All Commentary
John HughesWhether Obama or Romney, next US leader faces severe foreign challengesWhoever wins the US presidency 鈥� be it likely GOP nominee Mitt Romney or President Obama 鈥� faces an array of foreign-policy challenges that may be as daunting as those of the cold war.聽For starters, they involve China, Russia, the Arab world, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan.
6 signs of hope in Pakistan The American imagination can run wild amid Pakistan鈥檚 political uncertainties and instability. But any pessimistic view of Pakistan, while endemic in the West, differs considerably from the perspective of Pakistani analysts who cautiously point to more optimistic scenarios. They cite six hopeful developments.
OpinionWhy George Zimmerman should not be 'crucified' for killing Trayvon MartinPassionate citizens and leaders have no right to declare neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. Due process in the legal system determines that guilt or innocence. Equating justice with imprisoning Zimmerman or firing officials is premature.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveInviting God into your dayA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewSupreme 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.
OpinionSenate resolution on Iran may be bipartisan, but it could lead to warThe Senate is considering a bipartisan resolution on Iran that denounces containment and could be taken as an authorization of US force against a nuclear Iran. But containment is the second-worst option. A preventive strike that could lead to war in the Middle East is the worst.
OpinionOccupy has wrong 'Target': Consumers and economy value Wal-Mart et al.By shifting its focus from Wall Street and targeting companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon.com, the Occupy movement could do more harm to American consumers than good.聽A new study shows these companies make consumers feel safe, satisfied, even happy. And they create jobs.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveTo preserve lifeA 海角大神 Science perspective: A ray of hope for Syria and other trouble spots in the world.
The Monitor's ViewIslam'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.
OpinionObamacare gives Congress license to micromanage every facet of our livesThe Obama administration has never offered a principled explanation of how to square the health-care law's individual mandate with the Constitution.聽If Congress can force us to buy health insurance, what can鈥檛 it order us to buy?
OpinionTrayvon Martin: the crime of being black, male, and wearing a hoodieWhatever happens to neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, the dialogue on race must go on. Media perpetually associate criminality with black males. Legislators criminalize black dress. And the criminal justice system disproportionately penalizes black men and boys.
Beyond Obamacare: 5 opinions on health care reform Health care reform remains a contentious issue in the United States. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But some Republicans, like presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, hope to repeal the law under the next Congress. Here, writers explore five key aspects of health-care reform.
OpinionFor nuclear security beyond Seoul, eradicate land-based 'doomsday' missilesAmerica's 450 launch-ready land-based nuclear-armed ballistic missiles are the opposite of a deterrent to attack. In fact, their very deployment has the potential to launch World War III and precipitate human extinction 鈥� as a result of a false alarm.聽We鈥檙e not exaggerating.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectivePolitical suicides: when protesting takes livesA 海角大神 Science perspective: A response to Tibetans鈥� use of self-immolation in protest to oppression.
The Monitor's ViewTrayvon 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.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Pull the plug on electric car criticismLetters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of March 26, 2012: Two writers argue that an op-ed critiquing electric cars for failing to reduce pollution is unfounded and outdated. Not so, responds the writer, citing another study.
OpinionCan Seoul summit tackle biggest threat to US security 鈥� nuclear terrorism?What can President Obama and other world leaders meeting in Seoul, South Korea, for the second Nuclear Security Summit today and tomorrow plausibly accomplish?聽The answer is less than many observers hope 鈥� but more than skeptics appreciate. Look at Ukraine.
OpinionIndividual mandate in Obama's health care law: good for freedom, bad for free-ridersThe Supreme Court begins hearings today on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law, often called Obamacare. Critics say its 'individual mandate' threatens freedom. It actually protects it.
OpinionXi Jinping rise and Bo Xilai demise: China will move forward with reform, slowlyThe dismissal of Bo Xilai, China's controversial Politburo member, shows that聽Xi Jinping, slated to be China's next president, and top Communist Party members聽will move forward with reform step by pragmatic step, not backward to Maoist nostalgia or cult-of-personality populism.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveParents in prison, children in needA 海角大神 Science perspective.
