5 Sep, 2022
Brazil’s election and the future of the Amazon
The Candidates: Worlds Apart On October 2 we will have a presidential election in Brazil of enormous consequence for the planet.
5 Sep, 2022
24 Aug, 2022
Another missed opportunity in US-China relations
The Washington Post reports that Xi Jinping personally asked President Biden to find a way to put off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
12 Aug, 2022
The great energy game in Europe
It won’t be long before winter descends on Europe. Before it does, most European countries must address the question of how long and how well they will be able to handle decoupling from Russian energy.
29 Jul, 2022
Five reasons why Nancy Pelosi should postpone a trip to Taiwan
House Leader Nancy Pelosi seems intent on visiting Taiwan. That might not seem like a big deal to Americans, but these are dangerous times in US-China relations. That makes a Taiwan trip very risky. Here’s why:
23 Jul, 2022
Back to the Future: Biden in the Middle East
President Biden has now completed his first visit to the Middle East. The trip was billed as an opportunity to reset relations, especially with Saudi Arabia, promote respect for human rights, and reaffirm traditional US policy on Israel and the Palestine question.
12 Jul, 2022
Water, water, no longer everywhere
Drought and Scarcity "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is only halfway descriptive of the planet’s current water situation.
5 Jul, 2022
China’s surveillance state and its meaning for us
China’s surveillance state and its meaning for us by Mel Gurtov 962 words The Tools of Surveillance In a recent...
28 Jun, 2022
Europe’s uneasy unity on the war in Ukraine
Welcoming the leaders of Finland and Sweden to Washington on May 19, President Biden said that “what makes NATO strong isn’t just our enormous military capacity, but our commitment to each other, to its values. NATO is an alliance of choice, not coercion.” NATO is indeed a growing alliance...
4 Jun, 2022
The arsenal, but not of democracy
America is awash with weapons, and the tragic consequences are before us every day...
28 May, 2022
Biden, Taiwan, and strategic ambiguity
At a stopover in Tokyo during his Asia trip, President Biden was asked whether the US would “defend Taiwan” if it were attacked. He said yes, because “that’s the commitment we made.” Actually, there is no formal “commitment,”...
25 May, 2022
Omicron Catches Up with North Korea
After having proclaimed for more than two years that the country was untouched by the coronavirus, North Korea now faces a potential health catastrophe...
19 May, 2022
It’s “now or never” on climate change
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working group report gives us until 2030 to stop global warming at 1.5?C.
10 May, 2022
Loose lips can sink peace
During World War II, US sailors were warned: Loose lips sink ships. A similar warning should have gone out to all US officials in recent days—and the President should have been the first to acknowledge that the warning included him.
1 May, 2022
The coming Old New Order
A principal lesson of the war in Ukraine is that the Cold War never ended. German reunification, the Soviet Union’s collapse, new entries in NATO, democratic springs in Poland and Hungary, Ukraine’s independence, the removal of nuclear weapons from eastern Europe, including Ukraine—all these events once augured a new era in Europe.
23 Apr, 2022
Take the gloves off
Many of you have no doubt watched a video of Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow’s forthright response to a far-right colleague’s attempt to paint her as a “groomer” for the LGBTQ community and a supporter of pedophilia.