All Commentary
OpinionNorth Korea rocket launch: Why Kim failed the testNorth Korea's failed rocket launch symbolizes the inefficacy of Pyongyang's economic and political system and the crash of brief hopes that the new Kim regime might lead to rapprochement with South Korea and the United States.
No crusty journalist complaint here: Caine's Arcade is more than a distracting fadWe sometimes complain that fickle聽Internet fads drive聽our news coverage. But Caine's Arcade made the virtual front pages for all the right reasons. The phenomenon聽provides another example of how the Web 2.0 world informs media coverage 鈥� and better yet 鈥� inspires action.
OpinionIran talks: Why time is ripe for compromisePositive signals from Iran and the United States are encouraging as talks on Tehran's nuclear program get underway, writes a political expert from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveAn Advocate who's always with youA 海角大神 Science perspective: Paying taxes can be a stressful endeavor. Whether you have professional tax help or not, you have an Advocate.
The Monitor's ViewLift 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.
The tax man taketh -- and sometimes givethFrom outside, the workings of a big bureaucracy like the IRS seem mysterious and arbitrary. From the inside, it all makes perfect sense. Actually, you could say that about most workplaces.
OpinionThe danger that Saudi Arabia will turn Syria into an Islamist hotbedA tentative UN-brokered ceasefire does not settle Western concerns over Saudi intervention in Syria. While the US and its allies are wary of seeing Syria become a sectarian battleground, the power brokers in Riyadh seem to have been hurtling toward it 鈥� with a form of state-sponsored jihad.
OpinionHey SCOTUS, we already have a federal mandate for health careUS law requires emergency rooms to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. As a hospital CEO, I assure you, we already have a form of universal health care. We simply fund and supply it in an exorbitantly expensive way. Obamacare's individual mandate provides the solution.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA fresh view of health careA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewA 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.
OpinionPost-parenthood: When adult children move home, is it OK to be friends?Facing a slow economy, three of our children moved back home after college. New unemployment figures show we're not alone. I worried:聽Are these roommates? What are the rules?聽Beyond the questions, something strange and wonderful was taking place. Mirth. And laughter.
Walter RodgersPolitical dynasties (Romney, Bush, Kennedy) betray basic American valuesFamilies like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power 鈥� and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise 鈥榯hat all men are created equal.- Walter RodgersPolitical dynasties (Romney, Bush, Kennedy) betray basic American valuesFamilies like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power 鈥� and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise 鈥榯hat all men are created equal.
- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveFor Syria, prayers that bring peaceA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewNorth 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.
Global ViewpointRemembering Fang Lizhi: 'hero of the people,' hated by China's regimeFellow dissident Wei Jingsheng pays tribute to Fang Lizhi, who inspired pro-democracy students in China. Fang warned in 2010: 'Regardless of how widely China鈥檚 leaders have opened its market to the outside world, they have not retreated even half a step from their repressive political creed.'- Global ViewpointRemembering Fang Lizhi: 'hero of the people,' hated by China's regimeFellow dissident Wei Jingsheng pays tribute to Fang Lizhi, who inspired pro-democracy students in China. Fang warned in 2010: 'Regardless of how widely China鈥檚 leaders have opened its market to the outside world, they have not retreated even half a step from their repressive political creed.'
OpinionA weakened Putin is questioned abroad, under siege at homeRussia's President-elect Vladimir Putin may have won the presidential election, but he lost Moscow. And he faces an engaged, active generation that did not grow up as Soviets.聽Political legitimacy is more than an official election result; it requires trust.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveImmigration and a way to see one anotherA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewAs 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?
