Surgery on SL~×En\widetilde{\Bbb{SL}}\times\Bbb{E}^n-manifolds

We show that although closed $\widetilde{\Bbb{SL}}\times\Bbb{E}^n$-manifolds do not admit metrics of nonpositive sectional curvature, the arguments of Farrell and Jones can be extended to show that such manifolds are topologically rigid, if $n\geq2$.Comment: 7 pages, AMS-LaTeX file, To appear in the Canadian Mathematical Bulletin

Nontariff Agricultural Trade Barriers Revisited

International Relations/Trade,

AN AGRICULTURAL POLICY PROPOSAL

Agricultural and Food Policy,

DISCUSSION OF LIBERALIZED AGRICULTURAL TRADE--AT THE MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS, BILATERALLY OR NOT AT ALL!

International Relations/Trade,

AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION: AN OBSERVATION AND WARNING

Agricultural protection, especially of the nontariff type, is on the increase despite some recent appearances to the contrary. The forces behind this trend are heavily economic and immediate, relating principally to domestic farm programs. But there are other forces: self-sufficiency policies, social and cultural factors, and national security matters, which are also used to support protection in the political arena and over the long run. It is imperative that the leading industrial countries, with the assistance of leading developing countries, negotiate trade arrangements and agricultural adjustment policies that take advantage of the proven principles of comparative advantage. The alternative might be a trade breakdown similar to that of the 1930s.Agricultural and Food Policy,

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES, PROTECTION AND TRADE (WITH RESPECT TO MEAT PRODUCTS)

This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Studies, Massey University. Dietary changes, especially in developing countries, are driving a massive increase in demand for livestock products. The objective of this symposium was to examine the consequences of this phenomenon, which some have even called a "revolution." How are dietary patterns changing, and can increased demands for livestock products be satisfied from domestic resources? If so, at what cost? What will be the flow-on impacts, for example, in terms of increased demands for feedgrains and the pressures for change within marketing systems? A supply-side response has been the continued development of large-scale, urban-based industrial livestock production systems that in many cases give rise to environmental concerns. If additional imports seem required, where will they originate and what about food security in the importing regions? How might market access conditions be re-negotiated to make increased imports achievable? Other important issues discussed involved food safety, animal health and welfare and the adoption of biotechnology, and their interactions with the negotiation of reforms to domestic and trade policies. Individual papers from this conference are available on AgEcon Search. If you would like to see the complete agenda and set of papers from this conference, please visit the IATRC Symposium web page at: http://www1.umn.edu/iatrc.intro.htmFood Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

Twisted Alexander polynomials detect the unknot

The group of a nontrivial knot admits a finite permutation representation such that the corresponding twisted Alexander polynomial is not a unit.Comment: This is the version published by Algebraic & Geometric Topology on 14 November 200