Beyond APEC, Protestors Stand in Solidarity

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, held in San Francisco from November 11-17, gathered leaders from its 21 member states to deliberate on regional economic issues. On the morning of November 15, President Biden and Xi held their talk at Filoli Garden to discuss economic cooperation as well as topics including fentanyl, artificial intelligence, climate […]

Crossroads Blues

Crossroads Blues In 1965, the city of Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. It was poor and isolated, with an economy wholly subsidized by Britain’s Royal Navy. To the north, Malay extremists threatened to instigate a coup and regain the island. To the south, the Indonesian military toppled the pro-communist government, killing millions and threatening […]

To Fund or Not to Fund

How should society determine its priorities? Should government invest only in services that yield a quantifiable, measurable benefit? Or, should government also recognize the importance of things that, while gratifying to the soul, are not as clearly utilitarian? For decades, the arts have been lumped in with the second category. Museums, theaters, galleries, and other […]

e-Estonia: A Model for Success

At the outset of World War II, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin approved the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the famous non-aggression pact that divided Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The treaty was predicated on the assumption that the two great powers would achieve preeminence on the European continent, and following the war, the Soviet […]