What object without inherent beauty or aesthetic importance has a deep and abiding significance for you? What do you treasure that nobody else would look at twice?　I have a black plastic shift key from an old electric typewriter on the bookcase above my computer at home. I’m staring at it as I write. To you it would look like nothing except a piece of junk, but to me it means a great deal. I’ve had it since 1982, from the days when I was living in a ground-floor apartment at the back of an old,

The deadliest outbreak of H7N9 bird flu since its discovery in 2013 is sweeping across China. It’s caused at least 100 deaths and has been detected in half the country’s provinces. So far, the virus seems to be spreading only between birds and the humans who slaughter them for food. But the potential for human-to-human transmission -- the trigger for a full-blown pandemic -- can’t be ruled out. In response, Chinese authorities have temporarily shut down live poultry markets in some of the countr

The “La La Land” Oscar-nominated song “Audition” contains an ode to unfulfilled dreams as an actress accustomed to trying and failing sings “Here’s to the mess we make.”You said it, sister.“Audition” didn’t win for best song, and as it turned out “La La Land” didn’t win for best picture, even though presenter Faye Dunaway announced that it had, sending “La La Land” producers to the stage for a victory celebration that ended abruptly when the terse accountan ts from Price Waterhouse let it be kno

Slowly, and against the odds, the Trump administration is inching toward a more coherent foreign policy in Western Europe.President Donald Trump is, as usual, sending wildly mixed signals. He has said NATO -- the North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- is obsolete. He has been too cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently terrifying the leadership of free democracies in Europe.But the president’s subordinates have delivered a stronger, more reassuring message. Vice President Mike Penc

After listening to the entirety of President Donald Trump’s recent press conference and then reviewing the coverage of it, it’s obvious the media doesn’t understand and cannot accurately interpret his style and approach. Put simply, most people don’t understand how entrepreneurs think. 　It’s one of the main reasons -- outside Trump’s propensity for stepping on his own feet and seemingly making up facts on the fly -- for the confusion and chaos we’ve witnessed during his first weeks in office. 　F

This should be a good time to be an American Internet company in Taiwan. The new president, Tsai Ing-wen, has pledged to build an Asian Silicon Valley on the island. And the new American president, Donald Trump has threatened a trade war with Taiwan‘s rivals in mainland China. The stars would appear to be aligned.　So it’s surprising that on Feb. 10, one of America‘s most successful digital companies, Uber, had to suspend its operations in Taiwan. At issue was a new law to impose fines up to $800

President Donald Trump’s initial address to a joint session of the US Congress on Tuesday night may be the most anticipated in memory. Not, as Trump would claim, because he’s so compelling. Rather it’s because, when it comes to substance, we don’t know who he is.　For Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, a first February speech to Congress was a chance to add definition to well-articulated policy architecture. Trump, by contrast, has conveyed little sense of a governing stru

President Donald Trump’s penchant for “alternative facts” raises a troubling question: What if the same instinct leads him to pressure government agencies -- the ones that track everything from jobs to air quality -- into producing data to support whatever he wants to believe?If Trump won’t draw the line, the US Congress should.Two recent cases suggest where things may be headed. Trump’s officials have considered changing the way they calculate foreign trade balances, turning some surpluses into

As the first month has passed of Donald Trump’s presidency with little sign of success, and some question whether he‘s even up to trying to turn his campaign platform into a real legislative agenda, it’s occurring to more and more people that what we‘re looking at is someone on the road to being a very weak president. My View colleague Ramesh Ponnuru has a nice item making that argument, focused on Trump’s reputation. 　Since Trump tends to lash out when losing, he remains a danger to democracy e