On May 1, the European Union nearly doubled its membership and barely anyone seemed to notice. Although ten countries joined the EU, adding 34 percent more territory and 28 percent more people to the now 25-state structure, news coverage was relatively scant. The world’s attention has been focused on Iraq and the run-up to the… Continue reading A New and Improved Europe
Americans go to the polls today to choose a president and a direction for the country to take over the next four years. As always, given the indomitable optimism of Americans, voters are hoping that one party or the other will be given the mandate to solve the major problems of the day. Whoever wins… Continue reading Election Day Hangover
North Korean Surprises U.S. pundits and policymakers routinely label North Korea “unpredictable.” Yes, Pyongyang has sprung a number of surprises on the world. It launched a rocket over Japan in 1998. It pursued a secret uranium enrichment program. It has sent boats and submarines on mysterious missions to South Korea and Japan. But once you… Continue reading North Korean Surprises
China has come a long way since 1989. Its expanding economy is the envy of the world and the engine of growth in East Asia. Entry to the lucrative China market is sought by businesses competing ferociously worldwide. Internationally, Beijing has also been playing a larger and more constructive role, as in its mediation in… Continue reading China: It’s the Money, not Tiananmen, that Counts
It happened nearly 25 years ago, but the old woman’s grief was still raw. We were queued up to lay flowers on the ceremonial table with its pyramids of fruit and platters of pounded rice cake. At the head of the line was a group of victims’ mothers, clad in white. Each lay a single… Continue reading The Spirit of Kwangju
It looked like they were giving away food. The crowd was practically euphoric at the recent opening of Costco’s third Tokyo-area store along the bay in Yokohama. The aisles were filled with shoppers who marveled at the almost cartoonish quantities of produce and formed polite lines in front of the more popular food samples. Customers… Continue reading Super-Size Me, Tokyo Style
There is no Vaclav Havel of North Korea. Don’t expect to turn up a Solidarity-like trade union or a Democracy Wall movement on your next visit to Pyongyang. Nor, as far as anyone can tell, is a North Korean version of Boris Yeltsin or even Mikhail Gorbachev waiting in the wings to shake up the… Continue reading Next Stop: Pyongyang
The transatlantic brawl between the United States and Europe over genetically modified (GM) food is attracting much of the media’s interest. Billions of dollars in sales, the genetic fate of food crops, and the future safety of human beings hinge on this debate between skeptical Europeans and American technophiles. But it is in Asia that… Continue reading Asia Holds the Key to the Future of GM Food
The Crime of Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution professionals routinely intervene in bloody, horrific wars and, by talking to all sides involved, try to guide the actors toward a more peaceful conclusion. Sounds like noble work, right? Not always, according to the USA PATRIOT Act. This sweeping assault on civil liberties – approved just after… Continue reading Who’s a Terrorist?