In The News

The Globalization Index

Paul Laudicina October 19, 2006
The impacts of globalization and roads to integration are almost as varied as the number of countries in the world. “Foreign Policy” and the A.T. Kearney consulting firm have released the sixth annual ranking of 62 countries based on their degree of globalization. The analysis focuses on categories of economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity and political engagement....

Bush Sets Defense as Space Priority

Marc Kaufman October 18, 2006
The US might be the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, but much of that power depends on a vast array of satellites orbiting high above the planet. Now, President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy declaring that control of the interplanetary void is “as important to the United States as air power and sea power.” Supporters hail the policy as a necessary step toward...

Social Networking Sites Keep Their Local Flavor as They Go Global

James Shih October 18, 2006
Internet social-networking sites pop up regionally, but quickly gather members around the globe. Sites like MySpace and Facebook started the online friendship-tracking trend in the US, and similar sites have emerged in South Korea, Australia, Germany and elsewhere. Regional online sites can quickly acquire global stature, analysts suggest. "The majority of large Internet companies in the US...

Golden Age Is Fast Wilting

Gwynne Dyer October 17, 2006
The world is gradually losing its ability to feed itself. While the “Green Revolution” revolutionized agricultural efficiency in the second half of the 20th century, that revolution is over with its legacy steadily eroded by inexorable population growth. For the sixth time in seven years, the world will not produce enough food to feed itself in 2006, according to journalist Gwynne Dyer....

OPEC President Scrambles for Output-Cut Consensus

Bhushan Bahree October 16, 2006
Consumers are unlikely to be sympathetic, but OPEC’s president is striving to get the cartel to reduce oil production to halt an ongoing fall in oil prices. While prices are still more than twice as high as they are three years ago, they have fallen considerably off their recent peaks. President Edmund Daukoru is determined to prevent any further drop as the world’s economy slows. Individual...

Micro-credit Pioneer Gets Nobel for Peace

Amelia Gentleman October 13, 2006
The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and Muhammad Yunus, its founder, have won the latest Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for their work using microcredit loans to lift millions of women out of poverty. In the past, banks in the developing world rarely lent to the poor, trapping farmers in a cycle of poverty and depriving economies of small businesses. Yunus realized that even poor borrowers could...

Technical Perspective on North Korea’s Nuclear Test

October 12, 2006
The news that North Korea had successfully tested a nuclear weapon on Monday morning shocked the world. Estimates about the size of the explosion ranged wildly, with some reporting a half-kiloton blast to others guessing that it was much larger. The key questions are: did the test go as planned, and is there likely to be another soon? Dr. Gi-Wook Hin of Stanford sat down with Dr. Siegfried Hecker...