As a candidate in 2008, Barack Obama was unsparing in his criticism of President George W. Bush’s anti-terrorism policies. He condemned torture and the infamous detention center at Guantanamo Bay, the lack of transparency and congressional oversight, the dubious legal framework and the blowback that was spawning more terrorists and diminishing U.S. standing in the world. Bush’s policies “compromised our most precious values,” Obama said then. “We cannot win a war unless we maintain the high grou

NEW YORK ― The Indian Supreme Court’s refusal to uphold the patent on Gleevec, the blockbuster cancer drug developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, is good news for many of those in India suffering from cancer. If other developing countries follow India’s example, it will be good news elsewhere, too: more money could be devoted to other needs, whether fighting AIDS, providing education, or making investments that enable growth and poverty reduction.But the Indian decision also means

PARIS ― The left revels in sex scandals involving preachy conservative moralists, but when members of the left get caught up in seedy financial scandals, so perverted and twisted is their relationship with money that the effect can be equally jaw-dropping and salacious.Former French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac, who left his Socialist government post earlier this year amid allegations of a secret Swiss bank account, now faces a formal investigation for allegedly laundering the proceeds of tax

So far, the much-dreaded “sequester” ― some $85 billion in federal spending cuts between March and September 30 ― hasn’t been evident to most Americans.The dire warnings that had been issued from the White House beforehand ― threatening that Social Security checks would be delayed, airport security checks would be clogged and other federal facilities closed ― seem to have been overblown.Sure, March’s employment report was a big disappointment. But it’s hard to see any direct connection between t

North Korea’s recent threats to target South Korean and American cities with atomic destruction have the shrill belligerence of a 6-year-old’s temper tantrum. But while few analysts believe North Korea has the means to carry out its threats, U.S. and South Korean officials would nevertheless be unwise to ignore them. With tensions on the peninsula higher than at any time since the end of the Korean War, there’s great danger a conflict could break out by accident or through miscalculation.So far,

WASHINGTON ― People talk about transformational politicians. But watching Margaret Thatcher take down the British class system was an education in how it’s really done. It required the radical vision and iron will of someone who genuinely abhorred the status quo. Thatcher demolished the two conservative pillars of British society: the labor unions that held the parliamentary Labor Party in bondage and the upper-class Tory leaders who resembled the benign but hapless relics of “Downton Abbey.” It

Wong Shu Kwai’s hands are calloused from the 15 years he has spent as a dock worker, lashing containers at the world’s third-busiest port.For the past two weeks, though, they have been lying idle, twiddling on his phone or lighting cigarette after cigarette as the 49-year-old and hundreds of others wait listlessly in tents outside the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals.“We want to go back to work,” he says. “But we need Li Ka Shing to pay us what we deserve.”He and his colleagues say they drew daily

It never is wise to discount renewed conflict on the Korean peninsula, despite the latest brinkmanship showing a familiar pattern. If the military moves had happened in Kim Jong-il’s time, there was a reasonable predictability of a de-escalation after he was sure he had gained concessions from his interlocutors. But his young son, an enigma, now supposedly calls the shots ― and it could make all the difference.No one can claim to know if Kim Jong-un is the dominant strategist, or if he is being

Waste happens. Everybody knows it. Still, it is shocking to admit that we waste an estimated NT$240 billion ($7.98 billion) worth of food each year in Taiwan. Based on the Council of Agriculture’s latest figures, the local CommonWealth Magazine estimates that 17 percent of the 567 kg of food we have access to on average per person is lost or wasted every year.In other words, the Chinese-language publication points out that each person throws away about NT$10,000 per year. In Taiwan, this waste t

I often hear the lament that we Filipinos are not as mindful as our neighbors appear to be of the impending closer integration of the Southeast Asian economies into the ASEAN Economic Community, to culminate less than two years from now. I have heard none of our candidates for national office in the coming elections address the topic, for example, in the way it figures in public discussions within our neighboring countries. And yet, this move of the 10 nations that make up the Association of Sou

The government is reportedly rushing to take steps to protect the nation’s power grid and other critical infrastructure from possible electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) bomb attacks from North Korea.An EMP bomb is a non-lethal but highly destructive weapon that disables electrical circuits by radiating a strong electro-magnetic field. When an EMP bomb is detonated, any electrical and electronic device within a certain radius is rendered inoperative, unless it is EMP-protected.For instance, objects suc

What will it take for North Korea’s young, inexperienced leader to realize that his attempts to blackmail South Korea and its allies will not work and could instead put him on a slippery slope to ruin?As his previous provocations, such as a nuclear test and missile launches, failed to intimidate Seoul and Washington, Kim Jong-un has started to play a new card ― the shutdown of the Gaeseong industrial complex. But he should be careful what he wishes for. The closure of the complex, widely seen as

Just a few months ago, on New Year’s Day, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, gave a televised speech to the nation calling for reconciliation with the South.“The past records of inter-Korean relations,” he intoned, “show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war.” Kim added that he intended to embark on “an all-out struggle” to rejuvenate the nation’s destitute economy.That speech came shortly after the chubby new leader was photographed riding a roller coaster at Nor

With its provocation-a-day strategy, North Korea has almost exhausted the news media’s capacity for stories about the “ratcheting up” of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Here’s some news from the North, though, that you may not have heard: In recent meetings, the ruling Korean Workers’ Party elected Pak Pong-ju, an economic reformer, to its Political Bureau, which steers political, policy and personnel decisions, and downgraded the role of the military by reducing its representation. Subsequent

TOKYO ― Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s program for his country’s economic recovery has led to a surge in domestic confidence. But to what extent can “Abenomics” claim credit?Interestingly, a closer look at Japan’s performance over the past decade suggests little reason for persistent bearish sentiment. Indeed, in terms of growth of output per employed worker, Japan has done quite well since the turn of the century. With a shrinking labor force, the standard estimate for Japan in 2012 ― tha

Margaret Thatcher was hated ― widely and passionately ― when she was U.K. prime minister, a fact that has gone largely unsaid in the encomiums that followed her death. Her polarizing nature needs to be remembered, because it defines what set her apart as a leader. Thatcher was unusual among politicians because she wasn’t first of all tactical. She didn’t shape her policies to secure the next election or to keep people happy. She didn’t triangulate. Voters accepted her not because they liked her,

Driving in the back alleys of a major city in South Korea, one occasionally comes upon a two-car traffic jam. Narrow roads combined with on-street parking often mean only one car can pass at a time.This combined with the bizarre cultural norms of South Korea sometimes results in two middle-aged men at an impasse. To preserve face neither wants to put their car in reverse to allow the other to proceed. These two-car traffic jams can last as long as an hour while each side puts forth a show of for

More than any other prime minister since 1945, Margaret Thatcher changed the course of British history. In one sense, like any politician, she was a product of her times, but don’t let that mislead you: Only she could have done what she did. No other U.K. politician of her time or since has had her combination of courage and single-mindedness. To meet the challenges she faced, she needed both. While she was in office, the country’s voters never much liked her, and to their shame Britain’s chatte

There could never be another “Iron Lady.” That was the first thought that came to some minds today with the news that Margaret Thatcher, the U.K.’s great prime minister, had died. This is an odd reaction. Women in the developed world now routinely hold more top jobs than they did in 1975, when the 49-year-old Thatcher first assumed leadership of the Conservative Party. The No. 1 bestseller on the New York Times list is “Lean In,” by a woman holding one of the highest of those positions, Sheryl S

Ever since the Tower of Babel, human beings have been speaking in different tongues, inevitably creating communication problems. In the course of history, some languages have become extinct, while a few have thrived and emerged as international languages widely spoken in many countries. English, for example, has clearly become an international language. In Korea, many signs are written in both Korean and English as a courtesy for foreigners.Due to cultural and linguistic differences, however, so