The Korea Herald

[Salma Khalik] Lessons from Japan on an aging population

Oct 10, 2013

In 20 years, Singapore will have the same demographic profile as Japan has today. In other words, about one in four people will be over the age of 65.And in Japan, the picture is not pretty. Unless the right steps are taken and changes are made early, Singapore will face the same problems that Japan is trying to handle now.Japan has more than 50,000 people aged 100 years and older, with the vast majority living in nursing homes. These homes also have many patients who are in their late 70s and e
Educational crisis swallowing Taiwan’s next generation

Oct 10, 2013

As a developing country ― one that pulled itself up by its agriculture and light industries ― Taiwan has been gradually focusing more and more on its education; thinking correctly that it can progress into a well-developed nation with a generation that enjoys a better education than the one before.In the 1970s, private universities arrived, hoping to open another door to prospective learners that were stripped of the opportunity due to Taiwan’s limited budget for education. But who knew that the
Resilient Asia-Pacific key to global economic growth

Oct 10, 2013

The 2013 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia, from Oct. 5 to 7 under the theme of “Towards Resilience and Growth: Reshaping Priorities for the Global Economy.” According to the organizers, the summit was aimed at building Asia-Pacific into a region of vitality to enable it to fuel global economic growth.APEC’s motto and motive are more that welcome, especially when large parts of the global economy are still struggling with economic downturn. Since the United St
[Jeffrey Goldberg] Iran’s true nuclear ambitions

Oct 9, 2013

Here is something to remember as nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran appear set to recommence: The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, the putative moderate on whose shoulders great American hopes have been placed, is proud of the work he did to advance his country’s nuclear program ― and also of his efforts to stymie Western attempts to stop that work.Rouhani didn’t talk about this during his recent visit to the United Nations. He came bearing a different message: Iran seeks a peacefu
Five reasons to fear the debt ceiling in the U.S.

Oct 9, 2013

The global economy is facing a bizarre man-made threat: Radical legislators in the U.S., issuer of the world’s most trusted currency, think forcing the government to renege on its obligations would be a good way to shock it into recognizing the error of its fiscally imprudent ways.Lest anyone take this notion seriously, here’s what would happen if that threat were carried out.To keep spending, the government needs Congress to pass a spending law. Republicans have already blocked this, resulting
[George Soros] Angela Merkel’s Pyrrhic victory on the euro

Oct 9, 2013

BUDAPEST ― As far as Germany is concerned, the drama of the euro crisis is over. The subject was barely discussed in the country’s recent election campaign. Chancellor Angela Merkel did what was necessary to ensure the euro’s survival, and she did so at the least possible cost to Germany ― a feat that earned her the support of pro-European Germans as well as those who trust her to protect German interests. Not surprisingly, she won re-election resoundingly.But it was a Pyrrhic victory. The euroz
Turkey’s ill-advised pivot toward the east

Oct 9, 2013

In January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that because his country’s talks to join the European Union had stalled, he might seek instead to join China and Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.Few took the threat seriously; Turkey has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since the 1950s. Yet the government’s decision late last month to award a $3 billion air and missile defense system contract to a state-run company from China suggests that Erdogan
Canceling the shutdown, playing by the rules

Oct 9, 2013

By all accounts, there are enough House Republicans prepared to join with Democrats to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling without demanding provisions attacking Obamacare. The only thing stopping them is the House leadership, which is refusing to allow appropriations bills onto the floor.But House rules give the majority a way to take this decision out of Speaker John Boehner’s hands. By signing a “discharge petition,” 218 members can force a bill onto the floor for a decisive vote.
[William Pesek ] Asia’s crisis of leadership

Oct 8, 2013

The day Asian leaders have long dreaded is here: The era of rapid growth is over.It has taken five years, but the fallout from what Asians call the “Lehman shock” is finally hitting gross domestic product and living standards. These risks are the talk of Bali, where Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations are mulling what to do about a world where “risks remain tilted to the downside.” There, Michael Taylor, chief credit officer for Asia at Moody’s Investors Service, said chaotic markets and a
How Obama can apologize for snubbing Asia

Oct 8, 2013

President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel his already truncated trip to Asia has elicited shrugs in Washington and politely clenched jaws from Bali to Tokyo. What else could he do, say those focused on the high-stakes U.S. budget stalemate. What else is new, say those hoping that the administration will deliver on its promise of a “pivot” or a “rebalancing” toward Asia.Much of the criticism of the cancellation comes from those worried about China’s growing economic and strategic heft. The Chin
[Kim Seong-kon] What makes ‘The Great Gatsby’ so great?

Oct 8, 2013

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is known to be a uniquely American novel that reflects the social milieu of the American 1920s, also known as the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring Twenties.” In this monumental novel, Fitzgerald laments the loss of innocence and the demise of the American pastoral dream in the age of hedonism and materialism. Readers come to realize that Gatsby was the last Romanticist who naively believed in the pure, pastoral American Dream, symbolized by the green light on t
The U.S. debate on regulating e-cigarettes

Oct 8, 2013

Americans are becoming more familiar with e-cigarettes, which are beginning to appear in restaurants, bars and coffeehouses where regular cigarettes have long been banned. An e-cigarette is, in effect, a battery-operated nicotine delivery system that works by heating a mixture of water, nicotine and other chemicals. The user inhales and exhales the resulting vapor rather than smoke.E-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes and, for many people, substitute for them. But enormous questions remain.
Government workers: Nonessential until they are gone

Oct 8, 2013

Calvin Beale, a federal employee for more than 50 years, was an expert on the town of Fayette, Mississippi. He was also an excellent source of information if you happened to be traveling to Grand Forks, North Dakota; Estes Park, Colorado; or Ephrata, Washington.As the national correspondent for a chain of daily newspapers, I traveled all over the U.S. and each time I set off for a new destination I would call Beale, a senior demographer at the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Servic
[Noah Feldman] Where Jewish intellectual life thrives in America

Oct 7, 2013

Forget the teeth-gnashing already occasioned by a new study on Jewish identity in the U.S. by the Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project. The only thing every generation of Jews has in common is the conviction that it will be the last. What matters for the continuity of Jewish life is quality, not quantity. And in today’s America, Jewish intellectual, cultural, spiritual and religious life is flourishing. Case in point: Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, New Jersey, known as BMG or simply “La
To protect antiquities of Syria don’t buy them

Oct 7, 2013

The conflict in Syria is destroying not only the lives of the Syrian people but their heritage ― the world’s heritage ― as well.Syria is a treasure house of history. Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and almost 10,000 other archaeological sites there hold the remains of thousands of years of culture. Greeks, Romans, Persians, Christians and Muslims lived and fought in what is now Syria. As the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, explained at a recent UNESCO meeting, “Few countries are as rich