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In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

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

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14Mar 202614 Mar 2026
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Post #498: Unexpected Gifts: Beijing and Moscow Gain from Trump’s War

I have previously commented about the strategic blunders the Trump regime has made in its war on Iran. Add this…

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9Mar 2026
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ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION

China Inside and Out: Politics and Policies in a Turbulent World (Bloomsbury Academic). THIS BOOK OF FOCUSED READINGS AND DOCUMENTS…

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7Mar 2026
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Post #497: Aggression in Iran

Conduct that Defies Logic, Law, or Sound Purposes As the invasion of Iran grinds on and its boundaries expand, the…

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APB

Tillerson on North Korea

16 Mar 2017
In a rare public statement while in Japan, Secretary of State Tillerson said: “I think it’s important to recognize that the political and diplomatic efforts of the past 20 years…
BLOG

Post #157: Trumpcare: An International Embarrassment

16 Mar 201715 Mar 2017
As I noted in my APB the other day (“The Freedom to be Unhealthy”), Paul Ryan justifies the current Trumpcare bill as promoting freedom—the right not to have to buy…
APB

The Freedom to be Unhealthy

13 Mar 201713 Mar 2017
Here is the real cost of "freedom" in the US today: The Congressional Budget Office has just published its estimate of what Trumpcare will really cost: 24 million more people without…
BLOG

Post #156: What Is Rex Tillerson Up To?

11 Mar 201710 Mar 2017
You say the photo accompanying this post isn't of Rex Tillerson?That's right; it's because Tillerson never answers press questions, so various State Department employees are having to stand in for…
BLOG

Post # 155: Mad About THAAD: An Untimely Decision

8 Mar 20177 Mar 2017
The US decision, supported by the South Korean government, to deploy an antimissile system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) may be one of the most thoughtless strategic…
BLOG

Post #154: Switching Sides: America and Russia in US Public Opinion

6 Mar 20176 Mar 2017
Once upon a time in the US you could fairly predict what Americans believe about Russia. Their beliefs would parallel their views of the USSR during the Cold War, with…
APB

Serving the People and Making Money

3 Mar 2017
A report from China puts the total net worth of the roughly 3,000 members of its legislature--delegates to the National People's Congress and alternates--at about $500 billion.  As more entrepreneurs…
BLOG

Post #153: The Dirt Keeps Piling On

2 Mar 20176 Mar 2017
At a news conference on February 20, Donald Trump said: “I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.” …
APB

The Shirker

2 Mar 2017
Donald Trump’s repeated denials of responsibility for the death of a soldier in Yemen, and his efforts to shift that responsibility to others (President Obama in this case), are evidence…
APB

Lies, Lies, and More Lies

1 Mar 2017
Donald Trump's address to Congress yesterday (Feb. 28) earned him high marks, probably because the bar was set so low that even a smattering of rationality warranted applause. But the…
APB

“Winning” Wars

27 Feb 2017
“We have to start winning wars again.”  So said Donald Trump in explaining to US governors why the US must spend an additional $56 billion on the military.  This man…
BLOG

Post #152: While Our Attention is Elsewhere, Climate Change Worsens

27 Feb 201727 Feb 2017
Donald Trump’s presidency has gotten so much attention that the latest threats to climate stability have received only passing notice. To be sure, Trump’s belief that climate change is a…

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bombless's avatarbombless on ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #497: Aggression in Iran
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
chiefbeardf273823bee's avatarchiefbeardf273823bee on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
Unknown's avatarPortland State Unive… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…

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  • Post #498: Unexpected Gifts: Beijing and Moscow Gain from Trump’s War
  • ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
  • Post #497: Aggression in Iran
  • Post #496: War on Iran
  • Post #495: Trumped on Tariffs

Recent Comments

bombless's avatarbombless on ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #497: Aggression in Iran
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
chiefbeardf273823bee's avatarchiefbeardf273823bee on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
Unknown's avatarPortland State Unive… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…

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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

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