In The News

Russia Must Not Slip into Autocracy

James Woolsey September 24, 2003
Russia is officially a democratic country, but recent political shifts have made it seem otherwise. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to crack down on corruption, but the latest prosecution efforts have been tainted with corruption themselves. Freedom of the press is largely nonexistent, and journalists who criticize human rights violations in Chechnya have been persecuted. And the...

E.U. Looks at Travel Policy for Gay Couples

September 23, 2003
Free movement of labor between EU countries is, in the words of one EU official, "key for Europe's competitiveness". Yet, each nation's policy towards same-sex relationships complicates this freedom of movement. As of now, a spouse can immigrate with ease, whereas a domestic partner – same sex or otherwise – has difficulty moving into some EU countries but not others. As...

Space Race

September 22, 2003
As America's Global Positioning System (GPS) has become more widely used for both military and civilian purposes, European Union (EU) countries have felt an urge to develop their own satellite system in order not to depend on the US. Recently, China, as well as several other countries, decided to be part of EU's development of the new system known as Galileo. With more competition in...

Our War With France

Thomas L. Friedman September 18, 2003
"France is not just our annoying ally," asserts Thomas Friedman in this opinion piece for The New York Times. "France is becoming our enemy." By advocating a hasty transfer of power to a symbolic Iraqi sovereignty, France seems bent on US failure in Iraq. If the French government truly wished to see the US succeed in Iraq, Friedman argues, it would use its influence in the...

Western Farmers Fear Third-World Challenge to Subsidies

Elizabeth Becker September 9, 2003
‘French fries’ might have been replaced by ‘freedom fries’, and American tourists may have disappeared from the Eiffel Tower, but France and the US can still find some common ground at the upcoming WTO talks in Cancun. Farmers from both nations count on farm subsidies to supplement their incomes and drive down their costs. $300 billion are given by the world’s richest states to their farmers....

Crumbling Stability

Anke Bryson September 5, 2003
In 2003 Germany will violate the Maastricht "Stability and Growth Pact" for the third consecutive year, but this time the government isn't even sending an apology. Originally championed by Germany itself to check fiscal irresponsibility of smaller members, the pact stipulates that budget deficits may not exceed 3% per year in any of the Euro-Area countries. Now, however, the...

Travel Advisory: British Abroad, Staggering About

Sarah Lyall September 4, 2003
Britons are taking advantage of cheap flights to Europe as a result of reduced air travel in the aftermath of September 11. They are not, however, visiting historic and picturesque cities like Prague to soak up the culture, but rather to imbibe the cities' cheap alcohol. Quickly becoming known around Europe as unruly and quarrelsome, British tourists are also known for spending a lot of...