Politics & Current Affairs

The unconventional nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has left a legal vacuum in the area of prisoner detentions, one that needs filling, says Samuel Issacharoff, professor of constitutional law at NYU.

According to Al Jazeera, while the Obama administration is losing ground to the Israelis and the Chinese, it has reasserted its dominance over Japan, ousting a potentially valuable leader.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) has turned out to be the moderate, relatively independent Republican he said he would be. In other words he turned out not to be what many […]

Whether you call it the “Tiananmen Square Massacre” or the “June Fourth Incident” (as it’s known in the People’s Republic of China), what happened in Beijing 21 years ago today […]

As India wrestles with the politically-sensitive question of including caste in its 2011 census, P. Sainath looks at a once strong anti-caste reform movement.

I have finally stopped yelling at my computer screen this morning, after making the rounds at POLITICO, Talking Points Memo, and The New York Times. It seems that among the […]

In the wake of the British Petroleum spill in the Gulf, who dares to defend conservative free-market principles decrying regulation? Nobody can afford to, writes The Wall Street Journal.

“An increasing number of Jewish activists in Europe and the U.S. are expressing their displeasure—and even anger—over the way in which Israel has evolved in recent years,” says Al Jazeera.

Leonard Pitts takes the pulse of those affected by the Gulf Oil spill and finds that many who once opposed big government maneuvers are now begging for its assistance.

“When will our media reflect America on abortion?” asks William McGurn at The Wall Street Journal now that a Gallup poll has reported that half of America is pro-life.

Is China a friendly giant? Despite the fact that North Korea’s aggressive behavior threatens China, the Chinese are so far reluctant to support international action against its neighbor.

“Stop focusing on trying to keep illegal immigrants out and start focusing on letting legal immigrants in,” says Steve Chapman in response to hullabaloo over Arizona’s immigration law.

“Drone strikes may not be perfect, but they’re likely the most humane option available,” writes C. Fair who calls for greater transparency in the currently classified drone program over Pakistan.

The C.I.A. planned to shoot separate mock, gay sex tapes implicating Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden in an attempt to delegitimize the men’s authority, according to The Guardian.

Do the similarities between the Black Panthers of the ’60s and today’s TEA Party run deeper than guns, anger and demand for limited government?

It looks like it may finally be the end of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The policy, which dates back to 1993, was a Clintonian compromise meant to prevent […]

Once a darling of the left, Christopher Hitchens turned to support neo-conservative foreign policy and has written a new memoir about his political evolution.

The rise of middle power states with nuclear ambitions like Iran, Brazil and Turkey must be tolerated if the West hopes to maintain a credible non-proliferation regime, says a former CIA chief.

When memory mixes with desire, politicians exaggerate their personalities, says Maureen Dowd who absolves politicians of their lies by giving them the benefit of the doubt.

When pressed, Rand Paul now says that he would have voted for the Civil Rights Act. But Paul, who just won the Republican nomination for Senate in Kentucky, does have […]

Meghan Daum at the L.A. Times says that despite Sarah Palin’s political stances, the former governor is entitled to be a feminist as long as she proclaims herself one.

English-only policies run contrary to America’s concept of liberty and fears of a multilingual society ignore many of the world’s nations which officially recognize multiple languages.

In light of the French Council of Ministers recent approval of a measure to ban the wearing of full-face veils, Joan Wallach Scott’s discussion of France’s battle against the burqa […]

Don’t look now, but John McCain is in trouble. The latest Rasmussen poll finds that 52% of Arizona Republicans support Sen. McCain (R-AZ), while 40% prefer former Republican Congressman J.D. […]

Mark Levine of UC Irvine laments Obama’s pragmatic path where his empty promises to change America’s foreign and energy policies mark the way.

The results from yesterday’s “Little Tuesday” collection of primaries and special elections around the country are in. They were bad news for many established political figures. But they may nevertheless […]

The divide in American ideology between rugged individualism and collective responsibility can be bridged by devolving powers to local communities, says Matthew Dowd for The CSM.

Clarence Page sees a “radical individualism” that binds the TEA Party and the cultural revolution of the ’60s, but finds practical solutions more lacking in the former.

What does the Tea Party Movement in the U.S. have in common with the right-wing backlash against immigrants in Europe? Bard College professor Ian Buruma says they are both part […]

Peter Beinart writes that “particularly in the younger generations, fewer and fewer American Jewish liberals are Zionists; fewer and fewer American Jewish Zionists are liberal.”