Bloomberg (February 16)
“Sleep deprivation is doing more harm in Japan than just making people grumpy and unhealthy. It is also holding back the world’s third-largest economy,” creating an economic drag of nearly $140 billion or roughly 2.9% of GDP. This is a much larger GDP slice than Canada (1.35%), Germany (1.56%), the UK (1.86%) or the U.S. (2.28%) lose to sleep deprivation. Moreover, periodic surveys by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, show the number of people averaging less than 6 hours of sleep per night has risen by about 10% since 2007 to nearly 40% of Japan’s population.
CNN (February 16)
“Although at this point nothing should surprise anyone about how Trump conducts himself, it was still hard not to have your jaw drop as his face-off with reporters played across screens. He lashed out personally against reporters, he resumed fighting over the outcome of the election and his loss in the popular vote, and continued steadfastly refusing to admit to facts that are beyond dispute…. This is not a way to conduct the presidency.”
Tags: Conduct, Election, Face-off, Facts, Popular vote, Presidency, Reporters, Trump
Wall Street Journal (February 15)
The death of “Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un…has the look of another overseas assassination by the Kim regime—and a reminder that behind its missile launches and nuclear tests, North Korea remains an inherently unstable and vulnerable regime.”
The Week (February 14)
“It’s three whole weeks into the Trump administration, and this is already looking like the most dysfunctional White House in memory. While we had plenty of other things to worry about when contemplating a Donald Trump victory during the campaign, this should have been utterly predictable.”
LA Times (February 14)
“California’s majestic Oroville Dam is currently in danger of spillway failure in a season of record snow and rainfall. That could spell catastrophe for thousands who live below it and for the state of California at large that depends on its stored water. The poor condition of the dam is almost too good a metaphor for the condition of the state as a whole; its possible failure is a reflection of California’s civic decline.”
Tags: California, Catastrophe, Danger, Decline, Failure, Oroville Dam, U.S., Water
Chicago Tribune (February 14)
“It would be tempting to say the alleged help in getting Donald Trump elected has backfired for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that is not the case. Putin wants “an adversary with diminished moral standing and no appetite for meddling in far-off regions. Putin is enjoying all the benefits he could expect from the Trump administration without having to pay for them.”
Tags: Adversary, Backfired, Benefits, Diminished, Meddling, Moral standing, Putin, Trump Election
Financial Times (February 13)
“Greece is as sick as ever and its agony goes on and on…. Barring wholly improbable changes in the politics of European crisis management, Greece will earn the unwanted distinction by late 2019 of having spent more of its eurozone existence in an intensive care unit than outside.”
Tags: Agony, Crisis management, eurozone, Greece, Intensive care, Sick
The Economist (February 11)
“Leave campaigners promised voters that Brexit would save the taxpayer £350m ($440m) a week. That pledge was always tendentious. But officials in Brussels are drawing up a bill for departure that could mean Britain’s contributions remain close to its membership dues for several years after it leaves.” The final tab is estimated to be “anything between €24.5bn ($26.1bn) and €72.8bn.”
Jerusalem Post (February 9)
A newly signed bilateral investment treaty marks “another milestone in Israel’s newly blossoming relationship with” Japan. “While celebrations are indeed in order, it is apparent that Israel is only scratching the surface of the potential relationship with Japan, and unless it negotiates the obstacles along the way, will never realize the full potential of trade with the world’s third-largest economy.”
Tags: Bilateral, Investment treaty, Israel, Japan, Milestone, Relationship, Trade
Washington Post (February 8)
“Nordstrom broke the curse of the Trump tweet.” Donald Trump may have been able to tank some stocks with critical tweets, but shares in the upscale department store are up. Nordstrom “seems largely immune to the president’s public bashing. On Wednesday morning, he criticized the retailer for dropping Ivanka Trump products — and its stock value climbed.”
