20 Jun, 2022
Putin attempts to justify the unjustifiable
The Russian government’s justifications for its war in Ukraine?the largest, most destructive military operation in Europe since World War II?are not persuasive.
30 May, 2022
The war in Ukraine: A national debate is needed
Of late (generational dark humor alert), I have begun to feel as though Professor Peabody and his trusty human Sherman have stuffed me into their WayBack Machine and sent me back to 2003...
22 May, 2022
Humility
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared that he wants Russia weakened. Of course he meant militarily weakened.
11 May, 2022
Beyond our nuclear march of folly
The planet and its national and international institutions are not even close to facing the realities that confront us. Instead, we live in a fantasy la-la land, or what Greta Thunberg might call blah-blah land.
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.
6 May, 2022
Putin’s war will not be on the ballot–but democracy will be
Historical memory can fade over time. Born in 1942, I've watched it happen. We lost sight of the cruelty of fascism and authoritarian rule and how indispensable free democratic societies are to world peace and well being.
26 Apr, 2022
Delusional
One adjective often, and correctly, used for Putin’s invasion is “delusional.” Even if he manages to pound Ukraine into scorched rubble, he’ll still be further than when he began from anything resembling victory.
14 Apr, 2022
Crimes of war
Crimes of war by Mel Gurtov 1351 words Mass Violence in Our Times In just the past few years, we...
13 Apr, 2022
Is this the best we can do?
There’s been a lot of “whataboutism” muddying the dialogue around the deeper causes of the cruel and pointless Ukraine invasion.
12 Apr, 2022
‘The Godfather’ turns 50
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the first “Godfather” movie. Celebratory retrospectives are ubiquitous.
11 Apr, 2022
The case against the GQP is worse than you think
My doctorate in Political Science ought to have included a section on gaslighting. Currently Russian leader Vladimir Putin is demonstrating one version of this; he is calling his invasion of Ukraine, massacre of civilians, and wanton disregard for human rights (that some are calling genocide) a “special operation.”
7 Apr, 2022
Big Oil’s war bonanza
In case you haven’t noticed, a major consequence of the Ukraine war is the bonanza it has provided for the oil and gas industry.
31 Mar, 2022
When will it end, and how?
How will it end? In the wake of Ukraine’s stunning and stubborn resistance to Putin’s invasion, the question whose answer once seemed preordained now can be asked in all seriousness.
29 Mar, 2022
A modest proposal for peace in Ukraine
Maybe, as the human world stands at the brink of possible nuclear annihilation given the antiquated launch on warning system of Russia and its 2,000 “small or tactical nuclear weapons” that Putin may have to “use or lose” depending on the fog of war, it is time to actually consider an “equal protection of the law” approach to resolution.
22 Mar, 2022
Freedom, our brains on social media, disinformation, WMD, Nazis
Each human on Earth seems to have a social media identity as unique as a fingerprint, so we all see what the cybergods algorithmically feed us.