In The News

Financial Times: Trump Demands End to Asia’s “Chronic Trade Abuses”

Demetri Sevastopulo and John Reed November 10, 2017
In addressing the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, Donald Trump said the United States would not tolerate chronic trade abuses and he urged fair and reciprocal economic relationships. The talk came after his visit to China, the country that has the biggest trade deficit with the United States. Yet the presidents of both countries flattered each other, and Trump said he did not...

Project Syndicate: Climate Leadership Means Ending Fossil-Fuel Production

Tzeporah Berman and Lili Fuhr November 7, 2017
The technology behind renewable energies like solar and wind is improving, and communities that plan for the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels will be cleaner, healthier, less polarized and economically stronger. Some countries resist the notion of not using up every last bit of coal and oil. Canada and Norway should not try to hedge on energy – both investing in renewables while...

Spiegel Online: Monsanto Faces Blowback Over Cancer Claims

Philip Bethge November 7, 2017
A class-action lawsuit in the United States claims that the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, glyphosate, causes a form of lymph node cancer. “Monsanto's strategies for whitewashing glyphosate have been revealed in internal e-mails, presentations and memos,” reports Philip Bethge for Spiegel Online. The company’s argument: The chemical could not be described as a...

ICIJ: Leaked Documents Expose Secret Tax Haven Secrets

Simon Bowers November 6, 2017
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released 13.4 million leaked files from a group of offshore service providers that show how companies and individuals thwart government efforts to collect taxes. One of the many stories of the so-called Paradise Papers focuses on Apple, the largest public company by market capitalization. Company officials admitted to US Senate...

The Guardian: Russia Tried to Co-opt a Leader of Occupy Wall Street

Micah White November 2, 2017
Social movements can expect infiltration by undercover domestic or foreign intelligence agents. Micah White, an Occupy Wall Street organizer, describes an interviewer who asked questions about an online group, later learning that the phony group was “run by the nefarious Internet Research Agency, a Russian private intelligence and propaganda firm.” Such troll groups target both conservatives and...

Financial Times: Poisoning of Global Trade

Edward Luce November 2, 2017
Mexico and Canada are trying to save the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has delivered trade, efficiency and jobs to three nations. The Trump administration views the trade agreement as unfair. Edward Luce, writing for the Financial Times, describes three demands that suggest the United States is not serious about negotiating an improved agreement: imposing a “sunset” clause every five...

The Atlantic: Tax Havens and the Manafort Indictment

Krishnadevj Calamur October 30, 2017
Paul Manafort, the US president’s former campaign chairman, and a business partner have been indicted for laundering $75 million through shell companies and foreign bank accounts in Cyprus, Seychelles and elsewhere. “The indictment emerged from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” reports Krishnadev Calamur for the...