http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/forum/politics Common Ground, Uncommon Debate en-US Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:25:07 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.1 q http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/search.php http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/us-defense-spending-is-it-too-much#post-1438 Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:00:51 +0000 admin 1438@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate between Christopher Preble and Jamie Fly on U.S. defense spending continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/repeal-%e2%80%9cdon%e2%80%99t-ask-don%e2%80%99t-tell%e2%80%9d#post-417 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:47:07 +0000 admin 417@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" between Lawrence J. Korb, Ph.D., and Elaine Donnelly continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/is-social-security-in-crisis#post-338 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:41:48 +0000 admin 338@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate on Social Security between Robert P. Murphy and David Rosnick continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to join in. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/national-education-standards#post-343 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:46:59 +0000 admin 343@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate on the Common Core education standards between Neal McCluskey and Michael Petrilli continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/negotiate-with-the-taliban#post-139 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:34:59 +0000 admin 139@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate between Ann Marlowe and Michael Semple on negotiating with the Taliban continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to join in. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/is-afghanistan-in-the-us-national-interest#post-280 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:03:32 +0000 admin 280@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate between Andrew Bacevich and Richard Weitz continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/does-the-banning-of-the-veil-represent-the-liberation-of-women#post-233 Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:20:11 +0000 wreynolds 233@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The lower house of the French parliament recently voted to approve a ban on wearing burqa-style veils. Justifications for the ban include, in addition to the French value of secularity in public life, the idea that the veil represents the subjugation of women to men. Opponents of the ban have expressed fears that the law will in fact decrease the freedom of women who already experience cultural pressure to wear traditional clothing, in that these women will be made to feel uncomfortable appearing in public. Furthermore, women who may feel comfortable wearing the veil will be restricted in their choice to do so. Is banning the veil an appropriate and effective means of liberating women from subjugation? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/crisis-economics-by-nouriel-roubini#post-193 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:40:26 +0000 Pamela.Kopsky 193@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Here is where the review of Nouriel Roubini's book "Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance" continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> <p><a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=43c0eccf-73be-4a0b-8b04-dc8f16d77ade" rel="nofollow">http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=43c0eccf-73be-4a0b-8b04-dc8f16d77ade</a> </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/liberty-and-tyranny-a-conservative-manifesto-by-mark-levin#post-192 Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:35:42 +0000 admin 192@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Here is where the discussion of Mark Levin's book "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/the-end-of-the-free-market-by-ian-bremmer#post-191 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:32:19 +0000 Pamela.Kopsky 191@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Here is where the review of Ian Bremmer's book "The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?" continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/japanese-whaling-and-international-agreements#post-171 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:11:55 +0000 wreynolds 171@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Despite a moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission, of which Japan is a member, Japanese ships continue to kill hundreds of whales every year for the stated purpose of government-sanctioned scientific research, while the resulting whale products are sold commercially. The killing of whales for scientific research is permitted under IWC rules. The Australian government initiated a legal challenge last week against Japanese scientific whaling in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.</p> <p>Question: Does the international community have an obligation to curb the Japanese practice of large scale whaling? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/anti-american-sentiment#post-142 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:08:07 +0000 bjan 142@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The Anti-Defamation League recently criticised General Petraeus (linked below) for his comments on the situation in Israel-Palestine. In a Senate testimony, Petraeus referred to the ongoing conflict as problematic, interfering with U.S. goals in the Arab world and encouraging “anti-American sentiment.” According to the ADL, this sentiment is not only wrong, but “dangerous and counterproductive.”</p> <p>Is lack of progress on the Israel-Palestine issue an impediment to U.S. goals in the Middle East?</p> <p><a href="http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/5721_62.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/5721_62.htm</a> </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/review-of-the-conscience-of-a-liberal#post-106 Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:33:36 +0000 admin 106@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where members of PublicSquare.net can discuss David M. Kennedy's review of Paul Krugman's book "The Conscience of a Liberal." </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/victory-in-iraq#post-104 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:05:44 +0000 gmartin 104@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The cover of Newsweek, dated 8 March 2010, proclaimed 'Victory at Last: The Emergence of a Democratic Iraq', with a photo of the famous/infamous 'mission accomplished' speech given by George W Bush in May 2003. The magazine went on to argue that while the situation in Iraq is still fragile, the recent parliamentary elections suggest that something resembling democracy might be emerging in the country.</p> <p>So although the war will soon enter its eight year, and despite the huge costs (human and financial), can we consider the war a success? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/afghanistan-is-the-july-2011-deadline-smart-policy#post-103 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:45:42 +0000 admin 103@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>This is where the debate between Stephen Schlesinger and Michael Rubin on the July 2011 deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are encouraged to participate. </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/are-extrajudicial-killings-an-appropriate-tool-for-states#post-78 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:45:07 +0000 gmartin 78@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Recently, with the use of fraudulent EU passports, a task force assassinated Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubain. Hamas was quick to accuse Israel of being behind the killing, and Israel in line with its usual policy neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.</p> <p>Question: Are extrajudicial killings an appropriate tool for states to guarantee their security? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/sonic-boom-globalization-at-mach-speed#post-47 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:26:01 +0000 katie.mo.vogel 47@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Here is where the review of Gregg Easterbrook's book "Sonic Boom: Globalization at Mach Speed" continues. All registered members of PublicSquare.net are invited to participate.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Drezner-t.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Drezner-t.html</a> </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/obama-and-the-dalai-lama#post-46 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:43:17 +0000 gmartin 46@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Today, President Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House, a move that was predictably condemned by the Chinese government. Considering the recent rise in Sino-American tensions over trade disputes, Iran, google and the arms sale to Taiwan, was this a shrewd move?</p> <p>Question: Should Obama have met the Dalai Lama in this current context of Sino-American disputes? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/us-taiwan-arms-deal-and-china#post-42 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:20:12 +0000 gmartin 42@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The United States and Taiwan recently agreed on a $6.4 billion arms package, the latest arms deal between both nations and the first under the Obama administration. China's reaction was, unsurprisingly, very negative. Considering that China tops the US government foreign creditor list, was the arms sale a mistake?</p> <p>Question: Is the US-Taiwan arms deal a threat to Sino-American relations? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/is-the-obama-administration-losing-interest-in-europe#post-41 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:09:36 +0000 gmartin 41@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>After the tumultuous period of the Bush Administration, and the major split over the Iraq War, Europe welcomed with great enthusiasm the election of Barack Obama. One year on, although Obama remains popular with the European public at large, his administration does not seem particularly focused on its partnership with Europe - the recent decision of Obama to snub a EU-US summit scheduled in May being a perfect example.</p> <p>Question: Is the Obama administration losing interest in Europe? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/negotiating-with-the-taliban#post-40 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:55:44 +0000 gmartin 40@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>President Obama's speech at West Point on 1 December 2009 outlined his administration's military strategy for the War in Afghanistan, including a temporary surge of 30,000 troops and a deadline of July 2011 for the first withdrawal of troops. The political dimension of the strategy, however, remains more elusive. The Obama administration is divided over the issue of negotiating with the Taliban.</p> <p>Question: Should the US government, and its partners in Afghanistan, negotiate with the Taliban? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/has-obama-had-a-successful-first-year-in-office#post-39 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:42:30 +0000 blinden 39@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Conservatives say he's ruining the country, progressives say he's not getting anything done, and some say he just needs more time, pointing to the early failures and low approval ratings of the Clinton and second Bush administrations as proof that the first year in office is always a difficult time for a president. </p> <p>So, relative to other recent administrations, has Obama had a successful first year in office? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/should-google-pull-out-of-china#post-38 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:46:18 +0000 mglover 38@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Google recently announced it is considering pulling out of China following a cyber attack. The attack was very sophisticated and intended to spy on human rights activists. The Chinese government is unlikely to change their stance regarding intellectual property and the internet. Should Google pull out of China? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/chinas-economic-rise-threat-or-opportunity#post-37 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:42:14 +0000 gmartin 37@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>China is likely to overtake Japan in terms of gross domestic product to become the second largest economy in the world. </p> <p>Question: in this context of economic, is China's continued economic rise a threat or an opportunity for the US? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/aid-to-haiti-is-it-key-for-countries-prestige-in-western-hemisphere#post-36 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:10:45 +0000 gmartin 36@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The recent earthquake that devastated Haiti has led a number of states to send aid, including the US, China, Brazil, France, Germany, Cuba, Venezuela, or Iceland.</p> <p>While compassion is undoubtedly the primary reason behind countries sending aid, self interest may also play a certain role. Rivals like the US and Cuba and Venezuela may view sending aid as a way to improve their standing the Western hemisphere.</p> <p>Question: Aside from the key humanitarian concerns, are the US, Cuba and Venezuela using aid to Haiti in order to improve their standings in the western hemisphere, and compete for the hearts and minds of the people?</p> <p>Question: </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/israeli-wall-along-the-border-with-egypt-threat-to-the-region#post-35 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:08:24 +0000 gmartin 35@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just announced Israel's decision to build a wall along the border with Egypt, which should be completed in the next two years. It is believed that the wall is an attempt to deal with three key issues: the wave of illegal laborers that are trying to infiltrate Israel via its southern border; security threats; and smuggling. However, this will also mean that Israeli borders will be even more surrounded by fences.</p> <p>Question: Is Israel's recent decision to build a wall along the border with Egypt likely to improve or worsen the situation in the region? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/should-the-us-congress-pass-the-us-colombia-free-trade-agreement#post-33 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:46:07 +0000 Liva 33@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement was signed on November 22, 2006. Colombia’s congress approved the agreement in 2007 and it was declared to be in compliance with Colombia’s constitution in July 2008. The FTA is pending US Congress approval. The US Congress can put the treaty on an up or down vote and cannot change the letter of the treaty, since it was signed under US Trade Promotion Authority (through the so-called fast-track provision). </p> <p>The treaty covers similar areas and is structured around the same platform as other US FTAs, covering customs, trade facilitation, Technical Barriers as Trade, government procurement, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, as well as provisions on labor and environment. The latter two are the main areas of controversies surrounding the treaty.</p> <p>While the proponents of the treaty argue that inaction is costing the US manufacturers millions of dollars in trade, agricultural markets and job creation, the opponents of the treaty claim that US passing the treaty would indirectly support and give legitimacy to the violence in Colombia committed against union workers, lead to environmental degradation, and to loss of control of land to Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, among other problems. The proponents of the treaty, in turn, call these assertions outdated and claim that, alongside economic benefits for both parties, a US-Colombia FTA would allow for consolidation of an ally in the region and contribute towards a more secure environment in the region.</p> <p>Question: Should the US Congress pass the US-Colombia FTA, or should it be renegotiated? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/is-there-a-need-for-a-new-global-reserve-currency#post-32 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:41:16 +0000 Liva 32@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>The global imbalances resulting from the US dollar being the leading world reserve currency, some say, are unsustainable and will trigger of the next major international crisis. In contrast, others say that the US choosing to improve its balance of payments would also lead to the next global depression. For example, Helmut Reisen, researcher for the OECD development center, has emphasized the necessity of US external deficits as song as the US dollar is the only global reserve currency according to the “Triffin Dilemma”. In essence, the Dilemma suggests that if the US stopped running balance of payments deficits and supplying reserves, the resulting shortage of liquidity would pull the global economy into a contractionary spiral.<br /> On the opposite side, yet other economists have expressed the view that the global imbalances are not unsustainable and there is no need for a change in policy. In their view, the US can continue running large current account deficits because the emerging Asian and Latin American markets are happy to keep accumulating dollars. For example, Barry Eichengreen (UC, Berkeley), maintains that there is no reason why the dollar must fall, since there is no reason for balance of payments adjustment. In short, the risk of countries suddenly shifting to other reserve currencies is low.<br /> Another position on this issue states, that the current developments in the global economy already suggest that there is an international support for a new reserve currency, whether or not there is a well-established economic rationale for it. For example, China’s call for an overhaul of the global currency reserve system has been echoed by the Russian President Medvedev as an important building block of a new global financial architecture. Some experts suggest that China is making moves that could soon lead to the convertibility of the renminbi, and thus, make it into a leading world reserve currency in the distant future. In March 2009, as a result of the global economic crisis, China and Russia have pressed for urgent consideration of a global currency and a UN panel has proposed greatly expanding the use of IMF's Special Drawing Rights.<br /> Skeptics point out that the dollar is too entrenched as the international currency of choice and the moves of China and Russia will not be reciprocated by other major players in the world economy. </p> <p>Question: Is there a need for a new global reserve currency to replace the US dollar? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/should-the-us-be-more-proactive-regarding-the-asia-pacific-and-apec#post-31 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:13:15 +0000 Liva 31@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>Since the onset of the current financial crisis, there has been a significant drop in the volume of world trade. Marcus Hand, the Asia Editor of Lloyd’s List DCN, claims that the drop has reached a staggering 20 percent. While policy makers encourage the completion of the current WTO Doha Development Trade Round in 2010, evidence of actual prospects of accomplishing the task look grim. Consequently, to prevent the raise of protectionism and its respective side effects and to foster further trade liberalization, regional and bilateral arrangements have been pursued as the next best alternative.<br /> The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members contribute more than 50 percent of the world GDP. Asia is also the most successful region in recovering from the current global financial crisis. Over the years, APEC has become an increasingly important regional arrangement for the United States—four out of its five largest trading partners are APEC member states and about 60% of US exports are destined for the APEC countries.<br /> In the November 12-14, 2009 APEC Summit in Singapore, the Obama administration identified economic cooperation within APEC as a major foreign economic policy goal. Specifically, the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, affirmed Obama administration’s definite stance on the issue of free trade and market liberalization and pointed out that US trade with APEC nations currently supports 3.7 million American jobs. Additionally, the US delegation unexpectedly announced that the US would engage in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a region wide FTA with Asia-Pacific. On the other hand, the Congress is delaying the ratification of a landmark agreement between the US and South Korea and has recently erected trade barriers against selected Chinese imports, while still ignoring demands from Chinese neighbors to take a tougher stance towards the Chinese undervalued currency.<br /> The question, thus arises, whether the US stance demonstrated in the Summit will be sufficient to prevent a further drop in trade volume both for the US and worldwide. Some experts and stake holders claim that the US needs to be more involved in the regional arrangements with Asia and the Pacific, and act like a leader promoting further integration in the APEC framework (the Australian prime minister Rudd, and the Prime Minister of Thailand Abhist among others), as well as act as a stabilizing power in the region. Others (for example Claude Barfield from the AEI) claim that the US might need to step in only after the major APEC economies have agreed on the preferred architecture (e.g., the Japanese proposal for an East Asia Community), as to not cause a backlash against policies that could be seen as intervention, or even intrusion by some APEC governments. As Amitav Acharya from the American University points out, the APEC members welcome US involvement, but not dominance. </p> <p>Question: Can the US economy sustain a further drop in trade volume? Should the Obama administration take a more proactive stance and be more involved in the economic developments in Asia-Pacific and APEC? </p> http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/topic/is-anglicizing-names-in-customer-service-discriminatory#post-30 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:56:39 +0000 wilcoxchar 30@http://www.publicsquare.net/bbpress/ <p>In Taos, New Mexico, a hotel owner has come under fire this past week for implementing rules that have caused offense with some of the Hispanic employees at the hotel. Larry Whitten took over the Paragon Inn in Taos in late July. Some of the policies he implemented were saying that Spanish couldn't be spoken around him and that the employees working customer service had to Anglicize their names when talking to customers. So Martín would become Martin, and Marcos would become Mark. Some employees were fired after they refused to follow Whitten's policies claiming they were racist and discriminatory.</p> <p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_trouble_in_taos" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_trouble_in_taos</a></p> <p>Question: Are the policies that Whitten implemented and the firing of those employees who refused to follow his policies discriminatory? </p>