Putin’s Deadly Doctrine

NEW YORK TIMES Column: …In 1994, I was half asleep at a round table in St. Petersburg, Russia, when a short, thickset man with a rather ratlike face — apparently a sidekick of the city’s mayor — suddenly piped up. Russia, he said, had voluntarily given up “huge territories” to the former republics of the […]

An Ominous Health Care Ruling

Under the decision of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, people living in 36 states, mostly led by Republican governors or legislatures, would be in jeopardy because their states refused to set up “exchanges” or electronic marketplaces on which individuals can shop for insurance plans and apply for subsidies based on their incomes…

Mentally ill, police tangle on beat

USA TODAY: …From police departments and prisons to courthouses and jails, the care of those who are mentally ill weighs heaviest on law enforcement authorities, many of whom readily acknowledge that they lack both resources and expertise to deal with the crushing responsibility… About 1.2 million people in state, local and federal custody reported some […]

The FBI’s counterterrorism sting operations are counterproductive

ALJAZEERA: …As a report released today by Human Rights Watch and Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute documents, the FBI’s tactics in some terrorism sting cases are not only abusive but counterproductive. They instill fear of law enforcement instead of mutual trust. And they potentially divert FBI resources from actual terrorism threats. Sting operations are […]

Pa. has 2nd-most inmates serving life without parole

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: …Given the hefty annual cost of housing inmates – about $32,000 per person – some experts believe that the state should revisit sentencing guidelines to give judges discretion when meting out punishment to those convicted of taking part in murders. Others say that the concerns of victims’ families should take precedence over […]

Africans Open Fuller Wallets to the Future

NEW YORK TIMES: Across sub-Saharan Africa, consumer demand is fueling the continent’s economies in new ways, driving hopes that Africa will emerge as a success story in the coming years comparable to the rise of the East Asian Tigers in the second half of the 20th century. After seeing years of uninterrupted economic expansion across […]