The famous motto of the US state of New Hampshire is “Live Free or Die.” The phrase is adopted from a toast by New Hampshire’s famed Gen. John Stark of the American Revolutionary War, who wrote in 1809, “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” That means that losing freedom is worse than death. It also resonates with what Patrick Henry said in 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Those phrases especially appeal to the American mind becau

Japan’s likely next prime minister is a huge fan of Shinzo Abe. That doesn’t mean Yoshihide Suga is a carbon copy. Indeed, the shades of difference between the two men on some key issues are important, particularly when the economy in question is the world’s third-largest, a critical part of global manufacturing and trade, and a pioneer of ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing. The first issue to consider is Japan’s consumption tax. Increases have been blamed

August was busy for Russia this year. While dealing with growing popular protests in the east, Moscow has sought to distract attention by engaging in nefarious activities, both at home and abroad. It’s prepared to intervene in neighboring Belarus, confronted US military forces on land, at sea and in the air, stepped up its interference in the US presidential elections and poisoned yet another opposition figure. None of these activities have gone unnoticed in Europe or the United States. B

Anyone observing President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the US would have good reason to wonder if his administration ever had much of a strategy for handling it. Last week the press accused one of his medical advisers, Scott Atlas, of promoting a “herd immunity strategy” amounting to letting COVID-19 run rampant. Atlas denies this, but a more important issue is what our strategy is, or should be, and what Joe Biden’s strategy would be if he&rsqu

In politics, language is a reliable indicator of the direction of travel. Today, rhetoric from the Republican Party convention in the US to India, and from Poland to Brazil, points away from liberal democracy. The change has rarely been swifter than in Hong Kong. The markers of autocratic speech are globally apparent. There’s the divisive “us versus them” rhetoric, the ad hominem attacks, the inflammatory comments on dissenters and the fetishization of law and order, feeding o

After years of slow deterioration, diplomatic relations between China and Australia have taken a sharp turn for the worse. The disputes range from pressure on journalists, to spying allegations, to an investigation of Australia’s wine exports. Beijing holds most of the cards, but Australia does have one doomsday weapon at its disposal. It’s better not used. The conflict echoes China’s widening disputes with other countries. Two journalists working for Australian Broadcasting C

When technology advances and related gadgets become widely available, what tends to happen is a steady decrease in hardware prices. Mainstream smartphones are getting pricier each year, putting a strain on limited household budgets. Of course, Korean consumers can get popular smartphones from Samsung Electronics and Apple at a discount by signing up for data plans with mobile carriers. But even with such deals, the prices for the latest Galaxy and iPhone series are easily above 1 million won