[Mark Buchanan] I’m not sold on self-driving cars

If you believe the optimists, self-driving cars will dominate our roads within a couple decades. This will reduce or even eliminate such human-created ills as traffic jams and fatal accidents.I’m not so sure.Granted, the rise of autonomous vehicles does seem imminent, with companies such as Apple, Google, Ford and General Motors already testing small fleets in realistic conditions. Some think the US could have 10 million by 2020. Experts predict that the shift away from car ownership could save

Sept. 11, 2017

[Daniel Moss] Australia must get serious about investing in Asia

Sure. It’s impressive. No wonder Australians like to boast about their 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth.But the achievement masks a deep complacency and risk aversion that could ultimately undo those gains.A large part of Australia’s economic success reflects a huge expansion in trade with Asia, particularly China. Corporate Australia is quite willing to sell to Asia, especially commodities. The nation’s direct investment tells a different story. It is focused instead in the US, the UK

Sept. 10, 2017

[Hans A. von Spakovsky] DACA is unconstitutional, as Obama admitted

President Donald Trump has caught a lot of heat for rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program with a six-month wind-down. Few people seem aware that he’s ending an administrative amnesty for illegal aliens that President Barack Obama lacked the constitutional and legal authority to implement.How do we know? Because even Obama admitted it -- repeatedly.Responding in October 2010 to demands that he implement immigration reforms unilaterally, Obama declared, “I am not king. I ca

Sept. 10, 2017

[Ann McFeatters] Trump reshaping America for worse

We’ve all become bit players in Donald Trump’s bizarre reality show, but behind the bluster, he’s altering our lives through dramatic changes in regulations.We quake with anxiety that he might get us into a catastrophic war with North Korea. Then we gasp when he threatens to deport 800,000 of the best and brightest. We puzzle over his touting of a nonexistent tax plan. And he stuns by equating racists and neo-Nazis with opponents of hatred and discrimination.We nervously watch him try out differ

Sept. 10, 2017

[Letter to the editor] Let diplomacy work its way

In resolving the Korean Peninsula issue, South Korea needs to take a leadership role and own the issue outright. The country’s leadership plays second fiddle to the US. Surprisingly, it does not seem to understand the concerns related to North Korea.South Korea is far stronger than North Korea militarily and should therefore not fear the North. South Korea should terminate for a year the annual military exercise with the US in return for the North’s cessation of missile and nuclear tests. After

Sept. 10, 2017

[Los Angeles Times] When is human rights hero Aung San Suu Kyi going to act like one?

The Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar has long suffered discrimination, persecution and violence. But as a new horrific wave of brutality has swept over Rakhine state, where most of the country’s Rohingya live in poverty, the question that has been asked over and over must now be shouted: When will Aung San Suu Kyi -- the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, icon of democracy and de facto leader of the country -- stand up for the democratic rights of this persecuted group?The latest violence began with

Sept. 8, 2017

[Jay Ambrose] China to the rescue?

It’s China to the rescue, or, if not, the world could be headed for an eventual nuclear holocaust. Irresponsible very nearly to the point of evil, China has been reluctant to do what’s necessary to get North Korea to end its weaponry madness. Not acting decisively now would amount to a curse on humanity.What we’ve recently seen, as everyone knows, is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exploding what seems a thermonuclear device capable of destroying a major city. It was many times as powerful as ot

Sept. 7, 2017

[Baltimore Sun] North Korea won’t be swayed by mere bluster

As recently as July, President Donald Trump blasted his predecessor for drawing a “red line” over the use of chemical weapons in Syria that he failed to back up to Republican’s liking. Now, the current president is playing a far more dangerous version of that same strategy with North Korea by threatening all kinds of actions from a “massive military response” to cutting off trade with any country that does business with the regime. Kim Jong-un isn’t buying it. His nuclear testing continues. And

Sept. 7, 2017

[Los Angeles Times] North Korea’s nukes call for concerted action, not loose talk

Seeking to capitalize on a chorus of condemnation of North Korea’s latest nuclear test, the Trump administration rightly has been trying to rally international support for additional sanctions, while moving to reassure South Korea of US support for its security.Unfortunately, President Trump continues to make the work of his diplomats and military strategists harder with bellicose rhetoric, insults to US allies and threats that he almost certainly can’t deliver on.On Sunday, North Korea tested w

Sept. 7, 2017

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] Alert and safe truckers: Don’t let Congress delay rule on sleep requirement

It’s difficult for the average driver to safely navigate congested roads, rain-slicked asphalt and those curvy stretches of highway that seem to materialize out of nowhere. Imagine doing it in a huge tractor-trailer carrying a heavy or dangerous load. It’s hazardous work, and truckers have to be alert to do it safely.That’s why the nation must press ahead with a federal law requiring that electronic logging devices be used by semi drivers and certain other commercial operators to make sure they

Sept. 6, 2017

[Bloomberg] How to make bad situation in North Korea worse

There are, as is often noted, no good options for dealing with North Korea. All the more reason for the US not to make the few it does have even worse.That‘s what President Donald Trump is doing by linking the security threat posed by North Korea with his trade agenda. Irked by China’s failure to help the US rein in North Korea‘s nuclear program, and having been stymied in his attempts to retaliate against Chinese steel dumping and intellectual property infringements, he’s vowing an implausible

Sept. 6, 2017