It’s worse than even some of President Trump’s most vociferous critics could have imagined. Trump’s first proposed budget was characterized as “Robin Hood in reverse” by one critic, and that’s an understatement.The presidential budget now out cuts some of America’s most important programs for disadvantaged families. Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled, would be cut by more than $600 billion over the next decade. Payments to states would be capped and th

May 30, 2017

News about the WannaCry ransomware infestation that recently struck at least 150 different countries has faded from the headlines, but the danger it represents hasn’t. Who’s to blame? Can we stop it from happening again?Ransomware is one of the most prevalent new forms of cybercrime. The bad guys get onto your computer or your organization’s network either because someone opened a link or attachment they shouldn’t have or through a system vulnerability. They then encrypt all your files so you ca

May 29, 2017

On Thursday, a federal appeals court based in Virginia handed President Donald Trump another defeat in his efforts to block immigrants from six nations -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- from entering the United States. It is likely to go to the US Supreme Court next. The president would be wiser to recognize he cannot impose a religious-based ban.And whether he wants to or not -- he cannot take back what he repeatedly said on the campaign trail.Trump surrogates have tried to bac

May 29, 2017

In most countries, panic buttons are devices used by elderly folk who may need emergency care, or parents who want to keep tabs on wandering children and pets. But in Mexico, they’re part of the survival toolkit for journalists covering the drug war, corruption and other man-made miseries, enabling them to send a silent distress signal to authorities. Such is the state of news gathering in Latin America's second largest nation, which has overtaken Colombia -- now emerging from half a century of

May 29, 2017

A nation’s thoughts turn to Marawi City, even as fears about the possible consequences of the declaration of martial law rise in the hearts of many. These fears are not, as some Mindanao-based supporters of President Duterte claim, shared only by people from Luzon. One of the first to issue a statement against the president’s declaration was a group based in Davao City.　The first legal challenge against the declaration might come from a group of Muslim lawyers. For the exact same reason that Min

May 28, 2017

Let’s talk about anonymous leakers, about their frequent dishonor and dishonesty, sometimes their criminality, and about the dangers of news outlets relying on them too extensively and sometimes needing to shut up.We’ve seen a lot of it lately, this business of someone inside the government secretly sharing information with the press. The victim has mainly been President Donald Trump. His White House staff is ratting on his stumbles and bumbles, and intelligence agency operatives have illegally

May 28, 2017

Since its first conception, the idea of a liberal democracy has never been a settled one. Debate has raged. Churchill was cynical, “the best argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter,” while Plato was wary, “dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy.” And yet, in broad terms even democracy’s most dismissive critics who live behind her shield do not want to go back to the “bad old days” of kingdoms and dictatorships. In recent times we have seen how fragile

May 28, 2017

Defiant North Korea challenged the international community again last Sunday when it tested yet another missile, and no one has yet discovered a clear way to stop tensions mounting on the peninsula. Two missile tests in as many weeks underscored Pyongyang’s resolve to ignore international warnings and concerns. It aims to achieve its stated objective at all costs -- the ability to strike back at any aggressors.The latest test -- the 11th this year -- likely involved a medium-range ballistic miss

May 28, 2017

The outlook for Asia and the Pacific is the strongest in the world, but it is shrouded by challenges at home and abroad, according to the latest International Monetary Fund report for the region. The April 2017 report, Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific: Preparing for Choppy Seas, says policy stimulus continues to support strong domestic demand in China and Japan in the near term, which is good for other economies in Asia as well. Broader global conditions are also favorable. Growth

May 26, 2017

British police were justifiably furious when evidence from their investigation into the Manchester terrorist attack found its way into news reports. The leaks undermine the investigation and the confidence of victims and witnesses, whose cooperation is crucial.The immediate consequence is that Manchester police have stopped sharing information about their investigation with US officials, who are widely believed to the source of the leaks. That is bad enough. The more long-term danger is that the

May 26, 2017

Girls scream at concerts. Girls screamed for Frank Sinatra, for Elvis Presley, for The Beatles, for The Supremes, for Madonna, for Michael Jackson, for Prince, for Taylor Swift. Monday night, girls and their moms in Manchester, England, were screaming for Ariana Grande, a pop singer I’d never heard of until I saw the news alerts flashing on my computer.　Girls are not supposed to scream at concerts because a bomb has gone off at the back of the hall. Music fans, girls and boys, women and men, are

May 25, 2017