BLOG… Post #111: China–Broken Rice Bowls, Stifled Voices 23 Mar 201627 Feb 2017 Amidst the economic downturn in China, two developments that are not “in the human interest” stand out: rising unemployment among workers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and repression of criticism of…
American Politics and the World… Post #110: Trump and China 15 Mar 201627 Feb 2017 Donald Trump says he “knows” China. He “likes” China, in fact “loves” China. And so long as the Chinese do exactly as he wants, he’ll continue loving China. And that’s…
American Politics and the World… Post #109: Donald Trump—From One Tyrant to Another 3 Mar 201627 Feb 2017 One thing I discovered long ago about tyrants: they love other tyrants. They’re a mutual admiration/suffering society. When one succeeds by extinguishing dissent, the others applaud; and when one falls,…
BLOG… Post #108: Dark Spots, Light Spots, and Apple’s Protest 23 Feb 201627 Feb 2017 How’s this for bad choices? A recent study by a Harvard group contended with the position of US intelligence agencies that tracking possible terrorists was becoming more difficult because…
BLOG… Post #107 – Is US-Russia Engagement Still Possible? 11 Feb 201627 Feb 2017 President Obama’s failed attempt to “reset” US-Russia relations raises the question whether or not engaging Russia in the fullest sense is still possible. I think not, at least for the…
BLOG… Post #106: Deadlock: North Korea’s Nuclear Test and US Policy 2 Feb 201627 Feb 2017 North Korea continues to rattle the cages of both friend and foe. Despite near-universal condemnation of its fourth nuclear test and a deplorable human rights record, Kim Jong-un defiantly disregards…
BLOG… Post #105: Time for a Reset in US-Saudi Relations 27 Jan 201627 Feb 2017 The growing rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran is reportedly causing great consternation in US policymaking circles (www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html). Once again, US officials are called upon to decide whether to…
BLOG… Post #104 –Engaging and Apologizing: Two Exercises, Different Results 18 Jan 201627 Feb 2017 The art and wisdom of engaging and apologizing to adversaries was on display in recent days in two very different settings, one in East Asia and the other in the…
BLOG… Post #103: Terrorism, American Style 4 Jan 201627 Feb 2017 As the popularity of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and other race-baiting antidemocratic politicians attest, a significant portion of the American public is hostile to Washington, whether with respect to expansion…
BLOG… Post #102 – Endless War, Undeclared and Undebated 27 Dec 201527 Feb 2017 The death of six US soldiers in Afghanistan on December 21 at the hands of a Taliban suicide bomber brings to twenty-one the number of US combat deaths there in…
American Politics and the World… Post #101: The Paris Climate-Change Agreement: Hold the Champagne 15 Dec 201527 Feb 2017 Ban Ki-moon called it “a monumental success for the planet and its people.” Secretary of State Kerry said it was “a tremendous victory for all of our citizens—not for…
BLOG… Post #100: China in Paris 7 Dec 201527 Feb 2017 Xi Jinping is a lucky man: He got to spend a few days in Paris, at the UN Conference on Climate Change, while his fellow Beijingers suffered under some of…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 
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