Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler In a surprisingly understated but inspirational address to the cadets on the historic Parade Field, President Donald Trump spoke to the graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. But the remarks to 1,100 newly minted second lieutenants in the U.S. Army was not a call […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler The World Health Organization (WHO) held its annual Assembly with barely a mention of the member state which brought this UN agency so much political grief — China. But this year’s Assembly convened not in the alpine splendor of its Geneva headquarters, but in virtual reality of cyberspace […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler After years of consistent economic expansion and growth throughout much of the world, the global economy is facing tectonic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic. For developed states such as the United States and Western Europe, the “unseen enemy” of the virus has shattered economic forecasts and international commerce; […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Can we economically sustain a prolonged lockdown? Well the stunningly high unemployment numbers for April, just over 20 million lost jobs, should answer that question and serve as yet another jolting wake-up call that while we are wisely protecting ourselves from wider exposure to the deadly coronavirus, the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Syria’s devastating conflict continues despite the spread of coronavirus and calls by the international community for a ceasefire to stop the fighting which has continued for over nine years and killed more than 500,000 people. Now, an uneasy calm seems to be setting in as the threat of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Since mid-March the American economy has been on pandemic lockdown. Commercial, social and educational interaction have faced a form of limbo, forced to follow a still uncertain script dictated by the deadly coronavirus and decreed by state governors. For many of us, the world seems suspended in time; […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler It’s easy to point fingers during a deadly pandemic, and let’s do so. WHO first sounded the alarm? WHO downplayed real medical risks? WHO calmed or stoked irrational fears? WHO in this case, is the global medical monitor providing us with real time warnings and assessments. Governments and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler The Coronavirus outbreak has closed down the world, at least as we know it. From the Far East into Europe and North America shutdowns, lockdowns, and stay at home orders are the norm. And for good reason; COVID-19 poses the most dangerous global Pandemic since the 1918 scourge […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler What would happen if an alien force invaded the world? This was the hypothesis of many sci-fi films over the years in which warring countries and governments would somehow, suddenly, and urgently join together to fight the greater threat. War of the Worlds, (1953) based on the H.G. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Truth is often stranger than fiction. If somebody suggested a thriller novel plot set to the backdrop of gyrating stock markets, falling oil prices, rising tensions with Iran, amidst a spreading worldwide health pandemic, all juxtaposed to a contentious American Presidential election, most literary agents […]
