Most Popular
-
1
Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
-
2
Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
-
3
Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
-
4
[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
-
5
YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
-
6
No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
-
7
Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
-
8
Stray Kids hit with racism in Met Gala photo line
-
9
[News Analysis] Yoon's first 2 years marked by intense confrontations, lack of leadership
-
10
Yoon apologizes for wife's 'unwise conduct'
-
Internet adoptions should be shut down
If you’re desperate for a child or desperate to be rid of one, the Internet is here to help. You can save time, avoid bureaucratic interference and escape the prying eyes of child welfare busybodies. Yes, it’s every bit as awful as it sounds. But it’s true.Illinois, we are told, has some of the strongest adoption laws in the nation. But those laws “are not enough to stem the horrible practice of ‘re-homing’ adopted children who are in perilous circumstances,” according to state Rep. Sara Feigenh
Nov. 5, 2013
-
[Kim Seong-kon] Confusing Austria with Australia
Until the mid-20th century, Korea was a secluded country largely isolated from the rest of the world. Naturally, the Korean people were unaware of international affairs and situations. Even after the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty in China in 1644, for example, Korean politicians still stubbornly refused to acknowledge the Qing Dynasty. They even built a monument for the Ming Dynasty inside the king’s palace even though the Ming court no longer existed. Historians say that such actions s
Nov. 5, 2013
-
Signs of hope despite U.S. drag on economy
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Washington right now represents far and away the most significant drag on the economy’s growth. This seems obvious given Congress’ recent behavior, which produced to a 16-day government shutdown and threats to default on the nation’s debt.Yet it is also important to consider why Washington is such an impediment to growth. And if we think it through, the picture appears less bleak, and even surprisingly hopeful.Washington affects the economy most direct
Nov. 5, 2013
-
India shouldn’t buy what Japan is selling
An obsession with nuclear power makes many political elites secretive, ruthless and delusional, even as their cherished projects threaten millions of people with disaster. But the egregious examples I have in mind here aren’t Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. They are Japan and India, two countries with democratic institutions.Last week in the south Indian city of Pondicherry, I met a friend who had managed to penetrate the security lockdown around Kudankulam, the Russian-built nuclear power stati
Nov. 5, 2013
-
[David Ignatius] More chatter than needed
WASHINGTON ― Several years ago, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, an in-house think tank for the intelligence community, launched what is known as the “Good Judgment Project.” The idea is to test through forecasting competitions the factors that lead analysts to make good predictions. One of the most interesting findings, according to a participant in the project, is that forecasting accuracy doesn’t necessarily improve when analysts have access to highly classified signals i
Nov. 4, 2013
-
Military action needed to end Syrian horror
RIYADH ― No issue in the world today is of greater immediate importance than the need to end the civil war in Syria. The past two and a half years have been a disaster for peace, stability, and our sense of common humanity. Gut-wrenching images of unspeakable, indiscriminate violence against civilians have shocked the world. According to the latest United Nations estimates, more than 100,000 Syrians, including many children, have lost their lives as a result of the criminal behavior of Bashar al
Nov. 4, 2013
-
[Naomi Wolf] Fair Food Program changes lives of tomato pickers
NEW YORK ― The last fast-food hamburger you ate may have cost you next to nothing. But what did the tomato slice on that burger cost the worker who got it there? Almost anywhere in the world ― including in the United States ― the cost can be shockingly high.Appalling wages are just the start. In Florida, tomato pickers earn an average of just $0.50 for every 32-pound (14.5-kilogram) bucket. A worker who picks all day ― backbreaking labor that starts before dawn ― is lucky to earn $10,500 a year,
Nov. 4, 2013
-
Edward Snowden has Japan copying China’s playbook
Shinzo Abe is so obsessed with China eclipsing Japan on the global stage that he’s adopting some of his neighbor’s policies. What else can we say about the secrecy law the prime minister’s cabinet approved on Oct. 25, an act that would do so much to undermine and constrain his people’s right to know?Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party says the move ― which gives ministries the authority to classify as state secrets information on counterintelligence, counterterrorism, defense and diplomacy ― is neces
Nov. 4, 2013
-
Spying is just like sex ― no treaty can ban it
The uproar in Europe over spying by the U.S. National Security Agency has led to calls for a treaty or code of conduct to limit espionage. To understand why this is naive, imagine a treaty to ban sex. It would be honored in the breach. States, too, have an overwhelming natural impulse: to spy.Spying is (or was until Edward Snowden) largely covert; no one freely admits to doing it. It is also one of the last preserves of the absolute sovereign, unconstrained by law ― think Louis XIV in a trench c
Nov. 4, 2013
-
[Robert B. Reich] Irony of Obamacare objections
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says Republicans will seek to delay a requirement of the 2010 Affordable Care Act that all Americans obtain health insurance or face a tax penalty.“With so many unanswered questions and the problems arising around this rollout, it doesn’t make any sense to impose this 1 percent mandate tax on the American people,” Cantor said.While Republicans plot new ways to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, it’s easy to forget that for years they’ve been arguing that any comp
Nov. 3, 2013
-
Alternative to U.S. snooping is even less transparency
PARIS ― So-called “transparency advocates” who believe that splaying out all the intelligence activities of America and its allies will result in increased oversight, regulation and accountability have failed to learn the recent lesson of warfare: Whining about what you can’t handle just leads to more secrecy. That’s how we ended up with drones.When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, broadcast on cable news 24/7, became too much for a majority of the American public to bear, two viable options em
Nov. 3, 2013
-
[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Fight against killer diseases an ongoing battle
MAPUTO ― One of the greatest successes in development aid in the past decade has been the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The Global Fund has saved millions of lives and helped countries around the world beat back three epidemic diseases. Now it is appealing to the world’s governments and the private sector for another three years of funding, with governments set to decide on further financing in early December in Washington, DC.Back in 2000, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was devas
Nov. 3, 2013
-
A stiff cocktail of regional cooperation to fight malaria
When the powerful antimicrobial medicine quinine came to Europe in the 1600s, it changed history. Religious leaders, royalty and the fortunate few who could obtain it often recovered from the mysterious bone-shaking chills and fever of the little-understood affliction called malaria. The bitter powder gained popularity after it was credited with saving the life of England’s King Charles II and was later mixed with sweet water to form tonic and topped off with gin. The quinine-laced gin and tonic
Nov. 3, 2013
-
How the Alger Hiss case explains the tea party
Many Americans have forgotten, or never learned about, the Alger Hiss case. One of the most dramatic trials of the 20th century, it helps explain not only the rise of McCarthyism in the early 1950s and the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, but also the contemporary roles of Rush Limbaugh, Ted Cruz and the Tea Party.The Hiss case casts light on why conservatives and liberals are suspicious of each other, on their different attitudes toward elitism, on their understandings of patrio
Nov. 3, 2013
-
[Joel Brinkley] Humanitarian disaster in Syria
It’s sad enough that at least 115,000 Syrians have been killed since the nation’s civil war began, but the World Health Organization reports that 575,000 others have been injured ― a number the organization expects to climb by 30 percent within the next few months.So what happens to these people with bullet wounds and other serious injuries? There’s the real tragedy: Almost two-thirds of the nation’s hospitals have been badly damaged or destroyed, 92 percent of the ambulances in affected areas a
Nov. 1, 2013
-
Washington serious about reining in patent trolls
Tech companies have been pleading with Congress for years to crack down on abusive lawsuits by patent “trolls,” or firms that use obscure patents to extract exorbitant licensing fees. The companies may finally get some real relief, thanks to an unintentional assist from the trolls themselves.These lawsuit-happy patent holders have made reform a Main Street business priority by threatening to sue scores of retailers and small businesses for selling or using off-the-shelf products that allegedly i
Nov. 1, 2013
-
[Shad Saleem Faruqi] Supporting gender equality
The U.N. Women Annual Report 2012-2013 has just been published. It puts forward a very perceptive and broad-based plan for gender equality and female empowerment.In addition to reiterating the need for increasing women’s leadership and participation, ending violence against females and enhancing women’s economic empowerment, the report breaks new ground by proposing engagement of women in all aspects of peace and security and making gender equality central to national development planning and bu
Oct. 31, 2013
-
[Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg] Merkel’s American minders
BERLIN ― Germans used to joke that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s penchant for communicating via fleeting text messages effectively marked the end of traditional historiography. Well, at least American spy agencies seem to have kept full track of the behind-the-scenes communications ― in Berlin and beyond.Regrettably, U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration have yet to comprehend the scale and severity of the damage caused to America’s credibility among its European allies. The problem is
Oct. 31, 2013
-
Stop spending on the missile to nowhere
If the Gravina Island Bridge in Alaska is the “bridge to nowhere” ― a symbol of wasteful government spending on an unneeded project ― the Pentagon equivalent is the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).The Gravina Island Bridge was supposed to cost $398 million to connect the town of Ketchikan (population 8,250) with its airport on the Island of Gravina (population 50) ― even though ferry service already connected the two locations. But $398 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the
Oct. 31, 2013
-
It’s time to start holding people responsible
Different groups have different reasons for opposing the blanket amnesty bill, which many Pheu Thai MPs are going full-steam ahead with.Some anti-government groups are fighting the bill because they can’t bear the thought of ousted fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra benefiting from it, while others want to ensure justice and retribution for what happened on the streets in April-May 2010. These are just some of the reasons why anti-government groups and the so-called “progressive”
Oct. 31, 2013