Rise of the machines

You’ve got to love Michio Kaku. The smiling American physicist knows the answer to everything, and because he does, he appears in every single science documentary these days — at least those produced by the Discovery Channel. Kaku’s 2009–10 series Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, currently showing on German TV, underscores the extent to which science fiction inspires today’s … >>

Lessons in success: What the admiral taught us

Recently, the American and German exchange students I advise were privileged to enjoy the company of Vice-Admiral Charles Martoglio, the deputy commander of United States European Command. Martoglio and his boss are in charge of 100,000 military and civilian personnel who operate across this entire continent. Our group often meets with ambassadors, consuls, army generals, air-force colonels and important politicians, … >>

Help not wanted

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fascinated by the news reports of recent weeks. The demonstrations that toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt have spread to Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Lebanon, Oman and even Saudi Arabia. Kuwait took the hint and offered concessions before any protests happened. As George W. Bush said, several years too early, … >>

What not to say in an Irish pub

Here’s a little history quiz for you. Which war was the longest in American history? If you answered “Vietnam,” you’d have been right until about three weeks ago. US combat there officially lasted eight years and eight months. But this June, it was overtaken by Afghanistan, where fighting has gone on uninterrupted since October 2001. The arrival of this fact … >>

A good neighbor to Haiti

It was the right thing to do: when the earthquake hit Haiti last week, Barack Obama promptly sent over $100 million in aid. It was easy to do, because the money was already available. The US had given Haiti three times that amount last year, out of a sense of charity. Haiti is like that family member that no one … >>

Last chance in Afghanistan

This time, all the TV networks carried the speech. That’s how important it was — the strategy so long in coming on how to win a war many consider unwinnable. Speaking at the prestigious West Point military academy, Barack Obama said that over the next six months, America would send another 30,000 troops to join the roughly 70,000 already in … >>

Stories from the Cold War

First grade started as the world was about to end. A siren went off at the school, and hundreds of us kids were led down to the basement. We were stunned to find ourselves in a vast concrete cavern lined with barrels of water and big boxes of crackers. This fallout shelter would keep us alive if Pittsburgh were destroyed. … >>