六月初开始，中国民众想在微软入口网站张贴部落格(网络日志)时，用「民主」及「人权」等字眼作为标题，会收到一个粗鲁的的警语：「标题不能含有禁制用语，例如亵渎的语言，请使用别的标题。」在西文软件大厂公开支持中国政府的网络审查下，这种把民主自由等同于亵渎的警告，标志着中国持续努力争取言论自由的一个新的里程碑，而这只是冰山一角而已。
比起公开限制个人网站还更阴险的是，中国已经布下了隐形的监视罗网，这得感谢西方大厂的协助。...
Transatlantic relations are in a "terminal" stage and must be mended, writes Charles Powell, former adviser on foreign affairs and defense to Margaret Thatcher. The transatlantic alliance once enjoyed great heights – especially during the cold war – but now differences over the Iraq War...
Agreement earlier this month on a new constitution for the European Union has cleared the European agenda to focus on the issues that currently divide the two sides of the Atlantic. Europeans must now show they have the...
Emerging markets such as Brazil and Uruguay need stability in order to sustain growth. The goal behind IMF and US foreign aid should thus be to provide stability. However, Paul O’Neill (US Treasury Secretary), the IMF, and US foreign aid serve more to hurt than to help economic stability, argues...
The International Monetary Fund's $30bn rescue package for Brazil and a $1.5bn US bridge loan to Uruguay signal the utter collapse of the ill-conceived US policy towards emerging markets announced barely a year ago...
At the annual conference of the Organization of American States, US Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to leave behind all ideological differences between the North and the South over the war in Iraq. Instead, he emphasized the current US position in Latin America – to allow more free trade...
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Pirates are not confined to history or storybooks alone, as modern-day ships also face uncertainty on the high seas. According to a new report released by the International Maritime Bureau, violent pirate attacks have reached an all-time high. Some 234 incidents have been reported so far this...
SHIPS have been warned by the London-based International Maritime Bureau to 'take extra precautions' against pirates when sailing off Bintan, after a series of 'serious and brutal incidents' in the area.
The...
T政府和民众对移民的看法存在着惊人的差距。绝大多数政府都倾向于支持移民，但民众却始终对准许外国人移民心存顾虑。移民研究中心（Center for Migration Studies）研究主任约瑟夫•夏米（Joseph Chamie）认为，这种意见分歧很可能在未来引发严重骚乱。全球范围内只有不到20%的政府认为移民数量过多，但民意测验却显示，共有将近70%的公民认为应当对移民进行限制。某些分歧是由看问题的视角造成的。个人担心移民会造成失业和文化退化，而政府在意的却是吸引技术工人或讨好民族团体所带来的经济好处。夏米指出，排外的政治家和政党在最近的大选中获胜， 如果这种针对移民的意见分歧持续下去，...
纽约：尽管在大多数国家中占压倒性多数的人都不希望移民入境，但政府却仍在继续推进能够维持或增加移民数量的政策。民意和政府政策在移民问题上的严重分歧正日益引发社会动乱和政治动荡，在某些情况下甚至引发暴力事件。
无论是在富裕的西方国家，还是在欠富裕的发展中国家，人们都十分关心移民问题。除了失业和经济上的不确定性外，人们还担心失去自己的传统文化和国家认同；他们感到自己的生活方式受到不良影响，因此需要保护，使其不受国外的负面影响。民意测验频繁显示：大多数人认为，应当对移民进行更严格的限制，...
叙利亚内战经久不息，根源在于宗派分歧和殖民残留，这两者在人民内部制造了分裂，偏袒少数精英族，镇压不同政见者。如今，暴力事件有增无减。与英属印度的印度教徒和穆斯林的冲突相比，占叙利亚少数人口的阿拉维派和基督徒与人口占多数的逊尼派之间的仇恨有很多相似之处。本文作者迪利普•希罗（Dilip Hiro）是一位南亚和中东问题专家，他对两者耐人寻味的相似之处进行了分析。1947年的印巴分治可能会为如何解决叙利亚问题指一条路，从而防止新的流血冲突的发生。根据其经验，我们可以在黎巴嫩和土耳其之间创建一个以阿拉维派和基督教为主的国家，叙利亚其余各地则由逊尼派统治。这种方法可能会产生必要的人口流动。现在，...
伦敦：印度次大陆离动荡的中东地区约有五千公里，但是专家们可以通过分 析这里的近代历史来为棘手的叙利亚冲突寻求解决方案。从根源上说，叙利亚冲突是一种宗派冲突，既有古老的逊尼派和什叶派之间的冲突，也有由来已久的帝国主 义的殖民分治带来的矛盾。1947年，英属印度被分割成了印度和巴基斯坦两个国家，从而大幅度地缓解了暴力冲突。叙利亚也可以采取分区管理的方法来解决目 前的问题。
鉴于叙利亚冲突的暴力强度、反对派武装的组织水平和战斗长度，红十字国际委员会于7月15日裁定，该国已经进入“内战”时期。...
A blanket ban on traveling from seven countries is targeting many accomplished individuals who have already demonstrated deep appreciation for the United States by working with the US military or providing public service as research professors or physicians. In an essay for the World Post, Jamsheed...
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