In The News

Missing the Big Picture, US Policy on North Korea Could Bring Disaster

Paul Bracken March 8, 2016
So far in 2016, North Korea has tested an atomic weapon and long-range missile. The United Nations Security Council responded with sanctions amid hope that China might contain a belligerent ally. The world expects the United States to monitor international developments, and those not posing immediate danger or causing global media alarm are often put to the side with a cursory response. “Yet...

What the US Campaign Can Teach China about How It Is Viewed

March 7, 2016
A good test for US presidential candidate is how they respond about a rising China. While both countries can display nationalistic tendencies, the Chinese anticipate the next US president, regardless of campaign rhetoric as well as Republican or Democrat, to strive for middle ground and dialogue while embracing a more pro-active foreign policy. “As China rises in prominence in the global economy...

Rising Tide

March 7, 2016
As Macedonia, Austria and other European nations tighten borders against refugees fleeing Syria and other conflict zones, Greece must manage a bottleneck. Tent camps and reception camps are over-crowded, and food is in short supply. “Now almost 30,000 migrants are bottled up in Greece” and “local aid agencies worry that 200,000 people may arrive in March alone,” reports the Economist. NGOs and...

Donald Trump, Viktor Orban and the West’s Great Walls

Gideon Rachman March 4, 2016
Fear encourages isolation, and in the course of a few decades, Republican politicians in the United States have shifted from demanding that East Germany tear down the Berlin wall to demanding a massive wall along the US border with Mexico. Europe, too, is adding barriers to block refugees fleeing war in the Middle East. “The journey from Reagan to Trump – from tearing down walls to putting them...

NASA Accidentally Found a Way to Make Buildings Safer During Earthquakes

Margo Pierce March 3, 2016
Space flight has contributed many innovations with applications on Earth including LEDs, firefighting technologies and freeze-dried foods just to name a few. NASA has developed a stabilizing technology that prevents rockets from shaking and will also help protect buildings against high winds and earthquakes. The new stabilizer is less costly, a benefit for developing nations, and kicks into...

The World Is Stuck With Persistent Stagnation

Stephen Roach March 3, 2016
Economists expect the world economy to be more resilient than any of its parts, with recessions typically affecting only a few of the 200 economies at a time. Yet the world is gradually following the pattern of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, in struggling with persistent stagnation, explains economist and Yale faculty member Stephen Roach. For economists, the term “secular” describes...

North Korea Sanctions Largely Depend on China’s Implementation

Lee Je-hun March 3, 2016
A day after the UN Security Council imposed 52 new sanctions against North Korea, the isolated regime fired six short-range projectiles about 100 kilometers off the Korean Peninsula. The sanctions “places a legal responsibility on UN member states, who will be found in violation of the resolution if they do not implement these sanctions,” reports Lee Je-hun, staff reporter for the Hankyoreh in...