Thursday, May 15, 2014

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- May 15, 2014



Turkey's Tragedy And Erdogan's Thoughtlessness -- Bloomberg Editorial

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have his facts right, but he has his century wrong -- and his timing is crass.

The most deadly mining accident in Turkish history occurred yesterday in Soma, with at least 274 dead and more missing. As rescue work continued, Erdogan arrived to offer condolences and pledge an investigation. He also, inexplicably, offered a kind of history lesson, saying mining accidents "are the nature of the business" and citing an 1866 accident at a mine in the U.K. that killed 361, a U.S. accident in 1907 that took 307 lives and a 1947 catastrophe in China in which 1,549 died.

The implication is that there is only so much government can do to prevent such accidents. Yet coal mining disasters of this scale are not inevitable -- not in 2014, not in a country with Turkey's resources and technical sophistication.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

The Case for Ground Forces in Ukraine -- Andrew Langer, NRO

In Ukraine, the US is dragging us towards war with Russia -- John Pilger, The Guardian

Ukraine’s interim leaders struggle to keep country from splitting apart ahead of vote -- Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post

Resist or cooperate? Crimean Tatars split over Russian rule -- Alexander Winning, Reuters

America should not soften its nuclear demands of Iran -- Michael Singh, Washington Post

Iranian Reality Check -- Roger Cohen, NYT

Would Obama bomb Iran? Yes, and here’s why, says a former adviser to his defence department -- Matthew Kroenig, The Spectator

Boko Haram: How the violence has spread -- The Telegraph

Why Boko Haram Might Be Impossible to Stop -- David Francis, Fiscal Times

The Kidnapping of a Country (Nigeria) -- Lauren Bohn and Chika Oduah, NYT

Hunt for abducted Nigerian girls 'unlikely to have happy ending' -- Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Joe Brock, Reuters

The World's Most Ignored Conflict Could Soon Become a Genocide -- Joshua Keating, Slate

Why South Africans Keep Voting for the ANC -- Mara Kardas-Nelson and Benjamin Fogel, The Nation

The Battle of the Okinawans -- Norihiro Kato, New York Times

Analyst: N. Korean Plans for Special Econ Zones Under Way -- VOA

China’s Hard Landing Is Coming, But It’s Not The One You Expect -- Ian Bremmer, Time

Thailand’s political turmoil feeds fear of economic ruin and civil conflict -- Clifford Coonan, Irish Times

Europe's Economic Iron Curtain -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Europe goes to the polls: Although economies around Europe may be on the mend, voters’ disillusion could cause a new crisis -- The Economist

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