All Opinion
Democrats, GOP collude to lure people into gamblingIt seems like America鈥檚 political parties have never been more polarized. But when it comes to state-regulated gambling, they鈥檙e often playing the same hand. Unfortunately, it's a losing one.
Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super bowl commercial: Facebook fans respond If you didn鈥檛 see it aired on TV during halftime of the Super bowl Sunday, you鈥檝e likely heard about it by now: The Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial. Amid all the debate on the ad's perceived political stance, we took this question to our Facebook fans: After watching this video, do you think Chrysler came out with a pro-Obama commercial, or a patriotic commercial? We鈥檝e culled their 127 comments and grouped the best here.
Trapped in Douma, Syria: I saw the faith that keeps Syrian protesters goingDuring the 14 days I spent in Syria last month, I saw the most horrendous acts of the Assad regime on its people. When I asked people what spurred them on amid such indiscriminate brutality, they all gave the same response: Their only hope is their faith in right and wrong.
Congo: National elections now only hurt democracyWhat the Democratic Republic of Congo needs is not another national election but a rethinking of how the state might be reorganized. In the long run, only a decentralized system of government 鈥撀爋r perhaps a partition of the country 鈥� is likely to produce accountable leadership.
China: One fire may be out, but tensions over rural land rights are still smolderingThe same tinderbox that allowed the Chinese village of Wukan to erupt (the confiscation of farmer鈥檚 land without聽fair聽compensation) is present in thousands of villages across China. The scale of the problem is a matter of both domestic and global concern.
John HughesThe great wait of China: How long until freedom?How long can China's communist regime hold in thrall people who have prospered in an economic system that has many of the hallmarks of free enterprise? Despite attempts to censor the Internet, China's huge, new urban population is aware of the outside world and changes in it.
Going green: View my world-class collection of hotel towel cards.My global collection of towel cards tells guests how to be green (and save the hotel money) in a dozen instructive, chic, bossy, relieving, euphemistic, paranoid, minimalistic, and earnest ways.
Russian protests 鈥� echoes of US civil rights movementTo see the December protests in Russia as primarily a political wave is to miss a more fundamental leaven at work in Russian society: a moral awakening akin to the American civil rights movement. An early test is Saturday, when a massive protest in Moscow is planned.
Three factors that will determine Syria鈥檚 future The most realistic scenario in Syria is quagmire: Assad still has loyalty; the opposition is splintered, though protests continue; and the international community is indecisive, including the Arab League. But stalemate could finally prompt foreign intervention and a needed 鈥榮afe zone. Benedetta Berti, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies of Tel Aviv University, lists the three factors that will determine Syria鈥檚 future.
Global ViewpointMario Monti is working through Italy's debt crisis. Is the US watching?Italy may find Prime Minister Mario Monti's dose of discipline hard to swallow, but his depoliticized democracy is the only form of government that can move Italy forward.聽Monti's experiment may also serve as an antidote to the political dysfunction in the West 鈥� especially the US.
A look back: In spite of super PACs, this isn't the most negative campaign in historyNegative campaigning is actually an American tradition.聽In fact, attack campaigning has been around since the beginning without derailing the electoral process.聽Mudslinging can hardly be called a positive campaign feature, but it is a sign of democracy in action.
Ex-CIA spy: History of failed negotiations shows Iran won't dealPresident Obama errs in pushing nuclear negotiation, writes this ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Four US presidents tried and failed. The problem lies in Iran's fanatic ideology. Biting sanctions and US overt support for the Iranian people will bring real change.
A conservative worries: Will Gingrich return America to the days of King George?As a conservative constitutional scholar, I am deeply troubled by Newt Gingrich's vision for executive power over the courts 鈥� even if it is to strike back at liberal judges.聽Such a seizure of power threatens the rule of law upon which free and equal citizenship is founded.
Congress makes Elmo cry by defunding Palestinian 'Sesame Street'In protest of the Palestinian statehood bid at the UN, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen froze $192 million in funding for USAID programs, including a Palestinian version of 'Sesame Street.' The move has not only jeopardized the show, but US Mideast policy.
Walter RodgersA CEO as US president? America is not a business, Mitt Romney.Romney was a one-term governor, but he is surely the 24-carat chief executive officer. There are huge differences in skills required to be a successful CEO and a president of the United States. Presidents, for example, have to make life-and-death decisions that go beyond spreadsheets.
The most important election of a lifetime? So say Gingrich et al.As Gingrich faces Romney in Florida, he calls 2012 the 'most important election of our lifetime.' Sometimes he compares its significance to the pre-Civil War era. GOP rivals like Santorum and key Democrats like Pelosi are also gasping about the stakes. Time to catch our breath.- Brady, Manning worshippers: Football is our religion, Tebow. Don't mess with it.Americans expect religious rhetoric from GOP candidates, not quarterbacks like Tim Tebow. That crosses a line into divisiveness. Football brings people together:聽Your denomination might be Giants or Patriots, but we're all the same underneath.
Not so Modern Family: Top sitcoms make for sexist, inaccurate televisionIn the five highest-rated primetime sitcoms (The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Two Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men, and How I Met Your Mother), male characters are professionally accomplished, while female characters are unemployed or struggling.
Ex-CIA spy: Iran's miscalculation over warLeading Iranians are criticizing the regime, including its war-like provocation and the foreign sanctions aimed at its nuclear program. One Revolutionary Guard commander calls Iran's war threats 'the same stupidity' and miscalculation that preceded the Iran-Iraq war.
Obama, here's how to help the poor: Educate both parents and their childrenIn his State of the Union address, President Obama聽touted ways to improve education and the economy. One聽solution 鈥� with a proven record of success 鈥� didn't make it into the speech: a two-generation strategy to educate families and bring them out of poverty.
