[Dan K. Thomasson] Remember when presidents lived at the White House?

Way back when the United States was just a baby nation, its citizens built a house for their president. Not a palace for a king like the one they had shed, but a democratically suitable residence on a regular street. It was a little larger than many but with a common address — 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — and was something they could be proud of.　It took very little time for this classic mansion to take on its own identity, separate of its occupant’s, as a place the world knew was the seat of gove

March 29, 2017

[Other View] Trump's tough talk meets bloody reality in Mosul

It’s easy to call for destroying the Islamic State group, as President Donald Trump does to thunderous applause from his supporters.　But our new commander in chief is learning how difficult and bloody war can be -- and he’s starting to stray dangerously close to deepening American involvement in intractable wars.　The US military is investigating whether its weapons killed as many as 200 civilians in Mosul, where a March 17 airstrike was called in by Iraqi troops targeting Islamic State group fig

March 29, 2017

[Other View] Trump's top generals ask congress to join the war on terror

Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford found something constructive to tell senators on an appropriations subcommittee this week, even if it had nothing to do with the Pentagon budget. The two men challenged lawmakers to finally provide a legal basis for the US war against terrorist groups. It’s something that President Barack Obama was never able to get from Congress. So instead, for his entire presidency, Obama based US counterterrorism efforts abro

March 28, 2017

[In My View] How to reduce youth job unemployment

Give the Labor Ministry credit. They are trying to reduce the stubbornly high unemployment rate among young Koreans, but the latest round of policies to boost South Korea’s youth labor market is simply baffling in certain respects. The fact that the Labor Ministry says it will create a 116.9 billion won ($105.1 million) fund to pay for it is cause for pause. Market economics, including economics of the labor market, is predicated on the belief that properly structured incentives will induce indi

March 28, 2017

[Adam Cohen] Can eugenics be a force for good this time?

We entered a new phase as a species when Chinese scientists altered a human embryo to remove a potentially fatal blood disorder -- not only from the baby, but all of its descendants. Researchers call this process “germline modification.” The media likes the phrase “designer babies.” But we should call it what it is, “eugenics.” And we, the human race, need to decide whether or not we want to use it.Last month, the scientific establishment weighed in. A National Academy of Sciences and National A

March 28, 2017

[Adam Minter] The Great Firewall is a trade barrier

The San Francisco-based photo-sharing site Pinterest would seem to rank low on the list of potential threats to China. Beloved by fashion designers, photographers, cooks and hobbyists, the 7-year-old website is a global hub for the sharing of images, trends and ideas on topics ranging from living-room design to what to cook at your Saturday barbecue.Unfortunately, Pinterest Inc.’s innocuousness couldn’t save it from the same fate as other foreign internet companies in China, including Facebook I

March 28, 2017

[Other view] We can’t walk away from a world in crisis

Americans watched in alarm but not shock as Parliament was locked down after a “terrorist incident” in London on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the deadly attack in Brussels. A refugee camp in Nigeria was also bombed Wednesday -- again -- by five Boko Haram suicide bombers who’d slipped in the night before, alongside vendors of the charcoal that those who’ve come to the camp to escape Boko Haram need to cook their food. The day before, a car bomb killed 10 people in Mogadishu, the capital o

March 27, 2017

[Reg Henry] Americans fleeing US to NZ still small flock

Before the election of President Donald Grump, some Americans pledged to leave the county if, by some crazy chance, he were to win the White House.　　This departure of the disappointed always struck me as a bad idea. My view is that when the going gets tough, the tough should not get going to other countries. They should stay put and get pouting prior to get organizing.　　But, apparently, some disillusioned Americans have decided to flee. The Associated Press recently reported that US applications

March 27, 2017

[Justin Fendos] THAAD is Trump’s chance to learn from Chinese diplomacy

Most media pundits largely agree that Trump has a lot to learn. When he says, “no one knew how complicated health care could be,” we somehow forgive him and understand he meant, “I didn’t know.” When he starts talking about the dangers of uranium in a press conference, as if it’s the latest scientific discovery, we forgive him, sigh in relief, and mutter, “Thank goodness he finally gets it.” Hopefully, the next thing Trump will learn is diplomacy. If Trump needs inspiration, he need only look to

March 27, 2017

[Doyle McManus] Trump should cooperate in Russia investigation　

At the end of the House Intelligence Committee’s long hearing on the FBI investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election this week, the Republican chairman, Devin Nunes of California, made a last, vain attempt to clear the White House of suspicion.　　Do you have any evidence, he asked FBI Director James Comey, that anyone in the Trump administration was working with the Russians?　　“Not a question I can answer,” Comey answered implacably.　　That drew a frown from Nunes. Comey’s silen

March 27, 2017

[Gina Barreca] Do we fear listening to the other side?

In our conversations, whether political, public or private, we seem to be increasingly belligerent, uncivil and unrelenting, determined to crush the opposition rather than listen to the other side.　Could it be that what we fear most is that our positions might change?　We wrap ourselves in our colors, cocoon ourselves in our ideologies and do everything except stick our fingers in our ears. We hear only what we choose and attempt to mute other voices as if holding a universal remote to silence th

March 26, 2017

It’s time for techies to apply talents to real world

At a turbulent moment in the online media business, the fate of Yahoo and buzzed-about CEO Marissa Mayer offers cautionary tales for policymakers and the public.　Mayer, who has been the boss since 2012, is to step down when Yahoo closes its sale to Verizon, it was announced last week. Like the industry consolidation now folding one company into another, the meritocratic hoopla undiminished amid Mayer’s departure suggests too much hype still surrounds attitude and algorithms in tech — at the expe

March 26, 2017

[Christopher Balding] China’s worst trade abuses are hidden

China is nothing if not creative in protecting its local industries. Although it has liberalized its economy in recent years, it has also erected a sophisticated set of barriers to safeguard companies it views as national champions. Increasingly, this is a counterproductive approach.　The usual method of assessing protectionism is to look at metrics such as tariff rates. And by that measure, China remains one of the least open major economies: according to the World Trade Organization, it maintai

March 26, 2017