The Korea Herald

[Joel Brinkley] Youth unfazed by N.K. threat

May 28, 2012

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea ― Just down the hill from a South Korean Air Force helipad here sits the air base’s barber shop, encased in glass. The front wall is floor-to-ceiling windows displaying shattered toilets in the men’s room and a gaping hole in the ceiling, wires and rebar still dangling.This barber shop was one of about 30 buildings damaged or destroyed in a North Korean rocket attack in November 2010. Now it’s a museum of sorts.You might think South Korea is keeping this and other
The new Egypt ― don’t give up hope!

May 28, 2012

CAIRO ― A few days ago, I watched a debate between Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul-fotoh, two of the leading candidates among the 13 running for president of Egypt. This stunning debate went on for more than four hours and was watched by millions of Egyptians and Arabs. Contrary to the perception around the world that Egypt is inexorably sinking into chaos and intolerance, this debate in many ways reflects the hope for a new Egypt following last year’s January 25 revolution.From the time of Ra
Hey, Germany: You got a European bailout, too

May 28, 2012

In the millions of words written about Europe’s debt crisis, Germany is typically cast as the responsible adult and Greece as the profligate child. Prudent Germany, the narrative goes, is loath to bail out freeloading Greece, which borrowed more than it could afford and now must suffer the consequences. Would it surprise you to know that Europe’s taxpayers have provided as much financial support to Germany as they have to Greece? An examination of European money flows and central-bank balance sh
[Abdullah Gl] Turkey’s new course: Less military, more multilateral

May 28, 2012

CHICAGO ― Turkey has recently been at the forefront of international economic and political debates. On the one hand, despite the economic crisis engulfing neighboring Europe, Turkey remains the world’s second-fastest growing economy, after China. On the other hand, there is almost no issue on the global agenda ― from Iraq and Afghanistan to Somalia, Iran, and the Arab Spring, and from sustainable development to a dialogue among civilizations ― on which Turkey is not playing a visible role.This
Shareholder spring that holds bosses to account

May 27, 2012

Recent weeks have seen what some are calling a “shareholder spring” in the U.S. and Europe. Investors, led by institutional shareholders (traditionally a quiescent bunch), have protested pay awards for top executives at several big public companies, and in some cases have overturned them. European Union regulators are now considering a next step: giving owners a binding vote on top pay instead of the nonbinding “say on pay” that prevails in much of the EU and in the U.S. since 2011, compliments
[Robert B. Reich] The address that won’t be given

May 27, 2012

As a former secretary of labor and current professor, I feel I owe it to you to tell Americans the truth about the pieces of parchment they’re picking up today.You’re screwed.Well, not exactly. But you won’t have it easy.First, you’re going to have a hell of a hard time finding a job. The job market you’re heading into is still bad. Fewer than half of the graduates from last year’s class have as yet found full-time jobs. Most are still looking.That’s been the pattern over the last three graduati
The death of inflation targeting policies

May 27, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts ― It is with regret that we announce the death of inflation targeting. The monetary-policy regime, known as IT to friends, evidently passed away in September 2008. The lack of an official announcement until now attests to the esteem in which it was held, its usefulness as an ornament of credibility for central banks, and fears that there might be no good candidates to succeed it as the preferred anchor for monetary policy.Inflation targeting was born in New Zealand in Ma
The Nixon option for Iran?

May 27, 2012

WASHINGTON ― Rearranging the deck chairs would not have saved the Titanic. Nor did the endless debates on the shape of the table in the Vietnam negotiations advance the effort to end that malign conflict. Nevertheless, many American presidents have successfully redesigned talks with adversaries in bold new ways to strengthen national security without war. Such boldness is now needed in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt negotiated personally with Soviet F
[Gordon Brown] Crafting a global rescue for Europe’s financial crisis

May 27, 2012

Another international summit has come and gone without any of the coordinated action that is vital if an ailing European economy is to be revived.Confronted by a crisis whose resolution demands intervention on a par with the crash of 2008, last weekend’s G8 communique was long on words and short on action. There were no concrete measures, least of all a plan to back up public pleas for growth. And, while next month’s G20 meeting in Mexico could offer a second chance for coordinated action, there
Lessons to heed for drilling in the Arctic Ocean

May 25, 2012

The second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster passed with little fanfare last month. But with our government on the brink of allowing the oil industry to explore in America’s remote Arctic Ocean this summer, it is worth revisiting some of the lessons learned from the biggest oil spill in the nation’s history. Stopping that spill took three months, even though it occurred in the relatively calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico near Coast Guard stations, cleanup equipment, and abundant shor
[Robert J. Shiller] My speech to the finance graduates

May 25, 2012

NEW HAVEN ― At this time of year, at graduation ceremonies in America and elsewhere, those about to leave university often hear some final words of advice before receiving their diplomas. To those interested in pursuing careers in finance ― or related careers in insurance, accounting, auditing, law, or corporate management ― I submit the following address:Best of luck to you as you leave the academy for your chosen professions in finance. Over the course of your careers, Wall Street and its kind
Emergency provisions in disaster law

May 25, 2012

Regarding the government’s proposals to review the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law, more than 14 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, is that all there is?The government submitted a bill to revise the law to the Diet last week, aiming to enable better immediate responses to large-scale disasters based on lessons from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. However, the bill does not review provisions stipulating emergency measures the government can take, even though the existi
Invest in teachers to make education more equitable

May 25, 2012

The protest by Bodindecha students and their parents urging the school to take previously rejected students into classes illustrates a major flaw in the education system. The students and parents have been desperately trying to get accepted at this well-recognized school because of the wider disparity in the quality of our schools.As of press time, there were reports that the school had accepted an additional 20 students and planned to assist parents of the remaining rejected students to find su
Lying for the country

May 25, 2012

The trouble with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa is that he has probably spent too much of time travelling abroad to really understand what’s going on in his own country. On Monday he said the government has done enough to protect the interests of Indonesia’s religious minorities.On the eve of a periodic review of Indonesia’s human rights record before the U.N. Human Rights Council, Marty toed the official line, saying the government has done whatever was necessary to protect the fo
[Bruce Gale] Peace still eluding Thai south

May 25, 2012

On May 4, four local government officials were assassinated while travelling by sedan along a road in Saiburi, a district in the southern Thai province of Pattani. Reports say gunmen on a pickup truck opened fire on them with AK-47 and M16 assault rifles.Given the wave of seemingly random attacks that has swept Thailand’s southern border provinces since the insurgency first erupted in January 2004, the incident seemed almost routine.Indeed, the rebels are often depicted by government spokesmen a