All Commentary
- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveWatching the Super Bowl?A 海角大神 Science perspective: What watching the Super Bowl might have to do with spirituality.
The Monitor's ViewOf presidents and prime ministers who talk of faithObama in America and Cameron in Britain have spoken of how their 海角大神 faith influences their approach to shaping society. The US presidential campaign is also skirting church-state issues. How much should religion and politics mix?
OpinionGoing 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.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA relationship restoredA 海角大神 Science perspective.
OpinionRussian 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.
The Monitor's ViewRussia must rethink what Syria protests meanRussia under Vladimir Putin sees only a civil war in Syria, justifying its threat to veto any US Security Council action against Assad. But Syria is in a revolution, a shifting of sovereignty.
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.- 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.
OpinionA 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.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveThe US and Iran: neighborly signs of loveA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewWith Facebook IPO, time to friend privacyFacebook's IPO, or initial public offering, will lead to shareholder pressure on the firm to squeeze profits out of users' personal data. Google, too, faces more scrutiny as it mines user data even more. Privacy watchdogs need to be on the alert.
OpinionEx-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.
OpinionA 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.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveRise to Mind's occasionA 海角大神 Science perspective: The insight and intuition that God, divine Mind, provides will point the way toward healing for individuals and among nations.
The Monitor's ViewChina's real rise 鈥� in Wukan's village electionChinese residents in the coast village of Wukan rebelled last year and won the right to a free election. The rest of China watches to see if they, too, can demand democracy.
OpinionCongress 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.- 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.
- 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.
