In This Story
From the New York Times:
Biology Is Dangerously Outpacing Policy
We sincerely hope it doesn’t take another 16 years, or another pandemic, to seize this opportunity for reducing the risks posed by dual-use research with viruses and other pathogens.
—Gregory Koblentz and Rocco Casagrande
From Ms. Magazine:
U.S. Rape Culture Is Sidelining and Silencing Future Female Leaders
As the survey makes clear, “young people in the U.S. are collectively experiencing a level of distress that calls on us to act.” That action should take into account who is perpetrating violence and bullying, among the other causal factors that contribute to the distressing outcomes we observe, and how it can be stopped.
—Bonnie Stabile
From American City and County:
Generative AI Expands the Race for Search and Meaning—Implications for Society and Government
So, what exactly is generative AI? Well, why not go directly to the source and ask ChatGPT. Here is “its” response (it took four seconds):
—Alan R. Shark and ChatGPT
From the Washington Post:
There’s a Simple Explanation for All This Debt Ceiling Nonsense
The sudden determination of Republicans to lash themselves to the mast of fiscal responsibility after years of relentless tax cutting is the most obvious hypocrisy of this exhausting ritual. And their promise to balance the budget through spending cuts is nothing more than aspirational fantasy.
—Steven Pearlstein
From the Hill:
Two Ways Joe Biden Gets Reëlected
There are two ways President Biden can get re-elected. One is economic: a Biden boom. The other is cultural: a Republican rupture.
—Bill Schneider
From Politico:
The Medics Are Also to Blame for Tyre Nichols’ Death
The medics involved in the death of Tyre Nichols are culpable and need to be criminally charged.
—Donell Harvin
From the Columbus Dispatch:
Is OSU Hiding Something About Kristina Johnson’s Resignation?
However, based on all reports in the media, Johnson was not terminated without cause. Rather, everything we read stated that she resigned. Curiously, her contract does not include any language regarding resignation prior to the end of her term — an omission that would not be considered best practice.
—Judith Wilde and James Finkelstein
From CNN:
Biden Plays ‘Truth or Dare’ with GOP
Just as he did Tuesday evening when he emphasized the American middle class, support for blue collar workers and “building bridges” without mentioning sensationalized issues like critical race theory or transgender bathrooms, Biden’s strategy has been to capture the center of American politics and isolate the antics of far-right leaders controlling the Republican Party. Indeed, striking this contrast has worked out politically for Democrats, who swayed independents and moderates in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
—Justin Gest
From the Kyiv Post:
Increased Linkage Between the Ukraine War and Iran’s Regional Rivalries
It has been a great disappointment to the U.S. and Ukraine that America’s Middle East allies have not joined the Western effort to support Ukraine or sanction Russia. The recent attack on an Iranian weapons production facility in Isfahan, though, is an indicator that it may be getting increasingly difficult to keep the war in Ukraine and Iran’s regional rivalries separate.
—Mark N. Katz
From the Washington Post:
Will America’s Woes Bring Down Democracy and Capitalism Worldwide?
Yet unlike many progressives, [Martin] Wolf’s battle cry is not to tear down institutions and topple those who run them. Rather, it is to demand that his fellow elitists make good on the responsibility that goes with their privilege.
—Steven Pearlstein
From Homeland Security Today:
ISIS-Khorasan Appears to Be Replacing the Taliban’s Terror in Afghanistan
Before the Taliban’s takeover, ISIS-K limitedly operated in Kabul, and its activities were confined to Kunar and Nangarhar provinces; however, the group, with its organizational structure that includes global jihadists, was able to exert its influence in almost all 34 provinces and continued to carry out attacks in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan in 2022.
—Mahmut Cengiz
From the Hill:
Biden Just Launched His 2024 Campaign
Meanwhile, Biden, who may not face serious opposition for the Democratic nomination, is free to treat culture war issues as secondary.
—Bill Schneider
From Homeland Security Today:
Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey: How Endemic Corruption Worsens the Situation
Today, the kleptocratic system presents opportunities for politicians and bureaucrats. The big-scale government contracts require people to bribe Erdogan and his ministers, whereas small contracts funnel money to government officials and officers at the municipalities. Endemic corruption is even worse in the municipalities responsible for checking and licensing newly built structures. The author’s research in 2006, 2009, and 2014 that aimed to shed light on corruption issues in the municipalities found that nothing has changed in people’s perceptions over the years on who saw municipalities as one of the most corrupt institutions.
—Mahmut Cengiz
From La República:
And about the last "truth", it is evident that a Congress repudiated by 90% of Peruvians does not want an advance of elections. Boluarte has in his hands the power to advance elections with his resignation. But that's a truth that you don't want to announce.
—Jo-Marie Burt
From the Hill:
Spying By Balloon? ‘Sometimes, the Old Ways Are the Best’
Second, and no offense to the satellite supporters out there, low- and high-earth orbit satellites can pick up a lot – but hardly everything. They also travel on a regular time basis. If you know when they are going to be there, you can engage in what’s referred to as “denial and deception” — hide your stuff, or whatever work you are doing, at the right times. You got a balloon lolling around at 20 miles up, drifting along at up to 60 miles per hour… well, you get lots of time to collect data. And, frankly, they are a bear to shoot down. We got lucky on this one.
—Ronald A. Marks
From the Diplomat:
Why the Netherlands Should Restrict Semiconductor Tech Exports to China
Finally, globalization is highly dependent on a level playing field and a rules-based international order. And that is where the problem with China comes in.
—Gerrit van der Wees
From World Politics Review:
Global Leadership Is on the Cusp of a Youth Movement
Today, the leadership of many of the world’s most powerful countries is concentrated in the hands of septuagenarians, or older. Is this a good thing? The answer depends on who we are talking about.
—Jack A. Goldstone
From La República:
With this, the category of hybrid regime that the Economist magazine assigned to Peru falls short to reflect the serious deterioration of democratic institutionality in 2022. Boluarte and his allies in Congress are dismantling democracy and doing their best to consolidate an authoritarian regime.
—Jo-Marie Burt
From the Hill:
Back to the Future in America: Jim Crow and the New Deal
In the 1960s, Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” was aimed at social change. Its one lasting achievement is Medicare, a popular — and expensive — entitlement program.
—Bill Schneider
From La República:
This Democracy Isn’t Democracy Anymore
We applaud the fact that the government supports a fiscal investigation into the facts. However, we agree that "widespread impunity for human rights violations at the hands of Peruvian security forces tempers hopes of effective accountability."
—Jo-Marie Burt
From the Hill:
Biden and the International Olympic Committee Are Being Too Soft on Russian War Crimes
With all due respect to Biden and the IOC, we cannot compete if Ukraine boycotts. The Olympics would be an international farce. French President Emmanuel Macron surely knows Paris streets would swell with protestors.
—Mark J. Rozell and Paul Goldman
From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
How to Select the Right Search Firm
But their ubiquity doesn’t mean people know what to look for in a search firm. We’ve studied trends and practices in presidential searches (and exits), for nearly a decade.
—Judith Wilde and James Finkelstein
From World Politics Review:
Peru’s Political Crisis Is Reawakening Echoes of Its Civil Conflict
Fed up with ineffective and self-serving politicians, Peruvians—especially those from poor, rural and Indigenous regions, who have historically been excluded and marginalized—are demanding a clean slate, and they don’t seem inclined to back down. The political deadlock is raising fears of an intractable conflict that could lead to greater violence and even more deaths.
—Jo-Marie Burt