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COMMENTARY

Dec 24, 2007

Opportunity for progress in Middle East

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK — Recent reports by The Associated Press that Hamas leaders seek a ceasefire agreement with Israel should be wholeheartedly embraced as they offer hope of halting the vicious cycle of violence that has plagued both Israelis and Palestinians.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 23, 2007

Europe remiss in dealing with Russia

By Giles Merritt

BRUSSELS — Friend or foe, or something uneasily in between? That's the question Europe is asking about Russia, and Russia about a newly aggressive Europe. President Vladimir Putin's choice of Dmitri Medvedev, Chairman of Gazprom, the gas company with an emerging stranglehold on European energy supplies,...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Dec 23, 2007

Oh, to be American — with God on Your side

By Roger Pulvers

The administration of George W. Bush, with its faith-based mission, is seen by many as a radical departure from the main- stream of American politics. But in fact it is no more than a continuation, in a mildly extreme form, of what has gone before. Bush has changed the typeface, but not the layout, on...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 22, 2007

Wrong approach to Africa

By David Howell

LONDON — An acrimonious summit meeting between EU leaders and the leaders of African countries ended last week in Lisbon. The EU was trying to offer the Africans a new trade deal, but many of the African representatives argued that the deal would make them worse off, not better off. They denounced...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 21, 2007

Poor nutrition negates hi-tech treatment

By Sheila Sisulu

ROME — For most people reading this, in an era of obesity, the idea of going to the doctor when we are sick and being told to eat more is bizarre. And yet, for millions of people in the developing world, undernutrition is the root cause of many of their ailments. Eating more of the right food is actually...

COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE

Dec 21, 2007

Fukuda's point of no return

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rocked the Japanese political landscape in November by predicting that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda would dissolve the Lower House and call a general election "in the near future."

COMMENTARY

Dec 20, 2007

'Supping with the devil' to sign a deal

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown's decision to boycott the EU-African Summit held recently in Lisbon won general approval in Britain. He did not attend because Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, was going to be at the meeting.

COMMENTARY

Dec 20, 2007

Bali inspired hope in coping

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON — Do not be downhearted about the outcome of the Bali talks. They did not deliver the binding commitments to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions that are desperately needed, and as a result millions may die who might have lived. But they did show us something remarkable. They showed us the human...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 20, 2007

The case for compelling people to vote

By Peter Singer

PRINCETON, New Jersey — As an Australian citizen, I voted in the recent federal election there. So did about 95 percent of registered Australian voters. That figure contrasts markedly with elections in the United States, where the turnout in the 2004 presidential election barely exceeded 60 percent....

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 17, 2007

The voter rebellion in Japan

By Yoshi Tsurumi

NEW YORK — On Nov. 25, Australian voters replaced Prime Minister John Howard of the Liberal Party with Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party, who promised to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq. The new prime minister is preparing Australia for post-Bush America.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 16, 2007

Fascist currents in the EU mainstream

By Glyn Ford

LONDON — On a cold wet November evening the dreamy spires of Oxford University became the unlikely setting for a new front line between the organization Unite Against Fascism and the far-right British National Party (BNP).

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Dec 16, 2007

'Kyoko' shines on as the true star she was

By Roger Pulvers

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the death of a wonderful friend. Actress and author Kyoko Kishida passed away on Dec. 17, 2006, and Japan lost not only a fantastic stage presence but also an immense creative spirit and inspiration to its young actors.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.

The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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