Viewpoint

Viewpoint
The Threat of a Declining China: The Rise of Chinese Militaristic Nationalism
Many Americans view China’s emergence as the world’s second largest economy with trepidation. The US, it seems, is in decline. China is a ‘rising power’ destined to take over America’s role as global hegemon sometime in the not-too-distant future.

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Turkish Protest: A call to Ears
Recent protests in Istanbul have highlighted Turkey’s unique, ongoing struggle for liberty. Look beyond the tear gas and water cannons, though, and it is easy to see why Turkey has entered a new, progressive phase in its democratic development.

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Bad timing for Mr. Erdogan, good for Turkey
Has Erdogan become a paper tiger? The Istanbul Gezii Park affair could be the final nail in Erdogan’s political coffin.

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Father’s Day Viewpoint: Albert Einstein’s advice to younger son Hans Albert on learning
“That’s the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes .”

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Keynote speaker Noam Chomsky to the AUB Class of 2013: We must defend the global commons against commercialization, environmental catastrophe, and autocratic rule
I’ve visited Lebanon several times, moments of great hope, and also of despair, tinged with remarkable determination to overcome and to move forward. The first time I visited – if that’s the right word – was exactly 60 years ago, almost to the day.

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Contraceptives Save and Improve Lives
Each year an estimated 74.4 million unintended pregnancies occur in the developing world; primarily among women who had an unmet need for effective contraception.

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A Vision for a new Libya
It is important to everyone around the world, and for Libya’s leaders to initiate a purposeful process and for all Libyans to become engaged in articulating a vision of what Libya can, and indeed should, become; a new nation founded on laws, tolerance, and inclusion.

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Ministry of Culture to buy land and save Lebanon’s oldest church in downtown Beirut?
The site in Downtown Beirut, which is called “The Landmark” and at which a future hotel and mall were to be built, turned out to be an archaeological jewel for Lebanon, unveiling three very important entities:

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Bashar Al-Assad: A No-Fly Zone Is the Only Way to Stop Assad
After more two years of civil war, it is not his arsenal of tanks or unfettered aerial dominance that is Bashar Al-Assad’s greatest strength. It is not the hapless disarray of the rebel forces nor the intensely loyal following he still enjoys from the Alawite and Shia sects that have allowed him to maintain power.

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The Road to Damascus Is Fraught With Pitfalls — for the U.S.
Calling for direct U.S. military intervention in Syria as a means to put a stop to the devastating civil war — as an increasing number of pundits in the U.S. are doing — is a monumental mistake.