Cry for yourself, Argentina.What a shame to see a country of such great economic promise swerving off the road to prosperity again.The latest in a history of unforced errors began in 2007. National elections ushered in populist President Cristina Fernandez, who has led her nation to the brink of disaster by refusing to play by the rules of global finance. She restricted international trade, violated contracts and pumped out phony data to disguise the soaring inflation her policies brought about.

The resignation of David Petraeus as director of central intelligence ― prompted, you may have heard, by the discovery, via an email trail, of an extramarital affair that possibly posed a security risk ― leads to a cascade of concerns. Leaving aside questions of morality, which would only lead to foolhardy and empty pronouncements, it’s fair to ask who will take the helm of the Central Intelligence Agency, which seemed to flourish under Petraeus’s leadership. What does this mean for the unending

It’s no question that Koreans work more hours than in any other country in the world. However, in terms of management efficiency they are ranked among the lowest. What could possibly be the reason for such inefficiency? Is it Confucianism ― employees looking back, embracing tradition and refusing to adapt to a changing world? Is it their military training in which all men are required to dedicate nearly two years of their lives? I believe that it is a combination of both that creates a business

When a student of mine called me to ask for some advice, I listened calmly, expecting him to inquire about his grades or request that I look over one of his essays. Instead, his dilemma was a rather unique one. He had decided to apply to Swarthmore, a top-ranked liberal arts school in America, and wanted to submit a rock album that he had been recording but that was still incomplete. Not only was his counselor against the student’s decision to apply to Swarthmore, insisting that his scores were

Defense officials and private security experts from 17 countries and international bodies will gather in Seoul on Wednesday for a three-day dialogue.Under the theme of cooperation for security and peace, more than 100 participants will discuss concerted efforts to cope with common security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and threats to cyberspace security. They will also exchange views on ways to improve the efficiency of defense administration.The inaugural conference of the Seoul Defense

With about a month to go before the Dec. 19 presidential election, placards publicizing political parties’ populist pledges from increasing pensions for all old-aged people to halving college tuition fees are hung over streets of Seoul and other cities across the country. The competition to win voters’ hearts with promises to shore up their livelihoods hit by the prolonged economic slowdown will be further heated when the official campaign kicks off later this month. The three major presidential

Japan’s leaders just can’t seem to put the 19th century behind them. It may be 2012, and the world surrounding this island nation of 126 million is changing at a blistering pace, but Japanese officialdom seems oddly stuck in the late 1800s. Back then, reformers adopted the slogan “rich nation, strong army.” This rabid nationalism culminated, of course, in World War II and a crushing defeat. Fast-forward a hundred years or so. Here is the hauntingly similar motto Shinzo Abe, very possibly Japan’s

ATMA, Syria ― Traveling inside war-wracked Syria on the U.S. Election Day was a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have a vibrant democracy, whatever its failings.It was also a reminder that Syrian rebels who want democracy, not an Islamic emirate, hope a second-term President Obama will finally move beyond anti-regime rhetoric and take firmer action to end Bashar al-Assad’s rule.I’m not certain their hopes will be met. But what I saw and heard in two forays into Syria, and meetings inside th

President Barack Obama needs a new treasury secretary. Timothy Geithner has made clear that he intends to leave. Furthermore, it is time to bring some fresh thinking to two vital issues: fiscal policy and financial-sector oversight. On fiscal policy, the need is obvious. The framers of the Constitution took great care to divide powers within our government. We can act decisively only when one party controls all branches, or when we agree that there is a grave national emergency. Whatever spin yo

In a bizarre development over the weekend, the prosecution snatched a bribery case from police and started its own investigation all of a sudden. It did so because the case involved a senior prosecutor. No matter what it says, however, the prosecution made the wrong move.Notwithstanding a long-lasting turf war between the two law-enforcement agencies, the prosecution’s move was seen as nothing but an ill-advised attempt to hoodwink the public and downplay the case. Few would expect the prosecuti

As Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party rightly observed, the devil is in the details. He made the remark when he was recently referring to his negotiations with the independent Ahn Cheol-soo on which of the two will represent the opposition as its sole candidate in the upcoming presidential election.Moon and Ahn claim their joint pursuit of the opposition’s single candidacy as a means for a change of government is a mandate from the public that desires a political reform.