Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler A decade ago, winds of change and calamity blew across the Middle East. From Tunisia to Egypt, Syria, and later Libya, entrenched autocracies were challenged politically by what became known as the Arab Spring, a series of popular and quasi-democratic uprisings which shook the status quo and smashed […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler “I’m sending a clear message to the world: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back,” President Joe Biden affirmed to a high level assembly of European leaders. I didn’t realize we had left. “The transatlantic alliance is a strong foundation, the strong foundation, on which our collective […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler When the new Biden Administration spoke grandly of “restoring America’s place in the world,” that bold new relationship with Canada restarted with an insult. Indeed, while the United States and Canada are among the world’s best neighbors, trading partners, and security allies, the governments in Washington and Ottawa […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Burma’s military coup d’etat overthrowing the democratically elected government has provided the stage for a new morality play in Southeast Asia. We already know the players. On the one side we see the seemingly virtuous young democracy led by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate being pushed aside by […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Massive worldwide economic disruptions and setbacks continue as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, devastating commerce, industry and people’s livelihoods. And even with modest economic gains expected this year in many developed countries, the virus and vaccines to counter COVID will ultimately set the agenda for success or […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler [Note: Google’s algorithms are objecting to some articles about Covid, including this one, for unexplained reasons. Specific comments from credible human sources about the following content should be directed to the editors’ attention.] Look, WHO’s back in Washington’s good graces! Just a day after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler The global pandemic has devastated health standards, the economy, and through stress and the undertow of uncertainty and hardships has affected the sanity of citizens worldwide. Lockdowns, arbitrary regulations, school closings are taking their toll on the social fabric. Now as a second wave of the Wuhan Covid […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler In a self-congratulatory and hubristic speech to the nation, China’s President and Communist Party supremo Xi Jinping praised the efforts of the People’s Republic to overcome the Wuhan virus and to create a powerful Chinese economy amid global downturns. Chairman Xi boasted that this is “the first major […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Covid-19 changed everything. Our Lives, our Health, the Economy, the Election, and certainly our Future. While the pandemic presents an enduring challenge to the world, events nonetheless move forward shrouded by the continuing health emergency and jolted by lethal socio/economic ramifications. Now, nearly one year into suffering from […]
Special to WorldTribune.com by John J. Metzler In another stunning breakthrough for Middle East peace, the Kingdom of Morocco has recognized Israel. The latest diplomatic deal was orchestrated in the waning weeks of the Trump Administration’s first term, but built upon September’s surprising Abraham Accords where three other Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, […]