New research shows the robots are coming for jobs—but stealthily
Jan 16th 2021THE YEAR is 2021, and honestly there ought to be more robots. It was a decade ago that two scholars of technology, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, published “Race Against the Machine”, an influential book that marked the start of a fierce debate between optimists and pessimists about technological change. The authors argued…
Sex with 12-year-olds is legal in the Philippines
Jan 14th 2021IT IS PERFECTLY legal in the Philippines—but almost nowhere else—for an adult to engage in consensual sex with a preteen. For as long as the country has had an age of sexual consent, it has been fixed at 12, among the lowest in the world (see chart).The Philippines is a deeply religious, largely…
Shares in emerging markets have hit a record peak
IN HIS BOOK “The Emerging Markets Century”, published in 2007, Antoine van Agtmael marvelled at the progress of emerging markets since he coined the term in 1981. Their growth, he wrote, “will constitute nothing less than an economic landslide”. Projections from Goldman Sachs, a bank, suggested that the combined GDP of Brazil, Russia, India and…
Why everyone is now an options trader
Jan 16th 2021IN THE BUCKET shops of early 20th-century America, ordinary punters could bet on the direction of share prices with a tiny down-payment. The punters liked this, because it gave them a lot of notional exposure for a minuscule outlay. The bucket shops on the other side of the wagers loved it, too, because…
India’s Supreme Court suspends the government’s farm reforms
THE STEAM and smoke that billow through the encampments that circle India’s capital are even thicker than the city’s wintertime smog. Hundreds of thousands of angry farmers descended on Delhi seven weeks ago. Stopped at the borders, they pitched tents, blocked traffic, sharpened slogans—and began to cook. Mobile generators power giant automated chapati-making machines. Vats…
Defunct royal families are making a comeback in Indonesia
SUAIB SYAMSUDIN SJAH recalls how uneasy he felt as his extended family began to chant on the fateful day. They had gathered by a sacred spring on a beach on the island of Halmahera to discover who among them would become kolano (king) of the Lolodans, a local ethnic group. Mr Suaib was worried that…
New platforms are bringing African comics to a broader audience
Jan 14th 2021JOHANNESBURGFOR ZIKI NELSON it began with TV cartoons: “X-Men” and “Spider-Man”. These led to “Archie” and “Asterix” comics, then Japanese anime and manga. But as he devoured animated work from elsewhere, something was missing. “We had this African heritage and no one was telling stories about where we’re from.”That is changing. New platforms…
Jon Bernthal Wears The Punisher Logo While Addressing Capitol Rioters
Jon Bernthal, star of Netflix’s The Punisher, addressed Capitol rioters who used the Punisher logo for their own selfish means. Most recently, the infamous Punisher skull was seen sported by several persons in the savage mob that ambushed the U.S. Capitol building. As a result, Bernthal responded via Twitter to a user who referenced the…