In The News

Travel Industry Fears New Rules Could Deter Visits to U.S.

Rachel L. Swarns July 2, 2003
Since the terrorist attacks of Sep. 2001 slowed domestic and international tourism, the US travel industry has struggled to regain its footing. Now, the Travel Industry Association of America, a group made up of the country’s largest airlines and hotels, is warning the government that new anti-terrorism laws could deter many US-bound tourists and further harm the American economy. The rules will...

The Great Rainforest Tragedy

Michael McCarthy June 28, 2003
Brazil’s 1.6 million acres of rainforest is the most species-rich habitat on earth. But it has long been threatened by development, logging, and farming undertaken by a burgeoning population mired in poverty. Deforestation has jumped by 40% in the last year, shocking environmentalists and government officials, who have promised to take action against the problem. But the cause of deforestation...

Nike Versus Sweatshop Critic: Back to California

S.L. Bachman June 27, 2003
Nike, the world's largest shoe manufacturer, could become the world's leader in improving labor standards across the globe. If US courts decide that it must, that is. The US Supreme court decided on June 26 to allow a California state court to proceed with a trial in which US-based Nike is charged with lying to the public about labor conditions in its factories overseas. A California...

America Goes Backward

Stanley Hoffman June 27, 2003
After the war in Iraq, the US Bush administration is once again criticized by many. In this feature article in the New York Review of Books, Harvard scholar Stanley Hoffmann argues that not only has the administration's unilateralism resulted in anti-Americanism overseas, but also domestic concerns of justice issues, among others. Furthermore, seeing itself as the world's peacekeeper,...

The Selling of the Iraq War

John B Judis June 25, 2003
The first casualty of the Iraq War was intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, says this article in the New Republic. Another casualty, albeit facing a slower death, may prove to be America’s trust in the decisions of their leaders. According to this article, the Bush Administration misrepresented information about weapons programs, fabricated terrorist links, and suppressed internal...

The Homes of Argentines Are at Risk in I.M.F. Talks

Larry Rohter June 23, 2003
In an echo of the harsh economic policies prescribed by the IMF in Southeast Asia after the 1997 Asian Crisis the organization is asking the crisis-ridden Argentina to adopt severe belt-tightening measures. For homeowners across Argentina, the prescribed cure for financial crisis may prove more devastating than the economic disease. In a country still reeling from months of economic chaos, the...

Report by the E.P.A. Leaves Out Data on Climate Change

Andrew C. Revkin June 19, 2003
Global warming has long been a hot political topic. In the US, the interests of environmentalists and big industry converge around this nexus, pitting the two against each other for political support and public attention – or the lack thereof. In the final draft of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s report on the state of the environment, the section on global warming has been...