Conflict raging in Syria – and increasing numbers of weapons entering the nation – could spread to Lebanon and other nearby states, reports Jonathan Marcus for the BBC News, adding that “a crisis that began as a popular upheaval in Syria could degenerate into a bitter regional war.” Sunnis fight...
Click here for the article in BBC News.
Cultural expectations influence individual perceptions of comfort, but these expectations are evolving as globalization introduces new work schedules and styles. Still, there’s no universal ideas on a “right” temperature as people prefer what’s customary for them, explains Maggie Koerth-Baker for...
Click here for the article in the New York Times.
The United States seems to have a knack for ushering in changes, then failing to adapt to the challenges they bring. The failure of the US to adapt to the technology and finance-driven globalization it introduced to the world has prompted an alarming decline. In his regular column for Businessworld...
What was once merely a trend projection is now reality: America’s decline is happening, here and now. From the mass layoffs of teachers and firemen to the threat of Federal default and the European Union rebuffing Washington’s unsolicited advice,...
Flawless lawns without insects are unnatural, but that does not stop homeowners from striving for that goal. Canada’s British Columbia government is preparing legislation that would ban homeowners’ use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes, reports Randy Shore for the Calgary Herald. Lawn chemicals...
Click here for the article in The Calgary Herald.
China remains one of the world’s fastest growing economies, yet numerous signs point to a speculative mania underway. While investors anticipate China’s economic growth to continue apace at 8 percent – reinforcing the flurry of demand, easy money and excessive building – a slowdown to 5 percent is...
Easy money and hubris: China’s mega shopping mall built six years ago lays vacant (top); A Chinese coal baron pays 1.5 million for a red Tibetan Mastiff
NEW HAVEN: China is not only a booming country, for years it has been one of the world’s fastest...
Nations hiked debt in recent years to escape economic crisis – with advanced economies doing most of the borrowing. Global debt is expected to more than double from $23 trillion in 2007 to $48 trillion in 2015. Emerging markets not only borrow less, but they also contribute more to economic growth...
The global financial crisis triggered a sharp increase in public debt levels, both in absolute terms and relative to GDP. The level of aggregate net government debt in the world rose from $23 trillion in 2007 to an expected $34 trillion in 2010. IMF...
It has been long time in the making, but the debate over the wisdom of attacking Iraq has revealed how far apart the alliance forged after World War II has grown. In the past, despite reservations European countries may have had about specific US policies, they have tended to support the US because...
President Bush and President Chirac at a meeting in July 2001: Now to arm-wrestling? White House photo by Paul Morse.
PARIS: If the attack on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001 can be considered to have been a political earthquake for the...
A halfhearted embrace of globalization prevents the US from reaping full benefits of the students who attend its universities, allowing them to slip away to other countries. American universities attract some of the best students, enriching the talent pool and filling coffers, but a narrow-minded...
Missed opportunity: US policy opens education doors for international students, like those at MIT, but then locks them out of the workplace
NEW HAVEN: A farmer who grows a prized crop of vegetables would be annoyed by neighbors stopping by his...
