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 #247: From President to Autocrat

6 Nov 20195 Nov 2019
An Autocrat Like All Others A recent special issue of Foreign Affairs is devoted to profiling some of the world’s most prominent autocrats: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,…
BLOG

Post #246: Will Trump Leave Quietly?

24 Oct 201923 Oct 2019
On October 23, about two dozen unhappy Republican congress members stormed a closed hearing that was part of the impeachment inquiry, determined to show their loyalty to Trump (who knew…
BLOG

Post #245: Overreach, the Achilles Heel of Autocrats

6 Oct 20196 Oct 2019
It Has Happened Here and Everywhere It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating the democratic wave sweeping Europe in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. It seems…
BLOG

Post #244: Listen to the Children

23 Sep 201922 Sep 2019
The Republicans are on the sidelines on the climate crisis.  Government scientists are muzzled.  Leading Democrats—though not all—are cautious.  CEOs of some of America’s biggest corporations are pledging action while…
BLOG

Post #243: No War for Saudi Oil!

17 Sep 201922 Sep 2019
Even if US intelligence decisively shows that some of the drones and cruise missiles used in the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields originated in Iran, a decision to go…
APB

APB: Farewell, John Bolton

11 Sep 2019
The firing (or, he insists, the resignation) of John Bolton as national security special assistant is being treated by some observers as a great loss for coherence and professionalism in…
BLOG

Post #242: Trump and the Climate Crisis–A Crime Against Humanity

22 Aug 201921 Aug 2019
The President of the United States is a criminal.  I’m not referring to the twenty-odd investigations of him currently underway for violations of the Constitution, obstruction of justice, and collaboration…
BLOG

Post #241: China’s Hong Kong Nightmare, and the US Response

16 Aug 201916 Aug 2019
Donald Trump has kept his promise, reportedly made to Xi Jinping in June, that Washington would "tone down" its comments on the spiraling HK protests. "Very tough situation" Trump tweeted…
ARTICLES

A Few Suggested New Readings

5 Aug 20195 Aug 2019
Video: A Moving Cry for Change in Gun Laws: https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/08/04/relative-of-victims-message-to-trump-dayton-ohio-mass-shooting-nr-vpx.cnn My friend and Asia scholar Mark Selden teamed up to write the following on “The Dangerous New US Consensus on…
BLOG…

Post #240: Our Racist President

31 Jul 201930 Jul 2019
"Donald Trump lost the election because he veered so far off course from what it means to be a decent person, to be a leader, and to be an American.…
BLOG

Post #239: The US-China Trade War: A Cease-fire, Nothing More

25 Jul 201928 Jul 2019
The Financial Times reported on July 10 that Donald Trump, at his last meeting with Xi Jinping in Osaka in June, promised to “tone down” criticism of China’s actions in…
APB…

APB: The Caging of Human Rights

13 Jul 2019
At a hearing yesterday (July 12) on the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia was appropriately livid: "I never thought as a member of Congress — as…

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