Jeffrey Cavanaugh

Jeffrey Cavanaugh is a former MintPress political analyst and columnist specializing in international relations and US policy. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations, specializing in International Security and Conflict. He has worked as a political science and public administration lecturer at Mississippi State University.

China Takes Off Into The 21st-Century Space Race

The first space race pitted the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union, but now a whole new competition has begun, and it will be a lot more interesting than the first.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

This past Saturday a remarkable thing happened. A probe the size of a small car that was launched from China landed on the moon and disgorged onto its surface a rover weighing 260 pounds. The rover Yutu, whose name translates into Jade Rabbit, can carry a 44-pound payload, transmit video in real time, perform simple analyses of soil samples,

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Why Benjamin Netanyahu Didn’t Go To Mandela’s Funeral

Israel was once in bed with the racist government that imprisoned Mandela and instituted one of the most all-encompassing systems of racial tyranny seen outside of Nazi Germany.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Benjamin Netanyahu

As the world’s great, good, and not-so-good flocked to South Africa this past week to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of the Nelson Mandela, one leader was conspicuous in his absence. It was, he said, too expensive to go. Who was this person who put dollars and cents – or rather shekels and agorot – ahead of paying respects to the

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Science and the Case of the Cancer-Causing Corn

Today, a vast research complex consisting of millions of scientists simply take a lot of what passes as science today on faith.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

In September 2012, a paper published by a French scientist involved in anti-GMO activism – that’s genetically-modified organism – made the claim that a variety of corn known as NK603, genetically engineered by the U.S. bio-chemical firm Monsanto to be resistant to glyphosate herbicides and marketed by the same company, caused tumors in rats fed an

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A Liberal Pope Confronts Conservative Pharisees

Francis’ comments on culture-war issues of abortion, contraception and homosexuality have made many conservative leaders noticeably uncomfortable.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

The Lord works in mysterious ways. And it seems that for many of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics the ascent of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the chair of St. Peter is something of a godsend – a liberal Pope. Although the jury is still out on Pope Francis as to just how reform-minded he is, a series of whirlwind statements by him on a variety of social

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In The Pacific, Beijing Draws A Line In The Waves

Beijing’s actions are a not-so-subtle reminder that a distracted, declining U.S. lives far away, while China lives right next door.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

As most in the United States distracted themselves with roast turkey, football, and the retail madness called Black Friday this past Thanksgiving holiday, a high-stakes game of geopolitical cat-and-mouse is playing out in the skies above the disputed Senkaku Islands between China, the U.S. and Japan. Charitably described by Wikipedia as “five

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A New Era In The Middle East

A successful nuclear deal that de-escalates tensions with Iran could open a gateway to a number of good things for the region and the world.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

Despite the best efforts of American neoconservatives, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the French, it seems that a deal of sorts has been reached between the West and the Islamic Republic of Iran on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. This necessarily raises three questions. What does this deal consist of? Why did it occur? And what may be the fallout from it?

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Globalization’s Sophie’s Choice

The choice that is presented for us by global capitalism is as it currently stands – for it to survive one must sacrifice either the idea of national sovereignty or the concept of a fully representative, democratic society.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

This past week three events of note took place that encapsulates perfectly the growing discomfort with how mankind – led by the West and in particular the United States – has organized social life around the world. While no one can predict the future, if these lurking problems are not dealt with in a serious manner soon then history suggests we

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