Time (July 27)
“Reflecting the escalating urgency” of the current Ebola outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “has raised its response to the highest level.” By early July, the outbreak which was only declared in May had already become “the second largest on record.” While viruses like Ebola can’t be eliminated, “it is possible to contain them quickly, and global health experts are alarmed by the world’s worsening ability to do that. Our systems for responding to and confronting viruses are increasingly fractured and weakened, making everyone more vulnerable.”
Tags: Alarmed, CDC, Contain, Ebola outbreak, Eliminated, Escalating, Fractured, Global, Health experts, Record, Urgency, Viruses, Vulnerable, Weakened
Financial Times (April 9)
“Among the many consequences of the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, it seems that we may look back on this as the week in which one of America’s most powerful geopolitical tools was shown to be a weakened stick. Threatening to limit access to the global dollar system now seems less fearsome.” US Treasury sanctions cover the entire country of Iran. “But not only does this not appear to have prevented it from selling oil while at war with the US, it has not seemed to stop it from charging ransom fees to international shipping seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Tags: Consequences, Fearsome, Geopolitical tools, Global dollar system, Iran, Oil, Ransom fees, Sanctions, Stand-off, Strait of Hormuz, Threatening, Treasury, U.S., Weakened
New York Times (September 6)
“When the federal government last month reported a sharp decline in the nation’s hiring, President Trump dismissed the numbers, claiming without evidence that they were “rigged,” and then ousted the official responsible for producing them.” This month’s jobs report was even worse, confirming “the reality that Mr. Trump has been trying to avoid. The labor market is stalling—and the nation is facing real strains—under the weight of his economic agenda.” His administration will try to deflect, but “the numbers mostly reflect what Americans already know.” Consumer sentiment has weakened in anticipation of tariff-linked inflation while “surveys show that workers are worried about holding onto their jobs and pessimistic about their chances of finding a different one.”
Tags: Consumer sentiment, Federal government, Hiring, Inflation, Jobs report, Labor market, Rigged, Sharp decline, Stalling, Strains, Tariffs, Trump, Weakened, Workers, Worried
Reuters (February 20)
“Europe, which was late to appreciate the danger posed by Putin, won’t quickly forget the lesson even if he goes.” National defense budgets are being hiked and “Europe will be paying more for its protection for years to come,” not to mention bearing costs related to supporting and rebuilding Ukraine. Still, “these costs pale by comparison with a scenario where Putin had triumphed in Ukraine. In that case Europe would now be worrying how to protect the Baltic States and Poland from his aggression. Yet even a Russia weakened by a year of war and sanctions remains a problem for Europe.”
Tags: Aggression, Baltic States, Costs, Danger, Defense budgets, Europe, Poland, Protection, Putin, Rebuilding, Sanctions, Triumphed, Ukraine, War, Weakened
Washington Post (December 27)
“Europe has been so weakened by the tumultuous events of 2016 that it is left unprepared to deal with the three big foreign policy challenges of 2017:” 1) Donald Trump, 2) “the increasing power of Vladimir Putin,” and 3) terrorism.
Tags: 2016, 2017, Challenges, Europe, Foreign policy, Putin, Terrorism, Trump, Tumultuous events, Weakened
