[Tim Rutten] Political speech today, it’s not Kennedy’s America

Is our political speech really more bitter and poisonous than it’s ever been?No, though it’s certainly more debased and lacerating than it was just a few short years ago. We’ve been through eras of bitterly expressed politics more often than we’d probably care to admit. The Federalists and anti-Federalists bickered ferociously. Contention over the Bank of the United States during the Jacksonian er

Jan. 23, 2011

[Su Hao] Peace on Korean Peninsula is common goal

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is crucial to maintaining peace in Northeast Asia. It plays an important role in the security and economic development of the Asia-Pacific region, and has a great impact on overall global stability. Hence, the peninsula has a special place in Sino-U.S. ties. Though the Cold War ended two decades ago, people on the Korean Peninsula are still living in its shado

Jan. 23, 2011

[Dick Polman] Civility talk is fine, but where are new calls for gun control?

Behold the silence of the lambs. Naturally, I’m talking about the Democrats.One of their own House members has been plugged in the head by a nut job armed with a Glock and a high-capacity magazine, yet even now they can’t muster the courage to talk about sensible gun curbs. That issue is off the national agenda because Democrats have been rendered mute by their terror of the gun lobby.The timidity

Jan. 23, 2011

Will frustration lead to a tequila uprise?

Many Latinos have grown frustrated by the failure of Democrats and Republicans to craft a comprehensive reform of national immigration policy. Those disaffected voters may have a new home: the Tequila Party, an independent, grassroots effort designed to mobilize Latinos much as the tea party movement has seized on the anger and frustration of fiscal conservatives.The Tequila Party remains more an

Jan. 21, 2011

Haiti should hold Duvalier accountable

As if Haiti needed another plague, former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier made a surprise return to the country on Sunday after 25 years of exile, raising alarm about his intentions and complicating efforts to resolve a paralyzing electoral crisis.The one-time “president for life” is a polarizing figure who governed Haiti during one of its most wretched eras. His return is yet another dos

Jan. 21, 2011

[Caroline Baum] No jobs? No income? No problem for U.S. shoppers

The pieces just don’t add up.Credit card debt outstanding has fallen 27 straight months for a total decline of $177.2 billion.The unemployment rate has been stuck above 9 percent for 20 months.Average hourly earnings rose 1.9 percent in 2010.Personal income rose less than 4 percent in the 12 months ended November.About 23 percent of homes with mortgages are worth less than the amount of the loan.F

Jan. 21, 2011

[Editorial] Nanfang aims to be world-class university

Shenzhen is famous for being the guinea pig for China’s development over the past three decades. It became China’s first special economic zone in 1980 as the government pioneered the nation’s economic opening-up in this former fishing village adjacent to Hong Kong. Now higher education is the latest area in which the city is blazing a trail for the rest of the country, as it is setting up a univer

Jan. 21, 2011

[Editorial] It is premature to ease sanctions on Burma

Few were expecting any surprises from the ASEAN Ministerial Retreat in Lombok, Indonesia over the weekend. So when news emerged that the 10-member group was urging an easing of sanctions against Burma (Myanmar), we found it rather shocking, if not altogether disturbing.The introduction of a regime sanctioned constitution, general elections and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi are grounds for Indone

Jan. 21, 2011

[Editorial] Crazy weather

In the past 12 and a half months great areas of the world have experienced extreme, crazy and topsy-turvy weather. Both the western and eastern worlds suffered a midsummer breakdown:The hottest summer (more than 100 degrees F for the first time) in Russia, sparking wildfires and blanketing Moscow with toxic smog;The heaviest monsoon rains in Pakistan, causing rivers to rampage over the countryside

Jan. 21, 2011

Meet the Chinese as the landlord for U.S.

All the bluster on Capitol Hill about punishing China for suppressing the value of its currency misses the bigger picture: We and the Chinese need each other to remain strong.China holds almost $1 trillion in U.S. debt. That gives it a huge stake in our nation’s future. Much like a landlord or banker, China relies on us to pay our bills. Considering how the U.S. is asking the world to keep lending

Jan. 20, 2011

Growing demand for high-tech health care

Healthsense, a technology company based just outside Minneapolis, uses wireless sensors to provide an early warning system for health problems among the elderly or frail. The sensors send out an alert when they detect trouble ― a fall, for example, or a significant change in sleep patterns. Demand for this kind of innovation is soaring, and companies are responding with a host of new products that

Jan. 20, 2011

[Gregory Rodriguez] Politics’ dark passions

Once you get a look at the evil smirk captured by the mug shot of Jared Lee Loughner, it’s hard to believe that mere heated political rhetoric was the decisive factor in his allegedly pulling the trigger over and over and over again.But that doesn’t mean there’s no link between politics and violence, or even, to some degree, mental illness.A psychologist will tell you that plenty of factors may pu

Jan. 20, 2011

[Alden C. Mayfield] Asian and Euro-American economic crises

When the needles of greed, corruption, and cronyism popped the economic bubbles of Asia between 1997-98, much of the Western world gloated and wasted little time in criticizing irrational Asians for their lack of financial transparency in borrowing and expanding beyond their means. From their mighty computers, some Euro-Americans thought it was self-evident that Asians were not only irrational, bu

Jan. 20, 2011

[Doyle McManus] A nuclear Iran around the corner? Not so fast

After years of warning that an Iranian atomic bomb is right around the corner, Israeli officials now say Iran is at least four years away from deploying a nuclear weapon, maybe more. And Obama administration officials agree, although they shy away from endorsing a specific time frame. “We’ve gained some breathing space,” a senior U.S. official told me last week. “The good news is that we have slow

Jan. 20, 2011