In The News

US to Rejoin Coffee Pact

September 15, 2004
Poverty-stricken coffee farmers in developing countries are struggling with their inability to compete with in the global marketplace. The London-based International Coffee Organization (ICO), an intergovernmental cooperative, has worked to improve conditions for those involved in the coffee trade. The United States, protesting ICO's price controls, pulled out of the collective in the...

A Dissenter on Outsourcing States His Case

Steve Lohr September 7, 2004
The issue of outsourcing has polarized the intellectual community, and the most recent rebuttal comes from Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson. In a soon-to-be published journal article, the distinguished economist challenges the prevailing theory that the US economy will, in the long-term, benefit from all types of trade – outsourcing included. Though the US has not felt widespread negative effects...

US Report, in Shift, Turns Focus to Greenhouse Gases

Andrew C. Revkin August 26, 2004
After rejecting the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in 2001 and questioning the scientific validity of reports issued by a UN climate panel, the Bush administration issued a report indicating that emissions of heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming. The White House report to Congress is said to reflect "the best possible scientific information" on...

Bill Punishes Cuba Travelers

Lesley Clark August 25, 2004
Competition continues in the effort to attract the coveted Cuban-American vote in November's US presidential election. Republican Congressman David Rivera has proposed a ''Travel and Commerce with Terrorist Nations Act,” which would cut off government aid to Florida residents traveling to Cuba. Rivera explained that his proposal is a result of the concerns of his Florida...

Soccer “Match for Peace”

Michael A.W. Ottey August 19, 2004
Only a few months ago, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a bloody revolt and peacekeepers sanctioned by the United Nations descended upon the country to restore order. Among the international forces was a large contingent of Brazilian troops. A different group of Brazilians, however, stole Haiti’s national limelight recently when the Brazilian soccer team squared off...

Bitterness Felt as Chávez Recall Fails

Gail Epstein Nieves August 17, 2004
Venezuelans living in southern Florida voted an overwhelming 12,710 to 246 for the recall of Hugo Chávez. However, much to their frustration, the fiery leftwing politician won 58 percent of the vote domestically. Now analysts say that Chavez, who already controls the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, may use his democratic mandate to deepen his so-called “Bolivarian...

Why Does Hollywood Dominate US Cinemas?

Christina Klein August 17, 2004
As the foreign film market in the US continues to shrink, American distributors play increasingly larger roles as cultural gate-keepers. However, says Christina Klein, professor of literature and comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the newest generation in commercial Asian cinema eludes simple classification. Challenging older notions of foreign films as...