Opinion

American democracy’s biggest losers: voters in closed-primary states

Halfway through the U.S. primary election season, at least one thing is clear: Voters in states that hold closed party primaries are, as usual, losing out. More than 20 states hold primaries in which only registered party members are eligible to participate. In a battleground state or district, that process can produce competitive general elections between Democrats and Republicans. But in areas where one party dominates, which is most of the country, it often leaves voters stuck with a single candidate who lacks majority support and reflects the priorities of ideological interest groups more than those of average voters. Take New York City’s recent primaries. In a four-way race for a Manhattan State Assembly district, the results were so close — the two leading candidates each have about 27 percent of the vote — that a recount may be required. But whoever comes out on top will not face a runoff — or a Republican, since none is running, which is the case in many other races, too. When Republicans, independents and third-party members arrive at the polls in November, joined by m

Is a European single market for energy such a good idea?

LONDON — Whatever happens with the US-Iran peace process and global energy prices, the strategic implications of this year’s supply disruptions are already clear. The crisis is further confirmation of the need to phase out fossil fuels, both to mitigate climate change and to strengthen energy security. But for Europe, which remains heavily dependent on imported energy, some less obvious implications may ultimately prove more consequential. To address the precipitous decline in its share of global GDP this century, Europe must lower its energy costs. European de-industrialization stems not just from the decline of energy-intensive output such as chemicals, fertilizers, and steel, but also from the fact that European industries pay twice as much for electricity as their U.S. and Chinese competitors. As long as that remains true, the continent will fall behind in the industries of the future, not least AI, which depends on power-guzzling computing power. We have all heard the optimistic pitch for a transition from imported fossil fuels to domestically produced, price-competitive renew

Blondie & Garfield - July 6 2026

ED Coupang's US entanglement

The decision by Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Trump administration to publicly accuse Korea of unfairly targeting Coupang marks a troubling escalation in bilateral tensions. What should have remained a regulatory dispute has now been elevated into a political and trade issue, with American politicians echoing allegations that Seoul is discriminating against a U.S.-owned e-commerce company. Every democratic nation has both the right and the obligation to enforce its laws, regardless of a company's nationality. Korea's investigation into Coupang arose from one of the country's largest reported customer data breaches, affecting more than 37 million users. Regulatory scrutiny also extended to corporate governance and competition matters that fall within the jurisdiction of Korean authorities. These actions were not initiated because the company is American-owned, but because they concerned alleged violations of Korean law. Yet the report issued by Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee portrayed these investigations as a coordinated campaign o

Forrest green

Forrest green

The 'new' 6.25 of Korean genealogy

Americans call it the Korean War. Koreans call the three-year fratricidal war that broke out on June 25, 1950, the “yug-i-o,” meaning the day the war began. Like Dec. 7, 1941 (“a day that will live in infamy” — FDR), or Sept. 11, 2001, these were days so horrific that the event is known by that day as a numeric. I’m going to suggest another meaning for 6.25. I’ve mentioned this briefly in a previous column when I was writing about the new jokbo in Korea. I presented this idea to the audience at the Global Forum that The Korea Times sponsored on the new Korean jokbo — “Not just grandfathers, but grandmothers jokbo, too.” In my presentation there, and I wrote about it in my column here, I suggested the new Korean jokbo will be similar to the Western jokbo — and at the same time, will recapture the traditional Korean jokbo before the male dominance, before the patrilineal takeover of the Korean jokbo. Koreans, before the late 17th century, kept what was called a “pal gojo-do.” The beginning structure in Western jokbo, or genealogy, what we now like to call “fami

Thinking in 3 languages

The biggest lesson I have learnt about language did not come from my Korean classroom. It came while reading an English essay written by my Korean student. Until recently, I assumed learning a language was mostly about memorizing vocabulary and grammar. After all, that is what language classes often seem to revolve around. Now, after studying English, Chinese and Korean, I have realized I was completely wrong. The hardest part of learning a new language is not learning new words or grammar. It is learning a new way of thinking. While marking my student's essay, I noticed a recurring pattern. He knew a lot of words and understood the grammar we had studied. Yet many of his sentences sounded awkward and unnatural. Every individual word was correct. Together, however, the sentences did not sound like English. Then I noticed something even more interesting. The mistakes were not random. They were predictable. Around the same time, a chapter in my Korean course at Korea University introduced the concept of language typology and explained that English, Chinese and Korean belong to three very di

Trump's financial gains flow through money landscape

President's financial gains flow through money landscape

MONDAY, July 6, 2026

1348-Papal bull of Pope Clement VI issued during the Black Death states Jews are not to blame and encourages their protection 1775-Congress issues the "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms," written by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson and lists American grievances but denies any intent to be independent 1785-U.S. Congress unanimously resolves to name the U.S. currency the "dollar" and adopts decimal coinage 1885-Louis Pasteur successfully gives an anti-rabies vaccine to 9-year-old Joseph Meister, saving his life 1923-The Central Executive Committee accepts the Treaty of Union, signed in Moscow in December 1922, and the Russian Empire becomes the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1967-Nigerian Civil War erupts as Nigerian forces invade the secessionist state of Biafra 1970-California passes the first no-fault divorce law in the United States

To avoid climate peril, the world must electrify

ISTANBUL — The cascade of shocks to the global economy over the past few months has offered a glimpse of our new reality. The Gulf conflict has taken an extraordinary—and dangerous—amount of oil, gas, and fertilizer off the market, and now a possible “super” El Niño cycle could bring more extreme weather. That means this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference — COP31 in Antalya, Turkey—will come just as millions of people have been pushed deeper into energy and food poverty, forced to suffer truly terrible conditions as they endure more severe natural disasters. These perils underscore the danger of continuing to depend on imported fossil fuels. Around 80% of the global population lives in countries that remain net importers of fossil fuels, and we have just witnessed how vulnerable this reliance leaves our economic security. Around the world, but especially in developing countries, the prices of essentials have spiked, financial conditions have deteriorated, and debt distress has spread. This latest global crisis further reinforces the need for cleaner, more