Most Popular

Globalization Putting A Premium On Overseas Studies

October 5, 2009
Most modern nations emphasize education as an engine of progress, and Taiwan is no exception – in fact, it is famous for the rigor of its system. Recently, however, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has encouraged students to leave their native classrooms for foreign schools. The Taiwanese government...

Reminder From a Five-Year-Old

May 11, 2009
While Mexico’s swine flu patient zero has recovered fully and is back engaged in what holds many five year olds’ attention – watching television – the process of the flu itself can provide a lesson in globalization. According to the author, international air travel was as much a cause, as a...

Big Powers Jockey for Oil in Central Asia

April 9, 2007
The US, the European Union, India, China and Russia compete for influence in Central Asia – a place crucial because of its oil and natural gas reserves, with vital pipelines crisscrossing the region. Currently, Central Asian states largely rely on Russian infrastructure to deliver and sell their...

Pyongyang's Aims Hidden by Veil of Rhetoric

February 5, 2003
North Korea, often referred to as “the world’s most secretive state”, is distrusted by both South Korea and the United States, who point to the country’s extensive anti-American propaganda within its borders as well as its deceptive statements to outsiders. Even its action are difficult to judge,...

Islamic State Faces a Complex Web of Militant Groups and Violence in Pakistan

May 4, 2015
The Islamic State terrorists have made no secret of plans to extend their so-called caliphate across Muslim nations beyond the Middle East, and their extreme ideology is attracting supporters throughout South Asia, including Pakistan. Pakistan has plenty of militant groups, including the Taliban,...

Slow-Motion Reunification

June 9, 2005
For a half-century, it has been impossible to cross the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. But not today: Daily buses now transport South Korean workers across the border to work in a joint industrial complex. The project is part of a larger South Korean effort to promote...

Move Over, France – Here Comes China

May 15, 2015
China is shaping tastes in wine as both consumer and supplier. “China has edged ahead of France in the amount of land devoted to vineyards, according to the International Vine and Wine Organization, although France still produces more than four times the volume of wine that China does,” reports Wei...

Global Warming Can't Buy Happiness

March 23, 2007
In a draft report for the United Nations, the US admits that its carbon emissions will continue to rise over the next decade, not drop. In sum, the US and others find it difficult to sacrifice – and blithely contribute to crisis by expending energy in wasteful ways. “For the last century, our...
More..