"Ultimately, what will lead Brazil down the route of a responsible resource-endowed country will be that its national oil company remains competitive and free of political corruption."

A list of political events on campus

Write for CPR! We're accepting staff writer and web columnist applications, as well as pitches for the Fall magazine (Deadline: Sunday, September 14th, midnight.)

Web Columnist Daniella Greenbaum defends AIPAC against the charges made by Connie Bruck in her recent essay for the New Yorker, "Friends of Israel"

Cosmas Sibindi examines the recent U.S.-Africa leaders summit and American policy on the continent.

Matthew Michaelides examines Argentina's second default since 2001

Eliot Sackler's take on the current crisis in Gaza

"As such, Israel should wait for one of two things to happen before entering any formal negotiations with the Palestinians: either the unity government is dissolved, or Hamas renounces terrorism."

"In the end, I love language because it is freedom. No wonder, then, why I’m not particularly fond of rhetorical questions. I am—or at least I try to be—Politically Correct, and I am proud."

Given the complexity of the rapidly-unfolding crisis in Gaza since then, the CPR editorial team has decided to compile the diverse set of responses we have received from members of the Columbia community.

A point worth reiterating: We do not endorse any of the views presented on the site

"Hamas continues to terrorize, and Israel continues to pulverize, but neither side sustains substantial gains. If nothing else, the current escalation proves, without a doubt, that there are no winners."

"Saying that, with such a system, Israel should simply ignore the rockets is the epitome of malarkey, akin to saying that a person wearing a bulletproof vest should not mind that his neighbor regularly shoots at him."

"Perhaps it is difficult to think of the Islamic State as an actual state because the vocabulary we use to discuss the region is so entrenched in our political maps. The media’s confusion over the organization’s name—ISIL or ISIS?—demonstrates the difficulty of escaping to a time before Sykes-Picot."

"If everyone in the Jewish community thought as Josh did, there would be no need for my article. His analysis and insight into the conflict illustrates keen awareness and sensitivity to both sides."

"Of course using any one event as the basis for a grand narrative is shoddy intellectual work. But denying the way in which any one event illuminates and contributes to the larger narrative is equally faulty."

The recent tragedy is part of the overarching conflict, but it is not the conflict. Obviously, conflicts are innately emotional and the recent murders are political, but personal views on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis are secondary when acknowledging the recent killings.

With recovery from the global recession proceeding slowly and youth unemployment at almost 15 percent, it is tempting to question the actual value of our liberal arts degrees. We reached out to the Columbia community to find out their views on education and the economy, asking student groups, professors, and administrators the following question: What role should Columbia play in preparing students to face this economy?

"Putin may be able to get concessions out of Ukraine that stem from fear, but he may ironically have accelerated the resolve of Ukrainian elites to overcome their own internal problems, including by cleaning up corruption and cementing civilian control over the security forces, and thereby make Ukraine a more attractive candidate for western trade and investment."