In The News

Ranking the Rich 2004

May 3, 2004
The process of helping developing nations is a lot more complex than simply giving foreign aid via public and private donors. Richer nations can benefit or harm poorer nations through policies on security, aid, immigration, environment, technology and trade. In an effort to rate which programs work and which do not, Foreign Policy Magazine and the Center for Global Development (CGD) have...

The Hollowing-Out of Hollywood

Christina Klein April 30, 2004
The blockbuster "Kill Bill" films exemplify the increasingly global nature of Hollywood, and not solely because of director Quentin Tarantino's heavy incorporation of foreign stylistic elements, writes media scholar Christina Klein. Like a growing number of Hollywood productions, both "Kill Bill Volume 1" and "Volume 2" relied heavily on offshore labor. While...

Farmers to Gain in Trade Blow to US

Josh Gordon April 28, 2004
After losing $600 million to American farmers in cotton sales in 2001, Brazil filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) that may result in substantial changes in US policy. Brazil recently announced that the WTO had ruled in favor of its complaint that American farm subsidies distorted world cotton prices and hurt farmers in the developing world. However, an order for the US to...

Terrorists and Their Tools – Part II

Gabriel Weimann April 26, 2004
Although technology may be value-free, in the hands of terrorists technological innovations can certainly help amplify the darker side of human nature. The Internet, observes communications scholar Gabriel Weimann, is no exception. The World Wide Web has been utilized by terrorist groups around the globe to recruit supporters, raise funds, and instill fear in modern society. Claims on terrorist...

Asians Offer Region a Lesson – in English

April 25, 2004
According to this Miami Herald article, most of the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group (APEC) - a group that includes China, South Korea, and Singapore - are making impressive gains in teaching English to their schoolchildren. Economic success in Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong can be at least partially attributed to high levels of...

Free Trade and Outsourcing Are Not the Same

Clyde Prestowitz April 25, 2004
Financial theorists, politicians, and labor groups in the US have recently butted heads over the nature of free trade. Theorists credit skyrocketing amounts of global trade with increased standards of living worldwide, whereas many politicians have decried the loss of jobs overseas due to outsourcing and unrestricted competition. Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute...

Hit by Spanish Withdrawal Syndrome

Shada Islam April 21, 2004
After winning March elections that attracted tremendous international attention, newly-elected Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero forewarned a significant shift in Spanish foreign policy. He declared his disapproval of the previous Popular Party's government active support of the American invasion of Iraq, which many Spaniards felt provoked March's deadly terrorist...