disaster in Sichuan Province and the May 2 cyclone that devastated Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta. The Burmese...

The Free-Trade Paradox

James Surowiecki May 22, 2008
Large blocks of voters, including unions and some professions, often choose a president based on a clear-cut stance on one issue like trade. The positions of unions and blue-collar workers “reflect a widespread belief that free trade with developing countries, and with China in particular, is a kind of scam perpetrated by the wealthy, who reap the benefits while ordinary Americans bear the cost...

Crisis and Response – Part II

Bertil Lintner May 21, 2008
When natural disasters strike citizens expect government – authoritarian or democratic – to provide fast, efficient relief using all means possible. This YaleGlobal series explores various responses to two crises, the fierce cyclone that struck the Irrawaddy Delta of Burma and the earthquake that hit the Sichuan province of China. Burmese generals have been slow to admit the need for assistance,...

German Rift Over Dalai Lama Visit

Hugh Williamson May 20, 2008
The Dalai Lama is visiting Germany, and German political parties quarrel over his welcome and the possibility of offending China. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier refused to schedule a meeting with the Nobel laureate – and Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, accused him of cowardice. “The differences reflect a deeper rift between Ms. Merkel and Mr....

For Talks to Succeed, China Must Admit to a Tibet Problem

Michael C. Davis May 16, 2008
China’s hard-line policy towards Tibet creates more problems than it solves. Beijing’s recent crackdown on Tibetan protesters has attracted condemnation from around the world, but did nothing to address the underlying problems in Tibet itself. If Beijing is serious about securing Tibet’s long-term future as part of China, it needs to put aside its past enmity towards the Dalai Lama – and...

Balance of Payments: What a Bash

Bruce Stokes May 16, 2008
Americans voters have soured on “free trade.” US politicians, however, have remained remarkably restrained in their criticism of one of their nation’s most high-profile trading partners – the People’s Republic of China. US presidential candidates have spared China the criticism that has otherwise been directed towards economic bogeymen like NAFTA, even as some segments of the US public, such as...