The Economist (US) back issues from August 2008:
Carry on voting; Bolivia.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Two reports, first from Bolivia and then from Ecuador, on the radical socialists who hope that constitutional referendums will transform their countries IT IS supposed to break a deadlock. But as Bolivians prepare to vote in a recall referendum on August 10th, in which they will ...
Zapped; Canada.(tasers)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Do electronic stun guns take more lives than they save? WHEN an electronic gun designed to immobilise but not kill emerged from the pages of science fiction and went into manufacture a decade ago, police forces around the world snapped it up. Instead of shooting suspected ...
Big brother's shadow; Cuba.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Raul Castro preaches patience HE TOOK over as Cuba's acting president two years ago, and was officially confirmed in the job in February. But in some ways Raul Castro must still govern in the shadow of his older, and ailing, brother, Fidel. If any Cubans had forgotten this, they ...
The good life; Ecuador.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Correa dictates his socialist credo For the president and for lawyers IF ONLY size, novelty and good intentions were everything when it came to constitutions, Ecuador would be a paradise. The document approved on July 25th by a Constituent Assembly dominated by ...
Left behind; Mexico.(Mexico's divided left)(Party of Democratic Revolution)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The left's strange disarray ONLY two years ago, Mexico's centre-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) came within a couple of hundred thousand votes of winning the presidency. It was the party's best result since its foundation two decades ago. Yet far from capitalising ...
Five-ring circus; The Beijing Olympics.(The week's news in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... News from the Forbidden Citius, Altius, Fortius BEIJING'S grey skies began to clear briefly on July 27th, though the capital's wretched air quality continues to be a top concern of organisers as the opening of the Olympic games draws near. Chinese officials insist that cooler, ...
Good news from Arghandab; Afghanistan's army.(A report from our correspondent embedded with the Afghan army)
Aug 02, 2008 ... All kitted out and somewhere to go Afghan soldiers are better trained and happy to fight "THERE is zero trust in the government but the ANA [Afghan National Army] is our only hope. They behave well with the people and are stronger than the Taliban." That was the pithy ...
Stability, sort of; Cambodia's election.(The prime minister, Hun Sen, tightens his grip after a dirty election)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Time not running out for Hun Sen After a dirty election, the prime minister tightens his grip WHETHER Cambodia's general election on July 27th was a success or a travesty depends on what you compare it with. A team of European Union observers said it fell well below ...
Blasts after blasts; Terrorism in India.(A series of bomb blasts in India breeds renewed fears of terrorism and renewed tension with Pakistan)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Fears of a new breed of terrorist--or the return of an old one WITHIN days of a terrorism spree in India and a gunfight between their armies, the leaders of India and Pakistan, Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani, were due for an awkward encounter in Colombo on August 2nd ....
Turning sour; India's economy.(The economic challenges facing India's government)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Having won a vote of confidence at home, India's government now faces another--abroad INDIA'S coalition government went to outlandish lengths to win a vote of confidence in Parliament on July 22nd, a victory it hopes will prolong its life until early next year. To appease one ...
Mad as hell; South Korea.(The fallout continues in South Korea from the decision to allow imports of American beef)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... South Korea's president turns on trade unionists and journalists THE first boneless beef imported into South Korea from America for almost five years arrived at the dockside this week. It was a victory of sorts for President Lee Myung-bak, whose decision to end a ban on ...
Known and unknown unknowns; Physics.(Large Hadron Collider)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The world's largest machine is about to open for business. It will, however, only scratch the surface of the universe WELL, it is about to happen. After more than a decade, SFr10 billion ($10 billion) and a lot of nail-biting, the first protons should spin their way into the ...
Signs of the times; Art for the Olympics.(Beijing's arts)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Visitors will have to look hard to see any interesting art in the Chinese capital. Museum shows are dull and the new foreign galleries are anxious not to offend ONE of the principal artistic events marking the Olympic games in Beijing serves as a reminder of how slow the ...
The way we were; Olympic history.(Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World)(Book review)
Aug 02, 2008 ... DAVID MARANISS calls the 1960 Olympic games the Olympics that "changed the world". It would have been more accurate, though less compelling, if the author had described his book about the Rome games as the life and times of Avery Brundage. "Blocky, balding, and bespectacled", ...
Going, gone; The destruction of old Beijing.(China)(City of Heavenly Tranquility, The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed, and The Forbidden City)(Book review)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The way it was Hurry, to catch China's medieval capital IN A few short years China's Communists have used the excuse of the Olympic games to level the medieval city built by the great Ming emperor, Yongle. Beijing was long Asia's ecumenical Rome, but its 2,500 or so ...
The long, dark war; America and terrorism.('The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals', 'Law and the Long War: The Future of Justice in the Age of Terror')(Book review)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Two saddening accounts of the botched war on terror IN 1993, Bill Clinton was pondering whether to authorise what is now called an "extraordinary rendition", when American agents snatch a suspected terrorist abroad and deliver him to interrogators in a third country. The White ...
After the Bastille; 19th-century France.(Children of the Revolution: The French, 1799-1914. )(Book review)
Aug 02, 2008 ... ROBERT GILDEA, Oxford University's fearsomely erudite professor of modern history, has chosen a large canvas--and a wonderful title. What a pity that he fills it with so much detail that the picture loses shape. His thesis is that through a succession of revolutions, in 1789, 1830, 1848 ...
Adam and Nappy; New fiction.(The Impostor)(Book review)
Aug 02, 2008 ... THE end of apartheid robbed South African novelists of their great theme. But it also freed them from an issue that, like the heroic statue whose shadow falls across the final paragraph of Damon Galgut's "The Impostor", had previously overcast both problems of the past and growing concerns ...
Timid justice; BAE and the Saudi arms deal.(One law for bullies; another for the rest)(BAE Systems plc)
Aug 02, 2008 ... A ruling by the law lords ratifies one law for bullies and another for the rest WITH the best of intentions justice is not always as blind as it should be. But seldom is it as downright astigmatic as it was on July 30th, when the law lords ruled that the Serious Fraud Office ...
ArmaGordon; Bagehot.(Gordon Brown)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Are the stakes high enough to justify regicide? THE word "fascist" was whispered by some discomforted observers at last year's Labour Party conference: so triumphalist was the mood, so impregnable seemed the new prime minister, so confident his followers of smashing the ...
Roll out the barrel; Regulating booze.(Pubs versus off-licences)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Pubs are in trouble for cheap drinks. But ever more is being sunk at home DRINK is curiously regulated in Britain. Licensing authorities can make very specific demands about the way booze is sold and served: some licensees are allowed to provide alcohol only with food, or admit ...
A vanishing breed; Teaching economics.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Fewer young fans for Adam The dwindling number of those training to teach economics in secondary schools is less worrying than it seems IN EARLY July Edinburgh belatedly erected a statue, complete with semi-invisible hand, to Adam Smith, thus granting one of the ...
On the beach; Political vacations.(The leader at play)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The leader at bay and at play "BUT where are their policies?", the prime minister yelped, as a graphic of the Conservatives' midsummer poll lead flashed across the television. His jowls creased with sorrow as one of his rivals appeared, professing his loyalty. An arm flexed to ...
Under starter's orders; The race to succeed Gordon Brown.(The prime minister is holding on, just)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The job of prime minister is not yet vacant, but hopefuls are alert THE poetry of Alfred Tennyson is the kind of thing Gordon Brown, perhaps Britain's most literate prime minister since Winston Churchill, takes with him on the reading marathons he calls holidays. Yet even Mr ...
When the tap turns off; Housing market.(Mortgage lending, and how to revive it)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Lending has slowed to a trickle. What can be done to change that? WOOLWICH is a down-at-heel working-class port in East London that teeters between gentrification and decay. To the right of the railway station are the money-wiring agencies, mobile-phone shops and African ...
Down but not out; Terrorism in Northern Ireland.(Republican dissidents still make life a misery)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Eternal vigilance and the price of peace Republican dissidents still make life a misery TELLING terrorist groups you think them dangerous is not a gambit security services favour--especially when the groups are small and unpopular. But as the anniversary approaches of ...
Rent now, buy later; Housing market (contd).(Prices tumbling, rents still rising)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Prices may be tumbling, but rents are still rising BRITAIN is a nation divided by its citizens' attitudes to the housing market. Among investors, estate agents and homeowners with eye-watering mortgages the mood is gloomy: every piece of news about the rapidly deflating housing ...
Bring out your models; Charlemagne.(The global economic slowdown is testing Europe's cherished economic models)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The economic slowdown is testing all of Europe's cherished economic philosophies DURING the plague of 1665, Londoners sought to avoid infection by sniffing flowers and herbs, clearing deadly "miasmas" with smoke, killing cats and praying for neighbours whose sins were thought ...
Thirst for peace; Cyprus.(Hopes for peace rise on the divided and parched island of Cyprus)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Hopes rise on a divided and parched island FIRST the good news. The Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot presidents will start serious talks on reunifying the divided island on September 3rd. Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, both old-fashioned left-wingers, have made clear they ...
Divorce without borders.(Simpler divorce for some mixed marriages)
Aug 02, 2008 ... A simpler way to part ways SHE was French; he was English; they had just moved to London from Paris. When he found out about her affair, she begged for a reconciliation. He was more ruthless: the same afternoon, he filed for divorce in France, one of the stingiest jurisdictions ...
Undoing the damage; Italy and Libya.(Italy and Libya try to settle a colonial legacy)
Aug 02, 2008 ... What Italy hopes to gain by making amends to a former colony AFTER years of awkward negotiation, Italy and Libya may be ready to settle the legacy of the short, but harsh, Italian colonial venture in north Africa, which the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini liked to call his ...
Mr Too Clean? Romania.(Romania's anti-corruption crusader faces the sack)(Daniel Morar)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... An anti-corruption crusader faces the sack FIGHTING corruption in a country that tolerates it is a lonely job, and Daniel Morar may not have his for much longer. Intensely disliked by most of Romania's politicians and vilified in the media, he reaches the end of his term as head ...
Dubna's tale; High technology in Russia.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Russia is trying to build a high-tech economy, but red tape is strangling it LIKE pagan gods, two giant statues of Stalin and Lenin once faced each other across the canal linking the Volga and Moskva rivers. Built in the 1930s partly with gulag labour, the canal is described in ...
A narrow scrape for democracy; Turkey.(Turkey's judges shrink from banning the ruling AK party)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The judiciary shrinks from banning the ruling party BY THE slimmest of margins, Turkey has averted the worst political crisis in years, perhaps in decades. On July 30th the country's constitutional court turned down an attempt by state prosecutors to ban the ruling Justice and ...
Welcome to a (rather dour) party; China before the Olympics.(Human rights in China before the games)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Isn't it lovely about the games? Doing really rather well, thank you Doing really rather well, thank youIsn't it lovely about the games? China is keen to show its best face at the games and that face is indeed a lot better than it once was. But do not ...
Profits of doom; Buttonwood.(Downbeat analysts are in vogue)(Column)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The rise of the bearish analyst TEN years ago it was easy to make your name as a securities analyst. Take a technology stock, think of a number, double it and then announce that as your price target. Time it right and your call would be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as investors ...
The Doha round...and round... and round; Trade talks.(The trade talks that never conclude)
Aug 02, 2008 ... After another failed summit, seven years of trade talks may become nine or ten LIKE "watching paint that never dries" is how Sheila Page of the Overseas Development Institute, a London think-tank, describes the experience of following the Doha round of global trade negotiations ....
The wages of sin; Europe's monetary policy.(A sudden downturn in the euro area)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The ECB has pursued a disciplined monetary policy. Its reward may be recession PRUDENCE and virtue do not always receive their just desserts. Earlier this year, the prospects for the euro area's economy seemed, if not bright, then less dim than for some other parts of the rich ...
Commons sense; Economics focus.(The study of the commons is still relevant)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Why it still pays to study medieval English landholding and Sahelian nomadism IN 1968 Garrett Hardin, a professor of biology, published an article in the journal Science that was to have a profound impact on the social sciences, including economics. In it, he explained "The ...
You only list twice; Private equity.(KKR's revived plans to list)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Kravis, out of the shadows KKR tries to float, again THE original barbarians at the gate still want admission to polite society. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), the buy-out firm which notoriously laid siege to RJR Nabisco in 1988, first tried to list on the ...
A game of patience; South Korean banking.(Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.'s plans for acquiring stakes in Korea Exchange Bank)
Aug 02, 2008 ... HSBC's difficult decision over Korea Exchange Bank MISSING a deadline. Or missing a chance to build a meaningful presence in Asia's fourth-largest economy. As The Economist went to press that was the choice facing HSBC, whose dogged pursuit of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) has ...
Pulling the wool; Meinl Bank.(Murky goings-on at Austria's Meinl Bank)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Some Jersey-knit structures enrage activist investors THE image of Austria's financial markets continues to corrode. Just weeks after the conclusion of a trial over improper use of funds at Bawag, a local bank, another scandal is gathering pace. At the heart of this ...
Thain takes the pain; Merrill Lynch.(Merrill Lynch & Company Inc.)
Aug 02, 2008 ... An unexpected fire-sale could mark a turning-point "I GREW up in a relatively small town in the Midwest, and I am a very straightforward kind of person," John Thain told a group of Merrill Lynch bond traders last December, not long after taking over as chief executive. The ...
Overview.(economy)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... House prices in America fell by 15.8% in the year to May, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of prices in 20 big cities. The year-on-year decline outdid the 15.2% recorded for April. There were fresh signs that Japan's economy is struggling. The ...
America's empty properties.(housing stocks)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The proportion of America's housing stock that lies empty awaiting either tenants or buyers has risen over the past decade, according to the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau. Among rental properties, 10% were without tenants in the second quarter, a higher share than a year earlier ...
The world's biggest banks.(Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.)(Brief article)
Aug 02, 2008 ... HSBC became the world's biggest bank last year, supplanting Bank of America, according to The Banker magazine, which ranks 1,000 banks by their holdings of tier-one capital. This is a bank's core capital, which is made up of equity, accumulated reserves and earnings that have not been paid ...
Dogged pursuit; Terrorism.(Abu Khabab al-Masri's death)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Al-Qaeda's chief poisoner appears to have been killed by the Americans SOME of the most disturbing images to emerge from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban were al-Qaeda's in-house videos of dogs writhing, panting and finally collapsing as they were killed with ...
Things to look forward to; Ageing populations.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Live longer, die slower AS any amateur futurologist can tell you, the rich world is rapidly getting older. By 2050 more than a quarter of the developed world's population will be over 65. At the moment, that group makes up about a sixth of the rich-world population, and only ...
Brothers in Christ; Orthodox Christianity.(Deft diplomacy averts a schism)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The summer of the patriarchs By the skin of their teeth, prelates of the Christian East avoid a rupture WHENEVER two or more Orthodox Christian clerics join in celebrating the Eucharist--consecrating bread and wine in a manner that is far more elaborate, solemn and ...
Into the sunset; End-of-life care.(The hospice movement gains popularity round the world)
Aug 02, 2008 ... The idea that the terminally ill need pain relief and humane care instead of "curing" is catching on. But what about the people who just grow old? "MOST things may never happen: this one will." That stark allusion to death, penned by the poet Philip Larkin, sums up the ...
China's dash for freedom.(China and the Olympics)
Aug 02, 2008 ... China's rise is a cause for celebration--but despite the Beijing Olympics, not because of them "SPORT", as George Orwell noted more than 60 years ago, "is an unfailing cause of ill-will." This newspaper generated some of its own in 2001, when we argued against the award of the ...
Fairly safe; Gene doping.
Aug 02, 2008 ... What athletes may or may not do ought to be decided on grounds of safety, not fairness ANOTHER Olympics, another doping debate. And this time it is a fervent one, as recent advances in medical science have had the side-effect of providing athletes with new ways of enhancing ...
A hair of the dog; Housing bill.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Congress has been too lenient on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac IT IS hard to deal with an alcoholic. But most experts would agree that the answer is not to leave your credit card behind the bar, persuade the pub landlord to stay open till dawn and leave the inebriate to get on with ...
Saved by a (judicial) whisker; Turkey's constitutional court.(Turkey back from the brink)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Its judges have averted disaster and shown that Turkey can be a worthy candidate for the European Union IN THE end it was a judicious compromise on the part of Turkey's constitutional court. Had the judges accepted the chief prosecutor's request for a ban on the ruling Justice ...
So near and yet so far; World trade.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Trade ministers have come too close to a deal to let the Doha round die IN MANY examinations, 90% is an excellent score, deserving a prize and a handshake from the headmaster. In Geneva this week, only full marks would do, and the world's trade ministers failed. No matter that ...
Reconciliation delayed yet again; The Gaza Strip.(A renewal of Palestinian faction fighting in the Gaza Strip)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Killed by their brothers? Hopes that Palestinian rivals may settle their differences are dashed once again THE two main Palestinian groups, Fatah and its Islamist rival, Hamas, have been doing their utmost in the past fortnight to ruin the prospect of co-operation, ...
Security better, politics still stuck; Iraq.
Aug 02, 2008 ... The politicians are still failing to take advantage of the lull in the violence THE mood in Baghdad and most parts of Iraq is an odd mixture of hope, frustration and nervousness. Despite the occasional mass-murderous suicide bomb, such as the four that killed at least 50 people ...
Ehud Olmert says he'll go, at last; Israel.(Israel's prime minister says he will resign)
Aug 02, 2008 ... After months of suspense, Israel's beleaguered prime minister announces that he will step down, probably in September. What next for his country? FLOUNDERING beneath a welter of investigations into alleged corruption, Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced on July 30th ...
Cults of violence; Nigeria.(Nigeria's violent university cults)
Aug 02, 2008 ... How student fraternities turned into powerful and well-armed gangs A YOUNG man whispers a confession: as a university student, he killed six or seven of his peers. He cannot be sure of the number, since his shots were fired in gun battles. He intimidated professors, burned their ...
Can it really be bridged? The Red Sea.(A bridge to connect Africa and Asia)
Aug 02, 2008 ... A fantastic plan to span the Red Sea's troubled waters is raising eyebrows ONE OF Osama bin Laden's many half-brothers, Tarek bin Laden, this week signed a deal with tiny Djibouti which may--or may not--mark the start of one of the world's boldest engineering projects. ...
Sarah Conlon.(Sarah Conlon, campaigner for the innocent)(In memoriam)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Sarah Conlon, campaigner for the innocent, died on July 19th, aged 82 GOD knows she did what she could to keep her son Gerry safe. She called him to be in by seven for his tea, to stop him thinking he might wander down to Gilmartin's pub or to the card-schools on the corner, ...
Acknowledgments.
Aug 02, 2008 ... The author would like to express his gratitude to many people, besides those cited in the text, for their time, ideas and kindness during the preparation of this report. Thanks are due to, among others, Stefan Szymanski of Cass Business School, Matt Brosenne and Becky ...
Also in this section.
Aug 02, 2008 ... How do you view? Sport and the media are natural bedfellows. Sponsorship form The value of sport to other kinds of business. Page 7 Go Aigo How one Chinese company is making a name for itself. Page 8 Local heroes Sporting ...
Future special reports.
Aug 02, 2008 ... Countries and regions The Koreas September 27th Spain November 8th Business, finance, economics and ideas Globalisation ...
Fun, games and money.(Fun, games and money)(Olympics)
Aug 02, 2008 ... Sport has become a global business as well as a recreation for billions, says Patrick Lane. But how to make it faster, higher, stronger? EVEN in China, a century is a long time to wait. In 1908, as the fourth modern Olympic games took place in London, a magazine called Tianjin ...