All Opinion

A tentative UN-brokered ceasefire does not settle Western concerns over Saudi intervention in Syria. While the US and its allies are wary of seeing Syria become a sectarian battleground, the power brokers in Riyadh seem to have been hurtling toward it – with a form of state-sponsored jihad.

US law requires emergency rooms to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. As a hospital CEO, I assure you, we already have a form of universal health care. We simply fund and supply it in an exorbitantly expensive way. Obamacare's individual mandate provides the solution.

Facing a slow economy, three of our children moved back home after college. New unemployment figures show we're not alone. I worried: Are these roommates? What are the rules? Beyond the questions, something strange and wonderful was taking place. Mirth. And laughter.

Families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power – and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise ‘that all men are created equal.

Fellow dissident Wei Jingsheng pays tribute to Fang Lizhi, who inspired pro-democracy students in China. Fang warned in 2010: 'Regardless of how widely China’s leaders have opened its market to the outside world, they have not retreated even half a step from their repressive political creed.'

Russia's President-elect Vladimir Putin may have won the presidential election, but he lost Moscow. And he faces an engaged, active generation that did not grow up as Soviets. Political legitimacy is more than an official election result; it requires trust.

Pope Benedict XVI’s call for 'authentic freedom' during his recent visit to Cuba is unlikely to spur democracy. But other factors suggest economic changes are under way, patterned after the Chinese example, namely creating a market economy under an authoritarian, communist political system.

Why do we keep hearing about labor abuses in overseas factories like those of Apple-supplier Foxconn? Auditing and inspections are inadequate to solve the problem. Requiring companies to examine and publicly report on risks along their supply chains can help eliminate violations.

April 6 marks a key date in one of the most divisive cases in the US Supreme Court's history. The Dred Scott vs. Sanford ruling led the nation into the Civil War. Dred’s name remains well known. Lost is the story of his wife, Harriet, whose cause gives the case its greater meaning.

My fascination with religious observances is ecumenical. I have recited my 'Allahu Akbars,' been blessed at Easter by the pope in St. Peter's Square, and recently attended a service in the South Pacific. Everywhere, I find a universal need for contemplation and self-surrender.

Since 9/11, the majority of criminal convictions in high-profile terror cases in the US relied on sting operations. In many, the FBI crossed the line into entrapment, luring penniless men and teenagers into sophisticated plots they never could have dreamed of on their own.

Fukushima's most important lesson is this: Probability theory (that disaster is unlikely) failed us. If you have made assumptions, you are not prepared. Nuclear power plants should have multiple, reliable ways to cool reactors. Any nuclear plant that doesn't heed this lesson is inviting disaster.

Boko Haram, the north Nigerian extremist group, has recently escalated its terror campaign with a string of deadly strikes against government and civilian targets. To combat the rising threat, the West must embrace conservative Muslims in the region as potential allies.

When Vladimir Putin arrives in Camp David for the G8 summit in May, President Obama must be ready to lay out the framework for a new reset. With Russian membership in the WTO, the US and Europe could create incentives for greater rule of law in the economy and elsewhere in Russia.

Yesterday, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), one of Latin America’s oldest guerrilla organizations, signaled the beginning of a possible end to Colombia’s half-century-old internal conflict. (Colombia's recent campaign against FARC was backed by $7 billion in US aid.)

The Obama administration appears to be conducting a campaign of leaks to the media to stop Israel from attacking Tehran's nuclear program. It seems Obama fears an Israeli military strike more than he fears Iran achieving nuclear-weapons capability.

European policymakers want to avoid Greek default and keep Greece in the eurozone. However, Argentina’s decision to devalue its currency and default was the right one. It was the only step that offered a way out of the crisis facing the country. Greece should do the same.

The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has opened a dialogue on broader issues. One is the unique challenge parents face in teaching African-American children to be safe but not fearful.

Suspense is building for the Myanmar elections April 1. Will democracy fighter and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi finally get an official voice in her country, formerly known as Burma? The US can help freedom emerge in Myanmar through pressure and a new ambassador.