[Chicago Tribune] Trump’s North Korea conundrum

"We may have to go on an arduous march, a time when we will again have to eat the roots of grass,” said a March 2016 editorial in the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, preparing North Koreans for worsening conditions after tougher sanctions were imposed.　Last year around this time, North Korea tapped the world on the shoulder with an underground nuclear test that drew the usual international diplomatic tut-tutting.　This year, an encore: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a

Jan. 8, 2017

[Ann McFeatters] Trump might want to rethink his take on tech

Today, we will ponder the coming miracles of technology. The next few minutes will be a mostly Trump-free zone.　But first, did you hear that the president-elect doesn’t trust computers?　It’s true. He said that when he has an important message, he will write it down and send it by courier.　Really? Bicyclists whizzing all over the city? Trucks careening down Interstate 95 from Trump Tower to the Capitol building? Special airplanes winging across the Atlantic and Pacific? Well, there’s always Twitt

Jan. 8, 2017

[John H. Cha] Troubles in Riverside City

What is it about Koreans in America who have a penchant for being the first at anything and everything? Being first seems to be the prime motivation for many, even in areas where being first has very little meaning. This path to firsts can blind the seekers from even better and more profound truths. Let’s look at some recent efforts that show you what I am thinking.　For instance, some Korean-American groups subscribe to the idea that the 102 Koreans who arrived in Hawaii aboard a steamboat named

Jan. 8, 2017

[Other view] What the US lost in Syria

The duration of the latest Syrian cease-fire may matter less than its genesis. Russia, Turkey and Iran brokered the agreement without US involvement -- a worrying sign of the waning regional influence of the world’s only superpower.Whether this decline is temporary or permanent remains to be seen. What is abundantly clear is that, having decided not to intervene to stop the worst humanitarian catastrophe since World War II, US President Barack Obama lacked both the leverage and the standing to b

Jan. 8, 2017

Patriotic response to populism

If 2016 was the year of reckless populism, then 2017 must be the year of clear-eyed patriotism. The surest way to confront demagogues like Donald Trump, and to manage ordeals like Brexit, is by appealing not only to reason but also to common purpose and duty.　The first step in containing irrational politics, and even turning them back, is to stop whining about what’s happened and start trying to understand it. The whining is understandable, to be sure: Populism is dangerous because it demands si

Jan. 6, 2017

[Rachel Marsden] Accusations turn intelligence into propaganda

The outgoing Obama administration apparently isn’t quite finished politicizing intelligence for the purpose of propaganda.　With his final term coming to an end, US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to address a “national emergency with respect to significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.” The order sanctions Russia’s military and foreign intelligence agencies and their senior officials, three Russian technology companies, and two alleged hackers of Russian and Latvian ci

Jan. 5, 2017

Automation trepidation

Decades from now, when historians look back on 2016, they’ll of course take note of the momentous votes on both sides of the Atlantic. But if they’re interested in symbolism, they might find that an even more profound turning point occurred over the English countryside in early December, when a little flying robot buzzed though the air, alighted on a lawn and gently deposited a package for a happy customer.　It was the first real-world drone delivery for Amazon.com. And it offered a bracing glimp

Jan. 5, 2017

[Robert B. Reich] Obama’s last stands

President-elect Donald Trump has accused President Obama of putting up “roadblocks” to a smooth transition. In reality, I think President Obama has been too cooperative with Trump.I’d recommend Obama take the following last stands in the final weeks of his administration:1. Name Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the president power to fill any vacancy during the recess of the Senate. The Supreme Court is no exception. Justice William Brennan be

Jan. 4, 2017

[Satyajit Das] My 2017 prediction? Nothing will change.

At the end of each year, commentators traditionally reflect on emergent themes likely to shape the future. These prognostications usually ignore the indifferent record of prophets. The current consensus identifies two themes for the coming year: rising populism, and reflation -- that is, stronger growth and the return of inflation.　The issues are related. Afraid of declining living standards for the majority, electorates have embraced simplistic explanations for the problems confronting many Wes

Jan. 4, 2017

[Noah Smith] Japan takes on its workaholics

The same problems come up again and again in discussions of what Japan needs to do to revive its economy. The first is low white-collar productivity. The second is population aging. The third is gender equality. Now Japan’s government is poised to attack all three problems at once, undertaking an assault on one of the central features of the country’s corporate culture -- long working hours.　Japan is legendary for its work ethic. You wouldn’t know this from the official statistics, which show Ja

Jan. 4, 2017

[Paul May] Canada’s limited welcome

To a lot of commentators, Canada looks like a sanctuary for progressive thinking on immigration, an exception to the nativist wave sweeping the United States and Europe.　A recent cover of the Economist put a maple leaf crown on the Statue of Liberty and proclaimed Canada “an example to the world.” Famously, on the US Election Day, the Canadian immigration website crashed because of the number of Americans reportedly considering a move to their northern neighbor as Donald Trump won the presidency

Jan. 4, 2017

[Chicago Tribune] Texting while driving? In a matter of seconds, you could ruin lives forever

Close your eyes, and count five seconds.Open them. That’s the average amount of time motorists take their eyes off the road while texting. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says it’s actually 4.6 seconds, but you get the picture. Think of what could happen in 4.6 seconds while you’re driving 88 kph or faster down a busy expressway, with your eyes shut.Here’s what driving distracted does: On April 30, 2013, a woman driving her Dodge Ram truck on an eastern Texas highway checks messages o

Jan. 3, 2017