All Commentary
- A º£½Ç´óÉñ Science PerspectiveInvesting in your futureA º£½Ç´óÉñ Science perspective.
 Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super bowl commercial: Facebook fans respond If you didn’t see it aired on TV during halftime of the Super bowl Sunday, you’ve 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’ve culled their 127 comments and grouped the best here. Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super bowl commercial: Facebook fans respond If you didn’t see it aired on TV during halftime of the Super bowl Sunday, you’ve 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’ve 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. 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 – or perhaps a partition of the country – is likely to produce accountable leadership. 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 – or perhaps a partition of the country – is likely to produce accountable leadership.
- A º£½Ç´óÉñ Science PerspectiveThe struggle for freedom in SyriaA º£½Ç´óÉñ 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’s land without fair compensation) is present in thousands of villages across China. The scale of the problem is a matter of both domestic and global concern. 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’s land without fair 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. 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.
 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. 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.
- A º£½Ç´óÉñ Science PerspectiveA God-centered career searchA º£½Ç´óÉñ Science perspective.
- Readers RespondReaders Write: Keep criminals off streets; get US out of Afghanistan; let kids playLetters to the Editor from the weekly print edition of February 6, 2012: One reader says reducing prison populations won't come from releasing criminals, but rehabilitating them and preventing crime. Others praise the recent cover story on the importance of free playtime for children. Another argues the US shouldn't stay in Afghanistan for access to resources or influence in the region.
 Reinvention: The rewards of trying againFirst-time wonders deserve our awe and applause. But almost every good thing in life -- from careers to ideas, products to poetry -- is more reinvention than invention. Reinvention: The rewards of trying againFirst-time wonders deserve our awe and applause. But almost every good thing in life -- from careers to ideas, products to poetry -- is more reinvention than invention.
- A º£½Ç´óÉñ Science PerspectiveWatching the Super Bowl?A º£½Ç´óÉñ 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 º£½Ç´óÉñ 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. 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 º£½Ç´óÉñ Science PerspectiveA relationship restoredA º£½Ç´óÉñ Science perspective.
 OpinionRussian protests – 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. OpinionRussian protests – 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’s 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 ‘safe zone. Benedetta Berti, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies of Tel Aviv University, lists the three factors that will determine Syria’s future. Three factors that will determine Syria’s 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 ‘safe zone. Benedetta Berti, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies of Tel Aviv University, lists the three factors that will determine Syria’s future.