Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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[Park Sang-seek] Syria: A microcosm of a bifurcated world
The Syrian conflict began in January 2011 and still continues. The conflicts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya that started around the same time did not last long because the incumbent leaders of the three countries were either killed or resigned and the West (particularly NATO) intervened forcefully, while the non-West (particularly BRICS) did not actively support the incumbent leaders. Since World War II, civil wars have happened more often than international wars. In terms of geographic location, c
June 17, 2013
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Apple thinks, and makes, different
Let the geeks, and we use the term endearingly, argue over the changes Apple Inc. announced this week to its mobile operating system. Our focus is on something more prosaic: an advertisement ― and what that ad says about the state of U.S. manufacturing. Apple’s latest slick promotion touts the “Designed by Apple in California” line it includes on its devices (conveniently overlooking the second line, “Assembled in China”). At the end of the ad, a somber voice intones: “This is our signature. And
June 16, 2013
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[Robert Reich] Divided government in the U.S.
Conservative Republicans in our nation’s capital have managed to accomplish something they only dreamed of when Tea Partiers streamed into Congress at the start of 2011. They’ve basically shut down Congress. Their refusal to compromise is working just as they hoped: No jobs agenda. No budget. No grand bargain on the deficit. No background checks on guns. Nothing on climate change. No tax reform. No hike in the minimum wage. Nothing so far on immigration reform.It’s as if an entire branch of the
June 16, 2013
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Indians should separate modi from the message
Should the U.S. be taking economic lessons from India? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich thinks so. Perhaps not from India as a whole, but at least from the booming western state of Gujarat, which has enjoyed 10 percent-plus growth under its controversial chief minister, Narendra Modi. “If we had Gujarat’s growth rates over the last 10 years,” Gingrich told Modi in a recent Skype video conversation, “we would have been a lot healthier country than we are right now.” While the “Gujarat model” ha
June 16, 2013
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NSA’s PRISM Program falls victim to an ego trip
PARIS ― Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor on the lam for having dumped some classified documents on the desk of a British reporter, says that he doesn’t consider himself a hero, but his girlfriend’s blog paints a different picture, with delusions of grandeur dating back more than three months. If only the NSA’s PRISM Program was as significant as their sense of self-importance.Snowden’s Hawaii-based dancer-girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, repeatedly refers to herself as a
June 16, 2013
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[Eli Park Sorensen] Fraudulent memoirs and the autobiographical pact
According to the literary scholar Philippe Lejeune, autobiographical texts rest on the assumption “that there is identity of name between the author (such as he figures, by his name, on the cover), the narrator of the story, and the character who is being talked about.” This constitutes what one could call “the basic grammar” of the genre of autobiography, or, as Lejeune puts it, the “autobiographical pact” established among narrator and reader. Solid as this definition may seem, several critics
June 16, 2013
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Public opinion in Arab world turns against Iran
For so many years, Iran has been a popular neighbor among most Arab states, largely because of its unremitting hostility toward Israel and the West.But now, the tables have turned, and its past behavior counts for nothing. Iran has lost the friendship and support of almost every Arab and Muslim state, leaving it as one the least liked nations in the world. Its only true competitor for that title right now seems to be North Korea.Paradoxically, it would seem, while Iran’s popularity has plummeted
June 14, 2013
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[David Ignatius] Snowden’s misplaced idealism
WASHINGTON ― Journalists have a professional commitment to the idea that more debate is better, so we instinctively side with leakers. But I’m skeptical about some of the claims of Edward Snowden, the young NSA contractor who leaked secrets about that agency’s surveillance programs to The Washington Post and the Guardian. Snowden has described his actions in idealistic terms. “I’m willing to sacrifice ... because I can’t in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet f
June 14, 2013
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How mobile phones can improve health care
Obstetric fistula, an abdominal injury that occurs in unattended childbirth and causes incontinence, is among the most intractable challenges of extreme poverty. In Tanzania, however, a pilot program that relies on mobile-phone communication has brought fistula sufferers in remote areas to a central hospital for reparative surgery. This strategy, if duplicated elsewhere, could offer hope of a new life for many of the estimated 2 million women afflicted with fistula worldwide. A fistula is a hole
June 13, 2013
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[Lee Jong-soo] China-N.K. ties need resetting
In the latest twist to the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the international community, the two Koreas have held working-level talks between the two governments, and analysts are debating the prospects for any further talks leading to improved inter-Korean relations. However, although inter-Korean dialogue is certainly preferable to a state of extreme nuclear tension, convincing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions likely will take more than inter-Korean trust. Key to Pyongyang’s
June 13, 2013
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Thai TV show oversteps bounds of decency
Boosting ratings by courting controversy is an obvious tactic, but the public may react negatively to extreme cases of tastelessness.A man who evidently has mental difficulties triggered controversy recently after competing on a popular reality-TV talent show and was ridiculed. This is not new on television, and it’s not the first time content-producer Workpoint Entertainment has been in hot water. Last year an artist used her breasts instead of brushes on the same franchised program, “Thailand’
June 13, 2013
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China’s reliance on force hampers relations with U.S.
For stability in the Asia-Pacific region, it is essential that the U.S. and China ― the world’s sole superpower and the second-largest military and economic power ― take confidence-building measures.Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the U.S. and met with U.S. President Barack Obama at a retreat in California. It is unusual for a Chinese president to visit the U.S. only three months after his inauguration to meet with a U.S. president.Through eight hours over two days, the two leaders discusse
June 13, 2013
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The virus of racism
In one “friendly” match between two Italian clubs last January, Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng of the visiting AC Milan kicked the ball into the stands and walked off the pitch in anger and disgust. He was followed by his teammates and supported by his club and the match was abandoned. In the days that followed ― instead of being raked over the coals for what seemed like unsportsmanlike and unprofessional conduct ― Boateng was hailed as a hero by the world of football.That singular act was a power
June 13, 2013
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[Kor Kian Beng] Time for CCP to shed weight?
The childhood dream of Zhu Qiyun was to join the Chinese Communist Party. “I was raised thinking that becoming a CCP member would bring honor to my family,” said Zhu, 35, who became a member in 2000. But work and family have kept the accountant from taking part in party activities.Still, Zhu considers herself nothing less than a CCP member.“What matters most is your belief in the CCP’s ideals, not how active you are in party work,” she told The Straits Times.Perhaps not. Inactive members like Zh
June 13, 2013
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Not working can be harmful to your health
Teddy Roosevelt once said “the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Recent research suggests he may have been more right than he knew: Life’s “best prize” might actually extend life itself. Our common perception is that retirement is a time when we can relax and take better care of ourselves after stressful careers. But what if work itself is beneficial to our health, as several recent studies suggest? One of them, by Jennifer Montez of Harvard Unive
June 12, 2013
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[Peter Singer] Moral theory’s immoral result
PRINCETON ― Is it always wrong to take an innocent human life? Many philosophical defenders of the Roman Catholic natural-law tradition argue that there are no exceptions to this prohibition, at least if we are talking about taking the life intentionally, and directly, rather than as a side effect of some other action. (These moral theorists also define “innocent” to exclude enemy combatants, as long as the war one is fighting is just.)When this view is combined ― as it typically is in Catholic
June 12, 2013
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How to overhaul shambolic U.S. patent system
In the fall of 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a sweeping package of patent reforms into law. He promised they would improve patent quality, reduce excessive litigation, encourage innovation and create jobs. Last week, the president unveiled another round of sweeping patent reforms. He promised they would improve patent quality, reduce excessive litigation, encourage innovation and … you get the idea. Obviously, the president’s first attempt didn’t work. His latest legislative proposals
June 12, 2013
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Uber cab app threatens death of taxi dinosaurs
People can run into two problems when they need to find a taxi. The first is that they don’t know whether a taxi will be available. The second is that they don’t know when a taxi will be available. Uber Technologies Inc., a San Francisco-based company, was set up to solve both problems. You can download its application, and it will find out where you are and come pick you up. It will also tell you when it is coming. In fact, the app comes with a screen that shows exactly where the vehicle is, so
June 12, 2013
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[Kim Myong-sik] Corporate culture brews alcoholism a la Korea
“This is a good thing. But it will hurt many people.” Chinese legend has it that Emperor Yao made this remark when he had the first taste of an alcoholic drink one of his subjects brewed. Over the millenniums since, the ancient sage-king’s worrisome prediction has proved right both in the East and West, and here in this country. Alcohol has never ceased to cause individual and social problems that far offset the pleasures it has generated in human beings. Just think of the numerous DUI cases tha
June 12, 2013
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Strong yuan hurts China in more ways than one
By William Pesek, BloombergLittle noticed during last weekend’s milestone summit between Barack Obama and Xi Jinping was another landmark event: China’s currency hit a record high, reaching almost 6 yuan to the dollar.In recent years, one of the few things Republicans and Democrats could agree upon was that an artificially cheap yuan damaged U.S. exports and stole U.S. jobs. The currency’s climb thus seemed like a nod from China’s president to America’s, a quiet signal that Xi understands how se
June 11, 2013