In The News

Does the “Hyper-Power” Have Feet of Clay?

David Dapice March 3, 2003
If you look past its formidable military machine, America is not as powerful as it seems. Tufts University economist David Dapice points out that the current view of the United States as a “hyper-power” fails to take into account the country's many economic vulnerabilities. A country that relies on over $1.3 billion in capital inflow each day to finance its import appetite may not be able...

Border Inspectors to Look for Radioactive Materials

Philip Shenon March 1, 2003
The new U.S. Department of Homeland Security will have what many see as an overwhelming task: to “prevent terrorist attacks in the United States,” according to the department’s mission. As one of its first major projects, the department will try to ensure that every traveler entering the U.S. will be screened for radioactive materials. Border inspectors with the Immigration and Naturalization...

An Antiwar Demonstration That Does Not Take to the Streets

John Tierney February 26, 2003
On February 15th, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in New York City and around the globe to protest the possible war on Iraq. Eleven days later, hundreds of thousands of Americans again protested the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy, this time by flooding the White House and Senate with phone calls, faxes, and e-mails. Given the daunting logistics involved in planning street...

U.S. Hackers Told to Leave Iraq Alone

February 14, 2003
The FBI is telling Americans not to hack into and sabotage Iraqi websites. There is a possibility that such patriotic hacking could backfire, doing more harm to U.S. computer systems than to Iraqi systems. Nationalistic ‘cyber wars’ launched by patriotic citizens of one country against websites of other countries are increasing, and the U.S. is now drawing up guidelines to deal with them. In...

Brazil Warns on Trade Negotiations with US

Raymond Colitt February 13, 2003
Brazilian officials criticized Washington's recent offer to eliminate all tariffs in the western hemisphere en route to a NAFTA-like free trade agreement. Brasilia is particularly put off by agricultural subsidies and other non-tariff measures that would protect US sensitive markets while allowing penetration of US goods into Latin American markets. Brazil's foreign minister...

Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers

Ginger Thompson February 13, 2003
In only five years Ecuadorean roses have become one of the most popular Valentine’s Day flowers on the international market. Born out of the anti-drug war in the US, which encouraged Central American farmers to convert to flowers rather than cocoa, Ecuador's flower industry now boasts 50,000 thousand jobs and salaries above minimum wage; the success has transformed a once impoverished...

Lula’s Message for Two Worlds

January 30, 2003
First he inspired hope at a crowded haven for anti-globalizers. Then he received an ecstatic greeting from a globalized assembly of free traders meeting at a playground for the rich. Brazil's new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, moved last week between Porto Alegre and Davos with amazing ease. He was elected last year on a populist platform that railed against neo-liberal economics...