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August 05, 2025

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COMMENTARY

Aug 17, 2012

Ryan invites a 'conversation'

By Robert J. Samuelson

The selection of Paul Ryan — chairman of the House Budget Committee — as Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate has the potential to turn this dreary presidential campaign into a meaningful debate over the size and role of the federal government.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 16, 2012

Spillover could force Washington to consider how to end Syria's war

By Kenneth M. Pollack

"The beginning of wisdom," a Chinese saying goes, "is to call things by their right names." And the right name for what is happening in Syria — and has been for more than a year — is an all-out civil war.

COMMENTARY

Aug 16, 2012

Civilians sweep up in Egypt

By Gwynne Dyer

Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi's spokesman did not mince words. He said that the "retirement" of all the senior military commanders in the country represented the completion of the Egyptian revolution. And guess what? The rest of the officer corps accepted Morsi's decision.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 16, 2012

Five myths about Obama's economic stimulus

By Michael Grunwald

President Barack Obama's February 2009 stimulus bill, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was a political disaster. It helped fuel the Republican revival of 2010 and now stars in Mitt Romney's ads. The president even stopped uttering the word "stimulus."

COMMENTARY

Aug 15, 2012

Economics of austerity don't add up

By Gregory Clark

Do Europe's budget-cutting austerity-minded planners understand simple math? They say they have to embrace austerity policies to reduce excessive national debt. But those policies inevitably cut tax revenues more than they cut spending. National debt increases rather than decreases. Worse, recovery from...

COMMENTARY

Aug 15, 2012

India and Pakistan: Come and dream with me

By Ramesh Thakur

This week (Tuesday and Wednesday), Pakistan and India are celebrating their conjoined independence days. Their rivalry has sabotaged India's tryst with destiny as a global power and Pakistan's ambition to be the leading light of the Islamic world. Will 2047 mark 100 years of solitude in bilateral relations...

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 15, 2012

Iran is not the cause of Syria's worsening crisis

By Ali Akbar Salehi

We humans often make the mistake of not learning from history, even when it is recent. Civil war in the Levant is not a thing of the distant past. With Syria descending into worsening violence, the 15-year Lebanese civil war should provide frightening lessons of what happens when the fabric of a society...

COMMENTARY

Aug 14, 2012

China betting on wrong side in Syrian conflict

By Frank Ching

On the weekend before last, the United Nations General Assembly voted, 133 to 12, for a resolution that condemned the violence in Syria and called for a "political transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people."

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 14, 2012

Psychological imperative of a euro commitment

By Peter Sutherland

When Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, publicly proclaimed that the ECB would do "whatever it takes" to ensure the future stability of the euro, the effect of his remarks was immediate and remarkable. Borrowing costs fell dramatically for the governments of Italy and Spain; stock...

COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE

Aug 13, 2012

The power reform charade

On July 13, "Basic Policies for Reforming the Electric Power System" was released by a panel of experts organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). It was subtitled "Aiming for an Power System Open to All Citizens."

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 13, 2012

Five things Washington could do for Syrians

By Zalmay Khalilzad

The United States has a window to facilitate an orderly transition in Syria without deploying military force. But the window is narrowing — and the Obama administration will need to adjust its political strategy to succeed.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 13, 2012

Don't blame Glass-Steagall repeal for the crisis

By Barry Ritholtz

When the Titanic set sail from Southampton on April 10, 1912, bound for New York, it was called "unsinkable." This was before that chance encounter in the North Atlantic with a large iceberg. You know how that movie ended.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.

With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear

By Jason Coskrey

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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