In The News

The War on Drugs Is a Failure

Fernando Henrique Cardoso February 23, 2009
In 1971, US President Richard Nixon declared that fighting drug abuse would be a major priority. More than 30 years later, three former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico label the policies that attack the supply side a failure. “Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked,” write Brazil’s Fernando Henrique...

A Source of Energy Hiding in Plain Sight

Marilyn A. Brown February 18, 2009
Countless dollars in energy from limited fossil fuels are wasted – a result of aging and inefficient factories, homes not being insulated and vehicles manufactured without any regard for conservation. The cost of oil is down now because global demand is down, but energy-importing nations could continue to control prices by conserving more energy, argue professors Marilyn Brown and Benjamin...

Freed Guantánamo Prisoners Taunt US as Closure Plan Falls Apart

Tim Reid February 10, 2009
In his first week in office, US President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay. But other countries are not stepping forward to accept the prisoners, as reports emerge about former Guantánamo inmates charged with plotting new crimes. The US has ordered an evaluation of the inmates and continues to urge allies to accept some prisoners. Even US...

Obama Risks Flap on “Buy American”

Neil King Jr. February 9, 2009
Anyone who has read recent reports on the global economic crisis should understand that protectionism is dangerous and that protectionist legislation prolonged the Great Depression during the 1930s. Despite modern agreements that regulate open trade, some US workers and politicians can’t help but be tempted to direct public spending to domestic firms and workers. In preparing a multibillion...

Obama and the World: Time to Deliver

Bruce Stokes January 28, 2009
President Barack Obama must act quickly on a range of foreign-policy issues to demonstrate that the United States is prepared for meaningful change in its approach to resolve problems that have defied solution. Bruce Stokes, international-affairs columnist, cautions that Obama has a small window of opportunity to sort through many contradictions, demonstrating fairness and leadership while the...

Western US Forests Suffer Death by Degrees

Elizabeth Pennisi January 27, 2009
It's suspected that some redwoods, yellow cedars and hemlocks of the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest can live 1000 years and well beyond. But a new study from the US Geological Survey, reported on in Science, suggests that the lifespan for such confers is on the decline. “Warmer temperatures and subsequent water shortfalls” are pinpointed as the likely cause of the trees...

Democrats Push Obama for Smaller Tax Cut in Stimulus Package

Peter Nicholas January 10, 2009
President Barack Obama faces pressure from his own party to adjust a government economic stimulus plan of $775 billion, reducing tax cuts and spending more on road, bridge and infrastructure construction. The US politicians anticipate that some combination of spending and tax cuts could increase US confidence and improve the overall economy. But tax cuts and spending will also add to the US debt...