The Korea Herald

[Michael Boskin] The Euro-American debt dilemma

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

PALO ALTO ― Wealthy Europe and America, crown jewels of mixed capitalist democracies, are drowning in deficits and debt, owing to bloated welfare states that are now in place (Europe) or in the making (the United States). As Europe struggles to prevent financial contagion and America struggles to re
[Peter Goldmark] Can we even govern ourselves?

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

You’ve read about cults that lose touch with reality and gather on some hilltop to greet the end of the world.We have a large cult-like group in the House of Representatives who have lost touch with economic reality and whose delusions may cause the country they say they love incalculable harm.Even
[Editorial] Lackluster investigation

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

The parliamentary investigation into the savings bank scandal has virtually ended without uncovering anything about the massive irregularities at the suspended banks. The outcome is disappointing, to say the least, and all the more so given the prosecution’s failure to answer a host of questions reg
[Editorial] U.S. rating downgrade

EditorialAug 7, 2011

In a surprise move, Standard & Poor’s has lowered the credit rating of the United States by one notch from the highest “AAA” level to “AA+.” The unprecedented rating downgrade is expected to have far-reaching effects on Korea and the global economy as it could hinder the U.S. economic recovery and a
[Shlomo Ben Ami] Middle East’s new game about democracy

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

MADRID ― Whether or not the Arab Spring will usher in credible democracies across the Arab world remains uncertain. But, while the dust has not yet settled after months of turmoil in Tunis, Cairo and elsewhere, the Arab revolts have already had a massive impact on the strategic structure of the Midd
[Laurence Kotlikoff] Generational balance, not budget balance

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

Debt crises make great drama. The big shots attend meetings, look terribly worried, then stomp out, accusing each other of bad faith. Finally, at the witching hour, they reach agreement and tell us all is fine, for now. The tough thing is sorting out what’s really going on. In the U.S. case, the ans
[William Pesek] Let’s get Homer Simpson’s hands off the controls

ViewpointsAug 7, 2011

Japanese executives aren’t known for bucking the establishment. Hiroshi Mikitani is a rare exception at a time when rebellion is most needed. The president of Rakuten Inc., Japan’s biggest online retailer, turned 46 on March 11. That was the day when a record earthquake and tsunami set off the worst
Hiroshima marks atomic bombing

World NewsAug 7, 2011

HIROSHIMA (AP) ― The Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday marked the 66th anniversary of the bombing, as the nation fights a different kind of disaster from atomic technology ― a nuclear plant in a meltdown crisis after being hit by a tsunami.The site of the world’s first A-bomb attack observed a
Israelis protest cost of living

World NewsAug 7, 2011

JERUSALEM (AP) ― At least a quarter of a million Israelis, fed up with the mounting cost of living, poured into the streets of the country’s major cities Saturday night to demand that their leaders address their plight ― and proving by their tremendous numbers that they will not go away.The sn
‘Juno’ sets off for Jupiter

World NewsAug 7, 2011

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) ― A sun-powered robotic explorer named Juno is rocketing toward Jupiter on a fresh quest to discover the secret recipe for making planets.Hundreds of scientists and their families and friends ― among thousands of invited guests ― cheered and yelled “Go Juno!” as the unma
Hackers hit 70 U.S. law enforcement sites

World NewsAug 7, 2011

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) ― The group known as Anonymous said Saturday it hacked into some 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the United States, a data breach that at least one local police chief said leaked sensitive information about an ongoing investigation.The loose-knit international
Protesters hurl fruit at Chile’s rescued miners

World NewsAug 7, 2011

COPIAPO, Chile (AP) ― It has been a bittersweet anniversary for Chile’s rescued miners, who were honored as heroes in their hometown only to come under attack by anti-government protesters who threw fruit and small stones at them, accusing them of being ungrateful, greedy sellouts.Chilean President
U.S. chopper downed in Afghanistan, 38 dead

World NewsAug 7, 2011

Taliban claim credit for worst loss of lives for foreign troops in decade-long warKABUL (AP) ― Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well a
How a ‘mad monk’ captured Zen

TheaterAug 7, 2011

Exhibition looks back on Jung Kwang’s works 10 years after his deathIf he were not a monk, one might have easily mistaken him for a madman. Or perhaps it was because he was a monk that his behavior was considered even more idiosyncratic. The late Jung Kwang, better remembered as the “mad monk,” was
Korean language center to open in Indonesia

Social affairsAug 7, 2011

An Indonesian university is scheduled to open a Korean language center next month, giving traction to a movement to spread the language among a minority tribe there, officials here said Sunday.According to the Hunminjeongeum Society and Kyungpook National University, the Muhammadiyah University of B