North Korean missile strikes fear
The world has just become more dangerous. For decades, the United States has been wary of the rogue state of North Korea, governed (after a fashion) by pariahs. Their intent to become a nuclear power, while unable to feed their own people, has not lagged. Their highly touted but often buffoonish efforts to launch long-range […]
NK’s reckless challenge
Pyongyang should pay the price for rocket launch After much speculation, North Korea fired a long-range rocket Wednesday morning in defiance of international condemnation and sanctions threats from the United Nations. The launch is a reckless challenge to the international community that has stubbornly urged the North to give up its plan and consequently, the […]
Everyday Putinism
For those following the headlines, Putin II may seem progressive. As opposed to Putin’s first tenure, there have been no controversial television station closings, no prominent cases against businessmen and no assassinations. Instead we read about the building of a Jewish history museum in Moscow and improved relations with U.S. diplomats. But behind this facade, […]
Russia’s European prospects
MOSCOW ― In 1966, Charles de Gaulle’s vision of a Europe “that stretched from the Atlantic to the Urals” was provocative. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin has advanced an even more ambitious goal: “a common market stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.” In the race toward globalization, the stakes are high for both Russia […]
Kowtow or cooperation in Asia?
TOKYO ― When an American president’s first overseas trip following his re-election is to Asia, one can be sure that something big is afoot in the region. Indeed, Barack Obama’s decision to go first to impoverished and long-isolated Myanmar (Burma) attests to the potency of the changes underway in that country ― and to U.S. […]
Fear about assertive China
China’s new leader Xi Jinping has issued a call for action to realize “the cause of national rejuvenation, which he called “the greatest dream for the Chinese nation in modern history.” Xi held up two goals: the achievement of a moderately prosperous society by about 2020 (when Xi will in all likelihood still be the […]
Why we must change
“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution,” wrote Theodosius Dobzhansky, (1900–1975), a prominent geneticist and evolutionary biologist. Then what is evolution? Simply in layman’s terms, it’s the gradual development of living things over time or change, i.e. a process of something passing from one state into another. The living thing is […]
Panic over power shortage
Time to make conservation a part of daily life The ghost of a possible power blackout is haunting the nation prematurely as a cold wave hit the peninsula earlier than expected. It’s lamentable to see our power authorities and businesses get panicky over fears of shortages. The Korea Power Exchange issued an “attention’’ alert at […]
Candidates, don’t bore us!
As she may be our next president, it is germane to now ask: Has Park Geun-hye had charisma-bypass surgery? If you have not noticed, it is election season. Hence, we members of the foreign press corps are privileged to meet the candidates at press conferences. What normally happens at these events is this: You, the […]
Freedom of speech in different climate
Freedom of speech has spread its wings with the advent of social media. Thoughts, blogs and tweets now flood cyberspace. The Arab Spring gave the world hope and a sea of change while social media had a big part to play in it. But sometimes, social media can stir up a hornet’s nest: It can […]
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