The worst case. These three words have been at the back of everyone’s mind ever since the Fukushima reactors began malfunctioning after being swamped by a tsunami. Remarkably, these reactors have been at the front of few experts’ mouths.Many experts have shied away from describing worst-case outcomes, which are terrifying to contemplate and risky to mention. The risk isn’t just panicking the publi

March 22, 2011

Sun Tzu’s admonition to know thine enemy is as essential in politics as it is in war.With Democrats and Republicans locked in a struggle for supremacy, both are guardedly optimistic that currents are blowing their way. In dozens of conversations over the past week or so, while differences emerge among politicians when it comes to their own parties, there’s a consensus about their opponents’ vulner

March 22, 2011

The government’s measures to deal with the disasters caused by the March 11 earthquake have lagged from the beginning. The Prime Minister’s Office must rebuild its crisis management system as soon as possible.Extensive physical damage is not the only characteristic of the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake. The multiple disaster situation includes a wide variety of problems, such as the nuclear pl

March 21, 2011

With every passing day, Japan’s chain reaction of disasters pushes the envelope of what humankind regards as unthinkable.Last week’s 9.0 earthquake was so powerful it literally altered the earth’s rotation and shortened the length of our day. Yet that’s the least of the world-rattling implications from the horrors still unfolding on Japan’s largest island, Honshu.Foremost on everyone’s mind are th

March 21, 2011

On Thursday evening the U.N. Security Council hit the right target when it authorized a no-fly zone over Libya, as well as “all necessary measures” against loyalist forces of Moammar Gadhafi. With the tide recently turning against the rebellion, the no-fly zone and airstrikes against advancing armor and troops are needed more than ever to protect millions of Libyan civilians and help deter the atr

March 21, 2011

You never want to kick a nation when it’s down. It’s time, though, to consider the depth of Japan’s coming recession. A week ago, before radiation fears prompted a mass exodus from Tokyo, a downturn was of the “if” variety. Japan’s prospects then dimmed with each passing day of blackouts and panicked news reports. The questions now are when the recession will officially begin, how bad it will be a

March 21, 2011

The world is beset by crises, from an earthquake and tsunami in Japan to revolution and repression in the Middle East. For one small segment of the population, however, it’s party time.The rich are spending again; the more conspicuous the consumption, the better. Gone are the exhortations to bankers in the dark days of 2008 and 2009 to temper extravagant behavior, act more like an everyman. Shun t

March 21, 2011

Did National Public Radio get a raw deal when an executive was secretly taped making indiscreet political comments about conservatives, provoking calls from Republicans to cut off its federal funding? Could be. It turns out that the unedited video ― according to Glenn Beck’s website “The Blaze” ― shows “questionable editing and tactics” designed to misrepresent executive Ron Schiller’s attitudes.I

March 20, 2011

To understand the Muslim Brotherhood, and to assess its role today in a shifting Middle East, it is necessary to first examine the forces that led to the organization’s birth. And that takes us back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.The Ottoman Empire had been, before World War I, the strongest and most visible face of Islam in the world. At its height in the 16th and 17th c

March 20, 2011

The decision to opt for medical care that relies on the most costly technology is often based on blind faith that newer, elaborate and expensive must be better.The sentiment is understandable. We look to the miracles of medical technology to solve all sorts of problems, from weight loss to wrinkle removal. We place even greater faith in this technology when engaged in life’s inevitable losing batt

March 20, 2011

Oh, NPR, won’t you please state your game? Are you liberal? Are you neutral? Are your employees secret socialists? Do their screensavers feature slideshows of Noam Chomsky? Do your office Christmas parties serve only free-range eggnog? Do your parking lots offer preferred spaces for vehicles with “Free Tibet” bumper stickers?Yes? No? Tell us, NPR!Was former fundraising executive Ron Schiller repea

March 20, 2011

In every natural disaster, there is an arc to the story, the narrative. Earthquakes open with surprise. Scientists can’t predict them with the precision of hurricanes, can’t track them on radar, can’t provide much if any warning. Buildings ― rooms ― start to sway sickeningly, dishes crash. That’s how you know.Tsunamis are more predictable. There’s warning, as there was in Japan last week. Resident

March 18, 2011

Of all the things I expected to experience in Tokyo, hugging three Japanese female strangers in their 70s was never part of the plan.This city is no-public-display-of-affection central. The anti-Paris when it comes to spontaneous gestures of intimacy. When the ground begins to shake, protocol is the first casualty. So, when a big aftershock hit Shinjuku train station, we four panicked strangers jo

March 18, 2011