In the final presidential debate, when explaining why the Navy has fewer ships than in 1916, President Obama famously quipped that the United States also has “fewer horses and bayonets,” setting off a debate over quality versus quantity. In the Arctic ― an increasingly important part of the world ― the situation is simpler. When it comes to patrolling and securing the Arctic, the United States has neither quality nor quantity.The rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice is opening up previously unnav

One of the greatest ironies of the 2012 presidential campaigns was that both candidates framed the U.S. as a champion of free trade under assault from malevolent “cheaters.” In fact, the U.S. is basically the world’s biggest loner.Trade accounted for about 29.2 percent of U.S. economic activity in 2010. That makes the U.S. the most closed of all developed nations according to “trade intensity,” which is calculated as the sum of exports and imports, divided by gross domestic product.Only one othe

Barack Obama’s trip to Myanmar is a gift from the photo-opportunity gods. The sight of the U.S. president standing beside political-prisoner-turned-Nobel- laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon will be a heart-warming moment for a world yearning for good news. The most remarkable thing about Obama’s first trip abroad since his re-election is his itinerary. During the four-day journey that starts tomorrow, Obama will bypass China as well as such staunch Pacific allies as Australia, Japan and South K

Congressional gridlock is dead. Long live constructive bipartisanship in our nation’s capital.Well, that’s not reality ― yet. But it’s encouraging that President Barack Obama and other leaders in Washington are talking more about shared sacrifices needed to deal with the country’s real priorities.They include working together to reduce the deficit and reform entitlements by making sound compromises that cut spending and raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.During his press conference Wednesda

George Entwistle’s tenure as head of the British Broadcasting Corp. must rank among the shortest and unhappiest in the history of media: It lasted just 54 days and included two pedophilia-related news scandals, one formal apology to the victims and a resignation speech.The scandals (more on those later) have severely damaged the BBC’s reputation as one of the world’s finest media organizations ― fine enough to tempt the New York Times to hire Entwistle’s predecessor, Mark Thompson, as chief exec

The government of French President Francois Hollande deserves credit for its decision last week to cut payroll taxes. Unfortunately, by itself, the 20 billion euro ($25 billion) reduction in costs for companies won’t administer the “competitiveness shock” that a dire, government-commissioned study recommended Nov. 5 to revive growth. It certainly won’t allay the concerns of France’s largest trading partner, Germany, whose own economy would be at risk from a meltdown across the Rhine. As Germany’

The incumbent U.S. President Barack Obama narrowly won a majority of the popular vote against the Republican challenger Mitt Romney, 50.6 percent to 47.9 percent. However, he won a commanding majority among the fast-growing Latino (71 percent) and Asian populations (73 percent), along with African-Americans (93 percent), according to New York Times exit polls. In other words, he swept groups representing the “Global South” or “Majority World” regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia. According

Last year, the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation released a report on the achievement and tasks of English education policies focused on practical English. According to the report, more than 90 percent of elementary school students and their parents, 86 percent of middle school students and their parents, and 76 percent of high school students and their parents said that a balanced education of four skills ― reading, listening, speaking and writing ― would enhance students’ ability to

Recently, there has been great excitement within the baseball community here in Korea with regards to the possible MLB acquisition of Ryu Hyun-jin, a southpaw who throws for the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. It comes as no surprise, then, that the organization on the other end that is interested is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who, given their long history, have a proud tradition of welcoming new talent across cultural divides into the Big Leagues. Beginning in 1947, with the signing of Jackie Robinson, and