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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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20Jul 2026
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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…

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16Jul 202616 Jul 2026
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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…

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12Jul 202616 Jul 2026
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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…

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Post #440: Give Peace a Chance? No Way

22 Oct 202422 Oct 2024
Three Developments That Might Lead to Talks             Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented a week or so ago: “We will do to Lebanon what we did to Gaza.” That…
BLOG

Post #439: Peak China

8 Oct 2024
Signs of Peaking China’s economy has probably peaked in size and performance. The era of investment and credit expansion seems to be over. As Bloomberg recently reported, factory output has…
BLOG

Post #438: On the Brink in the Middle East

26 Sep 20241 Nov 2024
Signaling an Invasion Israel’s planting of explosive material in pagers and walkie-talkies could be the forerunner to an invasion of southern Lebanon. Defense minister Yoav Gallant implied as much when…
BLOG

Post #437: The Republicans’ “China Week”

16 Sep 20241 Nov 2024
Targeting China             “China Week” sounds like a time for celebrating Chinese culture and food. But for Republicans in the House of Representatives, it’s all about politics. They seem to…
BLOG

Post #436: Cease-fire Agreements in the Middle East Seem More Remote than Ever

1 Sep 20241 Nov 2024
“Blood on His Hands”             “After close to a year of neglect, Netanyahu doesn’t miss a single opportunity to ensure that there won’t be a deal. Not a day goes…
BLOG

Post #435: China Views the US Election

26 Aug 20241 Nov 2024
China’s Analytical Challenges             China’s America watchers have the same tough job that faces Donald Trump’s campaign: coming up with a new game plan after Joe Biden passed the torch…
BLOG

Post #434: Project 2025, part 2

21 Aug 20241 Nov 2024
Last week I explored the politics of Project 2025, the far right’s plan for dismantling the so-called Deep State and replacing it with a President-centered authoritarian system designed with Donald…
BLOG

Post #433: Project 2025: Authoritarian Rule and Foreign Policy Mayhem (Part 1)

10 Aug 20241 Nov 2024
A Far-Right Conspiracy in the Open Project 2025, the far-right’s ambitious policy planning guide published as Mandate for Leadership, is designed to dismantle the “Deep State” and install a president…
BLOG

Post #432: Escalation and Miscalculation: How a Bigger War Might Happen in the Middle East

4 Aug 20241 Nov 2024
Fateful Choices Just a few weeks ago, the media were reporting that Israel and Hezbollah were edging closer to an agreement that would bring their deadly exchanges along the border…
BLOG

Post #431: Two Wars With No Way Out

28 Jul 20241 Nov 2024
People involved in conflict resolution often say that every war must end. Most wars do end in some fashion, but plenty of wars—and the wars in Ukraine and Israel appear…
BLOG

Post #430: Gathering of the Clan: The Trump Criminal Enterprise at the RNC

20 Jul 20241 Nov 2024
The Criminals             Former FBI director James Comey once compared Donald Trump’s gang of loyalists to the Mafia. “Holy crap, they are trying to make each of us an amica…
APB

APB: Why Joe Biden Should Step Aside

13 Jul 202412 Jul 2024
            Like all of you, I’ve read numerous commentaries on the President’s post-debate situation and what should be done about it. Here are my brief reactions to the reasons most…

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  • Post #517: Armed Conflict is Surging, Peacemaking is Flagging
  • Post #516: The Retreat from Global Warming and Environmental Protection
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  • Post #513: The Missing Art of the Deal with Iran

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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
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  • Canada’s PM Sets an Independent Course
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