When Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack, it opened a dramatic divide among Democrats over a war that has claimed thousands of civilian lives. Progressive activists staged protests across the country, demanded an immediate cease-fire and accused President Joe Biden of complicity in genocide. A handful of Democrats in Congress joined the call for a cease-fire, but stopped short of blaming Biden for Israel's actions. At the height of the offensive, befor

ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023

President Richard Nixon was work-vacationing in his Western White House estate at San Clemente, California, and not far away, the White House press corps was about to be briefed by the world’s most famous anonymous authority on all foreign policies. Which is to say, another ritual Vietnam War policy/press corps kabuki was about to start. It began the usual way, with Nixon press secretary Ronald Ziegler saying national security adviser Henry Kissinger was about to explain a significant new

ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023

It would be miserable to live in an Orwellian dystopian society that puts you under constant surveillance, closely monitoring your conversations, your whereabouts and your everyday life. Using omnipresent surveillance cameras, AI operated facial recognition deviced, or your smartphone, your government agencies can now trace your movements, hear your conversations, and read your text messages or emails. In the 2008 Hollywood film “Eagle Eye,” a TV announcer says, “Cellphone us

ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023

Ten years ago, Eugene Fama and Robert J. Shiller were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (together with Lars Peter Hansen) “for their empirical analysis of asset prices.” Fama and Shiller, however, hold diametrically opposing views on asset-price movements, from what drives the decisions of economic actors to whether markets are inherently efficient. Fifteen years after the global economic crisis, it is a disagreement worth revisiting. Fama is a member of the Chicago School of econ

ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023

By Jeffrey D. Sachs As governments gather in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for this year’s climate conference in early December, two things are painfully clear. First, we are already in a climate emergency. Second, the richer countries, and especially the US, continue to turn their back on the poorer countries. This year’s debate will therefore focus on climate justice and financing: how to share the costs of the climate disasters and the urgently needed transformation of the wor

ViewpointsDec. 5, 2023

Sam Altman’s dismissal and rapid reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, confirms that the future of AI is firmly in the hands of people focused on speed and profits, at the expense of all else. This elite will now impose their vision for technology on the rest of humanity. Most of us will not enjoy the consequences. The founders of OpenAI claimed to be creating a philanthropic organization that would benefit all of humanity or at least protect it from potential harm. OpenA

ViewpointsDec. 4, 2023

The Modern Language Association recently released its survey of second language enrollment at US universities as of the fall 2021 semester. Founded in 1883, the MLA is the most prominent organization of college and university second language educators in the county. The survey has been conducted every three or four years since 1958 and offers a window into the state of second language education in the US. The most notable change in the latest survey is the rise of Korean. For the first time ever

ViewpointsDec. 1, 2023

The Korea-China-Japan foreign ministers' meeting was recently held in Busan, with considerable expectations at home and abroad. At the first meeting in four years, the ministers reaffirmed trilateral cooperation and held in-depth discussions on cooperation measures. It is a welcome diplomatic achievement that the three major countries in Northeast Asia met and discussed peace and prosperity amid anxiety over the wars in Europe and the Middle East. However, it is also necessary to point out

ViewpointsNov. 30, 2023

A new analysis from researchers at the American Cancer Society suggests that the distressing disparity in outcomes for Black and white colon cancer patients could narrow if hospitals simply treated all patients with the same level of high-quality care. The disparity in rates and deaths from colorectal cancer among Black people has been a longstanding problem in cancer care. Black individuals are 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40 percent more likely to die from it. T

ViewpointsNov. 29, 2023