In The News

Cracks in the Social Net

Alexander Osang October 13, 2005
“We left that city like the colonial powers left Africa,” lamented the ex-head of personnel at what was one of the largest textile mills in North Carolina. In 2003, the Pillowtex plant, based in the city of Kannapolis, closed and laid off its five thousand workers overnight. In a region where unionization was militantly discouraged, the mill provided an entire framework of life for the community...

Top Advisory Panel Warns of an Erosion of the U.S. Competitive Edge in Science

William J. Broad October 13, 2005
Is the US losing the ability to compete globally in the areas of science and technology? Experts convened on October 12 under the auspices of the National Academies, the nation’s premier science advisory body, to answer this pressing question. Sponsored by a bipartisan group in Congress, the panel announced that without a substantial effort to address the issue, the US “could soon loose its...

Brazil Regrets its China Affair

Matt Moffett October 12, 2005
Two years ago, to much fanfare, China and Brazil entered into a bilateral trade partnership, hoping to propel both populous, ambitious nations to the top of the development heap. With increased exports to China, Brazil made modest economic advances since entering the trade agreement. But in the same period, the world's textile quotas expired, leaving many world economies vulnerable to China...

Chávez Moves Reserves Out of US Treasuries

Andy Webb-Vidal October 7, 2005
President Hugo Chávez has liquidated about half of Venezuela's US$30.4 billion holdings of US Treasuries, confirmed a director at the country's central bank. The bank director attributed the transfer to financial reasons: Venezuela's foreign reserves have benefited from high oil prices, and Chávez might have wanted to shift some of the winnings from securities to social programs....

Borders of Tolerance

Christopher Caldwell October 3, 2005
At a time when Mexican immigration has penetrated every corner of the United States – and, many Americans feel, stolen millions of jobs from native citizens – the US public demands an ever-tougher stand against immigrants. Yet, paradoxically, Americans are also growing increasingly accustomed to living with Mexican immigrants – immigrants who are "Christian, familial, hard working farm...

India Outsources a Bollywood Film

Matthew Hays September 27, 2005
The globalizing potential of India's massive Bollywood film industry has been long documented and celebrated. Millions around the world pack movie halls from West Africa to the West Indies to watch Indian actors dance atop the moors of Scotland or by the lakes of Tajikistan. National cinemas have in many instances given way to projects conceived, financed, and developed through multi-...

Is Brand America in Trouble?

Paul Maidment September 26, 2005
While US brands like Marlboro and Disney remain popular all over the world, the popularity of America itself is diminishing, stoked by grievances that far surpass the war in Iraq. Echoing pop star Bono's impression of "a brick through the storefront of Brand America," reporter Paul Maidment argues that there is a new, more active tone of counter-Americanism, and that it is "...