Such is the Indian and Pakistani leadership’s obsession with high-profile “event-oriented” diplomacy that they sought to exploit the craze for cricket to revitalize people-to-people contact without taking two realities into consideration. One, that the cricketing calendar was overcrowded, the players so heavily committed, that squeezing in even a short bilateral series was virtually impossible; tw

The coming royal wedding in England and the beatification of Pope John Paul II in Rome will afford the world a chance to see how two ancient institutions ― the monarchy and the papacy ― reinforce their claim to perpetuity and continuing relevance by a show of pomp and pageantry. Supposed to be historical rivals, especially considering their religious wars since the 16th century, these two institut

Fox Business reporter Peter Barnes began his televised interview with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner last week with this question: “Is there a risk that the United States could lose its AAA credit rating? Yes or no?” Geithner’s response: “No risk of that.” “No risk?” Barnes asked. “No risk,” Geithner said. It’s enough to make you wonder: How could Geithner know this to be true? The short answer i

So Naoto Kan is a goner. That’s the word in traumatized Tokyo. Japan’s prime minister had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get his mojo back in the five weeks since a record earthquake and tsunami. He failed, and pundits wonder if he will make it to his first anniversary in office in June. Kan would be the fifth to go in five years. Investors harbor a well-honed cynicism about Japanese leaders. They

If you wanted to leave your job and your boss asked if you could stick around until your replacement was chosen, how long would you be willing to wait? A week? A month? Well, Daniel Hurley has been waiting two years.That would not be any concern to most of us except that Hurley is a federal judge. And his plight reflects a growing national problem: vacancies on the federal bench at a time when cas

Napping on the job will be strictly forbidden. Sounds reasonable, but is it?Following the discovery of several air traffic controllers caught sleeping on duty in recent weeks, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood handed down a no-napping edict this past weekend.But can a government edict prevent bone-tired air traffic controllers working the midnight shift, the swing shift or two shifts in a r

North Korea has recently made a desperate international appeal for food aid. Reports from aid workers and international nongovernmental organizations warn of a major food shortage. As the United States deliberates whether to restart a food aid program in North Korea, it must consider the following questions: Is there a true humanitarian need, can we address the potential risk of food diversion and

Concerns about the safety of the nuclear reactors in Korea are growing as problems arise in succession at the reactors of the Gori nuclear power plant near Busan. The Gori-1 reactor, the oldest in Korea, which started operation in 1978, shut down on April 12 after a fire destroyed one of its circuit breakers. At first, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said a defective power switch caused the power

The Korean economy is sitting on a ticking time bomb ― household debt that has topped 800 trillion won. To figure out the risks that this huge debt bomb poses to the national economy, one has only to remember that one percentage point hike in interest rates would increase the interest payment burden on households by 8 trillion won a year. No wonder the Bank of Korea has been hesitant to raise the

Some political candidates campaigned last fall with a promise to “Take Back Our Country” and urged states to follow Arizona’s lead in enacting state immigration laws that would fill the void left by a neglectful federal government.The fervor grew intense as they whipped up a lather of fear. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer talked about headless bodies being dumped near the border with Mexico (which she lat