Opinions
Democratic candidates vow unity but conflict escalates
Democratic presidential candidates have spent weeks reassuring voters they can unify the party, avoid the divisions that plagued the 2016 primary and defeat President Donald Trump in the fall. Instead, the scars of that battle are being ripped open less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses. With tensions already… Read
Baseball has become a prisoner of technology
Technology unleashed baseball's Analytics Era, and now it's holding the sport prisoner. AJ Hinch, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltrán are casualties, a triple play of hubris. At the cutting edge with the Houston Astros, now they have been cut. Their sign-stealing system exposed, all three managers were deposed within a… Read
Davos faces up to towering global challenges
Global decision-makers gather in Davos starting Tuesday for their annual meeting, with challenges facing the planet -- from climate change to conflict in the Middle East -- as imposing as the Alps that surround the Swiss resort. Observers fear the annual World Economic Forum will serve only to again expose… Read
Royal rift: UK monarchy will look smaller when dust settles
Prince Charles, the future king, has long been seen as a potential modernizer who wants a more modest monarchy in line with other European royal households — and the streamlining process has already begun with the astounding developments of recent months. But the changes have come at a terrible cost… Read
Putin and Xi ruler-for-life moves pose challenges to West
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping have established themselves as the world’s most powerful authoritarian leaders in decades. Now it looks like they want to hang on to those roles indefinitely. Putin's sudden announcement this week of constitutional changes that could allow him to extend control way beyond the… Read
Does the naked body belong on Facebook? It’s complicated
When is a photograph of nude bodies artistic or titillating? A woman's exposed nipple a political statement or erotica? A video of childbirth might show genitalia. Should what someone considers a celebration of life be censored? In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart declined to define what constitutes obscenity… Read
Why the Ukrainian plane tragedy is unlikely to lead to global airspace rules
Why was the Ukrainian airliner mistakenly shot down near Tehran by Iranian forces last week for the loss of 176 lives even allowed to take off from a country that had just fired missiles towards its neighbor? And why didn't the airline just delay or cancel the flight? In short… Read
Questions of racism linger as Harry, Meghan step back
When accomplished, glamorous American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, she was hailed as a breath of fresh air for Britain’s fusty royal family. That honeymoon didn’t last. Now the couple wants independence, saying the pressure of life as full-time royals is unbearable. And a debate is raging:… Read
Taiwan election signals growing divide with China
The landslide reelection of Taiwan’s leader underscores the population’s embrace of an identity distinct from China — a shift that the communist leaders of China refuse to accept. It’s a contradiction that will keep the island of 23 million people at odds with its much larger neighbor for the foreseeable… Read
Your money or your life: Can nations prosper by putting well-being before GDP?
With protests from Chile to Hong Kong last year over widening inequality, violence against women, and climate change, more policymakers and campaigners started to openly debate potential shifts away from an economic model that relies on growth. New Zealand became the first nation to introduce a Wellbeing Budget that requires… Read
