The Korea Herald

[Gregory Rodriguez] Zero-sum games in an interconnected world

Aug 4, 2011

What’s wrong with this picture: Even as the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent, we seem to be approaching conflicts more in zero-sum terms and with all-or-nothing politics.Because digital networks and the global economy have humans more tightly bound than any time in th
[Naomi Wolf ] America’s reactionary feminists

Aug 4, 2011

NEW YORK ― It is obvious that the left and the media establishment in the United States cannot fully understand the popular appeal of the two Republican tigresses in the news ― first Sarah Palin, and now, as she consolidates her status as a Republican presidential front-runner, Michele Bachmann. Wha
[Meghan Daum] The siren song of Google+ to Web surfers

Aug 4, 2011

Google+, which launched a month ago to great fanfare, is so far feeling more like Google nonplussed. Reported to have crossed the 20-million-user mark two weeks ago, the new social networking site is designed to correct one of Facebook’s major drawbacks: the problem of too much information being sha
[Meghan O’Sullivan] U.S. should say it will stay long in Afghanistan

Aug 4, 2011

Even last week’s swearing in of Ryan Crocker ― one of the most talented U.S. diplomats ― as ambassador to Kabul seems unable to stanch the perception that U.S. efforts in Afghanistan are waning. Most Americans take solace in the notion that, in President Barack Obama’s words, “the tide of wars is re
[Joel Brinkley] September looms large for Israel

Aug 3, 2011

HAIFA, Israel ― Around here, everyone is deeply concerned about September. In fact, that’s just about the only thing anyone is talking about.For Israelis and Palestinians, September is the universally understood shorthand for the likely United Nations vote that month on whether to recognize Palestin
[Ramesh Ponnuru] Debt battles revealed tea party’s divisions

Aug 3, 2011

At first glance, it looks as if the tea partiers scored a big win over Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Republican Party establishment last week. Boehner pleaded for Republican members of Congress to unite in support of a package of spending cuts and a debt-limit increase. He ran into vehem
[Laszlo Bruszt , David Stark] Western democracy’s summer of silence over N. Africa

Aug 3, 2011

FIESOLE, Italy ― The summer has not brought consolidation to processes of political change in North Africa. The political landscapes in Egypt and Tunisia are highly volatile. With only a few months before crucial elections, it is still highly uncertain who and what can guarantee that elections will
[Edward Glaeser] Balanced budget suddenly looks more appealing

Aug 3, 2011

We have stared hard into the abyss of a national default, and the close call with financial Armageddon is starting to make a balanced-budget amendment look good. A stringent restriction on public borrowing, if properly crafted, offers the hope for more fiscal responsibility, less wasteful spending a
[Frida Ghitis] People everywhere fed up with politicians

Aug 3, 2011

People have run out of patience with the government. Chat with someone in the street, at a party or a restaurant, anywhere, and you hear the same complaint rising from a grimacing face: We’re fed up; had more than enough of irresponsible, unreliable, dishonest, self-serving officials in government.A
[David Ignatius] Getting ready for the next time

Aug 2, 2011

WASHINGTON ― So next time the Norwegians will arm more of their police. And next time, authorities will investigate the ranting manifestos of any anti-Muslim extremist who claims to lead a revival of the medieval Knights Templar. But the July 22 attack in Oslo by Anders Behring Breivik teaches
[Amity Shlaes] Republicans should ‘pull a Newt’ for deficit cuts

Aug 2, 2011

Thank goodness for Mitch McConnell. Thank goodness Republicans in Congress didn’t “pull a Newt.” Welcome, Clinton Era II.That’s the conventional wisdom about the budget deal reached July 31. Commentators are emphasizing the statesmanship of the Senate minority leader. Without the Kentucky senator’s
[Kim Seong-kon] What should we do with the Web?

Aug 2, 2011

The other day when I tried to open my online bank account, I found I could not access my account for some reason. So I called the customer service hotline, and was promptly routed to the bank’s computer security office after explaining my problem. The computer security officer then entered my comput
[Andrew Gumbel] U.S. experiences and seeds of terror in Norway

Aug 2, 2011

America’s violent far right would have no difficulty recognizing the tell-tale signatures of the killing spree in Norway ― and not just because they would see the confessed perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, as an ideological soul mate who, like their own heroes, thought he could trigger a white-s
[Simon Johnson] Low bank capital is next U.S. fiscal crisis

Aug 2, 2011

The summer debate that has dominated Washington seems straightforward. Under what conditions should the U.S. government be allowed to borrow more money? The numbers that have been bandied about focus on reducing the cumulative deficit projection over the next 10 years, as measured by the Congression
[Gordon Brown] In the wake of the euro summit

Aug 1, 2011

LONDON ― It was said of one 19th century British politician that he never missed a chance to let slip an opportunity.Will the euro summit of 2011 be remembered as “the day European leaders faced the crisis down” ― or will it be viewed, in retrospect, as the turning point at which history failed to t