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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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20Sep 202620 Sep 2026
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Post #527: The Crimes of the Trump Regime

(Note to the Reader: This is the fifth iteration of a blog originally posted after the first two weeks of…

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17Sep 202617 Sep 2026
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APB: The US Denies Visas to Palestinian UN Delegation

For a second consecutive year, the US State Department has denied visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and…

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16Sep 2026
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Post #526: Is Xi Coming, and Will AI and Human Rights be on the Agenda?

Xi Jinping has indicated that if the US approves a second major arms shipment to Taiwan, it would cross a…

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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…

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  • Post #527: The Crimes of the Trump Regime
  • APB: The US Denies Visas to Palestinian UN Delegation
  • Post #526: Is Xi Coming, and Will AI and Human Rights be on the Agenda?
  • Post #525: Losing Hand in the Iran War
  • Post #524: The Arsenal

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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

  • 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
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