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Estonia's Economic Success Story
| In a year of a Velvet Revolution that deposed Eduard Shevardnadze in Georgia, and an Orange Revolution led to the election of Victor Yuschenko in the Ukraine, 2004 became a year for democratic advances in the former Soviet Union. Overlooked in these achievements, however, were the economic accomplishments of Estonia, recently ranked 4th on the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal “2005 Index of Economic Freedom.” The rankings for the annual survey are compiled using 50 variables, including trade policy, fiscal burden of government, government intervention in the economy, property rights, wages and prices, and informal market. Countries are classified into one of four categories: Free, Mostly Free, Mostly Unfree, and Repressed. Estonia is the first Soviet satellite to crack the top ten, and ranks ahead of Western democracies, including the United States and the United Kingdom. |
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Perhaps we could go and live on Mars
| On July 9th 2004, I set off from the Czech city of Ostrava toward East Slovakia in a car along with my partner, štefan (a Czech Romani friend), Petr (his brother-in-law), and Petr's uncle, who is one of the leaders of the Romani settlement we were visiting. I became close friends with štefan's family while staying in Ostrava during my eight-month visit to study Romani music and culture. Along with many others, štefan's family showed me unlimited kindness and hospitality, and had patiently explained many aspects of the Romani's lives in Ostrava. Although the discrimination and socio-economic conditions are dire for most Roma in Ostrava, they kept insisting that I had not seen anything until I saw how their relatives in Slovakia lived. |
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How to be Successful in Moldova
| I have always loved reading the stories of the famous businesses and their founders, to find out how their idea was formed and evolved, how they guided it to success. The books describing such narratives are very popular in Eastern Europe. You wonder why? These books illustrate a world of fiction for the businessmen from this part of the world, but most importantly they are a hope for the future. |
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What Troubles Moldova
| Given the favorable circumstances Moldova enjoys, many wonder why our country is so poor. The population has a 99.1% literacy rate; we have a very high number of medical doctors per capita; most of our people have a college degree and many have post-graduate degrees, we have a very advanced high school curricula – with no electives and a total of 13 classes per year. If we are so smart, why are we so poor? Maybe it is true that every people get the government it deserves, but I know Moldova can do better. |
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Why Americans are Lucky
| I was 16 years old when I first visited the United States as an exchange student. I had never been to another country. I was born and lived all my life up to that point in Moldova – a small country in Eastern Europe once part of the Soviet Union. It was the year 1999, just 8 years after Moldova became independent. At that time, Moldova was facing a severe economic crisis, inflation, and unemployment – in short, not a good sight at all. I had never visited a developed nation and never seen any other economic system except for the old communist one on top of which the new politicians tried unsuccessfully to build a democracy. |
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The Debate Over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
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On July 19th, debate over the use of genetically modified (GMO) crops was once again at the forefront of the European Union agenda, when farm ministers failed to reach a consensus as whether or not GMO maize should be imported, Reuters reported. The use of GMO crops is a hot button issue throughout the world, and the July 19th EU meeting in Brussels illustrates the contentions between supporters and opponents of importing the crops of high tech companies such as US-based Monsanto, which produces a form of corn called Roundup Ready, which, according to Reuters “allows farmers to manage weeds more effectively” and can be used in a variety of ways. Supporters of GMO crops say that it is a significant step towards alleviating famine brought on by natural disaster and poor agricultural methods. | |
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The World Health Organization Discovers Breastfeeding
| The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations specialized agency for promoting world health, recently launched a plan to promote breastfeeding. Apparently the WHO has discovered that there are health benefits for infants that are breastfed. According to the UN press release, "Virtually all mothers can breastfeed provided they have accurate information, and support within their families and communities and from the health care system." The press release announces the 30-page presentation titled Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, which was produced by the WHO. |
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A Victory for Democracy
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The March 11th bombings in Madrid marked a turning point for the Spanish government's support of the war in Iraq. Outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's center-right Popular Party led the country for eight years. Until March 11th, it looked as though the economic prosperity and political stability that characterized Mr. Aznar's tenure would continue under his hand-picked successor Mariano Rajoy... |
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Links to stories in the media
