22 Nov, 2022
The Biden-Xi summit in Bali
Some Reasons for Optimism The much-ballyhooed first in-person summit between Pres. Biden and Xi Jinping on November 14 went off pretty well.
22 Nov, 2022
11 Nov, 2022
Israel’s religious terrorists
No one should be surprised to find Benjamin Netanyahu back as prime minister of Israel, with decisive support from far-right religious extremists.
4 Nov, 2022
Time to reset military relations with Saudi Arabia
An Uneven Balance Sheet Saudi Arabia and OPEC have decided to cut oil production by two million barrels a day.
23 Oct, 2022
Europe’s far-right lurch
The struggle to save democracy is proving even more difficult in Europe than here in the US. Virtually every European country is bedeviled by rising conflict between traditional political parties on one side and far-right, sometimes neo-fascist parties on the other.
14 Oct, 2022
Can Russia’s use of a nuclear weapon in the Ukraine war be prevented?
President Biden surprised his top advisers along with everyone else when, at a fundraising event, he referred to “Armageddon” in the Ukraine war: Russia’s possible use of a nuclear weapon.
30 Sep, 2022
Predictions of a Ukraine victory are premature
Something extraordinary is happening in the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin is taking a hit from all sides. Opposition to the war is coming from home and abroad.
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
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.
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...