Skip to content
In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

Critical appraisals of foreign affairs and politics from a global-citizen perspective

Search
  • A philanthropist makes a grand pledge for conservation
  • Making China a U.S. enemy is counterproductive
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • Canada’s PM Sets an Independent Course
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • FEATURED BLOGS
  • Recent Publications

FEATURED

20Jul 2026
Add a comment

Post #517: Armed Conflict is Surging, Peacemaking is Flagging

A Record-Setting Pace Wars in Iran, Ukraine, and Israel have drawn attention away from a stark fact: armed conflict is…

Share this with friends and colleagues:

  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
Like Loading...
16Jul 202616 Jul 2026
Add a comment

Post #516: The Retreat from Global Warming and Environmental Protection

Walking It Back We once took for granted that everyone concerned with global warming outside the Trump administration’s orbit accepted…

Share this with friends and colleagues:

  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
Like Loading...
12Jul 202616 Jul 2026
4 Comments

Post #515: Putin’s Predicament

Three Policy Directions President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly problematic position in the war with Ukraine would seem to lead Russia in…

Share this with friends and colleagues:

  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
Like Loading...
BLOG

Post #351: Predictions of a Ukraine Victory are Premature

29 Sep 202229 Sep 2022
For the podcast of this blog, see the archive at https://wordpress.com/post/melgurtov.com/2247 Putin Under Fire Something extraordinary is happening in the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin is taking a…
BLOG

Post #350: Two on China: Xi Does Well in Central Asia, Taiwan Fares Well in the US Senate

20 Sep 202219 Sep 2022
The Limits of “No Limits”  In the course of his Central Asia tour, Xi Jinping met with Vladimir Putin for what some analysts thought would be a reprise of their…
APB…

ANNOUNCEMENT: MY NEW BOOK ON CHINA

8 Sep 202214 Oct 2022
Dear Readers: On October 15, Engaging China: Rebuilding Sino-American Relations will be published by Rowman & Littlefield. As you know from my blogs on US-China relations, I am at once…
BLOG

Post #349: Brazil’s Election and the Future of the Amazon

4 Sep 202217 Sep 2022
(The podcast of this and all other blogs is athttps://wordpress.com/post/melgurtov.com/2247.) The Candidates: Worlds Apart On October 2 we will have a presidential election in Brazil of enormous consequence for the…
BLOG

Post #348: Another Missed Opportunity in US-China Relations

24 Aug 202223 Aug 2022
            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 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/20/nancy-pelosi-biden-taiwan/) . According to…
BLOG

Post #347: The Great Energy Game in Europe

12 Aug 202214 Aug 2022
The audio of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/67441/56-the-great-energy-game-in-europe.mp3  The Politics of Russia’s Energy Exports             It won’t be long before winter descends on Europe. Before it does, most European countries…
BLOG

Post #346: Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: A Needless Provocation

3 Aug 20223 Aug 2022
The audio version of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/66494/55-nancy-pelosis-taiwan-trip-a-needless-provocation.mp3          House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was intent on visiting Taiwan, and did so despite President Biden’s misgivings and criticisms from many China…
APB

Five Reasons Why Nancy Pelosi Should Postpone a Trip to Taiwan

28 Jul 2022
            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…
BLOG

Post #345: Back to the Future: Biden in the Middle East

23 Jul 202229 Jul 2022
The audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/65600/54-back-to-the-future-bidens-middle-east-trip.mp3             President Biden has now completed his first visit to the Middle East. The trip was billed as an opportunity to…
BLOG

Post #344: Water, Water, No Longer Everywhere

14 Jul 202214 Jul 2022
The audio of this blog may be accessed at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/64815/53-water-water-no-longer-everywhere.mp3 Drought and Scarcity "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is only halfway…
BLOG

Post #343: China’s Surveillance State and Its Meaning for Us

5 Jul 202229 Jul 2022
The audio of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/64174/52-chinas-surveillance-state-and-ours.mp3 The Tools of Surveillance             In a recent commentary, I discussed the visit to China of the UN’s chief human rights official…
BLOG

Post #342: Europe’s Uneasy Unity on the War in Ukraine

28 Jun 202226 Jun 2022
The audio of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/63347/50-europes-uneasy-unity-in-the-ukraine-war.mp3.             Welcoming the leaders of Finland and Sweden to Washington on May 19, President Biden said that “what makes NATO strong…

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Recommended

  • Dali Yang reviews Minxin Pei’s book on endemic corruption in China
  • “1984” in Xinjiang, China
  • Career US Foreign Service officer and China expert offers advice on US-China relations
  • Who profits from nuclear weapons?
  • World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Second Notice
  • UN Special Rapporteur’s report on extreme poverty in America
  • A former nuclear regulator now wants to ban N-power
  • 900 Former Prosecutors Say Trump Guilty of Obstruction of Justice
  • Open Letter: China is not the enemy
  • The Dangerous Anti-China Consensus in the US
  • A patriotic ambassador tells the truth about Ukraine
  • US House Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Report
  • A Song for the Times
  • Making China a US Enemy is Counterproductive
  • Putting America back together
  • Goodbye, Donald Trump
  • Democracy scholars’ warning
  • All the King’s (DJT) Lawsuits
  • Rep. Liz Cheney’s Opening Statement at Jan. 6 Committee Hearing
  • Rep. Bennie Thompson’s Opening Statement at Jan. 6 Committee Hearing
  • Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitism?
  • Democracy Scholars Warning
  • Timothy Snyder on Tyranny
  • Trump vs. US: Sotomayor’s Dissent
  • 50 Legal Experts Shocked about Trump Lawlessness
  • Ai Weiwei’s “Camouflage” Exhibit in NYC

Recent Comments

Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
wwmakers's avatarwwmakers on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
jrnewcomerprotonmailcom's avatarjrnewcomerprotonmail… on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
larrykirsch's avatarlarrykirsch on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
wwmakers's avatarwwmakers on Post #514: Out of Control

Search Posts

Archives

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Facebook

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 741 other subscribers

Follow by RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Search Posts

Recent Posts

  • Post #517: Armed Conflict is Surging, Peacemaking is Flagging
  • Post #516: The Retreat from Global Warming and Environmental Protection
  • Post #515: Putin’s Predicament
  • Post #514: Out of Control
  • Post #513: The Missing Art of the Deal with Iran

Recent Comments

Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
wwmakers's avatarwwmakers on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
jrnewcomerprotonmailcom's avatarjrnewcomerprotonmail… on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
larrykirsch's avatarlarrykirsch on Post #515: Putin’s Predi…
wwmakers's avatarwwmakers on Post #514: Out of Control

Archives

Meta

  • Create account
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Listen to my "Global Citizen" commentaries every Tuesday, 5:25 pm, on KBOO.fm (Portland area) and Wednesdays on KXCR.net (Florence, OR area). The Global Citizen International Digest of the week's news is on KBOO Thursdays at 5:30 pm and is also on SUBSTACK, free, via https://melgurtov.substack.com

  • A philanthropist makes a grand pledge for conservation
  • Making China a U.S. enemy is counterproductive
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • Canada’s PM Sets an Independent Course
Website Powered by WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov
      • Join 480 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
Loading Comments...

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d