Suchergebnisse

First and foremost, there is Stephen F. Cohen of the Nation. The New York University professor, who taught for decades at Princeton, has put his compatriots on the left in a bind. After all, Vladimir Putin has recently prosecuted a feminist performance-art group, instituted a harsh anti-gay law that equates homoseniality with pedophilia, and taken the side of dictators in the Arab Spring. His invasion of Ukraine was the last straw for many looking for an excuse to ditch the authoritarian thug without appearing too much like the conservative hawks they disdained. Putinism, it appears, has something for everyone. No ideological glue binds the Putin fan club together. For paleoconservatives unnerved by the spread of progressive cultural values and willing to empower the state to stem the tide, Putinism clothes the naked public square. In reality Putinism is a violent, paranoid kleptocracy with no moral force, and those who make common cause with it, or seek to excuse it away, have surrendered any claim to moral probity. Adapted from the source document.

The emblematic moment of John Kerry's tenure as the steward of American foreign policy came in London on Sept 9, 2013. The secretary of state was holding a press conference when he was asked about the Syrian civil war. Bashar al-Assad's forces had been caught using chemical weapons on the rebels who hoped to bring the Arab Spring to Damascus. The use of such weapons had been designated by US Pres Obama as the West's 'red line.' A CBS reporter asked him if there was 'anything at this point that Assad's government could do or offer that would stop an attack.' Kerry's response was an attempt to say 'no.' He had, after all, been relentless over the previous two weeks in making the argument that strikes were necessary -- at one point saying the evidence of chemical-weapons use was 'screaming at us.'. Adapted from the source document.

In most democratic systems, a figure as controversial as Avigdor Lieberman could not rise any higher. But thanks to the fragmented nature of Israeli party politics, the possibility of Lieberman becoming prime minister of the Jewish state must be taken seriously. That is a nightmarish prospect to those who deem themselves holders of enlightened opinion in Israel and those who pay attention to Israeli politics in the West. Adapted from the source document.