Financial Times (November 24)
“The coronavirus outbreak has exposed Japan’s tardiness on digitization, which posed hurdles as the country tried to adopt online medicine and other digital tools to curb the outbreak.” However, Taro Kono’s “assault on the seal reveals new premier Yoshide Suga’s determination to reform the hidebound state. Hanko seals are universal in Japanese culture…. But they clash with Mr Suga’s move to a digital agency with more government services online.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Determination, Digitization, Hanko, Hidebound, Hurdles, Japan, Kono, Online medicine, Outbreak, Reform, Seal, Suga, Tardiness
Ekathimerini (August 19)
“Greece’s formal exit from the bailout program does not mean that the country has reached the end of an era and is turning over a brand-new leaf.” During the next phase, Greece will require “even more determination and discipline to meet stringent targets and push through more reforms that will help it get back on its feet.”
Tags: Bailout, Determination, Discipline, Era, Exit, Greece, Reforms, Targets
Chicago Tribune (June 5)
“The stoic determination and decency of the British people and their leaders was on full display in the hours after the latest horrific terrorist rampage.” In contrast, President Trump “acted like a clod, a heartless and dull-witted thug in sending out a series of tweets” on the London attacks. “One is prompted to ask if he is off his rocker. But this is vintage Trump — impulsive and cruel, without an ounce of class or human decency.” With his tweets, Trump has embarrassed “himself—and America—once again.”
Tags: Attacks, Clod, Decency, Determination, Embarrassed, London, Stoic, Terrorist rampage, Thug, Trump, Tweets, U.S., UK
New York Times (January 29, 2014)
President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address to Congress. It “acknowledged the obvious: Congress has become a dead end for most of the big, muscular uses of government to redress income inequality and improve the economy for all, because of implacable Republican opposition.” The President’s determination to bypass Congress and do whatever he can to get things done without legislation is realistic: “Mr. Obama should employ every tool in his box to bypass those barriers.”
Tags: Barriers, Bypass, Congress, Determination, Economy, Government, Inequality, Legislation, Obama, Opposition, President, Republicans, State of the Union