My doorbell rang unexpectedly on Sunday (March 6) afternoon.I wasn’t expecting guests, but I guess the two uninvited ones at my door belong to an organization that is not in the habit of ringing ahead to announce its arrival.The two uniformed Chinese policemen at my door, accompanied by a staff member of the estate management, did not introduce themselves or show any identification. Perhaps they f

Before he was accused of being an anti-Semitic drunk, before videos surfaced of him calling people “ugly Jews” and professing his love for Adolf Hitler, designer John Galliano was a long-time fashion darling who wowed the sartorial elite, season after season, as the creative force behind luxury fashion house Christian Dior.On March 1, at the height of the controversy, Dior fired its creative direc

State-run corporations never cease to amaze us. According to a report released by Rep. Kwon Kyung-seok of the ruling Grand National Party, 22 state-run corporations spent 1.75 trillion won last year to pay bonuses to their employees, in crass disregard for their snowballing debts.These corporations paid 14.5 million won on average to each employee last year, an increase of 46.5 percent from the pr

Was she a mere visa broker or a spy of a Chinese intelligence agency? This question comes to mind first when we hear that several Korean diplomats at the consulate in Shanghai are accused of having affairs with a Chinese woman and leaking classified information to her.The scandal first surfaced in November last year but the ministries whose officers were suspected of being involved in it did not b

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would allow hateful protests at military funerals has resulted in a public debate over the limits of free speech. The court ruled that the First Amendment protected those who engaged in a venomous protest at the funeral of a Marine who had died in Iraq. Protesters from Westboro Baptist Church, whose headquarters are in Kansas, appeared at the funeral holding

Dance, monkey, dance.That’s what the United States has long shouted at immigrants and ethnic groups suspected of being disloyal. The nation asks its newcomers to perform in meaningless ways to “prove” they belong here.The dancers change, but not the dance. Because the United States is continually incorporating immigrants, the perceived threat of betrayal is constant. This week, Rep. Peter T. King,

The spread of popular revolt in the Middle East to Libya has exacerbated a spike in oil prices and gasoline costs at the pump. In turn, this has stimulated widespread complaints about the lack of a coherent U.S. foreign policy toward despots in the region. This is not the first time this has happened.More than four decades ago, a military coup, led by a 27-year-old Moammar Gadhafi, overthrew Libya

Hugo Chavez is trying to come to the rescue of his friend and fellow “colonel,” Moammar Gadhafi. The Venezuelan president has offered to mediate Libya’s civil war, and warned against any foreign intervention in support of Libya’s opposition, which now controls much of the east of the country, including the port of Benghazi, home of the Hugo Chavez soccer stadium. The Venezuelan government even rai

Translating legal documents from one language to another is anything but easy, and all the more so, given that less than clear-cut wording found in the original is often a source of legal dispute. It may be human to err in such a case.But a mismatch between figures in the original and the corresponding ones in a translated version is not a matter concerning translation. Such an error results from

Jang Ja-yeon, an aspiring actress, killed herself in March 2009, claiming that she had been forced into prostitution by her management agency. Those who had allegedly been provided with sexual favors included top business managers and news media representatives.Her suicide caused a public uproar, forcing the police to launch a seemingly extensive probe into the sexual slavery case. But the investi

Japaneses Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara has admitted in a meeting of the House of Councillors Budget Committee that he received political donations from a South Korean resident living in Kyoto.This is a problem that cannot be forgiven just because the amount of money involved was small or because he may not have received it intentionally.The Political Funds Control Law prohibits politicians from

It would take most of us a few dozen lifetimes to amass 2 million followers on Twitter. And yet Charlie Sheen managed it in less than a week.Last month, CBS Corp. discontinued the hit comedy show “Two and a Half Men” after Sheen’s public jousting with senior management over a binge that the wild-man actor has described as “epic” and “radical.” Since then, he has become one of the biggest names on