All Commentaries
Review: The End of Arrogance
The continuing failures in Afghanistan and Iraq have seriously eroded public perception of U.S. military dominance. The U.S. economy has been transformed from the “engine of economic growth” into the source of the global financial meltdown. American failures to address key global issues such as poverty, disease, and global warming have tarnished our image as protectors of the weak; our inability to protect our own citizens from unexpected disasters has become an international embarrassment. By all accounts, America’s unipolar moment has passed.
The Cheonan Incident: Skepticism Abounds
On the night of March 26, 2010, the South Korean naval vessel ROKS Cheonan split in half and sunk. Forty-six sailors lost their lives. In order to determine the cause, the South Korean government created the Joint Investigation Group (JIG), with representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden, among others. The JIG has since issued its findings in stages, culminating with the release of the official report on September 12, 2010, concluding that a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine sank the Cheonan. Despite the JIG’s goal of providing definitive proof of the cause of the incident, public skepticism has only increased.
Republican Whip Kyl Sold (Literally) on New START
The staggering amount of money that the Obama administration is throwing at the nuclear weapons industry in return for ratification of START proving hard for the Senate to resist.
Brazil’s First Woman President Overcomes Opposition, Hostile Media
Worker’s Party (PT) Candidate, Dilma Rousseff, will be the first woman president in Brazilian history. She was elected into office this Sunday, October 31st, with just over 56 percent of the votes, defeating conservative candidate Jose Serra by twelve points. In her victory speech Dilma called for unity and thanked outgoing President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva. Dilma supporters took to the streets, filling Paulista Avenue in São Paulo.
Tax Cuts and Trade: Is Obama Triangulating?
The Bush-negotiated, NAFTA-esque trade agreement with Korea that President Obama is pushing makes him look more Clintonian than ever.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s Plate Is Already Full
Just freed from house arrest, Suu Kyi is being handed all of Burma’s human rights issues.
An Open Letter to President Obama, Or Change I believed in
Dear President Obama,
You’re not the man I thought you were.
Most progressives have no problem finding flaws with your first years as President to criticize you about, whether it’s the whittling down of the healthcare bill, decision to ramp up military operations in Afghanistan, failure to close Guantanamo, or deal effectively with Climate Change at Copenhagen.
For me however, it is the moments in which you have an opportunity to make a clear decision, with profound moral implications, and yet choose to act in a way that makes me ashamed to call you my President…
Will Suu Kyi Ever Be Free of the Imprisonment-House Arrest-Release Merry-Go-Round?
In the wake of its “elections,” Burma’s ruling junta may be considering releasing Aung San Suu Kyi to win points with the West.
War Is Not Good For You
Back in the 1960s, peace activists sported a bumper sticker that read: “War is not good for children and other living creatures.” In a way, that sums up Barry S. Levy and Victor W. Sidel’s War and Public Health, where 46 experts on everything from epidemiology to international law weigh in on the authors’ central premise: “War and militarism have catastrophic effects on human health and well being.”
Postcard from…Havana
Just about everything you hear about Cuba in the U.S. media is a lie.
I learned that from the moment my TACA Airlines charter jet landed in
Havana last Sunday. It was filled with Cuban-Americans returning to
their homeland carrying clothing, DVDs, microwave ovens, electronic
games, and other consumer goods missing from the Cuban market. I’d
always read that the “Miami Cubans” hated the very thought of
socialist Cuba. So I was surprised and even a little shocked when the
entire plane burst out in loud applause when we touched down.