Word: testing
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Surviving the gauntlet of misfortune early in a relationship can be a valuable litmus test, say counselors. A relationship crisis "smashes the illusion of invulnerability," says William Doherty, a psychologist and marriage researcher who runs the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota. That illusion, he says, "was going to go away anyway, and I don't think there's any great loss to it going away sooner than later...
...what about all those unlucky couples whose early years are marked by nothing but peace and happiness - what is their litmus test? There are two key predictors of a resilient relationship, experts say: mutual support and a willingness to sacrifice. In a recent study of newlyweds who became first-time parents, Gottman found that two-thirds suffered sharp drops in happiness during their child's infancy, under the strain of new parenthood. But for one-third of couples, the experience was cohesive and increased intimacy. Gottman says he could predict which couples would blossom under stress: those in whom, years...
...current mission was quite different. In addition to freedom for Ling and Lee, Clinton no doubt intended to explore ways to arrest the diplomatic downward spiral that's ensued since Obama entered the White House in January. The North has tested its second nuclear bomb (the first test was in October 2006) as well as a long-range missile and has said it has no intention of ever rejoining the so-called six-party talks - the Bush Administration's ultimately futile attempt to get the North to, in effect, re-enact the Agreed Framework of the Clinton era. (See pictures...
...Seoul, a Foreign Ministry think tank. Ratchet up the nuclear tensions, declare diplomacy dead, and then hope to win even bigger concessions as talks reconvene later. But since taking office, Obama has proved no slouch at playing the game from the other side. In the wake of the nuclear test this past spring, the President dropped the rhetoric of engagement, went to the U.N. for new economic sanctions against Pyongyang and - perhaps most important - had his Treasury Department start to put into effect unilateral financial sanctions against North Korean companies and individuals. It was precisely those sorts of sanctions...
...recent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand, Hillary Clinton said talks were the "only place" North Korea had left to go. She was right. The U.S. and its partners in the six-party talks ratcheted up the North's isolation after its second nuclear test back in May. Even China, the North's principal patron, was dismayed by Pyongyang's behavior. Now, however, the Clinton visit arguably puts the onus of international diplomacy back on the Obama Administration, which came into office very much wanting to engage the North...