Monday, November 11, 2013

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- November 11, 2013



How are Veterans Day and Memorial Day Different? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

Both Veterans Day and Memorial Day grew organically out of other holidays that commemorated the end of wars. But Nov. 11 honors a different, larger group of people than does Memorial Day.

Why does the United States have a holiday named Veterans Day and one named Memorial Day? Don’t they overlap a bit, with both celebrating the US armed forces and military service?

These are questions that Decoder gets quite a bit, since we’ve done pioneering work on the origins of American holidays. (See our classic work on the myth that is “Presidents’ Day,” here.)

The quick answer to the Veterans Day question is that no, it honors a different, larger group of people than does Memorial Day. Veterans Day is about taking time to recognize all US service personnel from all wars. Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and died in the service of their country.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

For today’s veterans, service isn’t over when the uniform is put away -- Chris Marvin, Washington Post

The True Significance of WWI -- Jarvis & Grayson, Daily Telegraph

Syrians ask the unthinkable: could Bashar Al Assad stay? -- Faisal Al Yafai, The National

John Kerry’s Middle East dream world -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

How British and American aid subsidises Palestinian terrorism -- Edwin Black, The Guardian

Moderates fade from political view in polarized Egypt -- Yara Bayoumy, Reuters

The Nuclear Handshake: Is the Pakistan-Saudi weapons program for real? -- Simon Henderson, Foreign Policy

The Limits of China’s Surveillance State -- Gabe Collins, The Diplomat

How a Ruthless Cartel Was Beaten -- Katherine Corcoran, Real Clear World/AP

Fallout from Somalia still haunts US policy 20 years later -- Paul Alexander, Stars and Stripes

Poll’s lesson for NSA: Show that surveillance programs actually combat terrorism -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post

Oil Espionage: How the NSA and GCHQ Spied on OPEC -- Spiegel Online

The secret world of cargo ships -- Rose George, The Week

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