by Bernd Debusmann | 5 Dec 2019 | Decoders, Politics
Nations defend themselves with armed forces. But the military alone cannot solve today’s crises. Diplomats and “soft power” are needed. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, right, arrives to testify in Congress, Washington, DC, 15...
by Bernd Debusmann | 25 Sep 2019 | Americas, Decoders, United States
The people of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens but have no vote in Congress. The island is a U.S. territory, but many Americans know nothing about it. Tattered Puerto Rico and U.S. flags, eight months after Hurricane Maria, 16 May 2018, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico (AP...
by Bernd Debusmann | 28 Aug 2019 | Americas, Environment
The Amazon — the “lungs” of our planet — is burning. What to do? Punish Brazil with sanctions? Eat less meat? Or send in forces? Fire in the Amazon rainforest, Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil, 25 August 2019 (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Here are...
by Bernd Debusmann | 17 Jul 2019 | Decoders, Technology
It’s been 50 years since the U.S. put a man on the moon. It’s worth recalling how the U.S. lagged at the start of the Space Age. And what about Earth? A footprint left by a U.S. astronaut on the moon, 20 July 1969 (AP Photo/NASA) The Space Age began on...
by Bernd Debusmann | 17 May 2019 | Americas, Decoders, Europe
The Soviet Union and its allies opposed the West for 36 years. After the Iron Curtain fell, NATO expanded, deepening Russian-Western tensions. Russian Premier Nikolai Bulganin signs the eight-nation Warsaw Pact, Warsaw, Poland, 14 May 14, 1955 (AP Photo) The North...