In The News

A Scheme to Encrypt the Entire Web Is Actually Working

Andy Greenberg April 21, 2016
The nonprofit Internet Security Research Group hopes to encrypt all internet websites with a program called Let’s Encrypt. The goal, according to the group’s founder, is 100 percent encryption for the internet, moving from http to https, reports Andy Greenberg for Wired. The program reduces surveillance, yet may also shield malicious sites. The short code is automated, easy to use and free, and...

Treating ISIS as Cancer

Bennett Ramberg April 21, 2016
US President Barack Obama and other members of his administration have long labeled the Islamic State as a “cancer” that must be eliminated. Destroying ideological fervor is not easy, and extending the president’s analogy can offer a useful way for determining strategies for defeating the Islamic State extremists once and for all, explains Bennett Ramberg, who served in the Bureau of Politico-...

Recruiting Students Overseas to Fill Seats, Not to Meet Standards

Stephanie Saul April 20, 2016
Responding to budget cuts from state legislatures, US public colleges increasingly rely on international students who pay higher tuition fees. Some universities rely on recruiting agencies to target international students, some of whom may be poorly prepared. Reporting for the New York Times, Stephanie Saul describes Western Kentucky University’s deal with Global Tree Overseas, paying commissions...

Life After the Nuclear Security Summits: Are We Safe?

Richard Weitz April 14, 2016
A series of Nuclear Security Summits since President Barack Obama took office in 2009 have raised global awareness and tightened security of the world’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. The need for securing stockpiles was highlighted in February after Belgian authorities reported finding a 10-hour surveillance tape during raids linked to the Paris terrorist attacks. The tape...

Globalization Is Changing, Not Going Into Reverse

Minouche Shafik April 14, 2016
Globalization can't be expected to move at an even pace. Some aspects of globalization like trade growth and capital flows are slowing, explains Minouche Shafik for Financial Times, but others like communications are growing. She is a deputy governor of the Bank of England. Shafik adds that regional agreements are emerging in trade and financial areas because of mistrust of global approaches...

Natural Capital: What Is the True Cost of Food?

Anna Behrend April 8, 2016
Food prices may not reflect the full costs to the environment, including pesticides during the growing phase or wastewater after processing. The loss of clean water, fertile soil and other features of nature can exacerbate droughts, food shortages and wildfires. Trucost is using mathematical models and “attempting to identify the value lost when companies destroy or pollute the environment,”...

Going Global? Study Tata Steel First

Rajrishi Singhal April 8, 2016
Tata Steel is among a number of Indian firms selling foreign assets to repay debt or discontinue less profitable ventures, and the trends may signal India’s troubles with globalization, suggests Rajrishi Singhal. “Economic reforms and competitive pressures forced many Indian companies to expand operations overseas through acquisitions with either (or a combination) of three objectives in mind –...