In The News

The Prison Poets of Guantanamo Find a Publisher

Yochi J. Dreazen June 21, 2007
The word “poetry” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “I create.” Poems draw on the power of language and connections to express emotions, ideas, experiences and aspirations. Such writing requires solitude and reflection, readily available for prisoners, including those of Guantanamo Bay. The prisoners originally had to hide their creations from guards, using pebbles or spoons to scratch...

Discount Dentistry, South of the Border

Manuel Roig-Franzia June 20, 2007
Consumers who lack insurance for health care tend to make decisions based on price – and travel to neighboring countries known for low costs. US consumers who don’t have dental insurance head to Mexico, where prices are about one quarter what’s charged in the US. Costa Rica, Hungary and Thailand also offer low-cost dental havens. Some US consumers even decline insurance, because the premiums cost...

How Dr. Chan Intends to Defend the Planet from Pandemics

June 19, 2007
Diseases can emerge on any point on the globe, spreading quickly, and health providers cannot have vaccines ready for every disease in every location. Complicating the treatment of any infectious disease: Entities within any country may regard disease as a business opportunity, a security risk, a reason for shame or a matter to hide. Indonesia only recently provided the World Health Organization...

Fake Lipton Tea, Nescafe Leak Into EU, Hurting Unilever, Nestlé

Stephanie Bodoni June 19, 2007
Low costs in shipping and packaging allow counterfeiters to apply their skills beyond luxury goods to ordinary products, including tea, shampoo or soap. Some counterfeit toothpaste contained chemicals found in anti-freeze, and imitation teabags include sawdust or dyed wood chips. One factory in Pakistan with 20 people made a ton of counterfeit tea each day. With the internet easing ways to find...

Survey: Increasing Internet Censorship

June 18, 2007
Government censorship is growing in sophistication, according to a survey of internet filtering practices in 41 nations. Such censorship is “becoming more pervasive and more subtle over time, often disguised as network errors,” warns Jonathan Zittrain, professor of internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, according to a release from the MacArthur Foundation. The foundation funded...

Globalization in Every Loaf

Alexei Barrionuevo June 18, 2007
Ingredients for any processed food product, from bread to vitamins, can come from all over the world. “The lowering of trade barriers more than a decade ago has pushed food companies to scour the globe for more exotic – or the cheapest – ingredients to compete in a more global marketplace, not unlike automakers shipping in parts from all over,” writes Alexei Barrionuevo for the New York Times. A...

World Bank Targets Forest Preservation – Climate Link

Tom Wright June 14, 2007
It takes decades for a tree to mature – and only a few moments to chop that tree down. The World Bank reports that deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global carbon emissions, mainly from setting fires to clear land. As plants, trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and thus help clear the air of pollutants. Indonesia, a nation with a relatively small economy, is the third...