Bullying is nothing new, and neither is the recent surge in school violence a new global phenomenon. Ours is an educational system that generates a vicious circle of ruthless competition and for those left behind, well, there’s either one of two choices: succumb to failure or lash out at the powers that be. In the case of the former, who often become victims of bullying, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by a perceived sense of helplessness and worthlessness. These poor souls feel as if they have n

In 1912, the RMS Titanic, the largest and most advanced passenger liner of its day, sank in the Atlantic Ocean, reminding the world there was no such thing as an invincible ship. The Costa Concordia, a cruise ship so enormous that it is essentially a floating town, lies half submerged off the coast of Italy, making the same point today. The Titanic tragedy, which claimed some 1,500 lives, ushered in a new era in maritime safety law. A century later, the Costa Concordia debacle, in which 11 peopl

Blustering and fuming, Iran seems to be spoiling for war.The United States and Iran have treated each other with outright hostility for more than three decades now, ever since the mullahs captured the Iranian revolution in 1979 and then sent students to seize the American embassy. But never before has the relationship teetered so close to military conflict.Even with the atmosphere freighted with bellicosity, the threats and hostile acts keep coming. On Sunday Iran issued a stark warning, saying

As the world continues to be filled with more and more sophisticated, computerized and automated machines, certain jobs have inevitably begun to fade and disappear. A few days ago, I noticed a huge Blockbuster Video store near my house had closed down. The once prosperous video/DVD rental business filed for bankruptcy due to competition from Netflix, which won over customers through enticing offers such as: “Instantly watch as many movies as you want for only $8 a month!” and “Unlimited TV episo

The Korean economy will face greater risks this year as the Seoul government has agreed to reduce its oil imports from Iran gradually in response to a U.S. request to participate in global sanctions against the Middle East country. Washington has officially asked Seoul to cut its purchases of oil from Iran and unwind financial dealings with the Central Bank of Iran as part of its campaign to drive the Tehran government toward more serious negotiations over its nuclear program.Given its close rel

The government keeps saying it would resist any attempts by political parties to introduce populist welfare programs. Yet at the same time, it keeps contradicting itself by continuing to expand politically motivated welfare measures. A case in point is its haphazard expansion of the child care subsidy program.Last year, the government abruptly announced it would provide a child care subsidy to all families with a 5-year-old starting this year, regardless of their income, if they send their child

Among the many tantalizing questions surrounding Myanmar’s flirtation with democracy is this: Might Kim Jong-un be enticed to try something similar in North Korea? Taking stock of events in the Myanmar capital, Naypyidaw, the brand new leader of the world’s worst government might be having second thoughts about the viability of the Kim Dynasty. At least 2 million people starved during the 17-year reign of his father, Kim Jong-il, and North Korea’s economy is a disaster area. Enter Myanmar, the r

At the turn of 2012, the world continues to be in the grip of a two-fold crisis: an economic downturn and widespread job losses on the one side and accelerating global warming and extreme weather events on the other. So far, Asia has been less vulnerable than other regions to the economic slump, but has been arguably the most prone to natural calamities. While both economy and climate demand urgent attention, political leaders fear that dealing with climate change will hurt recovery efforts. In

Over the past two decades, as Japan has gradually slipped down the OECD ladder in terms of GDP per capita, Korea has progressively climbed the same ladder. It’s just a matter of time before Korea overtakes its neighbor.How could this happen?One important factor has been how the two countries have responded to crises. Japan was struck down by the collapse of its bubble economy two decades ago, and was also badly hit by the global financial crisis in 2008. Despite many calls for structural reforms

When he died recently at age 80, Cheetah the chimp received respectful obituaries across the globe. This seemed only fitting for a star in the 1930s Tarzan films with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O’Sullivan. Cheetah was the world’s most famous non-human primate. (His only serious rival, King Kong, was a fictional character.) No less an authority than Turner Classic Movies host and prominent film historian Robert Osborne weighed in on Cheetah’s cinema legacy: “He was a major star. He was one of

Please excuse me if you’ve already read about this ― I’m always the last guy to know ― but apparently some people are unhappy with the calendar. In other calendar news, the world apparently is going to end next Dec. 21, according to the Mayan calendar.About this latter point, apparently many people in pseudo-scientific circles have been worrying about it for decades. Me, I only began to worry about it after seeing a John Cusack movie on cable.The deal is that the Mayan “Long Count” calendar, whi

PARIS ― Is democratic time too slow to respond to crises, and too short to plan for the long term?At a time of deepening economic and social crisis in many of the world’s rich democracies, that question is highly relevant. In Italy, for example, Prime Minister Mario Monti has the necessary and legitimate ambition to carry out comprehensive reform. He is both competent and honest, but faces a quasi-structural impediment: whereas leaders once had three years to convince voters of their policies’ b

Even Martin Luther King Jr., the man the U.S. honors today (Jan. 16), had his blind spots. The circle of human rights he gave his life to expand didn’t include everyone. Left out, for instance, were gay men and lesbians. One of King’s most laudable attributes, however, was his ability to evolve and grow, and so we imagine that were he alive today he would endorse the efforts of the Obama administration to help bring basic freedoms and protections to gay people the world over. According to a rece

NEW YORK ― Macroeconomic indicators for the United States have been better than expected for the last few months. Job creation has picked up. Indicators for manufacturing and services have improved moderately. Even the housing industry has shown some signs of life. And consumption growth has been relatively resilient.But, despite the favorable data, U.S. economic growth will remain weak and below trend throughout 2012. Why is all the recent economic good news not to be believed?First, US consume

Sometimes, important news events manage to sneak through under the radar. That has happened many times in the Arab-Israeli conflict, which usually receives far too much media attention, often with damaging consequences.Ambitious efforts to forge peace have often cracked under the red-hot spotlight, where negotiators and politicians make vows and promises they later find difficult to retract. But quieter, behind the scenes activities have a history of producing happy surprises.Of course, quiet ef

In a provocative act with religious and cultural implications, Pope Benedict XVI has created an ordinariate ― similar to a diocese ― for disaffected Episcopalians who are converting to Roman Catholicism. It will be headed by a married former Episcopal bishop, and it will allow congregations that make the switch to retain aspects of the Anglican liturgy, including the majestic Book of Common Prayer. The defection of Episcopalians en masse might seem of interest only to students of religion, but i

Meryl Streep’s eerie reincarnation of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” brings to mind Thatcher’s most famous quip, “There is no such thing as ‘society.’” None of the dwindling herd of Republican candidates has quoted her yet, but they might as well considering their unremitting bashing of everything public.A society is embodied most visibly in public institutions ― public schools, public libraries, public transportation, public hospitals, public parks, public museums, public recreation, publ

Has the ailing economy forced older workers to delay their retirement? The conventional wisdom certainly suggests so. A recent front-page story in the Washington Post was headlined: “Ranks of older workers swelling: Data show employment surged among those 55 and over since recession.” The reality, though, is more complicated. The financial crisis caused more workers to want to delay retirement, but the labor market limited their ability to do it. The net effect of these opposing supply and deman

Saturday (Jan. 13) marked one year since uprisings in the Arab world for the first time extirpated an autocrat: Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisians marked the anniversary by commemorating Mohamed Bouazizi, the young fruit vendor who sparked the Arab Spring when he set himself afire in front of a government office after police confiscated his cart. Today, it’s worth remembering that as much as the region’s rebellions are about the yearning for political freedom, they are also about the d

A few months back a young U.S. soldier was sentenced to 10 years in jail for the brutal rape of an 18-year-old Korean woman. Despite the court’s statement that Korea, as America, was harsh in its punishment of such offenders, the punishment struck most Americans as too lenient considering the nature of the assault. The local papers, perhaps in an effort to quell any suspicion of lenient or unequal treatment, quickly pointed out that the soldier’s sentence was comparable in length to that of a Ko