The Korea Herald

[Malcolm Sparrow] An e-ripoff of the U.S.

ViewpointsAug 28, 2011

A Los Angeles jury recently convicted a local pastor and his wife of fraudulently claiming $14.2 million from Medicare. The culprits recruited parishioners to help run fake durable medical equipment companies, and spent the proceeds on expensive cars and other luxuries. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gener
[Michael Broning] U.N.: Which Palestinian state?

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

JERUSALEM ― Israelis and Palestinians are preparing for a showdown at the United Nations in September, when the Palestinian leadership will ask for recognition of a Palestinian state within the borders that existed before the Six Day War in 1967 (when Israel seized control of Jordanian-occupied terr
[William Pesek] Banker suicides offer clues in a bellwether

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

If our world has any place that acts like a financial early warning system, it’s South Korea. With high short-term debt levels and little to cushion it from destabilizing global events, Korea is often the first of the top 15 economies to zig, zag or hit an economic wall. At the moment, events on the
[Editorial] North Korea’s spy ring

EditorialAug 26, 2011

The prosecutors’ office has recently arrested five core members of a North Korean espionage network that has allegedly been operating for more than a decade in South Korea. It has also indicted another five without detention, charging them with espionage.What should come as a surprise is not that No
[Editorial] Kim’s Russia visit

EditorialAug 26, 2011

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is on his train journey back home after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia on Wednesday. As expected, their talks focused on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and Moscow’s aid to the North. But no fresh ground was broken.At the talks, Kim propos
[Martin Khor] Still in pursuit of full independence

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

The Merdeka (Independence) season is a good time to ponder over what independence means to Malaysia and the other developing countries that are still battling to overcome the disadvantages that the colonial era brought.The problems of governance in a developing country, 54 years after independence,
[Editorial] Put more pressure for change on the Burmese regime

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

U.N. human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Burma last Sunday for a five-day visit to assess the human rights situation in the country.Quintana, who was previously denied a visa to Burma after visiting there in February last year, is expected to meet with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu K
[Editorial] China’s oil spill shame

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

The investigation, jointly organized by seven central government departments, into the oil spill involving ConocoPhillips China in Bohai Bay is long overdue given the continuing leaks and the uncooperative attitude from the subsidiary of the Houston-based U.S. energy giant. The State Oceanic Adminis
[Editorial] Maglev train project must serve national interests

ViewpointsAug 26, 2011

Central Japan Railway Co.’s ongoing project to build a maglev train system linking Tokyo and Osaka is finally in full swing.Early this month, JR Tokai released a list of probable locations for intermediate stations in four prefectures ― Aichi excluded ― through which its envisaged magnetically levit
[Barak Barfi] Rebuilding Libya after Gadhafi

ViewpointsAug 25, 2011

BENGHAZI ― Six months after Libyan rebels took up arms against the country’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Gadhafi, they have finally toppled him. But, while victorious on the battlefield, they have not been triumphant in political and economic terms. If the rebels are to ensure their revolution’s long-te
[Jeffrey Goldberg] As Sinai deteriorates, Israelis fear the worst

ViewpointsAug 25, 2011

It wasn’t much noticed at the time, but this past winter, as some Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square to bring down a pharaoh, others were busy opening the gates of Cairo’s jails. Common criminals found their way to freedom, and so too did an unknown, but possibly substantial, number of hardened jihadis
[Editorial] Operating system R&D

EditorialAug 25, 2011

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy is planning to initiate an R&D project to help domestic smartphone manufacturers jointly develop a new operating system for mobile devices. According to reports, the ministry intends to launch a consortium this year together with Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics
[Editorial] Balanced welfare policy

EditorialAug 25, 2011

The nation has lost a precious opportunity to put the brakes on the rising tide of welfare populism as the free lunch referendum in Seoul held Wednesday was declared invalid due to low voter turnout. Only 25.7 percent of the capital city’s 8.4 million-strong electorate voted, falling far short of th
[Howard Davies] Europe’s financial wasteland waiting for German action

ViewpointsAug 25, 2011

PARIS ― “April is the cruelest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot at the beginning of his great poem, “The Waste Land.” But, if Eliot had been a professional investor who had observed European financial markets over the last few years, I am quite certain that his choice would have been August.In August 2007,
[Elena T. Reigadas] Legal or not, these students deserve a chance

ViewpointsAug 25, 2011

It happened again this semester. A student came to my office and asked me to close the door. After going through this drill so many times before, I knew what would come next. In a process akin to “coming out of the closet,” these students reveal to me their terrible secret: They are undocumented imm