In The News

Partner Immigration Bill Arrives in Senate

Ahmar Mustikhan August 4, 2003
A new bill introduced in the US Congress would allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex domestic partners for immigration purposes. The bill aims to bring the rights of same-sex couples in line with those of opposite-sex couples in permitting the couple to reside together permanently in the US. "Our immigration laws treat gays and lesbians in committed...

US Courts' Role in Foreign Feuds Comes Under Fire

Adam Liptak August 3, 2003
Courts in the United States are increasingly being used to adjudicate disputes occurring beyond US orders, explains the New York Times. Some cases involve human rights concerns and also financial compensation: A Scottish woman sued in New York to stop construction of a proposed holocaust memorial in Poland, relatives of Venezuelans killed in Caracas sues the Venezuelan president in a Miami court...

The Pentagon's Eastern Obsession

Lawrence J. Korb July 30, 2003
Proponents of the US military’s proposed move from bases in Western Europe to Eastern Europe claim that the advantages would include reduced costs and proximity to hotspots like Central Asia and Middle East. However, according to former assistant defense secretary Lawrence Korb, such claims are unfounded. The current bases in Western Europe aren't as expensive to maintain as the numbers may...

Pentagon Prepares a Futures Market on Terror Attacks

Carl Hulse July 29, 2003
A bizarre new strategy in the war on terrorism is emerging from the headquarters of the US military. The Pentagon is creating an online futures market to predict the likelihood of terrorist attacks and assassinations. With the explicit aim of predicting the effects of US involvement in the Middle East, the program's website will begin registering traders on Aug. 1, and trading will begin...

The Great Catfish War

July 22, 2003
Double standards abound when it comes to the 'catfish war' the US is waging against Vietnam. Eager to engage an old enemy, Washington promoted the decidedly un-Marxist idea of free trade in Vietnam's Mekong Delta and helped transform it into a prime exporter of catfish. But as soon as Vietnam started profiting and Mississippi catfish farmers started losing in the competition, the...

IBM Explores Shift of White-Collar Jobs Overseas

Steven Greenhouse July 22, 2003
The conventional wisdom on globalization in the US has held that unskilled jobs will gradually shift overseas, leaving American workers free to perform higher-paid, white-collar jobs. But now that IBM is considering moving millions of white-collar jobs to countries like India and China, politicians and technology workers are crying foul. Corporations like IBM argue that moving service jobs...

Take Mexico Instead

Abdel-Moneim Said July 21, 2003
If colonial ambitions are really the reason America invaded Iraq, why did it choose such a far-flung and relatively resource poor country, asks Egyptian political scholar Abdel-Moneim Said. Why not invade Mexico or Canada? They're closer, wealthier, and just as poor a military match for the superpower. According to Said, America would have every reason to invade these countries if it only...