In The News

Tufail Ahmad November 7, 2007
Many Muslim nations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia, decline diplomatic relations with Israel, and the president of Iran has gone so far as to call for eradication of Israel. Yet refusing to meet with an opponent is not statesmanship. Last August, a visit of Indian Muslims to Israel was the first of its kind, meant to nurture a connection based on democracy. Muslims in India have...
Jon Gertner November 6, 2007
Populations continue to flock to the US West, despite shrinking water reserves. This dynamic, combined with falling water levels in lakes and diminishing flows in rivers, leaves cities and states scrambling to find innovative ways to secure freshwater. Constructing a pipeline goes quickly, but water security rests on the uncertainty surrounding prolonged droughts and the effects of climate change...
Amit Baruah November 5, 2007
Globalization does not help every individual or country, but it is by no means a conspiracy by the rich against the poor, said Chris Patten, chancellor of Oxford University and former British governor of Hong Kong, during a lecture in India. Evidence suggests that trade and economic growth have ended poverty for millions of people. World labor markets, especially for skilled workers, are highly...
Branko Milanovic November 2, 2007
Corrupt states thrive on producing goods and services that are illegal but increasingly profitable in the global world. Due to low costs of transportation, more illegal goods enter middle-class markets. Once criminal groups start controlling an economy, they throw their support behind corrupt politicians in government, complicating the work of local activists or international organizations that...
Jonathan Watts November 2, 2007
World attention will focus on Beijing with the 2008 Olympics, and China anticipates activists to use the event to draw attention to a variety of causes. The country intends to uphold anti-protest laws and stop advocates from taking the spotlight away from athletic events and the host nation. Backed by a UN resolution supporting action to “observe and promote peace” at the Olympics, China could...
Hassan Siddiq, Susan Froetschel October 31, 2007
A halfhearted embrace of globalization prevents the US from reaping full benefits of the students who attend its universities, allowing them to slip away to other countries. American universities attract some of the best students, enriching the talent pool and filling coffers, but a narrow-minded immigration policy squanders the benefits. Some analysts go as far as to suggest that science and...
Emily Dugan October 30, 2007
With the rhapsodizing of moms who want healthy children and the battle cries of right-wing skeptics, it can be difficult to depoliticize the debate about organically grown foods and root out scientific information about how they compare to conventionally grown counterparts. The European Union funded a four-year long study comparing the nutritional value of organic and conventional produce. The...