Bieber's problem: Too much money

Justin Bieber turned 19 on March 1. He won't be able to claim the "teen" in his pop star title for much longer.

The year 2013 wasn't very kind to Bieber; a paparazzo died in oncoming traffic after attempting to take a photo of the singer's car. A week later, photos hit the Web alleging marijuana use by Bieber. The singer kept his sense of humor through the ordeal, joking about it in his first stint as host of "Saturday Night Live." Here he performs in Washington in December.

Bieber cleans up at the American Music Awards in November, but the young artist is left out completely when the Grammy nominations are announced a few weeks later. Add an alleged murder plot to the mix, and it's fair to say December 2012 wasn't the best month for the Biebs.

Bieber's relationship with Selena Gomez seemed to end at the end of 2012, although their actions sparked rumors of reconciliation just about every other week. Regardless of their on-again, off-again status, Bieber chose to take his mom, Pattie Mallette, as his date to the 2012 American Music Awards.

The Biebs has a knack for concert mishaps. He managed to run into a wall of glass backstage in Paris in June 2012, and in the fall of that year, he got sick onstage before moving on with his performance in Glendale, Arizona. Here he performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in October 2012.

In June 2012, the singer was all smiles as he held baby brother Jaxon at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.

Bieber's immense fan base comes out in full force when the singer releases his album "Believe." The disc not only went to No. 1, but it also had the year's biggest entry on the Billboard 200. How many can do that and graduate from high school (which he did in 2012) at the same time?

Bieber makes his bread and butter as a teen pop phenom, but his social circle is wide. His appearance as part of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s entourage at a fight in May 2012 had everyone doing a double take. Lil Wayne and 50 Cent were also on hand.

When you're Justin Bieber, you get a $100,000 electric sports car for your 18th birthday -- and on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, no less.

The Biebs attends the NRJ Music Awards in January 2012, but he stays busy giving back when he's not hitting the red carpet. A month later, he made a special Valentine's Day trip to a girl suffering from cancer. Photos he shared from their time together quickly went viral.

Bieber had some of the "most influential hair" of 2011 and also was ranked as one of the most charitable stars. Here, he showed off his style with Paris Jackson at the Michael Jackson hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Bieber was embroiled in a baby mama scandal when he attended the 2011 American Music Awards with Selena Gomez, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the happy couple. A year later, Bieber and Gomez would no longer be an item.

Bieber attends the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2011 with a snake on one hand and then-girlfriend Selena Gomez holding on to the other. He won the best male video award for "U Smile" that night.

Madame Tussauds had everyone seeing double when Bieber's wax figure was unveiled in March 2011 in London.

Bieber shows off on the basketball court at the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Los Angeles. Even former NBA player Scottie Pippen said he was surprised by Bieber's skills.

The pop idol attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," a 3-D documentary on his rise to stardom, in February 2011. He's accompanied by Usher and manager Scooter Braun.

At 16, Bieber was already an author. Here he promotes his book, "First Step 2 Forever: My Story," at a New York bookstore in November 2010.

Complete with a letterman jacket and a drum solo, Bieber surprises fans in an outdoor performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles in September 2010.

By early 2010, Bieber had notched a chart-scaling album with "My World" and was ready to release "My World 2.0," which contained the single "Baby." Here, Bieber performs at the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam in Miami Beach in February 2010.

The Stratford, Ontario, native first attracted attention on YouTube. Here Bieber, in his signature purple hoodie, entertains crowds at Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, a U.S. Open event, in New York in August 2009.

At 15, Bieber had yet to become synonymous with the ubiquitous single "Baby." At this point, he was soaking up all he could learn from his mentor, Usher, with whom he attended the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in March 2009.

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• Peggy Drexler: There are teenagers like Justin Bieber on every block


• Drexler: A young person who has so much money -- and power -- can do crazy things


• She says parents can instill values, but it's hard when a kid is the breadwinner


• Drexler: Still, there are teen stars who grow up fine even if they have a lot of money

Editor's note: Peggy Drexler is the author of "Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family" and "Raising Boys Without Men." She is an assistant professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University and a former gender scholar at Stanford University. Join her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @drpeggydrexler.

(CNN) -- Cyndi Lauper had a hit in the 1980s called "Money Changes Everything." She has a point. It may or may not buy happiness, but money -- especially truckloads of it -- does change things, including endowing the holder of the checkbook with power.

Now, take a teenager and give him that power. What happens?

Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan and the other teen stars that have crashed to earth in a shower of tabloid sparks, may only be doing what a great many teenagers would be doing -- if they could.

There are teenagers like Justin Bieber on every block. But imagine the kid who cuts your lawn suddenly having a net worth of about $130 million.

The same teen brain that convinces its host that he won't get caught if he throws a party at the house while mom and dad are away now knows it owns the house -- and it's a mansion, with Lamborghinis outside loaned gratis by a friendly dealer. Woohoo!

Vanilla Ice: Biebs, come work with me

It's long been said that by age 5 or 6, a child's brain is 95% of its adult size. But neuroscientists, enlightened by MRI technology, are discovering it is still changing -- creating connections, adding and shedding cells. That process is particularly active in the prefrontal cortex -- the part that makes judgments like drag racing through residential neighborhoods.

Dr. Jay Giedd at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, led studies that found the teen brain development was a process of adding and pruning. Significantly, he said, brain cells at that age are influenced by what the teen does. If he plays sports, the brain cells will make connections that help with that. If he sits on the couch and plays video games, then the cells will be hardwired for those activities.

The only real moderating influence -- as it is for any teenager -- is the parents. But instilling discipline and values can be a daunting exercise when the child is the breadwinner. It can be difficult to tell your child they can't have the car tonight -- when he's the one who paid for it.

Some parents -- like the Lohans -- are simply not up to the job. Others -- like the parents of Britney Spears or Amanda Bynes -- may have had their job complicated by what appear to be mental problems. Unfortunately, today, those problems are there for all to see. Every failure of a troubled celebrity teen spreads like digital wildfire.

Still, for every Justin Bieber, there is a Ron Howard, Natalie Portman or Jodie Foster -- child stars who navigated the rocky shoals of teen years into successful adulthood. Actor Rance Howard, in an interview, said he raised well-adjusted child star sons, Clint and Academy-award winning Ron, by removing their money from the family's life. "We chose not to live on what the boys could afford," he said, "but what I could afford."

Let's hope Justin will find his way. But romping in a mountain of money like most kids play in a pile of leaves, and surrounded by an entourage of dependent cheerleaders, won't make it easy. As the developing cells of his teenage brain react to the world around him -- money does change everything.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peggy Drexler.

El Torcal: Spain's third best beauty spot

EL TORCAL in Antequera nearly became the “Best Corner” (of Spain) in 2013 but had to resign itself to getting the diploma for third place.

It came behind Cueva de Pozalagua (Vizcaya, winner) and Juderia de Hervas (Caceres, second place).

Participating in the competition, organised by the Repsol guide, has been a big boost for the municipality. In the last year it received 20,000 more visitors than in 2012, which was an increase of 33 per cent.

Why Twitter should watch its back

Bob Greene says new-economy companies can learn from the original coast-to-coast mail delivery system, the Pony Express, a huge innovation for America -- for about 18 months

• Bob Greene: New economy hotshots, take a lesson from the Pony Express innovation


• The horseback relay system for getting mail between East, West coasts started in 1860


• It lasted 18 months; then Western Union arrived, then that was replaced by telephone


• Greene: Blockbuster knows how this works. New companies, watch your back

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose 25 books include "Late Edition: A Love Story"; "Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War"; and "Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen."

(CNN) -- Memo to the hotshots running Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and all the other of-the-moment enterprises that are lighting up the headier reaches of the new economy:

Congratulations on your success and your cachet.

You're doing great. You already know that.

But if you want to keep doing great, here's a rather unlikely source from which you might want to take a lesson:

The Pony Express.

Because, long ago, the Pony Express was you.

It was the lightning-speed wonder of its era. It was a bit of audacious entrepreneurship that rocked the old order back on its heels.

Its founders figured out a way to do the previously unimaginable: get word of something all the way from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast in a mere 10 days or so.

It accomplished this by setting up an intricate relay system where men on fast horses galloped from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, bearing packets of letters, newspapers and small parcels. Regular United States mail service only extended from the East Coast to the Midwest; the land beyond that was considered too undeveloped and dangerous.

The standard way of getting word to the West Coast in those years was sending letters by steamship around the tip of South America. A letter would arrive in California months later.

So when the Pony Express went into service on April 3, 1860, it was a sensation. More than 150 stations were set up between Missouri and California. Some 120 riders, astride 400 horses, were trained to dash from one station to the next. The stations were usually about 10 miles apart; a rider would change horses at each station, and then speed off on the fresh horse he picked up. Each rider would travel approximately 100 miles before being relieved by a new man.

Suddenly the vast nation seemed not quite so huge. The Pony Express riders did exhausting, daring work, but the company filled a need, and a mystique quickly grew up around it.

Blockbuster Video closing its stores

Sweet! It's Money Time

Western Union: Moving money in disaster

So -- and here is the lesson for today's brash entrepreneurs -- how long do you think the Pony Express served the nation? As famous as it was and still is, how long do you think it endured as a business?

Eighteen months.

It shut down all operations on October 26, 1861.

What happened?

Western Union.

The men on the horses were riding so fast that they and their bosses didn't pause to fully note the significance of what was going on behind them:

The establishment of a telegraph system that would make that 10-day ride seem not only slow, but, in a business sense, irrelevant.

Regardless of how hot a new company may seem, its owners are best advised never to forget that there is no guarantee their enterprise will remain that way indefinitely. There is always something closing in on them, even if they can't see it; someone, somewhere is already working to outsmart them.

Just ask Western Union itself. Once its transcontinental telegraph lines reached California, it was on top of the world.

And then the telephone came along.

It is both the glory and the frustration of America's tradition of endless ambition: If you're smart and inventive enough, there are no limits to what you can achieve. But there also are no guarantees that you get to remain at the pinnacle for even another minute. Capitalism bestows no lifetime achievement awards.

Just this month we are seeing another example of that truth. In the 1980s, a company became an instant phenomenon, its name a national catchphrase, when it dreamed up a way to fulfill a universal desire:

Anyone was given the power to watch feature films of his or her own choosing, right at home. The new corner store -- Blockbuster --was full of movies for rent. No longer did people have to depend on what the television networks decided to broadcast. Hollywood moguls and Hugh Hefner ceased to be the only ones who could screen whatever movies they wanted in their living rooms; Blockbuster, to the delight of its customers, democratized that ability with its array of rentable videocassettes.

As recently as a decade ago, Blockbuster had more than 9,000 retail rental stores in the United States. But this month the last of them are closing their doors. What happened was that Netflix was founded, and then the digital-delivery revolution picked up velocity. With the exception of a handful of Blockbuster stores that are owned by franchisees, they will vanish from the American landscape.

The public is fickle; it will always want the next and best thing, and there will always be someone eager to provide it. For a blink of history's eye, that was the Pony Express. No matter how brilliant your business idea, how diligent and disciplined your execution of it, there is forever someone hungrier and faster coming over the horizon.

So, for those companies that are happily hitting the peak of their popularity, prestige and profits today, a few words of cautionary wisdom:

Please be kind -- rewind.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

America abandons Egypt's 'Arab Spring'

Thousands of Egyptians gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square during a rally marking the anniversary of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising on Saturday, January 25. A spate of deadly bombings put Egyptian police on edge as supporters and opponents of the military-installed government take part in rival rallies for the anniversary.

Supporters of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt's minister of defense, gather at Tahrir Square to mark the anniversary.

Egyptian traditional dancers perform at a pro-military rally in Tahrir Square.

A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood flashes a four-fingered salute next to burning tires allegedly set ablaze by protesters during clashes with security forces.

A man waves an Egyptian flag during a rally.

Pro-military demonstrators wave national flags and hold pictures of Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who was a key figure in the ouster last summer of democratically elected President Mohamed Morsy, and who recently hinted at a run for the presidency himself.

Anti-military protesters shout slogans near the Ramses Square in downtown Cairo.

A man carries his son to escape clashes between police and anti-military protesters.

A boy is seen during a rally marking the anniversary.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clash with security forces in Cairo.

Egyptian anti-military protesters, mostly supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsy, clash with security forces in downtown Cairo

Egyptians walk around an armored personnel carrier parked at a pro-military rally in Tahrir Square.

A Muslim Brotherhood supporter aims fireworks at pro-military demonstrators clashes in Cairo.

A supporter of the Egyptian military leadership flashes the victory sign during clashes with Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

Egyptian police fire tear gas to disperse hundreds of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsy.

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• "The Square" is filmmaker Jehane Noujaim's documentary about Egypt's revolutionaries


• It's told through the eyes of three revolutionaries who meet in during the first protests


• This is the Egypt the Obama administration has forgotten, says Cynthia Schneider


• Schneider: Film should be a painful reminder to the U.S. of the military regime it backs

Editor's note: Cynthia Schneider is a professor in the practice of diplomacy at Georgetown University, dean at the School of Diplomacy at Dubrovnik International University and a senior nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also a former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.

(CNN) -- Egyptian voters this month ratified a new constitution that enshrines the military, police and intelligence in positions of unprecedented power. Filmgoers elsewhere could watch "The Square," Jehane Noujaim's documentary about resilient revolutionaries -- youth, intellectuals and Muslim Brotherhood -- fighting for dignity, social justice, economic empowerment and freedom.

Which is the true Egypt? Both, but the second has been ignored by the Obama administration and much of the media.

In Washington as in Egypt, there are two narratives: 1) The army has brought back stability, and the revolution is over; 2) Egyptians have banished fear, if not the regime, and many who led and joined the revolution continue to fight for the same aspirations, while soberly acknowledging the challenges ahead.

Is Egypt better now than 3 years ago?

Deadly bombs push Egypt to crisis's edge

Egypt FM: We must stabilise law and order

The second narrative comes to life in "The Square," the Oscar-nominated documentary that tracks Egypt's uprisings from the inspiring 18 days that began three years ago on January 25, when protesters crossed Tahrir Square, to the crackdown on the Brotherhood camps last August. (Full disclosure: I donated $90 to the Kickstarter campaign that supported the film, and I know director Jehane Noujaim and producer Karim Amer personally.)

Through the eyes of three revolutionaries who meet in Tahrir Square during the first protests in 2011-- Ahmed Hassan, a young street vendor who emerges as a charismatic leader in Tahrir; Khalid Abdalla, a third-generation activist and actor (star of "The Kite Runner," and founder of the post-revolution media collective Mosireen ); and Magdy Ashour, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood -- we see the events of the last three years unfold in fits and starts of optimism, betrayal, and disappointment.

This is the Egypt that the Obama administration has forgotten. This is the Egypt that took Washington by surprise three years ago. True, the initial promise of those utopian 18 days when the country overcame economic and ethnic barriers to find common cause, has not been redeemed. No surprise. After decades of U.S.- backed authoritarian rule, Egyptians have no reliable independent institutions, only the ability to take to the streets in protest. And now the new military-backed constitution takes that away.

Ahmed, Khalid, Magdy, and their compatriots in "The Square" -- such as Ramy, who is brutally beaten by the security forces for the crime of leading Tahrir in song -- demonstrate that this Egypt is resilient. They may not have learned to organize political parties and to take power in three years, a failing that left first the Brotherhood and then the military to fill that vacuum, but they also are not abandoning the struggle for their rights.

Given the film's portrayal of the military's repeated attacks on protesters, beginning in March 2011, it is difficult to understand the infatuation with Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the army, a sentiment that extends to liberals such as author Alaa al-Aswany. Recently returned from Cairo, "The Square" producer Karim Amer said in a talkback session, "People are beginning to wake up and recognize what the regime is doing to divide Egyptians."

In a tragic postscript to the film, Magdy Ashour currently is confined to his home -- a common fate for Brotherhood members -- unable to work for fear of arrest under the military's condemnation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. This is ironic, since Magdy sided with the revolutionaries against Egypt's deposed president, Mohammed Morsy. The current Egyptian regime's policy of outlawing a movement with millions of Egyptian supporters, one that supplied essential social services to the poor, cannot end well.

And where is the United States? As usual, it has no impact. Having consistently abandoned those fighting for the goals of the revolution, the U.S. has steadily weakened its position of influence.

Now the U.S. speaks to the military to no avail. While Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel dials el-Sisi to discourage growing repression, gaining nothing from their conversations, the U.S. is vilified in the Egyptian media.

"The Square" should be a painful reminder for the White House, Congress, and State Department of the nature of the military regime the U.S. continues to back,

Egyptians, who already know this well enough, do not have the opportunity to see the film: It languishes in the state censorship authority. And no wonder. The military-backed regime surely does not want Egyptians to see the juxtaposition of army leaders promising "not to harm a single Egyptian" with the brutal beatings inflicted on protesters.

The Oscars have done what the White House has failed to do: Recognize the ongoing narrative of Egypt's revolution.

Now the Egyptian authorities must allow their countrymen to see their own history. There are encouraging signs that the Oscar nomination has prompted them to review the film's status. The Jumbotrons screening "The Square" in the Square cannot come a moment too soon.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Cynthia Schneider.

Coca Cola employees take strike action

Coca Cola employees will be going on strike following last week’s announcement that four Coca Cola factories on Spain were to be closed.

The workers union in the bottling factory in Alicante has approved support of the national protest by Coca Cola workers. The strike is due to begin on February 3 and continue indefinitely.

A calendar of strike days has been drawn up and announced on Saturday by Jesus Mateo, spokesman for Colebega, the company who produce and distribute Coca Cola products in Valencia, Alicante, Castellon, Murcia, Albacete and Cuenca.

There will be daily strike action in Alicante, starting on February 3, between 1.00pm and 3.00pm, enabling staff from two shifts to participate. This is planned to continue for the first two weeks, after which the measures will be extended to eight hours.

Demonstrations have been planned in both Alicante and Valencia for the next two Saturdays, February 1 and 8.

Action is also due to be taken in the Palma factory. Rosa Garcia, Secretary General of the Workers Union’s Federation of Food and Agriculture in the Balearic Islands, has announced strike action for two hours at the beginning of each shift on February 4, 6, 11 and 13 followed up by 24 hour action on February 18 and 20.

Coca Cola announced cutbacks last week which would affect 1,250 workers and the closure of four plants in Madrid, Alicante, Palma and Asturias.