In The News

Latin America's Explosive Debt

Hilton L. Root December 19, 2002
The spiraling economic woes of Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries virtually fill the headlines every few months. What can governments in the region do to reverse negative trends and move their economies back to an era of growth and prosperity? Many people in Latin America blame open-market economic policies for their dilemma, and many politicians looking to win on election...

Fresh Setback for Schröder on Migrant Law

Haig Simonian December 18, 2002
Labor migration is a sensitive political issue in many nations. In Germany, businesses facing immediate labor shortages and an aging workforce have lobbied the government to open immigration to non-European Union talent. But now a law liberalizing immigration, put in place by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, has met with opposition from several local states, demonstrating that local interests,...

No Sugar Coating, Just Tea Please

Amira El-Noshokaty December 18, 2002
Modern 'Western' medicine – consisting now of pharmaceutical drugs manufactured in factories – has spread around the world as the norm for medical treatment. Despite its popularity, though, traditional medicine forms, such as acupuncture and herbal treatments, are also reaching out from their original bases to benefit people around the globe. The International Seminar on the...

Malaysia Outlaws 'Insulting' Brad Pitt Ads

Claire Cozens December 17, 2002
While beauty standards across the globe may be converging to a blonde, blue-eyed ideal, one Asian government is saying 'Not on our turf!' The globalization of the media has allowed some American and European celebrities to enjoy international face recognition, and big-name celebrities can make big money pushing products in Asia that would never get approval from their agents and image...

The Year After...

Tariq Rahman December 16, 2002
The global war on terrorism is creating less security on the local level and dimming the prospects for democracy in some areas of the world. That's the conclusion of Pakistani scholar Tariq Rahman in this year-end assessment of the violence and instability that characterized the world in 2002. "We in Pakistan have been affected very deeply," he writes. "Apart from the...

Bush and the Three Rogues

December 16, 2002
Iran, Iraq, and North Korea comprise the 'Axis of Evil' named by US President George Bush as the three most significant threats to world stability in general and the US in particular. With inspections of Iraq's weapons program not progressing in a clearly useful manner, pressure is building on the Bush administration. Now Washington must decide how to handle North Korea's...

Strict International Patent Laws Hurt Developing Countries

Amy Kapczynski December 16, 2002
In 1998, 39 pharmaceutical companies filed a lawsuit against South Africa. They hoped to stop the government from producing the generic drugs that would have made treatment affordable for the country's AIDS victims. A public outcry ensued, and critics accused pharmaceutical companies of valuing profit over human life. Although these same companies were eventually pressured into dropping...