Singaporeans are raring to do something extraordinary: protest. That might not seem like a big deal with the Arab Spring uprisings; Chinese journalists taking to the streets; and thousands of typically docile Japanese rallying against government policies. But tropical Singapore is the land of quiet brooding, where mass street demonstrations are as common as snowstorms. What has people so riled up? Well, people. The impetus for the Feb. 16 march is a report that the tiny island’s population may r

Viewpoints Feb. 18, 2013

North Korea has conducted its anticipated nuclear test. Unfortunately, our deterrent policy failed again. It was more than a simple provocation. The test should be seen as a diplomatic and military challenge targeting new leaders in Korea, China and Japan, and the second Obama administration. Now it is time to decide how to respond, taking into account the possibility that North Korea could take further actions after our response. While considering appropriate sanctions, we need to realize that

Viewpoints Feb. 18, 2013

It’s debatable whether President Barack Obama can revive U.S. manufacturing, as he proposed in his State of the Union address. It isn’t debatable whether he should try. The U.S. can already go toe-to-toe with (or beat) other countries on energy costs, workforce quality, supply networks and legal rights ― even if it can’t (and shouldn’t) compete over wages and environmental controls. If Congress cherry-picked just a handful of ideas from Obama’s long list of proposals, the U.S. could jump the com

Viewpoints Feb. 17, 2013

State of the Union addresses are traditionally laundry lists of policy proposals. U.S. President Barack Obama’s this week started that way, but it ended as the most emotional speech before a joint session of Congress in modern memory. The theatrics of the event also introduced a new approach to framing the public debate that could yield unexpected victories for the president in the next year or two. Obama made liberal use of what in Washington are sometimes called “Skutniks.” This is a reference

Viewpoints Feb. 17, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan ― It was one of the most emotional moments in Sunday’s handoff ceremony, as Gen. John Allen passed command of U.S. troops in Afghanistan over to Gen. Joe Dunford. To loud applause, Allen recognized two Afghan students sitting in the front row, saying they were like his children, and they represented the future for which U.S. and Afghan troops fought.Allen was correct. The fate of Mustafa and Somaya, two orphans who attend the extraordinary Marefat School in Kabul, will reveal

Viewpoints Feb. 17, 2013

With less than 10 days left before President-elect Park Geun-hye is sworn in, the shape of the administration she will run still remains undecided due to a partisan gridlock over the government reorganization bill.The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party had agreed to pass the bill through the National Assembly by Feb. 14 to give Park time to finalize the Cabinet lineup before her inauguration on Feb. 25.But they simply let the deadline pass without making any pro

Editorial Feb. 15, 2013

A Seoul court has meted out a heavy punishment to an entrepreneur charged with offshore tax evasion. It sentenced Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Cido Shipping, to four years in jail and 234 billion won in fines for hiding money offshore to evade taxes. He was imprisoned immediately after the verdict.The ruling, although not final, carries much significance as it comes amid a move by the National Tax Service to crack down on offshore tax evasion as part of its campaign to increase tax revenue. Kwon, a re

Editorial Feb. 15, 2013

Over the next days, we’ll learn more vital details about Tuesday’s nuclear test by North Korea.We’ll discover how powerful the blast was ― Pyongyang’s first test in 2006 was widely seen as a partial dud. Its second in 2009 was more impressive but still smaller than expected. Early estimates of Tuesday’s blast suggest the North Koreans are beginning to master nuclear devices with substantial explosive power.We’ll likely learn if Pyongyang has built a nuclear weapon of enriched uranium, a major st

Viewpoints Feb. 15, 2013

Venezuelans are hungry.Food shortages in this oil-rich state are reaching record levels, and many consumers now have to lurk around behind grocery stores, hoping the merchant will open the back door and sell them corn flour, sugar, cooking oil, chicken ― even toilet paper ― for as much as double the state-set price. An average loaf of bread now costs almost $10.Those high prices are illegal. The socialist state of President Hugo Chavez long ago set price controls for most consumer items. But wit

Viewpoints Feb. 14, 2013

Signaling that it has no intention of bowing to international demands that it cease its efforts to become a nuclear power, North Korea on Tuesday at 11: 57 a.m. local time detonated a nuclear device, a first for the regime of Kim Jong-un and the country’s third experimental nuclear explosion following tests in 2006 and 2009.The latest nuclear test will further destabilize the East Asian region and the implementation of tougher sanctions in response will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolati

Viewpoints Feb. 14, 2013

The Thai government is about to award huge contracts as part of its flood prevention plan; is there any hope the plan will be free of corruption?The massive 350-billion baht ($11.7 billion) water management plan that the government initiated in response to the disastrous floods in late 2011 could end up like the aborted Hopewell project or the corruption-plagued Klong Dan Wastewater Treatment Project in Samut Prakan. If the government cannot ensure transparency in the bidding process and engage

Viewpoints Feb. 14, 2013

North Korea’s nuclear weapons development has entered a more dangerous stage. In light of the deteriorating security environment, Japan should strengthen its deterrence against Pyongyang in cooperation with the United States and other countries.On Tuesday, North Korea went ahead with its third underground nuclear test. It was the first nuclear test under the regime of Kim Jong-un.Pyongyang boasted that it successfully conducted a “high-level” nuclear test using “a miniaturized and lighter” nucle

Viewpoints Feb. 14, 2013