[David Ignatius] Is the Saudi kingdom on the edge?

WASHINGTON ― By appointing Prince Bandar bin Sultan as its new intelligence chief, Saudi Arabia has installed what looks like a war Cabinet at a time of rising tensions with Iran and growing internal dissent from its Shiite minority. The Saudis have also heightened their alert level in other ways to prepare for possible regional conflict. Some Saudi military and security personnel were mobilized last month ― called back from summer leave or told to cancel planned vacations. One explanation of th

Aug. 8, 2012

[Kim Myong-sik] Disturbing outcomes of Seoul’s design projects

A huge lizard creeping along the ruins of the old wall of Seoul or a UFO bisected upon landing near the East Gate: These are some of the rather queer impressions people have of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza now under construction at the site of the East Gate Stadium. Under the scorching sun, workers are wrapping the curved outer walls of the structure with silvery metal panels, leaving the roof sections to be covered with grass. The plaza is one of the three main design projects of former Seoul Ma

Aug. 8, 2012

[Lee Jae-min] Anniversary of Korea-EU FTA

Pan-European efforts are being mobilized to help its automobile industry rebound from a lackluster performance amid fierce competition in the European car market. The pinnacle of this effort is CARS 21 (standing for “Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century”), a high-level advisory group for the European Commission comprising experts from both public and private sectors, which was established to recommend action plans to enhance the competitiveness of European automobile man

Aug. 7, 2012

[Kim Seong-kon] The dehumanization of our society

Early modern architecture has greatly influenced not only the arts but also society as a whole today. Its effects, however, have not been advantageous but detrimental for many, contributing mostly to the dehumanization of society.One distinctly negative characteristic of architectural modernism is its emphasis on efficiency and simplicity. Following the notion that “form follows function,” a phrase originally coined by Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor Louis Sullivan, modern architects began building

Aug. 7, 2012

[Robert B. Reich] Terrible economy, anti-election

The worst economy since the Great Depression and you might think at least one of the candidates would come up with a few big ideas for how to get us out of it.But you’d be wrong. Neither candidate wants to take any chances by offering any large, serious proposals. Both are banking instead on negative campaigns that convince voters the other guy would be worse.President Obama has apparently decided against advancing any bold ideas for what he’d do in the second term, even if he has a Congress tha

Aug. 6, 2012

[Meghan Daum] Jonah Lehrer and America’s shortcut culture

Not even the Olympics are a sufficient distraction from the scandal of Jonah Lehrer. He’s the 31-year-old who rose to prominence writing such bestselling books as “Proust Was a Neuroscientist” and “How We Decide,” and delivering lucrative corporate lectures to go along with them.On Monday last week Lehrer admitted to fabrications and “improper combinations” of quotes in his latest book, “Imagine: How Creativity Works” ― specifically, material he’d attributed to Bob Dylan but in fact simply inven

Aug. 6, 2012

[Mohamed A. El-Erian] An informed choice between Obama and Romney

NEWPORT BEACH ― The conventional wisdom about the November presidential election in the United States is only partly correct. Yes, economic issues will play a large role in determining the outcome. But the next step in the argument ― that the winner of an increasingly ugly contest will have the luxury of pursuing significantly different policies from his opponent ― is much more uncertain.By the time the next presidential term starts in January 2013, and contrary to the current narratives advance

Aug. 6, 2012

[J. Bradford DeLong] Solving long-term unemployment

BERKELEY ― However bad you think the global economy is today in terms of the business cycle, that is only one lens through which to view the world. In terms of global life expectancy, total world wealth, the overall level of technology, growth prospects in emerging economies, and global income distribution, things look rather good, while on still other dimensions ― say, global warming or domestic income inequality and its effects on countries’ social solidarity ― they look bad.Even on the busine

Aug. 5, 2012

[Naomi Wolf] U.S. gun laws amount to arming the asylum

NEW YORK ― The horror has become almost routine. This time, the massacre site was a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, where accused shooter James Holmes murdered and injured dozens of moviegoers. In 1999, the scene was nearby Columbine High School. By some estimates, there are more than 20 mass shootings per year in the United States. And always the same question: Why?When the U.S. is compared to the rest of the world, one reason becomes obvious: while America may not have more homicidally insa

Aug. 5, 2012

[Robert J. Shiller] Social contagion is not the fault of the free market

A speculative bubble is a social epidemic whose contagion is mediated by price movements. News of price increase enriches the early investors, creating word-of-mouth stories about their successes, which stir envy and interest. The excitement then lures more and more people into the market, which causes prices to increase further, attracting yet more people and fueling “new era” stories, and so on, in successive feedback loops as the bubble grows. After the bubble bursts, the same contagion fuels

Aug. 5, 2012