Comey did the right thing

In July, Republican James Comey was the toast of the Democratic Party. That was after he announced that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for allowing emails with classified information to be stored on a private server. Party leaders praised the FBI director’s independence.Now, many of Clinton’s supporters argue, as Republicans did over the summer, that Comey has terrible judgment and is playing politics.Overblown reactions are standard fare in polit

Nov. 1, 2016

[Bill Lueders] Now, more than ever, truth matters

A few weeks back, Time magazine ran a story titled “The Truth Is Out There in 2016. Way Out There.” It begins with a vignette about a Donald Trump backer in North Carolina who believes climate change is a hoax, drug cartels control the government and, because it has just popped up as a headline on his so-called smartphone, that Obama has announced plans to seek a third presidential term.　The Trump backer, Allan Thiel, complains that “people aren’t being taught history anymore” and “they’ve dumbe

Oct. 31, 2016

[Benny Teh Cheng Guan] How can Korea contribute to realize people-centered ASEAN?

Korea’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have gone from strength to strength. Korea initiated sectoral dialogue relations in 1989 and is today a key strategic partner of ASEAN.Now the ASEAN Community is being realized and the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a People-Oriented, People-Centered ASEAN has demonstrated the ASEAN leaders’ intention to transform the regional body into an institution that prioritizes its peoples’ concerns, what role can Korea play to support th

Oct. 31, 2016

[David McClure] We can be great again if we stop looking for supreme leader

It’s not about one person and it never was. I don’t care who that person is or was, it has always been of the people, for the people and by the people.　It is what our founding fathers had in mind when they penned the US Constitution. They knew then what we keep forgetting — that the greatness of this country was going to depend upon a village, not a chief.　So they carefully crafted a living document that would keep any one man or woman from destroying what so very many men and women have given t

Oct. 31, 2016

Migrant cluster is dispersed; problem remains

The Europeans — in particular, this time, the French and British — continue to labor mightily with the major problem that migrants from the wars of the Middle East and of poverty in Africa continue to pose for them.　A million came in 2015.　Some 6,000 of them clustered in Calais, a city in France on the English Channel, close to the United Kingdom. Their goal was not to settle in France, but to be as well positioned as possible to seek asylum in the UK. This they wanted for a variety of reasons.

Oct. 31, 2016

[Ana Palacio] The Brexit Paradox

The French mathematician Blaise Pascal famously said, “It is not certain that everything is uncertain.” Had he been around for Brexit, he might not be so sure. While a moderate outcome remains likely, uncertainty and animosity have been on the rise in recent weeks. This is the Brexit paradox: The longer it takes for pragmatism to re-enter the debate, the higher the chance that the chilling effect of the unknown will cause permanent damage to both the United Kingdom and the European Union.This wa

Oct. 30, 2016

[Jonathan Kennedy & Domna Michailidou]Rethinking Humanitarian Aid in Civil Wars

In recent months, nongovernmental organizations and journalists have accused the United Nations of bias toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and failure to distribute humanitarian aid to rebel-controlled areas of Syria. To an extent, these criticisms are justified. The UN does work closely with the Syrian government, and humanitarian aid has not consistently reached areas outside of government control. But the detractors overlook an inherent contradiction in the UN’s responsibilities

Oct. 30, 2016

[Christopher Balding] China gets desperate about debt

With its debts surging and growth sluggish, China has hit on a new strategy to revitalize its ailing economy. It’s the same as the old strategy. Only this time, it won’t work.Earlier this month, China’s State Council released guidelines for a new swap program, in which companies can exchange troubled debt with banks in return for equity. The government hopes this will give the firms a chance to restructure on favorable terms, and avoid the prospect of “zombie companies” propped up indefinitely b

Oct. 30, 2016

This is no way to mend Europe’s banks

Europe urgently needs to repair a banking system that’s weighing on the region’s economy. Governments say they understand, but they still aren’t taking the task seriously.The issue is global standards for capital -- the bedrock financing that makes banks capable of absorbing losses without going bust. Lack of capital in 2008 turned financial setbacks into a full-scale crisis. Regulators agreed on tougher capital standards back in 2010; now, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which inclu

Oct. 30, 2016

[Other view] Heathrow isn’t ready for takeoff

Because Brexit isn’t risky enough, apparently, Britain’s Conservative government has decided to embark on another project fraught with potential for failure. For many years, the country has been arguing furiously about a big expansion of London’s Heathrow airport. Having once opposed the idea, the Tories say they are now in favor.　Prime Minister Theresa May is right: Heathrow needs another runway. But the government’s announcement settles nothing. Even now, no sensible person would bet on this e

Oct. 28, 2016

[Robert B. Reich] The trust destroyers don’t mind public rebuke　

Donald Trump’s warning that he might not accept the results of the presidential election exemplifies his approach to everything: Do whatever it takes to win, even if that means undermining the integrity of the entire system.　Trump isn’t alone. The same approach underlies Sen. John McCain’s recent warning that Senate Republicans will unite against any Supreme Court nominee Hillary Clinton might put up if she becomes president.　The Republican Party as a whole has embraced this philosophy for more

Oct. 28, 2016

US, South Korea must shore up alliance to keep North in check

The US and South Korea have held a ‘two-plus-two’ meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Washington, during which they positioned the improvement in North Korea’s nuclear and missile capability as ‘a direct threat’ while also announcing specific policies to deal with the situation.　The policies include a US pledge to continue providing South Korea with extended deterrence, the main pillar of which is a nuclear umbrella. The two nations have also agreed to establish high-level dialogue aimed

Oct. 27, 2016

[Salman Haidar] Building with Brics

Goa has just played host to an impressive group of heads from different parts of the world, weighty figures who lead countries that have recently emerged into prominence and collectively bid fair to reshape processes of international cooperation. Brics, whose Summit meeting brought these high dignitaries to India, is a relatively new grouping of emerging countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- that is to say of countries that have come out of relative obscurity in global co

Oct. 27, 2016