Excerpts of editorial opinion from newspapers in the U.S. and abroad:

San Francisco Chronicle on killing American terrorism suspects overseas without any judicial review:

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder thinks it’s legal to kill American terrorism suspects overseas without any judicial review or public notice. It’s an astonishing claim to make and a shameful stand for the Obama administration, which came to office pledging to curb such constitutionally shaky excesses.

Under Holder’s ground rules there is no outside review, court deliberation or explanation of how a suspect makes the kill list.

Obama still hasn’t closed the Guantanamo Bay gulag as promised. Now he’s shielding targeted killings from genuine review. This presidential subversion of rule of law was unacceptable under George W. Bush, and it is unacceptable under Barack Obama.



Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal on birth control and politics:

It has been both astonishing and disturbing to see birth control at the center of the presidential campaign. Differences that could have been bridged reasonably — and were in a proposal from the Obama White House — have escalated into a sharp partisan battle.

Republicans have seized the moment to advance their portrayal of the president’s health care plan as a vast overreach by the government, a trampling of religious liberties no less. They seem to have little regard for the tone and impact regarding the liberties of women.

All of this stems from a worthy provision of the new health care law that requires insurers to cover certain preventive services without co-payments or deductibles.  Continued...

• 1
• 2
• 3
• See Full Story

An accommodation shouldn’t be so hard — unless partisans are convinced of an advantage in fanning and prolonging the argument.

The Globe and Mail, Toronto, on Russian elections:

The Putinian universe appears to be unfolding as planned. Vladimir Putin has been elected to a third term as president. His loyal place-holder, Dmitri Medvedev, will either become prime minister, or be dispensed with — his services having been rendered, the spirit of Russia’s constitutional term limits duly thwarted.

Yet the victory tears shed by Putin aside, this is a dangerous moment for Russia.

December’s parliamentary elections were characterized by election-rigging that provoked demonstrations across the country. The bar was raised for the presidential vote. Unfortunately, Putin has not successfully scaled it. His re-election by a large margin was secured on the basis of conditions “clearly skewed in favor of one candidate,” as observers from the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe dryly put it. This only serves to emphasize the perception of a prearranged handover of power.

A managed democracy, as the Putinists would practice it, is not a true democracy. What has become clear these past three months, as the demonstrations have continued, is that Russians themselves agree that this is not an acceptable approach to democracy — and a democracy is what Russia nominally is and aspires to be. It is why, for example, the country — unlike China — is a member of the G8 group of industrialized democracies.

In responding to the result, the White House moved delicately, on the one hand, congratulating the Russian people for voting in large numbers, on the other expressing concern over the conduct of the vote... The international community, including Canada, is in an awkward position. It needs to censure Putin, yet should do so in a way that appeals to his better angels, should they exist.

Now that Putin has full control, he can afford to rule with a looser grip. He should not prevent a Russian spring, but lead it.

– Compiled by The Associated Press Continued...

• 1
• 2
• 3
• See Full Story

 

• 1
• 2
• 3
• See Full Story

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

• Return to Paging Mode