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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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Tag: human rights

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Post #334: Take the Gloves Off

22 Apr 2022
Many of you have no doubt watched a video of Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow’s forthright response to a far-right colleague’s attempt to paint her as a “groomer” for the…
BLOG

Post #333: Crimes of War

13 Apr 202211 Apr 2022
The audio version is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/56499/42-crimes-of-war.mp3 Mass Violence in Our Times In just the past few years, we have witnessed mass violence directed at innocent people in many places: China’s…
BLOG

Post #323 – Destroying Democracy: China in Hong Kong

11 Jan 202211 Jan 2022
An audio version of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/48006/32-destroying-democracy-china-in-hong-kong.mp3 On July 1, 1997 the United Kingdom formally handed Hong Kong over to China under an agreement that was supposed…
BLOG

Post #322: The Battle Over Cobalt

22 Dec 202111 Jan 2022
The audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/46515/30-the-battle-over-cobalt.mp3 Today’s commentary is about a valuable mineral that is the subject of intense international competition. Not a new subject: In past…
BLOG

Post #320: Putin’s Democracy Problem: Civil Society and Ukraine

11 Dec 2021
Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish two very dangerous tasks at once: the destruction of civil society in Russia, and the withering away of international support for a democratic Ukraine.…
BLOG

Post #317: Israel’s New Leadership Offers Nothing New to Palestinians

13 Nov 202112 Nov 2021
A podcast of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/43705/25-israels-mistreatment-of-palestinians-continues.mp3 How have Israeli-Palestinian relations changed since the end of the right-wing Netanyahu government? The short answer: Not much; a right-wing government…
BLOG

Post #314 – Dissecting North Korea’s Missile Tests

12 Oct 202112 Oct 2021
            North Korea is carrying out one missile test after another lately, at the same time indicating (or is it?) interest in talks with South Korea about reducing tensions.  Late…
BLOG

POST #312: The China Initiative, A Flawed and Dysfunctional Policy

22 Sep 2021
            President Biden is continuing the disengagement policy toward China that began under Donald Trump, with strong bipartisan support. Many people may not be aware that the opposite policy once…
BLOG

Post #311: The US and Yemen: Putting a Disreputable Policy Right

15 Sep 202114 Sep 2021
In Yemen, Saudi and Iranian interests collide, a civil war involving multiple parties has devastated the country, a humanitarian crisis has been going on for several years, and important issues…
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 #273: Trump’s China Diversion

12 Sep 202020 Dec 2020
The Trump administration’s orchestrated attack on China is commonly assumed to stem from upset over China’s human rights violations and its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and along…
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 #269: Falling Behind: COVID, Climate Change, and Chaos

2 Aug 20205 Aug 2020
Multiple Crises, Multiple Obstacles COVID-19 and the protests for racial justice have drawn attention away from the mostly bad news about the environment. Yes, the skies in most parts of…
BLOG

Post #267: In China, Your DNA Belongs to the State

7 Jul 202019 Jul 2020
The roundup and incarceration of hundreds of thousands of people of a specific ethnic or religious group has all too many precedents in modern history. The fact that the group…
BLOG

Post #264: America’s Tiananmen?

5 Jun 20206 Jun 2020
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross."--Sinclair Lewis Yesterday, June 4, is usually best remembered for the 1989 suppression in Beijing…
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 #254: India’s Failed Democracy

22 Jan 202021 Jan 2020
Citizenship Denied India is often billed as the world’s biggest democracy. But that title has worn thin: Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is becoming a nationalist state home to…
BLOG

Post #249: Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and the Insecurity of China’s Leadership

5 Dec 20195 Dec 2019
Hong Kong is in chaos, with no sign that the protesters will yield on their demands. Mass incarceration and indoctrination of Uyghurs and other Chinese Muslims has become so widely…
BLOG

Post #248: Getting Rid of Treacherous Friends

17 Nov 201916 Nov 2019
Backing the Wrong Horse, Again The United States has a long record of befriending the wrong people—authoritarian leaders who rely on military and police power to enforce social inequality and…

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  • Post #339: Biden, Taiwan, and Strategic Ambiguity
  • Post #338:North Korea: Missiles Over Human Security
  • Post #337: It’s “Now or Never” on Climate Change
  • Post #336: Loose Lips Can Sink Peace   
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Journals with my recent articles

  • Asian Perspective US-China Relations and Human Rights: The Xinjiang Case
  • China-US Focus Chinese domestic and foreign policy; US-China relations
  • Counterpunch critical commentary from my blog on current affairs
  • Foreign Policy in Focus COVID-19 has contributed to US-China tensions instead of to cooperation.
  • Global Asia Pres. Biden’s Asia policy will emphasize toughness with China in coalition with allies. But foreign policy will be subordinate to domestic renewal.
  • The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus Articles on US-China relations and the End-of-Poverty Illusion in East Asia

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  • MY RECENT BOOKS America in Retreat: Foreign Policy Under Donald Trump; Engaging Adversaries: Peacemaking and Diplomacy in the Human Interest. COMING THIS FALL: Engaging China: Rebuilding US-China Relations. Published by Rowman & Littlefield, available from Amazon

Listen to my "Global Citizen" commentaries every Tuesday on KBOO.fm (Portland area) and KXCR.net (Florence, OR area). Archived at https://melgurtov.com/category/apb/. Podcasts may be accessed at https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/the-global-citizen,2906/

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