All The Monitor's View
Why Earth Day needs a regreeningEarth Day 2012 finds public support for the environment sagging. Yet an eminent British thinker finds hope in the moral constraints of a love for one's local community.
Containing Syria's chemical weaponsLittle-noticed amid the fighting and attempted cease-fire in Syria are the stockpiles of chemical weapons. The US and others are trying to check their use or theft. Russia also needs to pressure Assad into ensuring they are safely stored.
CitiGroup shareholder revolt: golden-rule capitalismA shareholder revolt at banking giant CitiGroup that rejected a pay package for top executives marks a chance for a healthier relationship between investors and managers. It might also reduce the nation's income inequality.
The GSA and Secret Service scandals: Where's the public virtue?The misconduct of Secret Service agents and General Services Administration (GSA) workers must lead to reforms and better education of public workers about their special role.
Artful diplomacy with Syria and IranKofi Annan and Catherine Ashton each relied on delicate diplomacy to bring some fragile hope to two big security issues 鈥� Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria.
The Ann Romney flap and women's rolesThe flap over the Hilary Rosen comment about stay-at-home mom Ann Romney only exposes a deeper issue about self-sacrifice 鈥� for both men and women.
Lift Latin America's 'drug curse'At the Summit of the Americas, Obama will likely be asked to discuss alternatives to the get-tough tactics on the drug trade 鈥� even to endorse legalization. He should point to Latin America's successes in giving economic alternatives to drug trafficking.
A tsunami-warning system makes wavesBig lessons can be learned from Wednesday's giant earthquake off Indonesia that led to an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami warning. The new system, set up since the big 2004 disaster, worked.
North Korea rocket launch: fireworks of fearNorth Korea plans to launch a missile by April 16 in violation of UN sanctions. It will be yet another provocative act by a regime that has long used blackmail and crisis to simply survive and to win concessions.
As Syria killings rise, a plea for world conscienceAs a UN cease-fire effort in Syria fails with more killings 鈥� and the Syrian Army fires into Turkish territory 鈥� an end to the violence will require greater appeals to conscience. Will Russia listen?
A Romney-Rubio ticket? Not if Hispanics don't see themselves as Hispanic.A Romney-Rubio presidential ticket may play well to the notion of a "Hispanic vote." But a Pew poll shows why that idea falls flat.
Connecticut's wise move against the death penaltyA key vote in Connecticut against the death penalty means the state will likely join 16 other states in ending this harsh sentence. Practical reasons were cited for the move, but moral ones need to be argued to end capital punishment in the US.
Goldilocks banks: not too big, not too greedyBritain launches the Big Society Bank to invest in social causes while China, Europe, and the US worry about big banks becoming big liabilities.
Obama's swipe at the Supreme CourtWorried that five of the justices will overturn the health-care law, Obama at first claims the court is 'unelected' and then backtracks. He must accurately portray the court's deep role in society.
The real victory in the Myanmar electionThe Myanmar election produced more than a small victory for Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. It also firmed up the moral legitimacy of those seeking freedom in Burma.
The odds and ends of Mega Millions jackpot lotteryThe long odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot lottery is just a start into understanding why gambling is the wrong way to live up to one's abilities to get ahead in life.
Mexico presidential campaign: Off to a good startThe two frontrunners in the Mexican presidential campaign now talk of reforming the state oil monopoly, Pemex. It's a sign of Mexico's hopeful future, despite the drug wars.
Supreme Court wrestles with a more dependent worldThe high court hears a complaint from states about the health-care law's 'coercion' to accept an expensive expansion of Medicaid. The issue reflects a more dependent world in government, trade, and high-tech.
Islam's defining moment with democracyIslamist parties now dominate the constitution-writing process in post-revolution Egypt and Tunisia. If they can make Islam compatible with democracy, they will give hope to others in the Middle East still struggling in the unfinished Arab Spring.
Trayvon Martin case: What cities can learnCities like Sanford must improve their community-building to reduce the kind of fear that might have led George Zimmerman to confront a hoodie-covered Trayvon Martin.
