In The News

PBS Newshour: Backlash to Globalization Could Hurt the Middle Class

Vikram Mansharamani February 9, 2017
The demand for electric power and electric appliances continues to rise as global poverty declines. “To make alternative energies a truly viable source of power production, the world needs a robust, cost-effective means of storing energy…. and battery technology is among the more promising of the options,” explains Vikram Mansharamani for the PBS Newshour. He anticipates lithium to be in demand...

World Post: Entry Ban Punishes Citizens, Not Government

Jamsheed K. Choksy and Carol E. B. Choksy February 2, 2017
A blanket ban on traveling from seven countries is targeting many accomplished individuals who have already demonstrated deep appreciation for the United States by working with the US military or providing public service as research professors or physicians. In an essay for the World Post, Jamsheed K. Choksy and Carol E. B. Choksy agree that the government of Iran, for example, has supported...

Reuters: Private University in North Korea Seeks Texas A&M Academic Help

Jon Herskovitz February 1, 2017
Universities and their innovations thrive with collaboration. “The leaders of the only private university in North Korea asked Texas A&M University, known for its agricultural economics and public health programs, for help on Monday in teaching subjects such as how to grow food in a land of chronic shortages,” reports Jon Herskovitz for Reuters. The Pyongyang University of Science and...

Why Trump’s Policies May Increase Terrorism

Daniel Byman January 31, 2017
An executive order that restricts visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority from entering the United States and blocks refugees temporarily, Syrians indefinitely, threatens security on many levels. Allies in the Middle East will struggle to cooperate with the United States. The order signals a general mistrust for Muslims, holding them to higher standards than those for other citizens. Successful...

Confusion of the Trump Travel Ban: CNN

Evan Perez, Pamela Brown and Kevin Liptak January 30, 2017
The Trump administration, eager to demonstrate he will follow through on his most extreme campaign promises, issued an executive order abruptly banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and also blocking admission of refugees. Authorities in the seven countries and US agencies were caught off guard, with the order released before processes were put in place. “The result was widespread...

Mexico Can Thrive Without Trump

Ernesto Zedillo January 29, 2017
Donald Trump has put other nations on notice – the United States is reviewing relationships, expecting balanced trade and compliance on security matters. He promised that Mexico would pay for a border wall though such “demands have defied legal and economic rationality,” explains Ernesto Zedillo, Yale professor and former president of Mexico. Zedillo lists flawed assumptions including NAFTA was...

US House Republicans Defend Border Adjustment Tax

January 26, 2017
The US House of Representatives are considering a border tax, part of a plan to reform tax treatment of imports and exports – and prevent US firms from relocating headquarters overseas to evade taxes. The plan would replace revenues lost by another proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. The legislators disagree with the president over details. Donald Trump prefers slashing the...