Northeast Asia a region without regionalism The last week once again demonstrated to the world the sad truth about the inability of Northeast Asian nations to establish good working relations in political and economic spheres. The ambitious plan to build a free trade zone across China, Korea..
Chen signals maturity in US-Chinese relations Whatever you say about Chen Guangcheng's amazing journey from house arrest in China's Shandong province last month to an improbable free-wheeling news conference Saturday in Manhattan, you can't call it a triumph of human rights. Chen's extended fa..
Making Fifth Amendment optional The framers of the U.S. Constitution were admirably clear, or so they and we thought, when they wrote in the Fifth Amendment that no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law ... "
NATO summit illustrates political complexities "The military-industrial complex" was the theme of Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address as he completed two terms in the White House, sustaining remarkably strong public support throughout that tenure. At the time, the speech was largely ignored..
Paradox of China's reform NEW YORK The compelling drama of former Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilais ouster amid allegations of corruption and murder, and of blind Chinese human-rights advocate Chen Guangchengs dash to safety in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, are ..
Political battle over regulation of health insurance in US The stage is set for an immense political clash over regulation of health insurance with multibillion-dollar stakes and an impact on virtually every Californian.
Are Senate filibusters unconstitutional? Common Cause, a liberal advocacy group, announced it was bringing a lawsuit challenging Senate filibusters. Filibusters allow individual senators to delay legislation until it receives the backing of 60 senators a "supermajority" of the chamber'..
Why Europe still needs nuclear deterrence RIGA/VILNIUS/WARSAW In recent months, we have joined discussions led by former United States Senator Sam Nunn, former British Minister of Defense Lord Desmond Browne, and others to find a way to reduce nuclear weapons in Europe. Although we full..
Why do drug shortages persist? Carey Fitzmaurice, a mother of two in Bethesda, Md., was battling ovarian cancer last spring with Doxil, a key part of a chemotherapy mixture that looked as if it was working. But last summer, supplies of Doxil dried up. When we spoke to Fitzmauric..
Job market begins to show faint signs of life The nation's unemployment rate dropped dramatically and unexpectedly last month to 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent, a level at which it had been expected to be stuck for awhile.
Obama put eagles on green-energy altar When bald eagles confront danger, most normal Americans would leap to preserve, protect and defend America's national symbol. But Team Obama's response is completely different: It wants to give wind-power companies long-term permits to butcher bald..
Smartest Ways to Save World COPENHAGEN If you had $75 billion to spend over the next four years and your goal was to advance human welfare, especially in the developing world, how could you get the most value for your money?
For teachers, insults just keep coming You can call it what you want tax savings, cost cutting or budget restraint Florida's public school teachers are under siege. And from the Panhandle to Key West, many teachers say that as a result of how they are being treated, morale is as l..
Oil and Isolation NAIROBI In Kenya, there is a running gag that sums up how far away the Turkana people live from the rest of us. When a Turkana man leaves for the capital, Nairobi, the joke goes, he tells his family, Im going to Kenya.
Earmarks quietly looking to make a comeback Quietly very quietly, because you're not supposed to notice it House Republican leaders are beginning to talk about bringing back earmarks.
Incentives for Europe integration are political Elections in Europe, from one end to the other, predictably have generated anxiety, especially given tensions within the European Union between the austerity-preaching Germans and others, notably the Greeks. However, that is a misreading of both th..
Sen. Lugar's last lesson became his finest legacy He is today the Washington That Was. The best of it, by far.
