The Korea Herald

[David Ignatius] Obama, Erdogan ― odd couple

ViewpointsDec 9, 2011

WASHINGTON ― They are unlikely partners: a cool and unflappable American president, and a proud, sometimes hot-tempered Turkish prime minister. But they have developed a working relationship that is one of the most important but least discussed developments shaping this season of change in the Arab world. If you’re looking for factors that can keep the Arab Awakening from turning into a nightmare, this American-Turkish partnership is mildly reassuring. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister R
[Editorial] Better late than none?

EditorialDec 9, 2011

The Dec. 2 constitutional deadline for the passage of a budget bill has come and gone. Yet, no agreement on an extraordinary parliamentary session appeared to be forthcoming from the ruling and main opposition parties when the regular parliamentary session was set to come to a close Friday. The reason was that the parties were embroiled in internal turmoil.Budget officers in the administration must have been fretting over the possibility of being forced to draw up a provisional spending plan. To
[Editorial] At a crossroads

EditorialDec 9, 2011

The main opposition Democratic Party is set to hold a national congress on Sunday to determine whether or not it will disband itself for a merger with a group of political, social and labor activists. Either way, its decision will have a great impact on the general and presidential elections next year.The party’s proposed merger with the activist group, which goes by the name of “Innovation and Integration,” is an attempt to unite politicians and political activists that were close to the two la
Class war: What’s so awful about the 1 percent?

ViewpointsDec 9, 2011

The class war is on. It’s the 99 percent of “us” versus the 1 percent of “them.”In the rhetoric of this war, we are fighting the 1 percent because they possess most of the nation’s wealth, bankroll their handpicked political candidates, control the banks and get million-dollar paychecks and billion-dollar bailouts; yet they don’t pay enough taxes or invest their wealth in creating American jobs. They’re the “millionaires and billionaires” President Obama has called out as needing to pony up more
Secretary Clinton’s visit a milestone for Myanmar

ViewpointsDec 9, 2011

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just concluded a historic trip to Myanmar. Her visit heralds a breakthrough in relations between the two countries, and a shift in political dynamics in Southeast Asia could be anticipated. While optimism is warranted, it should be tempered by caution; Myanmar has a long way to go before relations between it and the United States ― and indeed the world ― can be normalized.Myanmar’s military rulers have long displayed indifference to the accepted norms
On reforming social security, the time for hard work has arrived

ViewpointsDec 9, 2011

The government and ruling parties, which proposed an integrated reform of the social security and tax systems in June this year, have now begun efforts to work out the concrete details and put their plan in place.The Headquarters of the Government and Ruling Parties for Social Security Reform has been established with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as its head. At its first meeting, Noda said, “I will tackle the reform with unflagging resolve.”The reform headquarters is scheduled to come up with
[Andrew Sheng] European debt depression ― the state vs. the market

ViewpointsDec 9, 2011

In the 1930s, the American economist Irving Fisher first outlined the dangers of debt deflation dynamics. The first stage involves distress selling of assets by the borrowers to reduce their debt. Stage two affects bank balance sheets that contract when customers are paying off their debt. A general fall in asset prices, signaling the reversal of the asset bubble, creates a further fall in business net worth. The consequent decline in the profit level cuts back trade volume when households feel
Wal-Mart battles against Marx’s ghost in India

ViewpointsDec 8, 2011

India has a Wal-Mart problem. This may not sound remarkable, considering that China and the U.S. do as well. China’s preference for sweatshops to supply the Arkansas-based behemoth impedes the creation of a vibrant domestic market. America’s addiction to cheap goods made in China helped kill a once-prosperous manufacturing sector. India’s challenge in allowing Wal-Mart to enter its market is more complicated. It’s a question of whether the ninth-biggest economy moves forward or backward and a de
[Editorial] GNP’s way out of crisis

EditorialDec 8, 2011

The ruling Grand National Party is teetering on the brink of collapse. On Wednesday, three of the party’s five top leaders quit their posts, calling for reform of the party. The majority party has been floundering in defeatism after losing the Seoul mayoral by-election on Oct. 26. The collective resignations of the three leaders ― Reps. Yoo Seung-min, Nam Kyung-pil and Won Hee-ryong ― were intended to pressure party leader Hong Joon-pyo to step down. What motivated the trio to drag Hong down was
[Pierre Buhler] Putin’s Brezhnev syndrome

ViewpointsDec 8, 2011

PARIS ― The winner of Sunday’s legislative election in Russia was a foregone conclusion: United Russia, organized by Vladimir Putin. Likewise, there is no doubt that Putin himself will win the presidential election due in March 2012. But the public enthusiasm that ratified Putin’s rule for a decade has vanished, something demonstrated by the poor performance of his party, United Russia, in the just concluded elections to the Duma.Unlike Europe, beset by a sovereign-debt crisis, and the United St
[Editorial] Boosting housing market

EditorialDec 8, 2011

The government has again come up with a package of measures aimed at stimulating the dormant housing market. It is the sixth of its kind introduced this year. The frequent announcements of policy steps illustrate the difficulty of the task facing policymakers ― injecting new life into the moribund housing market without letting the genie of real estate speculation out of the bottle.The latest package, announced by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs on Wednesday, contained bolde
Antibiotics overuse increases threat of superbugs

ViewpointsDec 8, 2011

A new study of pediatricians’ prescribing habits told us something old and something new. It told us that antibiotics are overused. It also told us ― and this is the new part ― that doctors are using the wrong antibiotics, even when the bacteria-killing drugs are called for. According to the study, which looked at tens of thousands of visits to pediatricians outside hospitals from 2006 to 2008, in more than one in five cases doctors gave their young patients antibiotics. Very often (23 percent o
Trump, Cain exemplify debased debate era

ViewpointsDec 8, 2011

The League of Women Voters quit sponsoring presidential debates during the 1988 campaign, saying the events had devolved into “charades devoid of substance.” That was more than two decades before Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann took the stage, redefining “substance” and “devoid” and “charade.” One remark you never hear this campaign season: “There just aren’t enough debates.” There have been about a dozen so far, with almost a dozen more promised by the time Florida holds its primar
Tired of nationalism? Try civicism and love your city

ViewpointsDec 8, 2011

BEIJING ― “I love New York” is perhaps the most successful slogan in modern history. Cities around the world are copying this slogan. “I love Beijing” ― in English ― is commonly seen on T-shirts in the Chinese capital. It’s easy to be cynical, to say that the whole thing is driven by money. The “I love Toronto” website is advertised as a “guide to living well in Toronto,” which turns out to mean buying and selling real estate.But it’s not just a slogan: Many people really do love their cities. C
[Editorial] Ruling party in chaos

EditorialDec 7, 2011

The Grand National Party has been urged to dissolve itself for the creation of a new party. The demand is coming not from outside but from members of the ruling party ― a party that is in disarray though it has the National Assembly under its control.Creative dissolution may be one of the most viable choices open to the party, which, as one leading member puts it, is plummeting into a bottomless pit. He says “one bottom after another is collapsing” under the feet of the ruling party, which is ca