It has been 40 years since the last astronauts left the moon. That anniversary, which passed last week, has put some prominent technologists in a funk. “You promised me Mars colonies. Instead, I got Facebook,” reads the cover of the current issue of MIT Technology Review. In an essay titled “Why We Can’t Solve Big Problems,” editor Jason Pontin considers “why there are no disruptive innovations” today. Technology Review’s headline, running below the face of Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, now 82,

Viewpoints Dec. 19, 2012

Since November 1982, Japan has had 18 prime ministers, with an average stay in office of 658 days. Arguably, only two left the job smiling: Yasuhiro Nakasone and Junichiro Koizumi, both strong reformers with clear agendas who were, not coincidentally, among Japan’s longest-serving chief executives. Let’s hope that lesson isn’t lost on Shinzo Abe, Japan’s next prime minister, when he takes office Dec. 26. With his landslide victory, Abe has a political opening to push reforms that could lift Japa

Viewpoints Dec. 19, 2012

Nothing exposes partisan hypocrisy quite like the filibuster, that irksome parliamentary rule that allows a minority of U.S. senators to block legislation, judicial appointments and other business by requiring a 60-vote majority to proceed to a vote. Almost invariably, the party in power considers the filibuster to be an enemy of progress that must be squashed, while the minority fights to preserve it at all cost. That the same players often find themselves arguing from opposite sides depending

Viewpoints Dec. 18, 2012

North Korea’s launch of a satellite using a self-developed rocket was a Sputnik moment for the South. It shocked South Koreans just as Sputnik 1, the first satellite the Soviet Union put into space in October 1957, shocked Americans.Experts say the South is five to seven years behind the North in space technology. Seoul has yet to develop its own carrier rocket. Naro-1, the South’s first satellite carrier, has suffered two successive launch failures, with the third attempt delayed twice due to t

Editorial Dec. 17, 2012

The two presidential candidates are to wind up their election campaigns Tuesday, the last day of legal campaigning. During the official campaign period that started on Nov. 27, they have mounted energetic campaigns to garner as many votes as possible.With just one day left before the election, there is no predicting the outcome of the vote. The last polls taken about a week ago showed the gap between Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party and the trailing Democratic United Party candidate, Mo

Editorial Dec. 17, 2012

This year, the Bank of Korea cut the benchmark interest rate twice in its bid to help energize the flagging economy. But this low interest rate policy is hurting financial companies by squeezing their profits.On Thursday, the BOK decided to leave the key interest rate at 2.75 percent for December. Yet it is expected to cut the already low rate further next year as the economy is likely to remain stagnant. When the central bank lowers the benchmark rate, banks also cut their lending rates. But th

Editorial Dec. 14, 2012

North Korea’s successful launch of a satellite ― effectively proving its long-range missile capabilities ― has offered a reality check to the two main presidential candidates on their policies toward the bellicose regime. The two frontrunners both stress flexibility and dialogue in their policies toward the North. But the launch has clearly shown that their policies are based not on reality but vague and groundless expectations.In the first TV debate held on Dec. 4, Park Geun-hye of the ruling S

Editorial Dec. 14, 2012

The weekend announcement by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti that he will resign triggered a rush to sell off Italian debt and stocks, as investors blanched at the uncertainty that will follow the departure of “Super Mario.” Not surprisingly, many investors and Italian business leaders say they would like to see Monti run in the elections that his departure will force, probably in February. That way he could reclaim his job next year, this time with a mandate from Italian voters. Ferrari SpA C

Viewpoints Dec. 13, 2012

Moves advanced by rival claimants in South China Sea disputes have taken on a harder edge, topped off by China saying it would interdict ships found in its waters. This is happening in spite of calls for calm by ASEAN, as a bloc with an interest in the matter, and the United States, as a Pacific maritime power. Even a peripheral participant like India, which happens to have energy prospecting activity off the Vietnam coast, has implied it would dispatch its navy to protect its interests if it ha

Viewpoints Dec. 13, 2012