BLOG Post #270: The World Bank’s Poverty Illusion 12 Aug 202016 Aug 2020 What would you estimate is the minimum amount of money you need to get by every day? $100? $50? The figure, of course, depends very much on where you live…
BLOG Post 260: The Coming New World Disorder 3 May 20202 May 2020 After the demise of the Soviet Union and the US intervention that crushed Saddam Hussein’s attack on Kuwait in 1991, President George H. W. Bush pronounced a new world order.…
BLOG Post #226: On China, the US Public Stands Apart 5 Feb 20194 Feb 2019 Why isn’t the American public as agitated about China as are the Trump administration, the mainstream media, and even many China specialists? In a recent article (www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/31/china-gap/), Daniel Drezner, a…
BLOG Post #224: The Shame of the 1 Percent Continues 21 Jan 201927 Jan 2019 Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sir David Attenborough called on government and business leaders to support, with practical plans, “United Nations decisions on…
APB What the Chinese are Saying About the Trade Summit 3 Dec 20183 Dec 2018 Kicking the can down the road is a familiar way to avoid dealing with a problem. That is what happened in the Trump-Kim talks in Singapore on denuclearization, and it…
BLOG Post #219: Is China a “Responsible Great Power”? 31 Oct 201830 Oct 2018 President Xi Jinping would like everyone to pay attention to how China is exerting leadership in world affairs as a “responsible great power.” While the Trump administration is in retreat,…
BLOG Post #215: On Dealing with China 18 Sep 201826 Sep 2018 (Note: A slightly different version of this article has been published as "The China Conundrum" at https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/the-china-conundrum.) A Self-Confident China Ever since China’s economic reforms began in 1978, the goal…
APB APB: A Dangerous Game of Chicken 6 Apr 20186 Apr 2018 As the “tit-for-tat” trade fight between the US and China escalates, Donald Trump is likely to find that he doesn’t “know China” the way he once thought. When he said…
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…
American Politics and the World… Post #118: Cowgirl Diplomacy? Foreign Policy Under Hillary Clinton 24 May 201627 Feb 2017 America’s mainstream media, ever attracted to the splashy rather than the serious, has a new topic to occupy the time until Election Day: President Trump. What will he do first? …
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 #87: The Number One Global Security Issue? Climate Change 12 Aug 201527 Feb 2017 In my very first blog posted in February 2014, I noted that US leaders were finally categorizing climate change as a global threat on the order of weapons of mass…
BLOG… Post #65 – Give Greece a Chance 1 Feb 201527 Feb 2017 The electoral victory of Alexis Tzipras may provide new hope for the overwhelming majority of Greeks, who are living in Third World-like conditions as the economy deteriorates and external debt…
BLOG… Post #63 – Davos: The One Percent and the Rest 20 Jan 201527 Feb 2017 Ever been to Davos? I haven’t, but I hear it’s a lovely Swiss town, with many chalets and all the other fine things that we associate with the Alps. Davos…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 