With the U.S. military's increased reliance on unmanned aircraft, it was just a matter of time before allies South Korea and Japan saw the potential benefits, too. Japan's Ministry of Defense requested about $38 million over the next four years for research to develop a homemade drone. "I think it's just a logical interest in new technologies," said Robert Dujarric, director of TUJ's Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies. "How much money they're willing to put in it is the key question."
Britain's choice of a Canadian, Mark Carney, to run the Bank of England could usher central bankers into the realm of globe-trotting elites that dominate the top jobs in business. Peter Spiro, a citizenship expert at Temple's Beasley School of Law, said the traditional sense of national loyalty is being tested as business goes global. "Those questions have mostly been taken over by globalization," he said, adding that Carney's selection is "a mirror of what's going on in the context of multinationals."
David Petraeus is the latest in a long line of risk-taking military and political leaders, said Frank Farley, a professor in Temple's College of Education. Americans, he said, are often willing to reluctantly accept private misdeeds from great leaders. "JFK and FDR remain in the 'top heroes' list despite everything we know about them," he said. The American public seems to be "more interested in what [leaders] have done for the country" than judging them for their private sins.
Which way will Japanese elections go? CNBC invited Tina Burrett, a political scientist at Temple University, Japan Campus, into the studio for in-depth analysis. Japan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan recently revealed its election platform — a headline-grabbing move, Burrett said. "This election is wide open," she said. "Because [Prime Minister] Noda is so far behind in the polls, he needs some dramatic, headline-grabbing initiatives to propel his party."
