[Jean Pisani-Ferry] A global pandemic alarm bell

Seen from Europe, Asia, or even North America, Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, is as remote as can be. Yet the 501Y.V3 variant of the coronavirus recently detected there has already been identified as a global threat, because its emergence in a city where two-thirds of the population was already infected in the spring of 2020 suggests that acquired immunity does not protect against it. Scientists speculate whether 501Y.V3 may also thwart some of the existing vaccines. Ev

Feb. 1, 2021

[James Stavridis] Trump got a space force. Biden should get a cyber force

Nearly lost in the tumult of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and the excitement of Joe Biden‘s inauguration is the continuing fallout from the massive data breach of SolarWinds Corp. by suspected Russian hackers. As the new team settles into office, what can it do to keep the nation safe in cyberspace? Let’s begin with the scale of the hack. SolarWinds was a prime vendor to tens of thousands of clients, including hundreds of Fortune 500 enterprises and nearly the entire US go

Feb. 1, 2021

[Serendipity] Cheer on the young

Alas, before I have had a chance to decide on a New Year’s resolution, or decide whether to ditch the whole idea of making resolutions as suggested by some self-improvement gurus, we are nearing the end of January. A whole month has gone by in the blink of an eye and now there are only 11 months left to the year. It is said that when you reach a certain stage in life, the passage of time feels different, that time appears to pass more quickly. Some experts attribute this to brain chemical

Jan. 29, 2021

[Robert J. Fouser] What next Seoul mayor should do

On April 7, 2021, Seoul will hold a special election for mayor. Seoul has been without a mayor since former Mayor Park Won-soon’s shocking suicide in July 2020. The election of a new mayor will stir discussion of how the city should move forward as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. As the leader of the capital city and the overwhelmingly dominant city, the mayor of Seoul is influential. Several mayors have dreamed of becoming president and one, Lee Myung-bak, succeeded in the 2007. The new m

Jan. 29, 2021

[Kim Myong-sik] Is Korean police ready for new role?

Last week, the Korean National Police Agency announced a major personnel reshuffle, involving almost all of its 550 superintendents, the core of the police force. Printed in fine letters, the names and their short and long new titles occupied nearly half of a newspaper page. The 2021 reassignments of senior police personnel had to be more extensive than in previous years because the KNPA was making a new start with a new organizational structure in three tiers, namely the National Police Agenc

Jan. 28, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] Godspeed for the USS Biden

On Jan. 20, 2021, the Biden era has officially begun in the United States. Watching the inauguration ceremony, many Americans and foreigners look forward to the restoration of the America they used to know. That is to say, the America that the Founding Fathers originally dreamed of, the America that led the world as a peacekeeper, and the America that the world looked up to as a land of liberty, equality, and justice. As President Biden announced, “America is back,” and “Make

Jan. 27, 2021

[Noah Feldman] Congress losing power for a hundred years

The storming of the US Capitol on Jan. 6 was a real lowlight for Congress. At least during the sacking of Washington in the war of 1812, the White House burned alongside the Capitol. But on Jan. 6, 2021 the head of the executive branch urged his followers to interfere with the operation of the legislative branch. The entire sequence of events is a reminder that congressional power has been receding relative to the executive branch for almost a century. Now is the time for Congress to stand up f

Jan. 27, 2021

[Trudy Rubin] Biden’s first big foreign policy test

President Joe Biden was absolutely correct when he said “the world is watching all of us today,” as he delivered his inaugural address Wednesday from the very spot where a mob stormed the Capitol two weeks before. Biden’s message “to those beyond our borders” was that “America has been tested and we’ve come out stronger. … We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. And we’ll lead, not merely by the example of our pow

Jan. 26, 2021

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Hatemongers should be expelled in the post-Trump era

In celebrating the liberation from Donald Trump’s misrule, we must not forget that Trump’s presidency embodied the raw politics of US white supremacy. He often spoke like a segregationist Southern governor of the 1960s, and, after losing the 2020 election, like a secessionist senator on the eve of the Civil War. To sustain the victory over Trump’s destructive politics, we must overcome the racism that brought him to power. That urgent challenge faces not only the United States,

Jan. 26, 2021

[Therese Raphael] COVID is traumatizing our doctors and nurses

Hand it to human beings. We have repeatedly defied predictions that we will buckle under the extreme pressure of adverse events. Time and again, whether it was during the eight-month blitz in World War II, or after 9/11, people have proved remarkably resilient in the face of adversity. Will it be the same with this pandemic? On aggregate, probably yes. Most people have experienced, or know someone who has experienced, mental stress as a result of pandemic-related circumstances. But once they a

Jan. 25, 2021

[Digital Simplicity] Gamers are no fools

Nobody wants to be manipulated. But there is a sector where manipulation is openly granted as both parties -- companies and consumers -- agree to play together. The gaming market is the very sector in which players knowingly allow publishers to pull some strings by modifying the lucky box item ratio and implementing special promotions for newbies. In general, most gamers remain largely silent or passive about publishers’ extreme and unfair behavior. Instead of actively protesting unjust

Jan. 23, 2021

[Carl P. Leubsdorf] Biden makes his case for unity, but are GOP lawmakers listening?

To anyone who followed Joe Biden’s successful campaign and his comments since clinching the presidency, the underlying theme of his inaugural address was hardly a surprise: a plea for national unity and a pledge to govern for all Americans, regardless for whom they voted. But the most crucial aspect of Biden’s speech may prove to be whether his tone helps persuade enough congressional Republicans that the nation’s current problems are sufficiently serious they need respond to

Jan. 22, 2021

[Lee Kyong-hee] Sincerity can close ‘comfort women’ case

“Jeongsindae” was a familiar word in my family. As a little child I didn’t know what it meant. Still, I discerned an association with something “forcible” and “unspeakable.” One of my sisters, born in 1932, went to a secondary school affiliated with an education college. My father believed if she became a teacher, she could avoid being drafted into the “women’s volunteer corps.” Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces brought Kor

Jan. 21, 2021

[David Kaye] Hold Trump loyalists accountable

Precisely at noon on Wednesday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take the reins of government. And the nation’s focus will turn quickly to the new administration. As we look in one direction, Trump administration officials will go off in another. Some will slink away, hoping to avoid our attention, knowing the shame they brought upon themselves. Others will almost certainly need to lawyer up. But the criminal process will be for a relative few. All will pursue one common aim: They will

Jan. 20, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] Ode to the young children who left us

Korean parents are famous for their overprotectiveness and single-minded dedication to their children. As long as their children bring home good grades from school and win competitions, Korean parents can wink at their children’s ill manners and impertinence to the point of spoiling them. Nevertheless, there are exceptions. Recently, two children, a 16-month-old and an 8-year-old, died due to their parents’ ruthless and consistent abuse. Both are dead, not directly from neglect --

Jan. 20, 2021

[Leonid Bershidsky] US tech censorship is real gift to Putin

Alexey Navalny, the opposition leader whom the Russian secret police nearly killed with military-grade poison last year, is worried about Twitter’s decision to shut down Donald Trump’s account. Navalny is no Trump fan. The reason he is worried is that the way US tech has ganged up on Trump and his most radical supporters can lead to his own deplatforming in Russia, where he has no access to state-controlled media and relies on mostly US-based social networks -- YouTube, Facebook, Twi

Jan. 19, 2021

[Ivo Daalder] Remedies for stronger American democracy

“What’s going on over there?” The question from a former NATO colleague in Europe was among the many texts and WhatsApp messages that lit up my phone Jan. 6 as I watched on live television the astonishing and frightening events unfolding at the US Capitol. The level of incredulity and concern, followed by revulsion and anger, expressed by my friends and former colleagues overseas underscores the damage that was being done to our standing abroad by a rioting mob bent on overtur

Jan. 19, 2021

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Where does America go from Trumpian chaos?

The assault on the US Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, incited by Trump himself, was the predictable outcome of his four-year assault on democratic institutions, aided and abetted by so many in the Republican Party. And no one can say that Trump had not warned us: He was not committed to a peaceful transition of power. Many who benefited as he slashed taxes for corporations and the rich, rolled back environmental regulations and appointed business-friendly judges knew they w

Jan. 18, 2021

[Karl W. Smith] Biden‘s COVID-19 relief plan isn’t overkill

The US never fully recovered from the Great Recession. One of the benefits of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package unveiled Thursday night by President-elect Joe Biden is that -- in addition to helping Americans hurt by the pandemic -- it could help America accomplish that goal. At that point, US politics can safely return to arguments about whether tax increases or spending cuts are the best way to reduce the deficit. It may be a tired debate, but if it means the US has finally healed from t

Jan. 18, 2021