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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: US politics

BLOG

Post #356: A Post-Election Caution

15 Nov 2022
Reasons for Concern             What a difference a day makes, as the old song goes. The day before Election Day, liberals and progressives feared the worst: a solidly MAGA takeover…
BLOG

Post #344: Water, Water, No Longer Everywhere

14 Jul 202214 Jul 2022
The audio of this blog may be accessed at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/64815/53-water-water-no-longer-everywhere.mp3 Drought and Scarcity "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is only halfway…
BLOG

Post #343: China’s Surveillance State and Its Meaning for Us

5 Jul 202229 Jul 2022
The audio of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/64174/52-chinas-surveillance-state-and-ours.mp3 The Tools of Surveillance             In a recent commentary, I discussed the visit to China of the UN’s chief human rights official…
BLOG

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 #332: Big Oil’s War Bonanza

6 Apr 20224 Apr 2022
The audio of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/55789/41-the-war-a-bonanza-for-big-oil.mp3 In case you haven’t noticed, a major consequence of the Ukraine war is the bonanza it has provided for the oil and…
BLOG

Post #315 – Gravy Train: Corporate Profiteering on National Defense

21 Oct 202110 Nov 2021
A podcast of this blog is also available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/42179/22-gravy-train-corporate-profiteering-on-national-defense.mp3 A long time ago, Gordon Adams introduced the term “iron triangle” to characterize the interlocked relationship of the Pentagon’s military…
BLOG

Post #313 – Donald J. Trump: Traitor

28 Sep 202127 Sep 2021
The audio of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/40623/20-donald-trump-traitor.mp3. The Coup Attempt “There is an unfolding assault taking place in America today,” President Biden said in Philadelphia on July 13.…
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 #307: Reclaiming Patriotism

13 Aug 2021
             In an interview August 12 on MSNBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci commented that one way to be patriotic is to get vaccinated.  That view prompted a thought I’ve been having…
BLOG…

Post #305: Influence Peddling, A Threat to Democracy and a Humane Foreign Policy

1 Aug 2021
A shorter audio version of this blog is available at: https://www.podserve.fm/dashboard/episode_player_2/36759             Modern-day democracy has numerous weaknesses, as we’ve been made well aware: policy differences that cannot be resolved, corruption,…
BLOG…

Post #300: Saving Democracy in America

6 Jun 20216 Jun 2021
To the Reader: It seems only right and proper that I celebrate my 300th blog on a patriotic note, with a plea to save our democracy and quash the Big…
BLOG

Post #291: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed

5 Mar 20214 Mar 2021
            As the Biden administration settles in, let’s pause to take stock of where American politics now stands.  It’s not a pretty picture, but it has the potential for improvement. …
BLOG

Post #289: United We Fail

4 Feb 2021
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the…
APB

APB: Our National Embarrassment

15 Jan 2021
It is not enough that under Donald Trump the United States has withdrawn from major international organizations at a time of global need; that its president has humiliated and withdrawn…
BLOG

Post #287: The End of American Exceptionalism

9 Jan 20218 Jan 2021
Sedition Whatever you want to call the violent assault in Washington on January 6, 2021—a mob action, a siege, a coup attempt, a riot, domestic terrorism, an insurrection—the fault clearly…
APB

APB: The Gang Leader Speaks

4 Jan 20214 Jan 2021
Donald Trump’s telephone  conversation with Georgia’s secretary of state will go down in history as a classic case of election interference, totally in keeping with Trump’s disdain for democratic processes…
BLOG

Post #286: Biden and the World: A First Look at His Foreign Affairs Team (Part 2)

31 Dec 20202 Jan 2021
           In the previous post, I introduced the president-elect’s team: a group of serious professionals dedicated to halting and reversing America’s retreat from the world.  But, I asked, will they…
BLOG

Post #284: Biden . . . Won (Maybe)

16 Dec 202017 Dec 2020
Following is an excerpt from the diary of outgoing President Donald Trump, apparently written in early December 2020.  The excerpt has been edited for clarity, spelling, grammar, and context. Some…
BLOG

Post #283: Mike Pompeo’s Crusade against the red menace

13 Dec 202012 Dec 2020
Thanks in good part to the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, McCarthyism is alive and well in the US.  Pompeo has become one of America’s leading dogmatist, ranting and railing…
BLOG

Post #282: Restoring Democracy, Strengthening the Right to Vote

27 Nov 202027 Nov 2020
            As Americans look forward to a new era without Donald Trump, one thing stands out: the gap between the real and the ideal in American-style democracy is far larger…

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  • Post #362: Risky Business: Japan Steps Out
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  • Post #359: The Iran Protests and US Policy
  • Post #358: China’s COVID Uprising

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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 Wednesdays on KXCR.net (Florence, OR area). Podcasts may be accessed at https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/the-global-citizen,2906/

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