Voters who wondered just how low Donald Trump would go in his race against Hillary Clinton got their answer on Sunday night.　From the run-up to the debate -- in which Trump held a news conference starring women who say Bill Clinton abused them -- to the debate itself, in which he encroached on Clinton onstage, called her names and threatened to have her jailed if he is elected, the Republican nominee made it clear who he is and what he stands for, which is, among other things, misogyny.　The deba

Viewpoints Oct. 11, 2016

“There is a thing called clean coal,” Donald Trump said during Sunday night’s debate. But there isn’t -- and won’t be for a considerable time, if ever.　Presumably, Trump was referring to so-called carbon-capture technology, which is designed to collect and dispose of coal plants’ carbon-dioxide emissions before they escape into the atmosphere, where they trap heat. That technology may be on the drawing board and in a few small-scale demonstration projects, but it’s not close to being ready for w

Viewpoints Oct. 11, 2016

Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong has expressed skepticism over setting up a new state entity that specializes in probing corruption cases of senior government officials.At a recent parliamentary interpellation, Kim argued that the establishment and operation of such an agency could be a waste of the government budget. He also said it could end up having a surveillance function, which may infringe on human rights.Claiming that the agency could be unconstitutional as it would not belong to any of t

Editorial Oct. 10, 2016

It’s important to pay attention to seemingly deteriorating relations between Manila and Washington, which have been allies for 70 years. On Tuesday, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, a populist former big-city mayor elected in May, told President Barack Obama he “can go to hell” after the latest US criticism of murderous vigilantism in the Asian democracy triggered by Duterte’s call for the killing of drug dealers and drug users.　Duterte may soon apologize, as he did last month after callin

Viewpoints Oct. 10, 2016

A month before the US presidential election, it is clear that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- history’s most comprehensive free-trade deal -- will not be approved anytime soon in its country of origin. 　Both the major-party presidential candidates and the Republican-dominated Congress have adopted a protectionist stance reflecting the mood of the voters, a vast number of whom believe such international deals drain away jobs and undercut production in the US.　 Outgoing President Barack Oba

Viewpoints Oct. 10, 2016

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has until now only made empty threats, but if they are carried out, Asia will reel under the impact. When it comes to the US, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte does not mince his words.In statements often laced with expletives, Duterte has told the people of the US that they can leave if they do not stop criticizing the thousands of extrajudicial killings that have blighted his anti-crime drive.Duterte has claimed he can always turn to China or even Russia

Viewpoints Oct. 10, 2016

At a certain age, you may feel as if you’re still at life’s beginning yet also disturbingly close to the end.　You feel acutely that there’s much left to do. You were going to win an Oscar, pick up a Nobel Prize in physics and get elected president, but you haven’t even gotten around to auditioning for a film, taking a university physics course or running for dogcatcher. Simultaneously, you’re filled with longing for the many things you once did but never will again. You’ll never feel the first c

Viewpoints Oct. 10, 2016

The Federation of Korean Industries has been thrown into its deepest crisis since its establishment in 1961. The growing calls for its disbandment -- from outside and inside -- testify to the depth of the crisis facing the corporate lobby. The crisis was prompted by the scandal surrounding two nonprofit organizations that opposition members claim were established by and for people close to President Park Geun-hye.Park and her aides deny their involvement in the Mir and K-Sports foundations, but

Editorial Oct. 9, 2016

To widespread dismay, Colombians voted to reject an agreement that might have ended Latin America’s longest-running armed conflict -- a decades-long insurgency that has taken more than 220,000 lives, displaced more than 10 percent of the country’s people, and inflicted enormous economic damage.　The upset underlines the risks of government by referendum -- as if further proof of those hazards were needed. The important questions for Colombia now are these: What went wrong, and what happens next?　

Viewpoints Oct. 9, 2016

For a long time, Americans of all economic classes, backgrounds and political persuasions have been able to briefly escape life’s stresses by communally watching sports.San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, however, may change all that.He’s not the first to infuse politics into sports. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, for example, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the 200-meter race gold and bronze winners, were expelled after holding up black-gloved fists at their award prese

Viewpoints Oct. 9, 2016

At least one scientist says the United States deserves credit for trying to reduce emissions to below what they were more than a decade ago. But unless more is done, and the two political parties can come to a consensus on the matter, our nation will not reduce emissions by a targeted 28 percent by 2025.But, even if every country achieves its pledge, which is doubtful, scientists still don’t believe it would be enough to contain global warming. The agreement takes into account greenhouse gases t

Viewpoints Oct. 9, 2016