[Other view] Trade spats with Canada can’t derail strong ties

There is no good reason for President Donald Trump or any other senior American official to ping Canada.　It is certainly true that there are areas of sensitivity, particularly when it comes to trade items between the two countries, where one side feels that the other side is taking unfair advantage of it. But these matters should not get in the way of what is basically a positive relationship between the two neighboring countries. In particular, with Trump’s campaign promise to advocate vigorous

April 28, 2017

[Justin Fendos] It’s the economy, stupid

Dear Presidential Candidates,You need to get this right: it’s the economy. I get why you need to sound presidential and make big promises. I really do. I even understand why you ask each other cryptic questions during debates to bait gaffes. I really do. But please, please. The Korean economy is in trouble and whoever wins this election needs to get it right.It’s no secret Korea’s largest industries -- electronics, automobiles, and maritime shipping -- are in trouble. A slew of competitors, most

April 28, 2017

[Jonathan Bernstein] RIP Trump’s wall

Donald Trump’s wall on the US-Mexico border, the signature issue of his presidential campaign, can safely be moved now from the “nearly dead” category to the just-plain-dead file.　That’s the only conclusion to be drawn from the Washington Post’s report on the new Republican bidding on the funding bill for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which won’t include anything for the wall. But it’s not just that. Instead of the wall -- which would have drawn a filibuster from Senate Democrats, at

April 27, 2017

[Tobin Harshaw] Putin’s arms bazaar is in a serious sales slump

Russian President Vladimir Putin is mighty proud of his military’s performance in Syria. And, as I have written, it’s become a central part of a sales pitch: “You can’t miss this opportunity to strengthen our position in the global arms market,” he told a meeting of Russian defense companies this week. He added that there was unprecedented desire for buying Russian munitions “thanks to the effective use of our weapons in real combat conditions including in anti-terrorist operations in Syria.”　Bu

April 27, 2017

[Other view] Government secrecy undermines public trust

The government’s covert approval for the purchase of a Chinese-made submarine for the Royal Thai Navy has further stirred public resentment over the controversial procurement. The government admitted only this week that the cabinet had quietly given the purchase the green light on April 18, when media attention was focused on the theft of a Royal Plaza plaque commemorating the 1932 constitutional revolution. The admission finally arrived, but only after the news media and outspoken critics of th

April 27, 2017

[Other view] Encourage more men and minorities to teach

Who’s in front of the class? There are more black, Hispanic and Asian teachers in the US than there were in 1987, a new study shows -- but at the front of our nation’s classrooms, men are a shrinking minority.　The report, published by the US Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, compared survey data from 1987-88 and 2011-12. Over this period, the teaching force went from 12.4 percent minority to 17.3 percent minority. That’s still less than the student body, which was

April 26, 2017

[Arthur Van Benthem] China charging ahead into ‘cleantech’ future

In 2009, when the world tried to negotiate a successor for the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen, the United States blamed the weak and unbinding agreement on China’s unwillingness to accept even long-term limits on carbon emissions. China, suspicious of American and European attempts to curtail its growth, repeatedly refused to respond to President Barack Obama’s pleas.　But recently, as the United States is feverishly attempting to undo its climate and “cleantech” policies, a scenario that few would

April 26, 2017

[Mihir Sharma] Why China’s new aircraft carrier should worry India

The launch of China’s second aircraft carrier, expected as soon as this week, will be an important and depressing moment for India. The “Type 001A” -- likely to be called the “Shandong” -- will give China an edge for the first time in the carrier race with its Asian rival, a literal two-to-one advantage. After decommissioning the INS Viraat earlier this year, the Indian Navy is down to a single carrier, INS Vikramaditya. Worse, the Shandong has been built at China’s own giant shipyard at Dalian;

April 26, 2017

[Bloomberg] Broken politics and fragile world economy

The global economy is gathering momentum, the International Monetary Fund has declared. That’s probably correct and undeniably encouraging, but there’s an ominous discord between this economic expansion and what’s euphemistically called “political uncertainty” -- that is, the stresses caused by surging anti-trade, anti-market, anti-immigrant populism.　This “uncertainty” could be the prelude to some seriously bad policies, enough to derail one or more leading economies and stall the global expans

April 26, 2017

[Therese Raphael] France discards the politics of left and right

For globalists rattled by Brexit and Donald Trump, the first round of the French presidential race was a relief. They should savor it. It probably won’t last.　Turnout was nearly 70 percent. I live in one of France’s most important political centers -- London -- and here voters queued for hours (in polite English fashion) to cast their ballots.　And this time, pollsters got it right: The hypernationalist Marine Le Pen will face a 39-year-old centrist reformer, Emmanuel Macron, from a political par

April 25, 2017

[Dick Meyer] Let’s focus on nukes, not tax returns

I don’t really care what’s in President Donald Trump’s tax returns.　Sure, I think Trump shows real contempt for citizens and good government by refusing to do what all recent presidents have done without a fuss. And yes, his refusal is another neon sign advertising a menu of character and ethical deficits. But we already know Trump is rich, so who cares if he is richer or poorer than we think? We already know the tax tricks real estate developers and the 1 percent use, so who cares about the det

April 25, 2017

[Martin Schram] Unimpeachable source reveals Trump’s Turkey conflict of interest

A huge clue -- doubly huge, in fact -- has surfaced in the global mystery behind President Donald Trump’s bizarrely timed, effusively toned congratulatory call to Turkey’s now-stronger-than-ever strongman president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.　It is a revelation that, when it comes to Turkey and Erdogan, Trump has a towering conflict of interest. And this time, attention must be paid. Because Trump himself would be the first to concede our source is not just believable, but downright unimpeachable.　“I

April 25, 2017

[Other view] Macron gives France a sensible alternative

France’s first round in its presidential election Sunday resulted in the rejection of the long-established political order as outsiders Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen advanced to the May 7 runoff. But bypassing entrenched political parties is one matter; rejecting institutions designed to increase cohesion among European nations is another. French voters would be wise to make Macron -- the more sensible, centrist candidate -- their nation’s next president.Macron is proudly and profoundly pro-

April 25, 2017