Over the last thirty years, China is one of the most extraordinary examples of economic growth in human history. Its economic growth has led to a dramatic fall in poverty, and there is little question that from an economic point of view, many Chinese are much better off. Yet, China has not escaped the process of income inequality that has plagued most every other country in the world. The most recent study indicates that income inequality in China now is worse than that in the United States which had been the most extreme case to date. The study merely confirms what polls in China have indicated is a pressing concern for most Chinese citizens.
Most citizens do not think much about foreign aid. Many believe that aid is granted for humanitarian reasons; others believe that the money is simply wasted because of corruption in recipient countries. The more pragmatic realists condone foreign aid as a fairly direct way to secure the support of allies or potential allies. There are some, however, who believe that foreign assistance is a more insidious form of imperialism–a way of insinuating influence at a relatively low cost. Mark Varga has written a provocative essay supporting those nation-states that refuse to accept foreign aid.
In the nine months of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, Israel approved about 14,000 new settler homes in the Occupied West Bank according to the Israeli peace group, Peace Now. As we have noted in earlier posts, the Geneva and Hague Conventions forbid any permanent movement of people in or out of occupied territories. These moves simply make any possible peace agreement more difficult to forge since the land remaining for a Palestinian state continues to shrink beyond viability.
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