All Editorials
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.
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.
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.
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.
Eight reasons to 鈥榤ute鈥� super PAC ads First Iowa, now Florida, have seen the first wave of political TV ads from super PACs 鈥� mostly negative 鈥� that will smother the 2012 presidential elections. Voters have an easy way to avoid such ads: the mute button. Here are eight reasons to use it:
The Monitor's ViewObama, like Roberts, seeks harmony in WashingtonPresident Obama cites the military as a model for politics, similar to the aim of Chief Justice John Roberts for consensus on the Supreme Court. Why are both goals not working?
OpinionThe most important election of a lifetime? So say Gingrich et al.As Gingrich faces Romney in Florida, he calls 2012 the 'most important election of our lifetime.' Sometimes he compares its significance to the pre-Civil War era. GOP rivals like Santorum and key Democrats like Pelosi are also gasping about the stakes. Time to catch our breath.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Homeownership isn't all bad 鈥� or good; EU is a model for peaceLetters to the Editor for the weekly issue of January 30, 2011: One reader takes issue with an op-ed's reasoning on why Americans should rent, not buy. Another points out that the global reduction in war is largely attributable to the union of previous enemies in Europe.
The Monitor's ViewCandidates need antidotes to public anger, not angerA combative, angry mood hangs over the presidential races, reflecting public sentiments. But below the anger are emotions that do need to be addressed, with a calm debate of policy.