The Korea Herald

A cure for round-the-clock ‘communication’

Oct 4, 2011

“Only connect,” E.M. Forster advised.He had no idea.I once worked for a company so wired that the boss told me, “The real test of a relationship is how quickly you can get out of bed after making love to check your email.”That was a decade ago. Now almost everyone I know is armed with an iPhone or a
[Jonathan Turley] Obama: A disaster for civil liberties

Oct 4, 2011

With the 2012 presidential election before us, the country is again caught up in debating national security issues, our continuing wars and the threat of terrorism. There is one related subject, however, that is rarely mentioned: civil liberties.Protecting individual rights and liberties ― apart fro
[Kim Seong-kon] Korean people now want a ‘normal’ man as president

Oct 4, 2011

Since its founding in 1947, the Republic of Korea has had 10 presidents. Some of them were good and some of them were not. Unfortunately, however, nearly all of them seemed to suffer certain psychological problems, which inadvertently affected their policies and ruling styles. Of course, it was the
Tech battles call for simplicity, thrift, customer focus

Oct 3, 2011

High technology, once again, is packed with battles for market supremacy. Amazon.com Inc. is introducing a tablet computer that takes aim at market leader Apple Inc. Another prominent showdown involves Netflix Inc.’s efforts to capture the lead in online movie streaming. Eye-catching as each joust m
[Robert Reich] A good fight on taxing the wealthy

Oct 3, 2011

The big fight in the months ahead ― and perhaps the defining battle of the upcoming election ― won’t be over cuts in Medicare. President Obama agrees with Republicans that some cuts may be necessary. The battle won’t even be over President Obama’s jobs program. Republicans have signaled that they mi
[Jonathan Weil] What Europe’s leaders mean when their mouths move

Oct 3, 2011

The error most Americans make when trying to understand the European debt crisis is this: They fail to realize that the euro isn’t just a doomed currency, but a language unto itself. Too often the great mishaps of our era can be ascribed to a failure to communicate ― from the lip-synching scandal th
[Rachel Marsden] Obama’s international leadership outsourcing

Oct 3, 2011

To gauge President Obama’s lack of direct involvement on the international stage, you only have to look at the popularity polls in Europe, where his approval numbers still soar at around 75 percent. In Europe, leaders often become better liked as their visibility, leadership and influence decrease.
[Yuriko Koike] A wayward China in Africa

Oct 3, 2011

TOKYO ― As Libya’s National Transitional Council attempts to establish a functioning government for a newly liberated country, the truth about what went on under Col. Muammar el-Gadhafi’s regime is starting to come to light. Various treasures have been unearthed from Tripoli mansions that were hasti
[William Pesek] China as J.P. Morgan might have to save world

Oct 2, 2011

China and the U.S. finally found something to agree on: Europe is doomed and might take the world’s two biggest economies down with it. Neither officials in Beijing nor Washington are actually using the “D word.” They don’t need to, not with Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s central bank governor, talking mat
[Joel Brinkley] Iran’s support of Syria backfiring

Oct 2, 2011

As the brutal Syrian uprising stumbles into its seventh month, Iran’s leaders are spinning and darting like a wobbly top. They realize that President Bashar al-Assad’s continuing slaughter of his own people is not only costing thousands of innocent Syrian lives, but also eviscerating Iran’s reputati
Obama’s unwise campaign against Palestinian statehood

Oct 2, 2011

President Obama is staging an unwarranted diplomatic battle against the Palestinian attempt at statehood recognition through U.N. membership.In his speech to the United Nations on Sept. 21, Obama opposed the Palestinian bid for membership without giving any good reason.“Peace will not come through s
Mahmoud Abbas: A humble moment in history

Oct 2, 2011

Global Viewpoint: Mr. President, how did you feel at the moment you stood before the General Assembly? At that historic moment as you stood there, how did you feel personally?Mahmoud Abbas: I felt that we are really witnessing an historic event, that we are before a just and right demand, namely tha
[Park Sang-seek] U.N. International Day of Peace: How to build peace?

Oct 2, 2011

No person and state on earth opposes peace, but humanity has never enjoyed permanent peace since it appeared on the globe. Scholars all over the world have never ceased to write on war and peace. All religions have been constantly preaching peace, and great world political leaders have vowed to keep
[Michael Boskin] Time running out for Europe to choose on recovery

Sept 30, 2011

PALO ALTO ― Europe is suffering from simultaneous sovereign-debt, banking, and currency crises. Severe economic distress and political pressure are buffeting relationships among citizens, sovereign states, and supranational institutions such as the European Central Bank. Calls are rampant for surren
[David Ignatius] Caution fills Obama’s playbook

Sept 30, 2011

WASHINGTON ― It was painful to watch President Obama recently at the United Nations, backing away from the goal of Palestinian statehood he had championed when he took office. The best that could be said was that it was a bit of foreign-policy realism, acknowledging the political and strategic fact