Financial analysts in the West often point to Japan as an example of what not to do during an economic downturn. “[A]voidance of the Japan experience with deflation is often given as a reason for the United States, the United Kingdom and the Eurozone as a whole (trying to drag Germany with it) to...
Commentators, particularly but not exclusively from the west, seem to delight in bemoaning the alleged weakness of the Japanese economy and that nation's "lost decade."
Japan itself is considerably concerned. On Monday, the Financial...
With the end of the Cold War and falling demand for offensive weapons systems, the military-industrial complex was forced to find substitutes for public spending. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, meeting today in Bucharest, will consider deploying one such product. Placing high-tech missile-...
Phantom threat: A Czech protester opposes planned missile defense. Polls show 70 percent of his compatriots share his view
LEEDS, UK, and ANTWERP: Missile defense will figure high on the agenda at the NATO summit...
East Asia has been the site of many "economic miracles" of the past half-century. Starting with Japan's post-World War II boom, continuing through the "Asian Tigers" and China, successes led to speculation that this is to be the "Pacific Century," as noted by...
HONG KONG: Financial mayhem. Iraq. Guantánamo. The image of the United States could scarcely be at a lower ebb. But in Asia, at least, anger at the U.S. may be turning to sorrow.
Those people who wanted to see...
Now that environmentalists and scientists are unanimous that human activities cause global warming, the debate has shifted to the cost and pace of slowing it down. Two sides have emerged among economists: those who support immediate action versus those who support gradual steps. Sir Nicholas Stern...
Click here to read the article in "The New York Times."
Click here to see a video of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization program, "The Stern Review and the Economics of Climate Change."
Economic integration schemes have a powerful impact on growth in developing nations, reports Gerald McDermott, Lazlo Bruszt and Vanesa Sanchez in a paper “International Integration Regimes as Development Programs: A Comparison of EU and NAFTA Accession Processes” for Knowledge@Wharton, an online...
The similarities between Poland and Argentina were striking.
By the time the Soviet Union collapsed, the two countries were beacons of reform in their regions. Each had a largely Roman Catholic population of...
Upon analyzing one small ice-free area in Antarctica, Peter Doran and his fellow researchers found that between 1986 and 2000, it had actually cooled. In fact, during that same time period, it was noted that most of the continent underwent cooling rather then warming. This evidence, coupled with...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
Some of the worst violence in Iraq is a result of sectarian conflict, pitting followers of the Shiite branch of Islam against Sunni adherents. The sectarian violence draws in neighboring states and adds to the challenge of the US military in the region. Unsettling is the lack of US understanding...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
Many Muslim nations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia, decline diplomatic relations with Israel, and the president of Iran has gone so far as to call for eradication of Israel. Yet refusing to meet with an opponent is not statesmanship. Last August, a visit of Indian Muslims to Israel...
Breaking the ice: Israeli President Shimon Peres greets Maulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi, secretary-general of the All-India Association of Imams on a visit to Israel
LONDON: A group of bearded religious leaders in flowing...