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As spring dawns, the economy’s green shoots have been trampled once again, first by the economic fallout from Japan’s tsunami, and again by rising worldwide commodity prices.
The disruption of Japan’s production revealed the soft underbelly of globalization — the reliance on vulnerable global supply chains only as strong as their weakest link. Rising food and energy prices produce a toxic stew of inflation and unemployment.
This depressing news, of course, has political as well as economic consequences. Politically, it means that the incumbent party — Obama’s — faces even tougher going in 2012.
Economically, rising inflation makes it that much harder for the Federal Reserve to keep resorting to very low interest rates to levitate a sick

At this point in SXSW’s evolution as a music festival, the only way you could adequately report on every day’s show offering is to gather a hundred rock critics (literally a hundred), give them assignments and rations and canteens, send them out early enough to wait in line at all the key day party venues, and then sequester them after the shows for long enough to make sense of their notes — perhaps during the primetime showcases that are still supposed to be the focal point of the festival.
It wasn’t always like this. Back in the day, bands would just do their evening showcases, and perhaps make a couple of isolated appearances during the week at other venues. But now, bands are more likely to use their primetime showcase spot as a jumping off point to pack in as many shows in a week as possible.
For at least five years now, SXSW Music has been two festivals: one for the high caste of badge holders and middle caste of wristband holders, and another, more chaotic one in which the lines of privilege blur and thousands upon thousands come together to map out their own SXSW experience show by

When Christian Bale won his Oscar for The Fighter (2010), I was hardly surprised, but nor was I elated. And I had to ask myself why.
This now hugely successful movie star is prodigiously talented, blazing with intensity and intelligence — not to mention killer good looks.
Still — with apologies to all the self-proclaimed “Baleheads” out there, on an emotional level the actor leaves me cold.
This fact got me thinking about how we relate to public figures and celebrities, and the importance of that elusive, yet fundamental human connection- admiring someone famous not just for their ability, but because we feel we know and “get” them.
In the realm of major politicians and movie stars, the “likeability” factor has always been important. This quality has helped more than a few undistinguished if not downright inept politicians get

I’m not sure if anyone would believe me unless I had proof, but exactly one week before the Sendai, Japan Earthquake and the beginning of one of the biggest nuclear accidents in history, as fate would have it I sat down and watched, for the first time ever, The China Syndrome the ’70s epic detailing a fictional cover up of a major nuclear disaster in the making.
But while part of my beat is technology and science, I wasn’t watching the film to weigh in on nuclear issues. In fact, I was only doing research on the film so the pun-intended title of my recent technology piece “The China Syndrome: Why Baidu is not more Evil than Google” would not inadvertently strike the wrong note due to some oversight from my not having seen the film. Yes, the viewing was a purely tangential exercise to cover my editorial hindquarters. I had no idea that what I was watching was a parable laced with issues and decisions I myself would have to grapple with just a week

There was a time when the very phrase “human rights” represented, for a great number of world leaders, an insidious “western,” not to say “Zionist,” plot to undermine their titanic efforts to build utopia. Some of these leaders were communists, a few were Ba’athists, many more were populists and revolutionaries of one stripe or another, to be found reigning over countries from central America to southern Africa to north-east Asia.
There were important differences between all these colonels and generals and Secretary-Generals. What united them, though, was a contempt for those societies whose political arrangements encourage their citizens to look the state in the eye without fear, rather than nervously gazing up from a respectful

AT&T commemorated last week’s one-year anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan in its own, unique way. Ending a week of celebrations, it bought one of the other four biggest competitors, T-Mobile, further shrinking competition in wireless broadband, further concentrating an already concentrated market. Now instead of the big four wireless companies, there are the bigger three.
The government hasn’t blocked a telecom merger yet, but this one should given these policymakers pause. And if they let it through, there should be some very strong conditions.
That $39 billion move was just the capper to the

The day after his wife’s funeral, Steven Dent walked out of his house, “and I just kept walking,” he says. “I walked and walked. I never stopped. I couldn’t stand to look back, or to stop moving, ever again.” Now, four years later, he sleeps most nights under a bridge near Victoria Station in central London, and spends his days on the streets or in the day-centers, trying not to think about

The biggest single source of electricity in the United States is coal-fired power plants. And that electricity is way too expensive. The Environmental Protection Agency this past week proposed a rule to make that electricity much cheaper.
You see, burning coal has the unfortunate side effect of releasing mercury and arsenic into the air. It is generally agreed that burning coal for electricity puts at least 48 tons of mercury into the air — the largest unregulated source of

Last week I posted a piece (11/3/11): “The Power of Ultimatums — The Forgotten Diplomatic Tool.” In it, I pointed out that this could easily be applied to the Libyan situation — though with a little more difficulty the Iranian, North Korean, and ultimately even the Pakistani.
Well, wonder of wonders, yesterday afternoon the Security Council voted 10-0 with 5 abstentions (Russia, China, Germany included) to basically give such an ultimatum to the Libyan Government; and Barack Obama (probably with Hillary Clinton’s and William Daley’s encouragement) actually made a short speech on it from the White House Oval Office, extending its provisions and emphasizing the point about using “all necessary means” to remove Gaddafi before taking off for Brazil.
Excluding the First Iraq War — which had many anomalies associated with it — this was almost a Security Council first since the Korean War sixty some years ago, a resolution which only succeeded at that time because the Russian Delegation inexplicably walked out and absented itself. For its part, the First Iraq War resolution was achieved in the aftermath of Perestroika; but this time the Russians and Chinese, obviously unwillingly and with considerable discontent only abstained.
Now French planes are actually flying over Libya, ostensibly to enforce the resolution and over 100 tomahawk and cruise missiles, etc. have already been launched by the British backed by the Americans –obviously to take out “command and control”

In the next day or two, a moving van will depart from a home in Chevy Chase, Md., bearing a unique cargo bound for New Haven, Conn., that marks the final chapter of a remarkable story covering nearly 200 years of German-American history as seen through the eyes of Thomas L. Hughes.
Hughes, a former top State Department official, diplomat and foundation president, has spent a lifetime adding to a massive collection of memorabilia begun by his great-great-grandfather that documents his family ties to the German and Prussian imperial dynasty, the Hohenzollerns, from the time of Frederick the Great and Kaiser Wilhelm I to Hitler’s Third Reich.
Among the van’s contents will be some 350 letters from Hohenzollern family to Hughes, including several from the former Kaiser himself, along with hundreds of commemorative coins; dozens of oil portraits and photographs, busts and vases; and even ivory tobacco boxes that Frederick the Great gave his generals during his 18th century wars.
The collection, appraised at $1 million, will be preserved at Yale University, where Hughes earned a law degree after graduating from Carleton College and winning a Rhodes Scholarship at

America dodged the immediate damage of the killer tsunami but a potentially more dangerous phenomenon threatens to wash across our nation. The new political paradigm — concrete intransigency. No quarter asked for — no quarter given. Us versus Them, and Us is

It is an impossibility to be introduced to a friend. It has never happened.
Being Friendly Is Not The Same As Being Friends
Indeed, you can sense when you may have just met someone you’d like to be friends with, but a friendship it is not… yet. We only meet friendly acquaintances that have the potential to be transformed into

Welcome to the ongoing discussion about living your best life after 50. Each week, I post an article to ignite a discussion about the challenges and joys of midlife. Please read, share, comment and engage! The more people involved in the conversation, the more we’ll all connect and learn from each other. If there’s something specific you’d like to discuss, I’d love to hear from you.
Recently, I posted an article here on The Huffington Post that generated many comments and lots of

Today officially marks the start of spring, the season long seized on by poets to symbolize rebirth and awakening. Since I’m in such a good mood — thoroughly smitten with the weather — I’ll look past T.S. Eliot’s “cruel” perspective on the season, and only smile at Edna St. Vincent Millay, who wrote that April “comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.” Instead, here are three celebratory, though still complex, poems about spring:
In his sonnet “Spring,” Gerard Manley Hopkins captures the energy of a world infused with warmth and life

The first day of spring is Monday. From my little corner of the world on the East Coast, it has been the longest winter on record. Just hearing the birds chirp again was startling, and the sight of grass was a shock to the eyes. Not only has the winter been unending, but the relentless pound of natural disasters, economic woes and endless bad news leaves a deep longing for the promise of spring at every

Today, aging and disease are linked like birthdays and cake. In fact, the greatest risk factor for all the big killers is the number of candles on that cake. But imagine living to 85 or 90, never worrying about getting cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s disease. It’s not possible now but it could be.

Scientists who study the biology of aging — the basic mechanisms of how our cells and tissues change with age — believe the aging process is

A jogger is someone who runs in place during a red light. A runner would never be caught dead looking like such a fool. We stop, act cool, then take off when the light turns green.
I’m running in the Los Angeles

Talk about myth-busters.
In their new book, “The Longevity Project,” researchers Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin present the results of their 20-year study on the key predictors of longevity. The results are fascinating! The researchers re-examined data first collected by Lewis

We always walk a fine line when we try to create our self-image and examine our own actions. We want to stand up for ourselves, but we don’t want to become a bully. We want to treat our children as special and unique, but we don’t want them to become narcissists. We want to do a good job on a project at work, but we don’t want to lose sleep over it.
Striking these balances can often feel like walking a

Well, I’m not the only one who’s ready to join in the festivities of William and Catherine’s wedding on April 29. More royal guests have confirmed their attendence.
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It was announced that Sweden’s heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria and her new commoner-turned-prince husband Daniel will be at Westminster Abbey. The newlyweds are set to celebrate their first anniversary on June 19, and being at William’s nuptials will no doubt bring back memories of their own romantic wedding.
Michelle Obama’s Garden Garb (PHOTOS, POLL)
Lady Gaga, Marc Jacobs To Be Honored At CFDA Awards 2011 (PHOTOS)
Kate Middleton’s Sheer Dress By Charlotte Todd To Be Auctioned Thursday (PHOTOS)
Crystal Renn Dances With Surfboards, Talks Love Of Astrology (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Johnny Depp Named Hat Person Of The Year By The Headwear Association (PHOTOS, POLL)
Stef Van Der Laan, Dutch Model, Is Inspired By Disney Characters And Her Grandmother (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
It was announced that Sweden’s heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria and her new commoner-turned-prince husband Daniel will be at Westminster

Michelangelo: A Life on Paper, by Leonard Barkan (Princeton University Press, 352 pp. $49.50).
Don’t we already know a lot about Michelangelo? Most of us are aware of his awe-inspiring achievements in sculpture, painting and architecture, but perhaps not that he was a prodigious poet who strove to find in words a vehicle for connecting ever more closely with the divine. We know that, as a young man in Florence at the end of the 15th century, he already displayed prodigious talent. While still in his 20s, he completed two of the most remarkable sculptures in the Western canon: the David and the

Just before St. Patrick’s Day — Dance Lord Michael Ryan Flatley held court at the Regency Hotel with a small set of select journalists and waxed on about his career of breaking boundaries and a few bones. The boisterous 52-year-old became internationally known for creating and performing in the Irish dance-based shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger.
Born 16 July 1958 in Chicago, this Irish-American took traditional Celtic step dancing steps beyond its traditions and established an international audience for the form. First he created a dance portion for the Chieftains, the legendary Irish folk-rock group, then as an actor, choreographer, and musician this lord of dance extended into several long-form shows that has made his one of the richest men in

Mr Calderon also told the Washington Post that bilateral relations had suffered “serious damage” because of the US diplomatic cables.
The Mexican presidency said on Saturday that ties between the two countries remained solid despite Mr Pascual's resignation.
Mr Pascual questioned whether President Calderon could win his war on drugs, saying the various security agencies were often at odds.
The Mexican security forces, he said, were slow and risk-averse.
Mr Pascual, a Cuban-American expert in failed states, is a career