Thursday, April 24, 2014

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 24, 2014

Eastern Ukraine: Descent Into Darkness -- The Economist

A deal in Geneva fails on the ground

FOR a brief moment it seemed that eastern Ukraine’s slide into conflict might be halted. A deal struck in Geneva on April 17th between Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine called for illegally occupied buildings to be vacated and armed groups to give up their weapons. But Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk, brushed it off, saying that, since the Ukrainian government was illegal, only if it left its buildings would his people do so.

Armed men have seized public buildings in a string of towns in the Donbas region. It is unclear how much support they have. Polls suggest that two-thirds of people in the south and east want to stay part of Ukraine and not be annexed by Russia, as Crimea was in March. Even among anti-government protesters and gunmen there is disharmony over aims. Some want to join Russia; others want more autonomy within a federal country.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

The twin dangers of the Ukraine crisis -- Newt Gingrich, CNN

Soviet Yearnings: Hopes Rise in Transnistria of a Russian Annexation -- Alexander Smoltczyk, Spiegel Online

Palestinian unity deal: What is at stake? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

Is America's "Rebalance" to Asia Dead? -- Dustin Walker, National Interest

Time to double down on the Asia rebalance -- Daniel M. Kliman, Special to CNN

INTERVIEW/ Herbert 'Hawk' Carlisle: Strong U.S.-Japan alliance deterring China from provocative actions -- Yoichi Kato, Asahi Shimbun

China Rises as America Weakens -- Bill Gertz, Commentary

No end in sight to Thailand’s political unrest -- Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Special To The Japan Times

Did Fraud Sway the Turkish Election? -- Michael Rubin, Commentary

Get ready for the next Erdogan decade -- Mustafa Akyol, Al-Monitor

Rouhani's Republic of Fear: Security forces administered a mass beating to political prisoners in Iran. -- Wall Street Journal editorial

Cuba Is Running Out of Condoms -- Anna Newby, Slate

Overseas, President Obama projects a whole lot of nothing -- Dana Milbank, Washington Post

Did Hillary Clinton accomplish anything as secretary of State? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

The question no one wants to ask: What if Flight 370 is never found? -- Ed Payne, CNN

Americans Are Still Idiots When It Comes to Investing -- Suzanne McGee, The Fiscal Times

The deadly MERS virus is spreading at a terrifying rate -- Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post

No comments: