As the world becomes totally integrated, organizing principles and institutional structures have not kept up. Members of the G-20, the global group of powerful economies, continue to jockey, avoiding the tough assessments and sacrifices required to resolve pressing global issues from climate change...
SINGAPORE: We live in a world of rising global angst, with a slew of global problems defying solution. Nobody knows what will happen to key global currencies even a year from now. Unemployment remains persistent in several developed countries....
Globalization means increased travel and tourism for many people in the developed world. But when travelers return home, they can bring more than photographs and memories. Often unbeknownst to them, pathogens travel on their bodies and with belongings. In recent years, Europe has seen the outbreak...
Click here for the article in The Irish Times.
When the movie Avatar was mysteriously pulled from the cinemas in China, bloggers and pundits alike suspected censorship. But why would a science fiction movie about 10 foot tall blue hominids cause such a stir? For one, the themes of land expropriation and forced evictions featured in the movie...
BEIJING: What do you, as a Chinese film board, do, when the Hollywood science fiction film Avatar smashes Chinese box office records in its first three weeks in theaters, when online chatsites are buzzing about the uncanny parallels between the...
As the financial sector has gained dominance in the world economy, some investors have become accustomed to steady growth and double-digit profits. While the financial industry rewards efficiency and innovation among competing firms, the relentless quest for profits and a short-term mentality in...
Bubble factory: Unreasonable pressure in the financial sector, offering
unrealistically high returns, create asset bubbles that now affect the entire economy
NEW YORK: The last 15 years have been characterized by rapid...
Too often, globalization is seen as an exclusively Western phenomenon, an aggressive force that often endangers indigenous cultures and ways of life. But, as Robbie Robertson writes, this view is not simply reductive – it is inaccurate. "Globalization is not about rampant capitalism,...
Before the Cyber Highways: A painting of the Silk Road across Central Asia that brought inter-continental connectedness during the first millennium. (Copyright (c) Metropolitan Museum of Art) Enlarged image
SUVA, FIJI:...
President Bush’s vision for US foreign policy has evolved in five years. During his first campaign for president, Bush promoted a “humble foreign policy” and avoided talk of globalization. With 9/11, benign neglect turned to a go-it-alone search for security, with the invasion of Afghanistan and...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
The abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners in US custody in Iraq has made headlines around the world this week, with condemnation coming from many heads of state and governments who are appalled by the shocking images they have seen. Yet Iraq's own Governing Council, says this article in Egypt...
Two months ago a statement distributed in Baghdad and Falluja and signed the "Abu Ghraib Mujahidin" claimed that "many Iraqi female inmates were humiliated and raped" inside the Abu Ghraib prison. Abu Ghraib is a town...
Afghanistan's upcoming presidential election has many observers discussing the country's future. The author of this Asian Age op-ed piece asserts that Afghan success and regional stability hinge on "neighborly" support. In addition to security concerns, nearby nations also...
Kabul: As Afghans head to the polls next month for the first direct presidential election in their history, the guessing game has already begun across the region: How long before the impatient Americans declare...