Over the last two centuries, the “German question” -- how to contain a Germany whose dominance was buttressed by its commanding size, high productive capacity and geographic position at the heart of Europe -- has occasioned much worry and not a little warfare. Today, with the collapse of negotiations to form a new government coalition, the question has been turned on its head. European leaders worry that Germany is becoming incapable of assuming enough leadership to guide and champion Europe in

A woman of 40 is something of a rarity in the startup culture, and those who do exist are usually on the incubating side, and not the actual founding of companies.So to me, a woman of 40, the local startup scene feels like a vibrant stage filled with young actors and actresses whose enthusiasm is almost contagious. And for the first few months that we started covering startups in earnest, I felt this truly was a place where new things could happen, where we really might have the honor of witness

“They are more worried about us than we are about them.” These words of self-reproach are often heard in open prayers during Sunday services or revival sessions at retreat centers held by members of Christian churches. “They” of course means the outside world, which is the common subject of Christians’ pleas to God for protection from all kinds of evil. Secular matters that are often mentioned in church services, in both individual and collective prayers by the clergy as well as congregants, inc

Most Koreans over the age of 40 remember November 1997 very well. Concern over rising corporate debt in the summer and over the spreading financial crisis in Southeast Asia caused sharp stock market declines and a steadily weakening won. The Bank of Korea tried to prop up the value of the won, but abandoned the effort as foreign reserves were being depleted. The government requested aid from the International Monetary Fund, but the crisis continued to worsen South Korea’s credit rating. In early

Recently, I watched the Korean film “Train to Busan” with great enthusiasm. Initially I thought the movie must be one of those low-budget horror movies, or a cheap imitation of Hollywood zombie movies at best. I know the genre quite well. Therefore, nothing is new or fresh to me when it comes to zombie movies. To my surprise, however, I found “Train to Busan” refreshing and mesmerizing. Of course, the format was familiar and there had already been a foreign movie about a runaway train full of zo

Nearly two weeks after the double political explosion that rocked Riyadh, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to be doing damage control in ways that may help stabilize Saudi Arabia and the region.　The first bombshell was the Nov. 4 arrest on corruption charges of 201 prominent Saudis, including princes and government ministers. Now MBS, as the 32-year-old crown prince is known, is beginning a resolution process that may settle many of these cases out of court.　A senior Saudi official told

Amid all the fear of robots taking human jobs, skeptical voices have been asking: Where are these robots? Machine-learning systems -- commonly marketed as artificial intelligence, but really closer to fancy statistical algorithms -- are beating humans at games, improving search algorithms and transforming industry in countless small ways. But so far, the machine-learning boom hasn’t done anything to reverse the slump in productivity growth.Now, it’s possible that productivity gains are just bein

Consumers have power. Companies know it. Just look at how quickly Keurig pulled its ads from Sean Hannity’s Fox News show over his coverage of Roy Moore’s alleged child molestation. Indeed, strategically spent big media money can take down talk show hosts, cut into the bank accounts of pro athletes and even elect an American president.Imagine if consumers demanded the same kind of accountability from the American corporations that are bankrolling Moscow’s information-warfare campaign against US