All Commentary
OpinionHow an Obama shift helps unstable regimes get nuclear weaponsIn past nuclear cooperation agreements, the US has required nations to commit to not enriching uranium and opening nuclear sites to inspections. The Obama administration has just done away with the requirement. Congress needs oversight to combat this possibility of nuclear proliferation.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveNarcissism or the joy of unselfish living?A 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewThe Obama birth-control mandateThe president's health-care regulation expanding access to birth control, including abortion pills, impinges on churches that oppose abortion, especially Catholic ones, by narrowly defining their religious activity to teaching only. Government must be wary of determining where the works of faith end.
Walter RodgersMaggie vs. Gorby: the scene that 鈥楾he Iron Lady鈥� forgotThe scripted and unscripted confrontations between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev were of such epic consequence they could not be condensed into film. Yet we do Britain鈥檚 first female prime minister a great disservice in omitting them.- Walter RodgersMaggie vs. Gorby: the scene that 鈥楾he Iron Lady鈥� forgotThe scripted and unscripted confrontations between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev were of such epic consequence they could not be condensed into film. Yet we do Britain鈥檚 first female prime minister a great disservice in omitting them.
OpinionMissing: my Republican party. Please help me find it.I have been a life-long Republican (I first voted in 1968), but lately I seem to have lost my party, and I鈥檓 hoping you can help me find it. Let me describe it for you.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveIf the weight of the world feels overwhelmingA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewTalk to Hamas? Talk to Taliban? Thank the Arab Spring for those possibilities.The Arab Spring's message of freedom through nonviolence has isolated Iran and Syria, helped elevate moderate Islamists, and pushed radical groups to weigh alternatives.
John HughesBarack Obama: Hope, change, and contradictionBarack Obama is proving to be one of the most puzzling presidents. He bravely took out Osama bin Laden but hasn鈥檛 had the courage to tackle the deficit. And now he's picked a fight with Catholics 鈥� the majority of whom voted for him in 2008.- John HughesBarack Obama: Hope, change, and contradictionBarack Obama is proving to be one of the most puzzling presidents. He bravely took out Osama bin Laden but hasn鈥檛 had the courage to tackle the deficit. And now he's picked a fight with Catholics 鈥� the majority of whom voted for him in 2008.
OpinionDemocrats, 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.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveInvesting in your futureA 海角大神 Science perspective.
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.
The Monitor's ViewWages of sin in Greek debt crisisAccepting a 22 percent wage cut is difficult when Greeks don't agree on responsibility for their debt crisis. Shared sacrifice would be easier if they owned up to their role.
OpinionTrapped 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.
OpinionCongo: 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.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveThe struggle for freedom in SyriaA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewA woman as Mexico's president?On Sunday, the ruling party nominated Josefina Vazquez Mota to be the first woman candidate for president from a major Mexican party. Would she instill rule of law and sustain the fight against drug cartels?
OpinionChina: 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.
