Exclusive: EU wants to exclude utilities from U.S. trade talks. Little sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can shake up Japan’s inbound FDI. Syria’s Assad Says Peace Talks Likely to Fail

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Japan wins approval from member countries to join Trans-Pacific trade talks
Italy’s president agrees to another term if picked
Serbia and Kosovo Reach Milestone Deal

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Israel’s booming economy puts billions in US aid under spotlight
Kerry in Japan: US ready to ‘reach out’ to North Korea
Gun Background Checks Vote Expected To Be Close

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Asian shares fall on weak U.S. sales; await China data
Undocumented farm workers could work toward green cards?
Israel’s booming economy puts billions in US aid under spotlight

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Stocks: Jobs take center stage
‘G.I. Joe’ commands No. 1 at box office with $41M
United delays Denver-Toyko again on Boeing snag
Cost of Environmental Degradation in China Is Growing

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Marco Rubio: Immigration Deal Reports ‘Premature’
Bank of Cyprus big savers to lose up to 60 percent
United delays Denver-Toyko again on Boeing snag
Glass Lewis urges MetroPCS shareholders vote down T-Mobile USA deal

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The Wall Street Journal reports that the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner in the United States. The move follows a spate of incidents involving the electrical systems on latest Boeing jetliner.

The FAA ordered the temporary grounding while it investigates the increasing frequency of smoke-related emergencies.   Japanese carriers ANA and JAL have both grounded their 787 fleets following well-publicized incidents involving their aircraft.  The Journal notes that the latest scare, involving ANA Flight 692 bound for Tokyo, pushed the FAA to widen the scope of the inquiry:

Wednesday’s incident has expanded the world-wide probe of the 787′s electrical troubles. After previous reported problems, officials had said they were examining the electrical system on the 787 broadly, but all the recent incidents involved components in the aft electrical-equipment bay located behind the wings. The latest problem emerged in a forward bay that until now had been free from scrutiny. This bay sits underneath the flight deck and behind the nose landing gear.

While teething problems are not unusual with new airplane models, the dramatic nature of the move could prove a huge headache for Boeing. In an environment of defense cutbacks, the commercial airplane business is more critical than ever for the aerospace giant, and the new 787 is the linchpin of its product line, embodying the latest in technical and design innovation.

Image courtesy of Spaceaero2 via Wikipedia

Notwithstanding the Goracular pronouncements of Global Warming enthusiasts, during recent years we have witnessed an outbreak of unusually chilly winter weather across the globe. The seas may or may not be rising, but the snow drifts certainly are. Even The Land Of The Rising Sun does not appear to be immune. Tokyo vlogger Kevin Cooney gives us a look at how the Japanese, among the most technologically advanced people on earth, deal with the vagaries of Mother Nature. (Note: I have no idea what his politics are, but his videos combine a sharp eye for detail with a great comedic sensibility, and are hugely enjoyable.) And they don’t deal with it too well. Even light accumulations can basically shut Tokyo down, and the hardworking Japanese get- a snow day! At the end of which Cooney does something that we all appreciate at the end of a chilly day- he orders a pizza. But, Mama mia!, pizza choices in Japan don’t always look so bellissimo. Which makes me think. If the ever-proficient Japanese can twist something as basic as pizza into something very different than the original, what are Westerners doing when they try to import and interpret complex cultural phenomenon in the name of multiculturalism?

Ah, Kyoto. The name invokes the very essence of the exotic east. And for Global Warming religionists, the signature church council that attempted to lay down the law to humanity about their nasty carbon emissions.

Trouble is, a prolonged bout of biting winter weather, on full view again this weekend, is leading those souls to question the fundamentals of the faith. Not to mention its practice in those foreign lands the left loves so much. For instance, when one leaves the real Kyoto, and not the mystical one of the progressive imagination, one comes across, like, factories. Traveling northeast towards Tokyo on Japan’s famed Shinkansen, the bullet train traveler sees them spread out in plain sight under the gaze of iconic Mt. Fuji, in an area known for its pulp and paper business. Plain, unambiguous, unapologetic factories. But then Japan, despite its well deserved reputation of appreciation for the beauties of nature, is in the business of business. The plants, offices, shopping centers and other manifestations of urban sprawl dominate the Tokaido corridor that stretches from Osaka to Tokyo, a corridor that has been buzzing since the days of the shoguns.

But that’s life in one of the world’s great economies. Don’t tell the libs. And enjoy the view!

For starters, let’s go with something as mundane as renting an apartment in Tokyo. Tokyo V-logger Kevin Cooney, who won the You Tube Japan V-Logger Of The Year award for 2008, gives an idea of what you might have to go through to snag an apartment in Tokyo’s notoriously complex and expensive rental market. Enjoy! And, uh, Save The Whales