• Can the President Terminate the ABM Treaty?

  Separation of powers and foreign affairs law expert Michael Ramsey addresses this question, looking at the scope of the President's foreign affairs powers. Click HERE.

• General (retired) Wesley Clark will give the ISD Annual Trainor Lecture entitled "The United States and Globalization: Strategy for Success." As Supreme Allied Commander Europe in overall command of NATO forces from 1997-2000, General Clark led contingents representing 37 allied and other nations to success in Kosovo in NATO's first major military operation. It is anticipated that his talk will reflect his experiences in the Balkans as well as his more recent role as a featured CNN commentator on the war against terrorism. Q & A will follow. For information contact Charles at 202-965-5735 X3010 or dolgasc@georgetown.edu
• The National Press Club CyberCocktail Lecture Series presents "The State of Cybersecurity" Thursday, ecember 6, 2001 Panel Forum - 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Event is $10 per person (free for NPC members). To reserve call the National Press Club -- 202-662-7501, or email pnelson@npcpress.org (Email/phone
  call is considered confirmation) National Press Club 529 14th St., NW, 13th Floor Washington, DC National Press Club - lauraf@press.org or (202) 662-7564.
• "U.S. National Security Policy Issues" December 11-12, 2001. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, this annual seminar is being completely revamped and updated to address the new issues and altered national security priorities. Space is limited. <http://www.brookings.edu/execed/open/natl_security.htm>
  
• The General Accounting Office (GAO) has posted these two pages of "special collections" of use to those following the news about terrorism and airport security measures. The page collecting releases on terrorism holds links to reports going back to a 1980 release, "Assessment of Various Aspects of This Nation's Nuclear Safeguards," and one from 1981, "Federal Electrical Emergency Preparedness Is Inadequate," though reports are not available in .pdf format until those dated from 1987. The page on airport security covers reports beginning with the 1983 "Safety at the Navy's Seal Beach, CA, Weapons Station Has Improved" and the 1987 "Aviation Security: FAA Preboard Passenger Screening Test Results." All reports on this page are available in .pdf format. Both pages collect a wealth of reports, making them easily accessible for researchers and interested members of the general public. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001. <http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/>
  

• Litigants from around the world are increasingly turning to the American legal system to redress grievances ranging from human rights issues to business claims under American civil law. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/21/national/21LEGA.html?ex=994148381&ei=1&en=4f043287a0a450a3

• The Network of Border Economics/Red de la Economia Fronteriza is proud to announce its First International Research Forum, "The U.S.-Mexico Border Economy in the 21st Century," which will be held on Friday, June 22nd and Saturday, June 23rd in Tijuana, Baja California.

On Monday, April 30, 2001, from noon to 2 p.m. the Carnegie Endowment's International Migration Policy Program will host a luncheon discussion on "Making Sense of the Citizenship Debate." Our panelists will include the editors of a newly released volume, entitled "Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices," T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Douglas B. Klusmeyer, both with the Endowment's International Migration Policy Program; and contributors Vicki Jackson, Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, and Linda Bosniak, Professor of Law at the Rutgers University School of Law. The discussion will be moderated by Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, and now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Copies of the volume will be available for purchase, at discount, at this event. RSVP to Violet Lee, at (202) 939-2279 "A Portrait of Race and Ethnicity in California: A Window on America's Future"

Monday, April 30, noon to 1:30 p.m.

B-354 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C.

Speaker: Belinda Reyes, Public Policy Institute of California

Sponsored by the Population Resource Center and the California Institute for Federal Policy Research.

RSVP to ransdell@calinst.org or (202) 546-3700.

"A World of Refugees: Between Anguish and Hope" lecture by the Rev. Mark Raper, former international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Thursday, May 3, 4:30 p.m. Intercultural Center, Georgetown University Sponsored by the university's Institute for the Study of International Migration RSVP to (202) 687-2258 or daviscl@georgetown.edu "Filipino Immigrants and their Churches: Helping Shape the New San Francisco Community" A conference sponsored by The Religion and Immigration Project (TRIP), University of San Francisco

May 4, 2001

12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Free Public Conference

For more information, contact Lorrie Ranck at (415) 422-5107 or ranck@usfca.edu or visit TRIP website at www.usfca.edu/TRIP

• In July, the Academic Network of Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum in Europe (the Odysseus Network) is conducting a European Summer School program in Brussels on "European Union Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum." The application deadline in June 1. For complete information, go to: http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus/summerschooluk.html

• THE SLOWING PROGRESS OF IMMIGRANTS

• On Thursday, March 15, 2001, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the Institute for the Study of International Migration of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University will host: Rethinking Forced Migration Studies in the Context of Globalization and Transnationalism with Stephen Castles, Director, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford The lecture will take place in Room 141 of the Intercultural Center (ICC) on Georgetown’s main campus. Brown bag lunch. R.S.V.P. to Cherry Davis: daviscl@georgetown.edu, or 687-2258.
• On Wednesday, March 21, from noon to 2 p.m., at the National Press Club in Washington, the Committee for Economic Development (CED) will host a luncheon where it will release a new report, "Reforming Immigration: Helping Meet America's Need for a Skilled Workforce." Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), new chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, will deliver the keynote address. RSVP is required; for information, call (202) 296-5860. CED's immigration project is described at: http://www.ced.org/projects/immigration.htm
• On March 30, the Inter-American Dialogue and the North American Committee of the National Policy Association will host a conference in Washington on "Relaunching the North American Agenda," which will include a session entitled "The New North American Agenda - Migration." Speakers in that session will include: Robert Bach, Rockefeller Foundation (invited) Demetrios Papademetriou, Carnegie Endowment for Int'l Peace Rafael Fernandez de Castro, dean, Dept. of Int'l Studies, ITAM Joan Atkinson, Asst. Deputy Minister, Citizenship and Immigration Canada Moderator: Peter Hakim, president, Inter-American Dialogue. There is a fee for attendance. For more information, call Joan Anderson, joana@npa1.org or (202) 884-7629.
• The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University Of California-San Diego will host the following research seminars and conferences during the Spring quarter. All papers presented at these seminars can be downloaded, within one week of the event, at http://www.ccis-ucsd.org -- go to "Publications/Working Papers." All events will be held in the Deutz Seminar Room of the Copley International Conference Center, Institute of the Americas Complex, UCSD campus. Unless otherwise noted, these seminars and conferences are open to all. A light lunch will be served at all events. For directions, go to http://www.ccis-ucsd.org

First Circuit Agrees with NELF and Rejects Parens Patriae Standing for Foreign Countries

Following an OSHA investigation which uncovered substandard working conditions at the DeCoster Egg Farm, several of the Farm’s migrant workers sued in federal court in Maine for discriminatory treatment, violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and common law breach of contract and fraud. The Mexican government was the primary sponsor of this litigation, purporting to sue in its capacity as parens patriae. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss Mexico, ruling that Mexico lacked standing because the parens patriae doctrine does not apply to foreign nations. A separate judgment was entered to allow Mexico to appeal. NELF (New England Legal Foundation) filed an amicus brief in the First Circuit and contended that the extension of parens patriae standing to foreign nations will cause unnecessary lawsuits with recoveries perhaps going to dictatorial states rather than to victims of discrimination. NELF also argued that the Supreme Court cases that established the doctrine implied that parens patriae standing was granted to resolve matters judicially between states when such matters would

be resolved diplomatically or militarily between fully sovereign nations. The First Circuit agreed that the doctrine had not been extended to foreign nations and affirmed. In its opinion, the Court acknowledged "with appreciation" the amicus brief filed by

NELF and that of an amicus supporting Mexico’s position. (Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. DeCoster)

• The failure of U.S. banks and regulators to track transactions with foreign banks enables criminals to route billions of dollars from drug sales, Internet gambling, tax evasion or other illegal activities into the United States each year, a new Senate subcommittee report concludes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26150-2001Feb4.html

• Mexico's Fox to discuss trade, immigration with Bush Bloomberg

Mexican President Vicente Fox said he plans to discuss immigration, trade, drug trafficking and energy at a meeting with President George W. Bush next month, the U.S. leader's first scheduled foreign visit. No formal agenda has been set for the Feb. 16 meeting at Fox's ranch in the central state of Guanajuato, he said.

The discussions are likely to set the tone for U.S.-Mexican relations under the newly elected former governor of Texas, which has the biggest share of the 1,936-mile border between the two nations. The U.S. is Mexico's largest trading partner, while Mexico ranks second with the U.S.

The meeting will be overshadowed by concerns of a slowing U.S. economy. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday said U.S. growth has virtually evaporated. And Fox said he wants stronger ties with European business to offset a dependence on the U.S.

``If the U.S. economy slowed down, that will reduce growth in Mexico,'' Fox said at a press conference during the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum. ```We think we can replace if not all, part of that decrease'' by boosting trade with Europe and investment from that region. Fox said he wants to see more European investment in Mexico and wants to open electricity generation, natural gas, petrochemicals and other areas to new investment. He also plans to visit Asia later this year to attract new investment from that region.

One incentive that could bring investment is a plan by the Mexican President to gradually lower income tax. ``Our proposal is to begin to reduce income tax gradually, so we can facilitate investment and promote growth and expansion of business,'' Fox said.

Separately, Fox said his government is ready to try to negotiate a peace agreement with rebels in the state of Chiapas who staged a brief uprising in January 1994 to protest the treatment of the country's indigenous Indians. ``We promise to do everything on our side to reach a peace agreement,'' he told reporters. ``We're willing to sit down with them'' and their leaders.

• China will likely ratify a major international rights convention by the end of March, The formal adoption of the pact, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which China signed in 1997, has been a goal of the United Nations, the United States and other Western governments and rights groups. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/23/world/23BEIJ.html
• Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and several other lawmakers are touting a plan for a guest-worker program that would permit thousands of Mexican blue-collar workers to temporarily work in the United States. The proposal will be taken up informally at a meeting in Washington this week, said Gramm. The proposal includes issuing workers renewable one-year permits that would guest workers to the same wage and hour protection as all U.S. workers, and their ranks would be tied to the health of the U.S. economy. When unemployment is low, more permits would be issued. Employees included are: restaurant workers, farm workers, maids and nannies. The program would also stiffen penalties for hiring illegal workers. http://www.mysanantonio.com/
• In one of her last acts before leaving office last week, Attorney General Janet Reno lifted most of the government's restrictions on five Iraqi opposition members who have been unable to leave Nebraska's Lancaster County for a year and a half. Reno's decision, announced Monday, means that all five men can now work and travel freely in the United States and relocate to other parts of the country. But lifting those restrictions falls far short of granting the Iraqis' request for political asylum and still leaves them facing deportation. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41992-2001Jan24.html
• Mexico's president is launching two programs that could help create jobs in Mexico and entice Mexican emigrants back to their native country. The programs have the potential to stem illegal immigration.
• Depleted uranium could not have caused leukemia in allied troops who served in Kosovo, according to a U.S. Army medical expert. See: http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jan2001/a20010124du.html
• Pentagon Questions Use Of Iraqi Facilities The Defense Department is keeping a wary eye on some rebuilt factories outside Baghdad, Iraq, that once produced material suitable for chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, officials said. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2001/n01232001_200101232.html
• Institute Looks To Western Hemisphere's Future, Says de Leon A former Army school that had focused on U.S.-Latin American security issues spawned from the past has been reborn and expanded as a DoD institution, which embraces civil-military partnerships in addressing Western Hemisphere concerns of the 21st century. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2001/n01192001_200101193.html
• AFRICA CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES ANNOUNCES SEMINAR The Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) will hold a Senior Leader Seminar (SLS) in Libreville, Gabon from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9, 2001. A total of 130 delegates from 50 African countries, three European nations, the United States, the United Nations, and several regional and non-government organizations are expected to attend. Sixteen esteemed academics, practitioners and military officers from Africa, Europe, and the United States will serve as discussion group leaders. Visiting dignitaries will include the Commander in Chief, United States Central Command, General Tommy Franks, Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command, General Carlton Fulford, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General John Shaliskashvili. Former President A.T. Toure of Mali, the UN Secretary's Special Advisor on Africa Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, and French Admiral Coldefy are some of the esteemed guest lecturers expected to participate in the seminar. The ACSS is a DoD-sponsored regional center for security studies. Its mission is to engage a mixed group of African civilian and military leaders in a practical academic program focusing on civil-military relations, national and regional security strategy, and defense economics. It is the only program of its kind aimed at a senior pan-African audience. For further information regarding the seminar, please contact Julie Werbel at (703) 602-2830, ext. 116; e-mail at werbelj@mail.policy.osd.mil or Lt. Col. Paul Phillips at (703) 697-1253; e-mail at paul.phillips@osd.pentagon.mil. More information is available on the web at http://www.africacenter.org

• Subject: Call for Papers on Globalization

• GAYATRI SPIVAK, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University
• MICHAEL HARDT, Associate Professsor of Literature and Romance Studies, Duke University
• MAHMOOD MAMDANI, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Director Institute of African Studies, Columbia University
• SASKIA SASSEN, Professor of Sociology, The University of Chicago

• Theories of Narrative and the global
• Rethinking travel, exile, migration, diaspora
• Mestizo logics; or, hybrid theory
• "all the way down"
• "Development," "modernization" and "civilization" and the fate of dependency theory
• Race and gender in globalization theory
• Post-structuralism and the critique of late-capitalism
• Markets, profits, and violent conflicts
• State violence, armed resistance, and limits of international law
• The return of the state in global theory
• The rhetorics of geography, space, and place theory
• Questioning post-Marxism's turn to "culture"
• Subalternities and Solidarities
• Markets, products and the construction of taste
• Queering the sphere
• Genetics, biotechnology and the globe

Professor Kenneth Harrow

Director, Program in Comparative Literature Morrill Hall

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI 48824

fax 517 353 3755

e-mail harrow@msu.edu

Olabode Ibironke

Comparative Literatures Progarm

318 Linton Hall

Michigan State University,

East Lansing, MI 48824