US courts have long been reluctant to intervene in the admissions decisions of colleges and universities. In general, the law allows them to do whatever they want within this overarching framework:　- Racial discrimination is forbidden.　- An institution may not maintain a racial quota system, even if it is sincerely seeking to ensure the presence of adequate numbers of traditionally disadvantaged groups, including African-Americans.　- An institution may consider race as a “plus,” at least if it i

Viewpoints July 1, 2018

If an alien landed in Rome today, he would think Matteo Salvini was running Italy. The leader of the right-wing League has seized the center stage of Italian politics, even though he is merely deputy prime minister, interior minister and head of the junior party in its governing coalition.　Five Star, the League’s senior partner in the new populist administration, is entirely to blame for this. The movement has been outmaneuvered comprehensively since Italy’s government was formed three weeks ago

Viewpoints June 28, 2018

As one Trump administration trade policy backfires, another looks set to.　On Monday, Harley-Davidson said it would shift some production out of the US in order to mitigate the impact of European Union tariffs targeting its motorcycles. Those penalties -- which Harley-Davidson estimates may cost it as much as $100 million annually -- were in response to US levies on steel and aluminum imported from the EU. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department is reportedly planning to aim a bazooka at a Chinese tak

Viewpoints June 28, 2018

Japan, many people believe, is a country of rigid, traditional gender norms, where men work and women are homemakers. But this stereotype is passe. Despite the continued prevalence of traditional gender roles in television shows, Japanese culture has undergone a sea change -- most women now have jobs.　Japan isn’t alone. In recent years, female labor force participation has been rising across almost all industrialized countries. There’s at least one big exception, though -- the US.　The decline of

Viewpoints June 27, 2018

The existence of a vibrant political culture and strong opposition to the political monopoly of the country’s long-term ruler were what separated Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey from Vladimir Putin’s Russia. After Erdogan’s victory in Sunday’s hotly contested presidential and parliamentary elections, however, these differences are likely to be eroded as Turkey sinks into an Islamic version of Putinism.　It wasn’t a particularly impressive victory: Erdogan won the presidential election with about 52

Viewpoints June 27, 2018

Since Jan. 1, when China stopped accepting the rich world’s recyclable plastic waste, it’s gotten a ton of criticism for worsening the already deep crisis of ocean plastic pollution. But China isn’t the only culprit here. This is a crisis made -- and growing worse -- throughout developing Asia.Just eight countries in the region are responsible for about 63 percent of total plastic waste flowing into the oceans. Little of that junk has been exported by rich economies. Instead, it’s almost solely

Viewpoints June 27, 2018

When Chilean screen actress Daniela Vega flew to Los Angeles for the Academy Awards ceremony last March, Hollywood glory wasn’t the only thing on her mind. In a matter of days, Vega would become an international celebrity for her role in the Oscar-winning “A Fantastic Woman” (best foreign picture), a fraught love story about a transgender singer and the social barriers and obscurantism she confronts. But first she had to face a little obscurantism herself.　“I have a passport with a name that has

Viewpoints June 26, 2018

President Donald Trump, it is clear, presides over a regime of untruth and personally inhabits a realm of fantasy. But some of his critics have fallen prey to illusions of their own about the US and the world before Trump.　Take, for instance, Trump’s cruel disregard for the suffering of children caught up in his crackdown on immigration. It provoked many to charge him with violating “American values.” Such condemnation obscures the fact that the US was, from the late 19th century onwards, the in

Viewpoints June 25, 2018

One of the most fascinating moments in recent negotiations came when US President Donald Trump offered complete free trade to his European partners at the Group of Seven meetings. Trump may have viewed this as a public relations ploy, but the response was still striking: No major European political leader embraced the idea. Nor did China.　So how to make further progress on trade? Well, Trump on Monday threatened China with an extra $200 billion in tariffs, thereby moving back to bilateral pressu

Viewpoints June 25, 2018

Israeli security services engage in a form of profiling that rests on a basic assumption: Jewish Israelis are on Israel’s side. They are not likely to be terrorists bent on blowing up the airport, or spies working for the enemy.　This form of profiling almost always works. But it is not foolproof. In mid-June, a Jerusalem court indicted Gonen Segev on charges of “assisting the enemy in wartime and espionage.” In a statement issued on June 15, the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, alle

Viewpoints June 25, 2018