[Albert R. Hunt] Birthers movement may be boon for Obama

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

April 4, 2011

Wireless traffic jam and quest for bandwidth

The rapidly increasing demand for smartphones and mobile bandwidth has prompted some analysts and regulators to warn of a looming wireless traffic jam ― an irritant that some iPhone users in major cities have already experienced. Now, AT&T is proposing what it says is the fastest way to boost the capacity of its wireless network: buying T-Mobile. The $39-billion purchase would eliminate one of the

April 3, 2011

[Scott Martelle] The collapse of Detroit

Imagine for a moment that every single person living in the city of San Jose, Calif., plus an additional 150,000 or so, just up and left. Vanished. Poof. Gone. Leaving their homes, business buildings and factories behind.That is, in effect, what has happened to the city of Detroit, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. The city that boasted 1.8 million residents in 1950, and was the nation’s economi

April 3, 2011

[Frida Ghitis] We’ll remember 2011

Stop for a moment. Look around you and make a note of this time and place, because years from now you will want to remember where you were when 2011 happened.Moving along the path of human events, we have reached a fork in the road, a turning point in history. We don’t know what lies ahead.As this is written, the United States has ― most reluctantly ― entered another war in the Middle East, ostens

April 3, 2011

Japan’s crisis will affect nuke power worldwide

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

April 1, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] U.S. student held amid Syrian unrest

When “Tik” Root’s parents saw him off for junior year abroad in Damascus, they never imagined he’d wind up in a Syrian prison.But Tik, who’s pursuing Middle East studies at Vermont’s Middlebury College, where his parents are professors, disappeared March 18. He was last seen walking near a mosque where protests had broken out. His father, Tom, told me the Syrian Interior Ministry has confirmed it

April 1, 2011

Dam builders disregard ordinary people

Proposed dam on the Mekong should not go ahead until all social and environmental concerns are addressedInternational pressure is mounting as 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries step up their campaign to get Thailand to cancel the proposed Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River’s mainstream in northern Laos. In a recent letter sent to the governments of Laos and Thailand, the NGOs urged

April 1, 2011

Wider dialogue in Burma

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

April 1, 2011

Expanding benefits for marriage and parenting

Taiwanese women are known for delaying marriage or seemingly choosing to stay single, depending on how you look at it. The average age of marriage for women in 2009 was 30 to 31. In 2010, 31 percent of women above the age of 15 were single, an all-time low for marriage, especially compared to the 7.3 percent of unmarried women in 2007.The largely single status of Taiwan’s most popular female enter

April 1, 2011

Address career colleges’ toxic choices in U.S.

For-profit colleges have successfully marketed a compelling story in which they star front and center as benevolent purveyors of the American dream through education and gainful employment.The reality is the complete opposite. Former students testified before a U.S. Senate oversight committee this month about exorbitant tuition costs and unfulfilled promises of good jobs. One student spoke of comp

March 31, 2011

[Editorial] Act of courage

It must undoubtedly have been humiliating to President Lee Myung-bak to abandon one of his campaign promises ― building a new international airport. On the other hand, it was an act of courage, given that his administration did so at the risk of a voter revolt.On Wednesday, the Lee administration scrapped a plan to construct an international airport in South Gyeongsang Province. A viable alternati

March 31, 2011

U.S. president makes his case on Libya

Before President Obama’s address to the nation about Libya, three questions about U.S. involvement there loomed large: Why, among all the places with vulnerable civilian populations, did the U.S. and its allies choose to intervene in Libya? Was the mission designed to prevent civilian suffering or to topple Moammar Gadhafi? How (and how quickly) would the U.S. extricate itself from this engagement

March 31, 2011

[Doyle McManus] Obama’s nuanced call to arms

The Obama administration says the goals of its bombing campaign in Libya are crystal clear, but it has tied itself in knots trying to explain them.This isn’t a war, White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week, “it’s a time-limited, scope-limited military action.”“What we are doing is enforcing a (United Nations) resolution that has a very clear set of goals, which is protecting the Libyan peop

March 31, 2011