Why is Libya exploding? Why are Iraq and Egypt always, even after many millennia, undemocratic? Why was there scarcely any looting or rioting in Japan even after the triple calamity of tsunami, earthquake and nuclear accident?Blame the rain. Or rather, the lack of it. Egypt and Libya boil over because precipitation levels there are among the lowest in the world. Japan has received enough rain over

Recently a family friend, knowing that I write books, asked how she could copyright her daughter’s poetry. For the record, the girl is 13. My answer ― don’t worry about it ― was the same one I give to writers fretful over Google’s plans to digitize the world’s books. Go ahead, Google. Scan my out-of-print works, now otherwise available for a penny (plus shipping) from used-book sellers on the Inte

Something fascinating is afoot in Japan: anger. People are fuming about the nuclear crisis that put their nation in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.The response is restrained compared with the perpetually aggrieved Tea Party crowd in the U.S., or Chinese who lash out at anyone abroad with the slightest criticism. Germans are plenty annoyed about bailing out deadbeat nations sharing the eur

Initial public offerings. Big takeovers. Nerdy 20-somethings getting rich quickly. To borrow a phrase from an old Prince song, the markets are suddenly partying like it’s 1999 again. The tech bubble is back. Facebook Inc. is commanding an enormous valuation. So are Groupon Inc., Twitter Inc. and LivingSocial.com. Even Rovio Mobile Oy, the small Finnish company behind the hit app Angry Birds, looks

BERKELEY ― Between 1950 and 1990 ― the days of old-fashioned inflation-fighting downturns engineered by the U.S. Federal Reserve ― America’s post-recession unemployment rate would fall on average 32.4 percent over the course of a year from its initial value toward its natural rate. If the U.S. unemployment rate had started to follow such a path after peaking in the second half of 2009, it would no

When former President Jimmy Carter last visited Cuba, in 2002, he delivered a remarkable speech via the state-run media that criticized the Castro dictatorship and exposed listeners to the truly revolutionary idea that it’s up to the Cuban people, not the one-party regime nor any foreign government, to determine Cuba’s future.Naturally, his visit raised hopes that this might represent an ever-so-s

Even people in the sports world are not free of this craze for money as more in-depth reports on the arrest of three soccer referees show. Lu Jun was arrested for taking bribes from local soccer teams. Before being exposed, he was known as the “golden whistle” for his “integrity.” He officiated in two matches at the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan. Praising the clean soccer administ

With U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday announcing his re-election campaign bid, the unofficial starting whistle for the 2012 election has been blown. In a highly unusual move, Obama will be the first U.S. president in modern history to place his campaign headquarters outside of the Washington D.C. and suburban Virginia corridor (basing it instead in his home city of Chicago). The president hop

Regarding the new “science-business belt” project, President Lee Myung-bak may believe that his administration is free to select any location for it, whether in Sejong City or anywhere. We cannot disagree, but we also consider the people of Chungcheong have justifiable reason to insist that the multitrillion won (multibillion dollar) project should be awarded to the central region.The science comp

At a small church in Florida, a 12-man “jury” picked from its members handed down a “guilty” verdict on the Quran. The Islamic holy book was then soaked in kerosene for an hour before it was set on fire. The mock trial had every ingredient of a comedy or a voodoo ritual.That little mischief had grave consequences, however. It touched off fierce protests in the Muslim world. In Afghanistan a score

Penalties meted out to many sumo wrestlers involved in bout-fixing must be a catalyst for eliminating this unseemly practice from the sumo world. The Japan Sumo Association announced Friday (April 1) that it had punished 23 wrestlers and sumo elders who had rigged bouts.The penalties, including “a recommendation to voluntarily retire” and two-year suspensions from sumo tournaments, were imposed on

Michele Bachmann, who is basically Sarah Palin with better articulation, appears to be mapping a 2012 Republican presidential bid. Swell. This means we’ll be hearing a lot more about how the socialists are coming to take away our incandescent lightbulbs.Seriously, this is one of Bachmann’s big causes. She happens to be flat wrong on the facts, but people who pay attention to facts probably wouldn’

WASHINGTON ― Col. Moammar Gadhafi has always depended on one strategic resource to hold his loopy government together, and that’s cash. But as the U.N.-backed coalition tightens its squeeze, Gadhafi is slowly running out of money ― and his inner circle is showing early signs of collapse. White House officials described a pressure campaign that is seizing Gadhafi’s assets, pounding his military and

American presidents routinely have been savaged: Abraham Lincoln was called a “hideous baboon,” Dwight Eisenhower a communist and Franklin D. Roosevelt was described with epithets unprintable in this space. Few if any, however, have had the very circumstances of their birth or childhood questioned, until Barack Obama.Claims by the so-called birther movement that the 44th president wasn’t born in A

NEW YORK ― Many factors underlay the ongoing upheavals in the Middle East: decades of corrupt and authoritarian rule, increasingly literate and digitally-connected societies, and skyrocketing world food prices. To top it off, throughout the Middle East (as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and most of South Asia), rapid population growth is fueling enormous demographic pressures.Egypt’s population, for e

PARIS ― The central paradox of French politics was confirmed once again on March 27. In a nationwide vote to select local authorities (the so-called Conseiller Gnral), the far-right National Front gained 11 percent of the votes cast, but secured only 0.1 percent of the seats.This discrepancy between the National Front’s popular strength and its actual representation has been a permanent feature of

Korea’s per capita income recovered to the $20,000 level last year on the back of robust economic growth and the Korean currency’s gain against the U.S. dollar. According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s per capita gross national income registered $20,759 in 2010, an increase of $3,566 over the previous year. Korea first crossed $20,000 in 2007 when its GNI per capita reached $21,695. But it dro

As expected, flames of anger have flared up in Busan and Daegu following the government’s decision on Wednesday to scrap President Lee Myung-bak’s election pledge to build an international airport in the southeastern part of the nation. In Busan, infuriated lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party resolved to promote the relocation of Gimhae International Airport to Gadeok Island on their own.

The unfolding crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is, of course, not just a problem for Japan alone.The future of the peaceful use of nuclear energy around the world rests with how effectively this country can cope with the situation.Because of a nearly unimaginable natural disaster ― a devastating earthquake and ensuing colossal tsunami ― the Fukushima plant’s reactors, which were c

The military in Burma may or may not be ready for meaningful and inclusive dialogue with the opposition as it handed over power on March 30 to the government elected last November. If it were so inclined, it could simply respond to the offer that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi made last weekend for talks to clear up “misunderstandings.” Even after the new, nominally civilian government take