All The Monitor's View
- Facebook’s about-face on news credibility
Rather than rely on machines to pick items for its news feed, the media giant will now trust its users to select trustworthy media outlets. The move reflects a broader need to restore trust in news by relying on readers as truth seekers.
- With forgiveness, a need for economic justice
In Liberia and Colombia, civil conflict has been halted by programs that aid former rebels. South Africa has avoided civil war but it also needs to help those who don’t share in its wealth.
- Reducing drunken-driving tragedies
A new study suggests tougher laws will work and a new task force points to higher taxes that change behavior.
- Coarse words and new thinking
The use of foul language to describe immigrants from certain regions provides an opportunity to examine our own preconceptions – and to seek the facts.
- Will Europe speak up for cooperation?
President Trump is expected to make his case for 'America First' at this month’s World Economic Forum. French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel could offer an opposing view that values working together over self-interest.
- Tunisia’s revolution, Act 2
Days of protests against austerity in the North African country serve as yet another model for the Arab world on how to tolerate dissent and define the common good in a spirit of equality.
- A pang of conscience in Myanmar
The military’s admission of a mass atrocity perpetrated against the minority Rohingya may hint at a desire to end one of the world’s worst cases of human rights abuse.
- Children on digital overload
Big investors in Apple have flagged the effects of excessive screen time on kids. Fresh solutions may lie in paying better attention to each child’s capabilities.
- North Korea’s Olympic challenge
In accepting South Korea’s offer to join it at the Winter Olympics, the Kim regime may be buying into a common diplomatic technique of building up trust through sports as a way to avoid war.
- Reading liberty in Tehran
Mass protests in Iran hint at a sharp shift against rule by clerics and for democratic freedoms. Such a possibility may add to similar moves against theocracy and religious divides in the Middle East.
- When families flee will the US open its arms?
Refugees, a tiny portion of the immigrants who legally enter the US, are in special need of help. Why is the US accepting fewer of them?
- Is 2018 the year to defeat 'fake news'?
France and Germany are trying restrictive new laws to stamp out fake news and hate speech online. But helping students – and adults – sharpen their own reasoning ability may be a better solution.
- When cold winds blow Americans give shelter
The Arctic cold spell that has gripped much of the United States has found many people taking extra care to help homeless people find food and shelter. That effort is needed year round.
- Iran boils again
A new round of protests reaffirms that Iran’s oppressive theocracy is ill-suited to serve the hopes of its people for a better life.
- States make headway on opioid abuse
In New England overdose deaths appear to be dropping. And nationwide new state laws and programs are beginning to make a difference.
- Want good news at year’s end? Crime is down – again
Bad news can shock and stick in thought, but progress needs to be reported too. The steady drop in violent crime is one example.
- Poland’s anti-democratic drift
As Warsaw cracks down on its independent judiciary the European Union has taken a strong measure to object. The US could provide its own nudge.
- Two moves to purify sports
The ban on Russia for Olympics doping and the conviction of FIFA officials for corruption in World Cup soccer have been needed steps toward reforming two of the world’s biggest sporting events.
- An orbiting message of peace
Nations have spent more than 17 years working peacefully together on the International Space Station to advance human knowledge.
- The wider meaning of #MeToo
A movement that has highlighted sexual harassment is beginning to resonate in areas such as equal rights and equal pay.