Cronyism is definitely a most serious social malady in this country. It is everywhere, in bureaucracy, academia, the art world, and even in court. Close personal ties between judges and lawyers lower public trust in the justice system. “Not guilty with money; guilty without money” has been the most-quoted dictum among critics of the deplorable state of our courts.Judges and prosecutors start pract

WASHINGTON ― After weeks of exhilarating scenes from Tahrir Square, Egypt offered a reality check that shows how hard the transition to democracy will be in the Arab world: The essential ingredient will be a culture of tolerance ― and a spirit of unity that overcomes political, religious and other differences. The ugly old politics of division surfaced last week in Egypt in three dramatic confront

Does looking at Facebook leave you feeling alone, depressed and woefully lacking in opportunities to post videos of your kitten drinking from the toilet? Do you feel like no one likes you, let alone “likes” you? Do you suspect you might do bodily harm to the next “friend” who feels compelled to tell you and his 900 other close pals how high his kid scored on the SAT?Then you might have Facebook en

As Libyan rebels are pushed back by the forces of the mad Col. Moammar Gadhafi, we’re all rooting for the underdog.Even though we know little about the rebels and their leaders, we assume they’d be an improvement over the crazed colonel. But that emotional tug doesn’t justify the proposal by three influential senators ― Republicans Mitch McConnell and John McCain, and Democrat John Kerry ― that we

Amid the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami tragedy in Japan, and Moammar Gadhafi and other dictators’ bloody last gasps to cling to power in the Middle East, the global power dynamics, too, are realigning, as new monikers such as G2 or “Chimerica” imply. U.S.-led world affairs such as U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the WTO Doha Round or G20 financial refo

The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate from 2.75 percent to 3 percent on Thursday. On the same day, President Lee Myung-bak promised a shift in policy from growth to price stability. It was better late than never for both the central bank and the Lee administration to renew their resolve to fight inflation.Following the rate increase, the Bank of Korea governor implied the central bank will t

It should not come as a surprise that many of the baby boomers, those born from 1955 to 1963, will face extreme financial difficulties when they go into retirement. They have not saved enough for retirement, into which they will start going in a couple of years. But not many realize what is in store for them.The number of baby boomers stands at 7 million, or 14 percent of the total population. Mos

Individualism is dead.That’s the stark take-away from an analysis of U.S. congressional voting records by the National Journal.Since 1982, the National Journal has combed congressional votes on key issues and rated legislators’ records. Last year, it reviewed 95 significant votes in both chambers using a relative, not absolute, measure. In other words, it seeks to compare members with one another,

What do the problems in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt have in common with the Oscars? The answer is Facebook and the Social Network. The latter is the name of the film about the founders of Facebook that won three Oscars. The Egyptian protestors learned how to socially connect through Facebook, having learned the techniques of social organization and use of mobile communication technology from a bunch

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would allow hateful protests at military funerals has resulted in a public debate over the limits of free speech. The court ruled that the First Amendment protected those who engaged in a venomous protest at the funeral of a Marine who had died in Iraq. Protesters from Westboro Baptist Church, whose headquarters are in Kansas, appeared at the funeral holding

Dance, monkey, dance.That’s what the United States has long shouted at immigrants and ethnic groups suspected of being disloyal. The nation asks its newcomers to perform in meaningless ways to “prove” they belong here.The dancers change, but not the dance. Because the United States is continually incorporating immigrants, the perceived threat of betrayal is constant. This week, Rep. Peter T. King,

The spread of popular revolt in the Middle East to Libya has exacerbated a spike in oil prices and gasoline costs at the pump. In turn, this has stimulated widespread complaints about the lack of a coherent U.S. foreign policy toward despots in the region. This is not the first time this has happened.More than four decades ago, a military coup, led by a 27-year-old Moammar Gadhafi, overthrew Libya

Hugo Chavez is trying to come to the rescue of his friend and fellow “colonel,” Moammar Gadhafi. The Venezuelan president has offered to mediate Libya’s civil war, and warned against any foreign intervention in support of Libya’s opposition, which now controls much of the east of the country, including the port of Benghazi, home of the Hugo Chavez soccer stadium. The Venezuelan government even rai

Translating legal documents from one language to another is anything but easy, and all the more so, given that less than clear-cut wording found in the original is often a source of legal dispute. It may be human to err in such a case.But a mismatch between figures in the original and the corresponding ones in a translated version is not a matter concerning translation. Such an error results from

Jang Ja-yeon, an aspiring actress, killed herself in March 2009, claiming that she had been forced into prostitution by her management agency. Those who had allegedly been provided with sexual favors included top business managers and news media representatives.Her suicide caused a public uproar, forcing the police to launch a seemingly extensive probe into the sexual slavery case. But the investi

The anti-Gadhafi uprising in Libya entered its fourth week and the nation is sliding toward a civil war while the international community can find no effective way of intervening in the situation to stop the violence. The outside world is unable to estimate casualty figures even approximately, as fighting goes on in population centers along the northern coast. All the Western powers and the United

In the highly confrontational politics in this country, the ruling and opposition parties rarely act in unison over a legislative plan. The almost only exceptions are when bills are proposed to raise the allowances of the members of the National Assembly or to create new positions for legislative aides.Parties were about to make an important entry in the short list of legislations with bipartisan

Phillip C. Jessup (1897-1986) was a long time law professor at Columbia University. When World War II ended, he was involved in the drafting process of the U.N. Charter and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He was then elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and served at the world court between 1961 and 1970.Although he died in 1986, his name has becom

The Internet and the airwaves are clogged with contradictory predictions of what the Mideast upheavals will mean to the region ― and to us.I have conservative readers calling me an idiot for not understanding that the Egyptian revolution is a huge victory for the Islamists, even as Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., extols the hope for secular democracy in Cairo alongside his buddy, Arizona Republican S

Young Koreans are huge fans of American espionage and counter-terrorism television dramas. For example, “24,” “The Unit” and “Alias” enjoy immense popularity in Korea. Few young viewers, however, seem aware of the fact that counter-terrorism TV dramas are criticized by American leftist critics as rightwing extremist shows saturated with conservatism and militarism. The critics’ suspicions are not