Policymakers have enjoyed a free pass in discussions over what to do in response to the sexual harassment allegations taking down Hollywood producers, news media titans and actors. Because the worst of the transgressions already are illegal, lawmakers seem satisfied to call for culprits to be fired or to step down and for corporate leaders to promise that they’ll crack down on offenders more quickly in the future.But legislators can do more to address the problem. They can make workplace bullyin

Nov. 20, 2017

For nearly two decades, Shanghai’s spindly skyline has inspired comparisons to the dystopian Los Angeles of Ridley Scott’s futurist-noir film “Blade Runner.” There’s wild architecture, giant video billboards and horizon-obscuring smog. The only things missing are the flying cars zipping between buildings.　That may soon change. This week, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Terrafugia, a Boston-based company that plans to start selling flying cars by 2019. It’s the most prominent Chines

Nov. 20, 2017

The last time my mother ate crab meat, it nearly killed her. I’m not being melodramatic. Earlier this year, she ate a few bites of a traditional Korean dish, gejang, which is made with raw crab meat. That’s all it took. The crab was contaminated with Vibrio, also known as “flesh-eating bacteria.” She was hospitalized for more than three weeks and will likely be in a long-term care facility for months. Doctors are trying hard to save her fingertips and toes.Here’s what she wants others to know: V

Nov. 19, 2017

President Donald Trump went to Asia for nearly two weeks, an unusually long time away from Washington for an American leader. Was it worth the effort and aviation fuel? No, especially for us in the Midwest. He returns to the White House with the United States in weaker economic and diplomatic positions in the Pacific because of his blind spot on trade.One of Trump’s first actions as president was to quit the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a broad trade agreement with 11 other nations. Trump

Nov. 19, 2017

If we can prevent great suffering at no cost to ourselves, we ought to do so. Yet Western governments are neglecting an opportunity to reduce the great misery caused by mental illness, even though the net cost would be nil.The evidence for this claim comes from recent research by a team of economists at the London School of Economics. The team, directed by Richard Layard, drew on data from four major developed countries -- Australia, Britain, Germany, and the United States -- in which people wer

Nov. 19, 2017

As President Trump ends his Asia trip, he might sum up the 12-day journey with a revision of the remark attributed to Julius Caesar: Veni, vidi, blandivi. I came, I saw, I flattered.　Trump’s trip was closer to a pilgrimage than a projection of power. The president rarely explained details of US policy. Instead, he mostly asked other leaders for help, lauded their virtues, and embraced their worldviews.　Along the adulation tour, Trump spoke of his “really extraordinary” relationship with Japanese

Nov. 17, 2017

Sixty-two percent of the victims of modern slavery and 40 percent of the child laborers around the world are in Asia and the Pacific. Unacceptable forms of work call for unprecedented measures to combat them, says Tomoko Nishimoto, ILO assistant director-general, as governments, employers’ and workers’ representatives from 193 countries discuss ways to accelerate the eradication of child labor worldwide at the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labor.Out of the 40 million

Nov. 16, 2017

Without any new ideas from a technocratic government constrained by President Vladimir Putin’s apparent indifference, the Russian economy is once again relying on consumers, who are borrowing more to buy real estate and imported products. The growth is real, but it’s also meager. And it will be hard to sustain without bigger changes. On Monday, Rosstat, Russia’s official statistics agency, announced that the country’s gross domestic product increased 1.8 percent year-over-year in the quarter tha

Nov. 16, 2017

In a country where politics has turned toxic, leading virtually everything -- from festival firecrackers to animal husbandry -- to take on a “communal” religious coloring, perhaps it should not be surprising that even one of the world’s the most famous monuments has become a target. But that doesn’t make it any less tragic -- or destructive.The Taj Mahal is India’s most magnificent architectural wonder. Built nearly four centuries ago by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his belov

Nov. 16, 2017

As he nears the end of a grueling tour of Asia, President Donald Trump is receiving praise for avoiding the sort of insulting and confrontational language that so often has exasperated his foreign policy advisers and alarmed US allies. That is admittedly setting a low bar for diplomatic success, but it’s something.In a speech to the South Korean parliament, Trump warned North Korea not to test the United States, but there was no repetition of his threat of “fire and fury.” In a meeting with Chin

Nov. 15, 2017

Have you ever been around bullies?They like to talk big around their friends, boasting about how they are going to crush their victim once they are face to face. But when they get the opportunity, they cower in fear and run away.That’s because bullies are nothing more than egomaniacs who love to mouth off. Deep inside, they are scared, insecure little rabbits that like to pick on others because it makes them feel better about themselves.But most of all, they just want to be admired.Last week, du

Nov. 15, 2017

A good rule of thumb for dealing with Iran is to always remember that the Islamic Republic is not a normal nation, guided by the rule of law. When it detains foreign nationals, they are not prisoners awaiting due process. They are hostages to be traded for concessions -- by a regime founded by hostage takers.　This really should go without saying. But evidently Britain needs a reminder. Take the latest “scandal” involving a minister in the government of Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnso

Nov. 15, 2017