When in 1992 a California jury acquitted the four officers who beat Rodney King, the result was a race riot of a kind not seen since the late 1960s ― followed by a federal civil-rights prosecution that convicted two of the officers. The acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin hasn’t produced rioting, but it has spawned a growing demand, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for a federal trial to recharge Zimmerman with violating Martin’s civil r

Viewpoints July 16, 2013

In January 2009 much of the nation watched with a kind of stunned jubilation as the first black president was sworn into office. In the intoxication of that moment, some suggested the U.S. had finally moved beyond the racial quagmire that has defined its history and circumscribed its democracy. In a country where violent disfranchisement was still within living memory, the fact that 69 million voters ― of all racial backgrounds ― voted for a presidential candidate of African descent validated fa

Viewpoints July 16, 2013

The tax authorities are switching to emergency mode as this year’s tax revenue is increasingly likely to miss the target by an unexpectedly large margin.According to data presented by the National Tax Service, tax revenue during the first five months of the year totaled 82.13 trillion won, a shocking fall of as much as 9 trillion won from the same period a year ago.If the trend continues, the shortfall is expected to expand to 10 trillion won by the end of the first half and 20 trillion won by t

Editorial July 15, 2013

The Board of Audit and Inspection has made itself a target of audit and inspection by flip-flopping on the controversial four-rivers restoration project.The state auditor has thus far inspected the signature public works project of former President Lee Myung-bak three times. But each time it offered a different assessment, confusing the public and undermining its own credibility.The board announced the outcome of its first inspection in January 2011, more than two years before Lee’s five-year te

Editorial July 15, 2013

The governing coalition led by Japan’s pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party is predicted to win a majority in the July 21 Upper House elections. That prospect might alarm the almost half of all Japanese citizens who say they don’t want to restart the 48 nuclear reactors that remain offline for safety checks after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered a catastrophic meltdown. Even now, engineers are struggling to contain the radioactive water seeping into the groundwater under the

Viewpoints July 15, 2013

When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was asked about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court during his confirmation hearings, he replied: “It’s not what we usually think of when we think of a court.” And he was absolutely right.As Roberts noted, most Americans think of a court as open to the public, where “lawyers argue, and it’s subject to the glare of publicity. And the judges explain their decision to the public and they can examine them.” But the federal FISA court ― created by Congre

Viewpoints July 15, 2013

In 1991, Zell Miller, then governor of Georgia and a Democrat, advised his colleague Bill Clinton of Arkansas that there were two guys he needed to run his likely presidential campaign: James Carville and Paul Begala. “Who are they?” asked Clinton, a man well-versed in Democratic politics. Even though they had had successes, including Miller’s election, Carville and Begala didn’t become a big deal until they ran Harris Wofford’s campaign in a special Pennsylvania senate election in 1991. It was

Viewpoints July 15, 2013

Two years into its transition from dictatorship to democracy, Myanmar is finding out how dangerous freedom can be. Since June 2012, when fighting broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in western Arakan state, attacks against Myanmar’s tiny Muslim minority have spread throughout the country. More than 200 people have been killed in Buddhist-Muslim riots, and more than 150,000 rendered homeless ― most of them Muslims. Many Burmese think that former regime figures are stoking the attacks, hoping

Viewpoints July 14, 2013

This Ramadan I’m praying for a miracle. Islam’s holy month begins this week, and millions of Muslims everywhere are fasting, reflecting and asking God to answer prayers. Like millions of American Muslims, I will be thinking about the cycle of violence that appears to have taken on a life of its own, and I worry that cycle is unstoppable.The so-called Arab Spring was thought to mean a new beginning; but the wave of change did not bring freedom and prosperity to the region. Instead two years into

Viewpoints July 14, 2013

The search for lessons from lost economic decades has led from Japan to the U.S. to Europe. Now the spotlight turns to Thailand. This may strike some as odd, considering Thailand’s 5.3 percent growth, its young and expanding population, and the surprising level of political stability in Bangkok. In her two years leading Thailand’s 68 million people, Yingluck Shinawatra has somehow managed to tamp down the virtual civil war that led to the ouster of her prime minister brother in 2006. Look closer

Viewpoints July 14, 2013