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In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

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12Aug 202214 Aug 2022
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Post #347: The Great Energy Game in Europe

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…

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3Aug 20223 Aug 2022
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Post #346: Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: A Needless Provocation

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…

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28Jul 2022
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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,…

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BLOG

Post #307: Reclaiming Patriotism

13 Aug 2021
             In an interview August 12 on MSNBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci commented that one way to be patriotic is to get vaccinated.  That view prompted a thought I’ve been having…
BLOG…

Post #306: Pegasus and the Global Surveillance Business

9 Aug 202110 Aug 2021
Listen to an audio version of this blog at https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/37159 We have just learned about a powerful spyware known as Pegasus, manufactured and leased by the Israeli company NSO Group…
BLOG…

Post #305: Influence Peddling, A Threat to Democracy and a Humane Foreign Policy

1 Aug 2021
A shorter audio version of this blog is available at: https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/36759             Modern-day democracy has numerous weaknesses, as we’ve been made well aware: policy differences that cannot be resolved, corruption,…
BLOG

Post #304: Presidential Warmaking

14 Jul 202114 Jul 2021
A podcast of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/35072 Presidential Prerogatives Once upon a time, American leaders only went to war when, in accordance with the Constitution, Congress declared it. …
BLOG

Post #303: Intervention in Haiti?

11 Jul 202120 Jul 2021
Available on podcast: https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/35814/intervention-in-haiti.mp3 "The poorest country in Latin America.”  Haiti is seemingly forever defined by that phrase.  No matter who is in power, no matter how much foreign aid…
BLOG

Post #302: Saving the US-Iran Nuclear Agreement

24 Jun 20216 Jul 2021
Note: This post is also available as a podcast at https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/34028 Despite the best efforts of the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu to disrupt the nuclear talks with Iran by…
BLOG

Post #301: The Pentagon’s Untouchable Budget

11 Jun 20215 Jul 2021
This post is also available as a podcast at https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/33010 Did you really think that electing Joe Biden would mean major reductions in military spending and the shift of Pentagon…
BLOG…

Post #300: Saving Democracy in America

6 Jun 20216 Jun 2021
To the Reader: It seems only right and proper that I celebrate my 300th blog on a patriotic note, with a plea to save our democracy and quash the Big…
BLOG

Post #299: War Over Taiwan? Avoiding a US-China Miscalculation

2 Jun 20211 Jun 2021
This blog is available as a podcast: https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/32051 A shorter audio version can be accessed at "Today in Foreign Affairs" on the website. The Increasing US Commitment to Taiwan Taiwan…
BLOG

Post #298: After the Cease-fire: Peace or War?

24 May 202123 May 2021
This blog is also available as a podcast via podserve.fm: https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/31406 U.N. Secretary General António Guterres urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to go “beyond the restoration of calm to start…
BLOG…

Post #297: To Sanction Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Add Them to the State Department’s List

20 May 202120 May 2021
(Note to Readers: This post is co-authored with Dr. Larry Kirsch, an economist and former managing partner of IMR Health Economics. It follows on #296,”Getting Back to Basics in Policy…
BLOG

Post #296: Getting Back to Basics in Policy on Israel

14 May 202115 May 2021
“The problem with the Middle East is that you can try to turn your back on it, but it won’t turn its back on you,” says Martin S. Indyk, former…
BLOG

Post #295: North Korea is Back on the US Agenda

23 Apr 202119 Apr 2021
North Korea is rattling America’s cage again.  It sent a reminder call when it recently fired off multiple short-range missiles after denouncing Washington for going forward with joint military exercises…
BLOG

Post #294: Ending the Race to the Bottom in Corporate Taxation

12 Apr 202112 May 2021
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has proposed that the US and other countries that host multinational corporations (MNCs) impose a “global minimum corporate tax rate” that would help pay for Biden’s…
BLOG

Post #293: The US-China Dialogue of the Deaf in Alaska

30 Mar 202128 Mar 2021
Rules-Based Order? Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he knew, going into the first face-to-face meetings with China’s top two foreign affairs officials on March 17, that “we are fundamentally…
APB

APB: Repression in Myanmar (and an Invitation to a Presentation)

22 Mar 202125 Mar 2021
Democracy in Myanmar suffered a severe setback on February 1 when the Tatmadaw, the country’s military, seized power.  The coup did not come as a complete surprise: the National League…
BLOG

Post #292: the Navalny case and US-Russia relations

21 Mar 202121 Mar 2021
(Note to Readers: This blog is the long version of my "Global Citizen" broadcast #4, which will be available March 23.) Joe Biden has barely had time to get reacquainted…
BLOG

Post #291: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed

5 Mar 20214 Mar 2021
            As the Biden administration settles in, let’s pause to take stock of where American politics now stands.  It’s not a pretty picture, but it has the potential for improvement. …
BLOG

Post #290: Biden’s Opportunity with China

23 Feb 202121 Feb 2021
The dominant view of China in both Washington and in American public opinion is that the United States faces an increasingly ruthless Chinese leadership, requiring that US policy restrain if…
BLOG

Post #289: United We Fail

4 Feb 2021
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the…

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  • Post #347: The Great Energy Game in Europe
  • Post #346: Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: A Needless Provocation
  • Five Reasons Why Nancy Pelosi Should Postpone a Trip to Taiwan
  • Post #345: Back to the Future: Biden in the Middle East
  • Post #344: Water, Water, No Longer Everywhere

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