Japanese Obsessions

Cohen looks at the obsession in Japan with retreating into a private world fueled by technology.

Posted by , 15th December 2009

Japan technologyRoger Cohen

He credits the nation’s wealth, postmodernism, conformism, and despair as the reasons for this. The Japanese term is “otaku”, referring to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, and video games. Cohen admits that fantasy, escapism, and the cyberworld are part of many other cultures, but in no other nation have they fused with such intensity.

Cohen is a New York Times columnist.

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Anti-climate change, anti-human

While the author concedes that worldwide emissions control is essential, she finds the “apocalyptic and the anti-human prejudices” of the global warming movement disturbing.

Posted by , 15th December 2009

Anne Applebaum

anti-climate changeThe campaign against human presence on the planet is not relegated to a radical fringe, but permeates the upper echelons of science and mainstream organizations. The concept that humans are merely carbon dioxide emitters and our presence is primarily destructive has dangerous implications. Applebaum points out that human ingenuity and creativity are largely responsible for raising living standards around the world. And it is human innovation and compassion that will help to bring about the cessation of fossil fuel use. Engendering hatred for mankind teaches only apathy.

Applebaum is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on foreign affairs.

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To Really Save The Planet, Stop Going Green

The author is critical of the token gestures of individuals to “go green” and calls for large-scale change.

Posted by , 8th December 2009

Mike Tidwell
12/7/2009

US-Climate-ChangeComparing global climate change to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Tidwell claims that sweeping, political change is the only hope of saving the planet from large-scale destruction caused by greenhouse gas emissions. While many distractions and inhibitions have prevented legislation that would effectively cease the burning of fossil fuels, the “go green” movement–hyped by the media and thus appearing larger and more significant than it really is–shares the blame. Rather than obsessing over green fads, the author calls Americans to real action.

Tidwell is the executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

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Climate of Uncertainty Heats Up

Crovitz ponders the fallout of “Climategate,” which began with the disclosure of emails and other documents showing how leading global-warming scientists had evaded peer review and refused to disclose data.

Posted by , 8th December 2009

L. Gordon Crovitz
12/7/2009

Climategate-UNOver the past week there have been resignations and investigations of top scientists in England and the US. This event amounts to a peer review of a putative scientific “consensus” by bloggers. The story so far has played itself out largely on blogs, often run by the same scientists who had a hard time getting printed in the scientific journals. “Climategate” has provided a voice to the scientists who had been frozen out of the debate. While this episode raises disturbing questions about scientific standards in highly political areas such as global warming, Crovitz says it’s remarkable to see how quickly corrective information can now spread.

Crovitz writes ‘Information Age’ for the Journal.

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The ‘Greek Problem’

Despite dire warnings from the European Commission, the ECB, and the markets about both the rising cost of Greek government debt and the cost of insuring it, Papaconstantinou argues that Greece’s fiscal and economic problems are not calamitous.

Posted by , 3rd December 2009

George Papaconstantinou
12/2/2009

acropolisThe newly elected Greek government is faced with an economy in a recession, a grave fiscal situation, and deep-rooted structural problems, with a public deficit estimated at 12.7% of GDP and debt above 110% of GDP. On top of this, Greek statistics and Greek policies now suffer from a lack of credibility as a consequence of the previous government’s reporting a fiscal deficit only half as high as we now know to be the case. However, Papaconstantinou makes the case that as the new government in Athens pushes for economic and budgetary change, skeptics should suspend their disbelief.

Papaconstantinou is the finance minister of the new Greek government.

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The 9/11 of 1859

As the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, looms, Horwitz says we should look at the parallels between John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 and Al Qaeda’s assault in 2001.

Posted by , 3rd December 2009

Tony Horwitz
12/2/2009

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Brown believed he was chosen by God to destroy slavery, the size and make-up of his strike-force was similar to that of the 9/11 hijackers, he used covert backers, and the group used aliases and coded language. John Brown sought to free slaves, terrorize the South, and incite a broad conflict. The 9/11 terrorists sought to hobble America, and after eight years, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have killed nearly twice as many Americans as the hijackers did. And Americans domestic and foreign policy options will continue to be hobbled as it increases troops in Afghanistan.

Horwitz is the author of “Confederates in the Attic” and “A Voyage Long and Strange.” He is working on a book about John Brown’s raid.

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Ukraine: A Democracy at Risk

Five years after the Orange Revolution, Gongadze says that those longing for strong-armed rule may outnumber those who want to preserve their imperfect democracy. She attributes this to unrealized reforms and widespread corruption, which have had a major corrosive effect on the Ukrainian public.

Posted by , 1st December 2009

Myroslava Gongadze
11/29/2009

ukraineFrom a once-promising democratic leader in the region, Ukraine has dissipated into a source of disenchantment for the democracy activists in neighboring ex-Soviet republics. The EU and other democratic nations need a clear, constructive, and principled policy with regard to Ukraine. If Kiev’s next leaders prove unwilling or unable to halt the nation’s slide toward its authoritarian past, Western powers will have to support the civil society movement and new emerging leaders. This may help preserve the few gains of the Orange Revolution. But even if Ukrainians lose their way, Gongadze believes that the basic democratic reforms they have earned will ensure that their destiny will still remain in their own hands.

Gongadze is a Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist, and the widow of slain Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze.

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Europe needs action, not quiet consensus

The European Union must either develop the capacity to drive and shape the global agenda or accept that the process will be driven by America and Asia.

Posted by , 1st December 2009

Peter Mandelson
11/23/2009

european_unionEurope’s strength will be determined by how well it competes economically with the rest of the world, and for this reason Mandelson says the distribution of the big economic portfolios in the next European Commission are critically important. The choices of José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president, will carry much weight in defining the direction of EU policy. The new commissioners will have to be much more than quiet consensus-builders because there is little to recommend European consensus for its own sake.

Lord Mandelson is secretary of state for business.

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