[Los Angeles Times] When is human rights hero Aung San Suu Kyi going to act like one?

The Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar has long suffered discrimination, persecution and violence. But as a new horrific wave of brutality has swept over Rakhine state, where most of the country’s Rohingya live in poverty, the question that has been asked over and over must now be shouted: When will Aung San Suu Kyi -- the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, icon of democracy and de facto leader of the country -- stand up for the democratic rights of this persecuted group?The latest violence began with

Sept. 8, 2017

[Jay Ambrose] China to the rescue?

It’s China to the rescue, or, if not, the world could be headed for an eventual nuclear holocaust. Irresponsible very nearly to the point of evil, China has been reluctant to do what’s necessary to get North Korea to end its weaponry madness. Not acting decisively now would amount to a curse on humanity.What we’ve recently seen, as everyone knows, is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exploding what seems a thermonuclear device capable of destroying a major city. It was many times as powerful as ot

Sept. 7, 2017

[Baltimore Sun] North Korea won’t be swayed by mere bluster

As recently as July, President Donald Trump blasted his predecessor for drawing a “red line” over the use of chemical weapons in Syria that he failed to back up to Republican’s liking. Now, the current president is playing a far more dangerous version of that same strategy with North Korea by threatening all kinds of actions from a “massive military response” to cutting off trade with any country that does business with the regime. Kim Jong-un isn’t buying it. His nuclear testing continues. And

Sept. 7, 2017

[Los Angeles Times] North Korea’s nukes call for concerted action, not loose talk

Seeking to capitalize on a chorus of condemnation of North Korea’s latest nuclear test, the Trump administration rightly has been trying to rally international support for additional sanctions, while moving to reassure South Korea of US support for its security.Unfortunately, President Trump continues to make the work of his diplomats and military strategists harder with bellicose rhetoric, insults to US allies and threats that he almost certainly can’t deliver on.On Sunday, North Korea tested w

Sept. 7, 2017

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] Alert and safe truckers: Don’t let Congress delay rule on sleep requirement

It’s difficult for the average driver to safely navigate congested roads, rain-slicked asphalt and those curvy stretches of highway that seem to materialize out of nowhere. Imagine doing it in a huge tractor-trailer carrying a heavy or dangerous load. It’s hazardous work, and truckers have to be alert to do it safely.That’s why the nation must press ahead with a federal law requiring that electronic logging devices be used by semi drivers and certain other commercial operators to make sure they

Sept. 6, 2017

[Bloomberg] How to make bad situation in North Korea worse

There are, as is often noted, no good options for dealing with North Korea. All the more reason for the US not to make the few it does have even worse.That‘s what President Donald Trump is doing by linking the security threat posed by North Korea with his trade agenda. Irked by China’s failure to help the US rein in North Korea‘s nuclear program, and having been stymied in his attempts to retaliate against Chinese steel dumping and intellectual property infringements, he’s vowing an implausible

Sept. 6, 2017

[Noah Smith] How Japan needs to change to welcome immigrants

The US has been roiled by debates over immigration. Japan has the opposite problem -- not enough debate. Immigration is happening, and no one is talking about it or preparing to deal with it.Americans tend to use Japan as an example of a country that doesn’t take in immigrants. For example, my Bloomberg View colleague Justin Fox recently wrote that “politicians have so far been unwilling to allow immigration to take up the slack” of an aging population. It’s true that Japan has a small foreign-b

Sept. 5, 2017

[Christoph M. Schmidt] How to renew European integration project

The French presidential and legislative elections earlier this year have instilled new hope in the European integration project, by raising the prospect of deeper Franco-German cooperation. And yet some forms of cooperation, not least shared liability schemes, would be a mistake. As long as member states have sovereignty over fiscal and economic policymaking, France and Germany should focus their efforts on making the eurozone itself more resilient.French President Emmanuel Macron has started to

Sept. 5, 2017

[Bill Emmott] A ‘China First’ strategy for North Korea

Most pundits agree that the least bad way to deal with North Korea’s nuclear saber rattling is a continued combination of tight containment and aggressive diplomacy. Fewer, however, have recognized that the least bad military option -- the one implied by US President Donald Trump’s insistence that China take responsibility for its dangerous neighbor -- is a Chinese invasion, or regime change forced through China’s threat to launch one.This outcome, which would sharply shift East Asia’s strategic

Sept. 5, 2017

[Conor Sen] How self-driving electric cars will change American road trips

With the long Labor Day weekend upon us, tens of millions of Americans will hit the road in an annual rite. Along the way, drivers will fill up gas tanks, grab a bite to eat, stretch their legs and perhaps stay the night at a motel. Should autonomous, electric vehicles displace traditional automobiles, this roadside economy and ecosystem will be disrupted. How and when remains to be seen.Thanks to the construction of the interstate highway system decades ago, it’s relatively easy and affordable

Sept. 4, 2017

[Andres Oppenheimer] Where’s the world outrage over Cuba’s dictatorship?

Latin American countries deserve credit for their recent denunciations of what they bluntly refer to as Venezuela’s dictatorship, but I have a hard time understanding why they don’t do the same thing with Cuba’s dictatorship. When it comes to Cuba, they all seem to look the other way.I was thinking about this when I read about Cuba’s Oct. 22 election for municipal council members. It will be the first of several tightly controlled steps leading to the election of a National Assembly that is to d

Sept. 4, 2017

[Oliver Bilger] Speaking English no threat to German culture

Germany will elect a new parliament on Sept. 24, and polls indicate that Chancellor Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Union party, is likely to be re-elected to a fourth term. With the outcome seemingly a foregone conclusion, the campaign hasn’t been too exciting. Fierce discussions? Heated debates? Nowhere.Into this vacuum stepped Jens Spahn, a 37-year-old conservative, whose recent newspaper commentary has drawn considerable attention in Germany. His concern is the use of English

Sept. 4, 2017