The Korea Herald

[David Ignatius] ‘Back channels’ are protocol for a president -- not a president-elect

May 31, 2017

“Back channels” have been used by every modern president, from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. If that’s so, what’s the problem with the pre-inauguration contacts between White House adviser Jared Kushner and two Russian intermediaries?　It’s a fair question. But that doesn’t mean that the right answer is a reflexive approval of Kushner’s contacts, as offered Sunday by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who said of such offline communication, “It’s both normal, in my opinion, and acceptable
[Adam Minter] China’s seniors will reshape the world

May 31, 2017

For decades, Nestle SA has tried to get its infant milk powder into the hands of China’s new mothers with promises of brighter, healthier babies. Now it’s trying to do the same for the elderly. Last week, the company launched Nestle Yiyang Fuel for Brain senior milk powder, a formula designed to help China’s seniors “refuel their brains and start a new smart life.”　The announcement didn’t get quite the hype that products targeted to China’s millennials do. But it may yet prove more consequential
[Ferdinando Giugliano] For Europe, infrastructure is the wrong priority

May 31, 2017

For the past two decades, the EU has grappled with a productivity slowdown that has kept wages and economic growth in check. Politicians are increasingly mentioning infrastructure as a possible solution: The hope is that building more roads and better bridges can help companies improve efficiency and re-start growth.However, while infrastructure may indeed provide a much-needed stimulus to Europe’s economies, it isn’t the reason why the EU has fallen behind the US in terms of productivity growth
[The Baltimore Sun] The new economy is coming

May 31, 2017

Late May is college commencement speech season and there are always one or two destined to cause upset. This year, add to the list the Harvard commencement speech given Thursday by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his call for “universal basic income,” which is a fancy way of describing a kind of Social Security for all. As might be expected, the tech pioneer was lambasted on such social media platforms as Facebook (which he no doubt appreciated) by conservatives who see universal basic income a
[Other view] ASEAN’s fight against terrorism

May 31, 2017

Whether or not Indonesian nationals are fighting for the terrorist group loyal to the Islamic State group movement against the Philippine Army in Marawi city in the southern part of our neighboring country, the danger of spillover of the conflict into our territory cannot be underestimated.It’s primarily for the sake of our national security and the stability of the Southeast Asian region in general that Indonesia should not let the Philippines walk alone during crises such as this. Indonesia, w
[Ana Palacio] The shrinking of the presidency

May 30, 2017

US President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was.” But Donald Trump is testing that maxim. In Trump, who is somehow managing to reduce the position to his size, America’s presidency may have met its match.The president of the United States -- the position, not the person occupying it -- is a pillar of the international order. The US presidency gives direction and guidance to the entire system, a kind of rudder t
[Leonid Bershidsky] ‘Bad Germans’ and other Trump travel blunders

May 30, 2017

During his first foreign trip since he was elected, President Donald Trump didn’t look too out of place in Saudi Arabia or even in the Vatican. In Brussels, however, he was a befuddled elephant in a china shop, doing his best to convince European leaders that the US was clueless on key cooperation issues.It was bad enough that he shoved aside Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic to be in the front row during a North Atlantic Trade Organization photo opportunity; Markovic, whose country has j
[Satyajit Das] Innovation won’t overcome stagnation

May 30, 2017

Innovation, everybody hopes, will rescue the world from economic stagnation. I’m not so sure.The extent to which an innovation is significant depends on the degree to which it alters existing activity or the performance of a function. It must create related and ancillary activities that in turn lead to employment, wealth and other discoveries in a virtuous circle. It must have longevity, being capable of exploitation over long periods. These characteristics are why the second Industrial Revoluti
[Lee Jae-min] Detail national issues for the record

May 30, 2017

In Seoul, how a person goes about his business in a given day is now easily reconstructed. CCTVs are everywhere; payment terminals at buses, subways and convenience stores record all transactions; and black boxes in vehicles scan streets and alleys 24 hours a day. Pedestrians are ready to pull out their smartphones to take pictures or start video-recording upon unexpected encounters.Ironically, such reconstruction becomes a serious challenge when it comes to a government decision making process
[Other view] Trump’s budget plan hits poor people hard

May 30, 2017

It’s worse than even some of President Trump’s most vociferous critics could have imagined. Trump’s first proposed budget was characterized as “Robin Hood in reverse” by one critic, and that’s an understatement.The presidential budget now out cuts some of America’s most important programs for disadvantaged families. Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled, would be cut by more than $600 billion over the next decade. Payments to states would be capped and th
[Kim Seong-kon] Inspired by international writers

May 30, 2017

The 2017 Seoul International Forum for Literature, held by the Daesan Foundation and Arts Council Korea from May 22 to Thursday, brought together 14 international writers and 36 Korean writers to celebrate world literature. While attending the forum, I had the chance to learn many valuable things from the participating writers’ presentations. In the “Perceiving Us and Them” session, Yu Hua, a famous writer from China, said, “I grew up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. At the time, the ‘us
[Doyle McManus] Integrate Muslims to avoid bombing

May 29, 2017

The suicide bombing in Manchester on Monday was a sickening reminder that the West still lives under the threat of terrorism. And the claim of responsibility that followed was chilling confirmation that Islamic State has ordered adherents outside the Middle East to carry out attacks in their own countries.The United States hasn’t been immune. The Pakistani American couple who killed 14 people in San Bernardino in 2015 and the Afghan American who killed 49 in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 all claimed
[Steven P. Bucci] Keeping our computers safe from attack

May 29, 2017

News about the WannaCry ransomware infestation that recently struck at least 150 different countries has faded from the headlines, but the danger it represents hasn’t. Who’s to blame? Can we stop it from happening again?Ransomware is one of the most prevalent new forms of cybercrime. The bad guys get onto your computer or your organization’s network either because someone opened a link or attachment they shouldn’t have or through a system vulnerability. They then encrypt all your files so you ca
[Andrew Sheng] Will the US dollar continue to strengthen?

May 29, 2017

After a bout of US dollar strengthening in anticipation of President Trump’s promises to increase infrastructure spending, cut taxes and get America going, the dollar has in fact reversed and weakened against the Euro and the Japanese Yen. What is going on? It helps to remind us that whenever the dollar is strong, it tends to be bad for the rest of the world and good for the United States, because she can import goods and services mainly by printing more dollars.The 1980s Latin American crisis,
Muslim ban is unconstitutional

May 29, 2017

On Thursday, a federal appeals court based in Virginia handed President Donald Trump another defeat in his efforts to block immigrants from six nations -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- from entering the United States. It is likely to go to the US Supreme Court next. The president would be wiser to recognize he cannot impose a religious-based ban.And whether he wants to or not -- he cannot take back what he repeatedly said on the campaign trail.Trump surrogates have tried to bac