The Korea Herald

Redefining sustainable development for megacities

One of the most striking changes at Rio+20, compared to the original 1992 Earth Summit, is the extensive discussion of population issues. In part, this is driven by the fact that many developing countries, including the BRICs, are seeking to redefine what sustainability means with their generally rapid annual growth rates, and high population growth which is estimated to see world population rise from around 7 billion today, to between 8 billion and 11 billion by 2050.This reminds us of the mass

June 26, 2012

State, market and money

Joseph Yam’s paper on “The Future of the Monetary System in Hong Kong” caused quite a stir this month. Irrespective of what happens to the Hong Kong dollar peg, the fundamental thrust of Joseph’s argument is irrefutable ― that no fixed exchange rate system is consistent with sustainable budgetary deficits. This is the major lesson learned from the current European crisis and was bitterly learned in the last Asian financial crisis. Hence, I interprete Joseph’s remarkable essay as a reminder that

June 26, 2012

[Kim Seong-kon] When humans are worse than the machines they make

As machines increasingly become an indispensable part of human lives, we often wonder: “What is the relationship between men and machines? Are they mutually exclusive or reciprocally supplementary?” We also wonder, “What would the differences between humans and robots be if the latter was made of human blood and flesh?” In fact, machines are things we cannot live without, and yet can be harmful and dangerous if misused. Thus we can neither simply dismiss machines, nor be too fascinated by their

June 26, 2012

[Kim Seong-kon] When humans are worse than the machines they make

[Meghan Daum] Really? Is Obama the first gay president?

It’s been a month since President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage and was declared, on the cover of Newsweek, “the first gay president.” That’s an eternity in politics, but Obama’s recent swing through California , which included a Beverly Hills fundraiser sponsored by the LGBT Leadership Council and a $25,000-per-plate dinner hosted by “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, got me thinking about his gayness all over again.Make that his ungayness. It’s not just that the president was clue

June 25, 2012

[Meghan Daum] Really? Is Obama the first gay president?

[Robert B. Reich] Why U.S. can’t get out of first gear

Rarely in history has the cause of a major economic problem been so clear yet have so few been willing to see it.The major reason this recovery has been so anemic is not Europe’s debt crisis. It’s not, as right-wing economists tell us, because taxes are too high on corporations and the rich, safety nets are too generous to the needy, and regulations on business are too onerous. It’s not even, as some liberals contend, because the Obama administration hasn’t spent enough on a temporary Keynesian

June 25, 2012

[Robert B. Reich] Why U.S. can’t get out of first gear

Divorcing Pakistan is in Washington’s interests

The history of U.S.-Pakistani relations is one of wild swings between feigned friendship and ill-disguised mistrust. When the United States needs Pakistan, Washington showers Islamabad with money, weapons and expressions of high esteem. Once the need wanes, the gratuities cease, often with brutal abruptness. Instead of largesse, Pakistan gets lectures, with the instruction seldom well received.The events of 9/11inaugurated the relationship’s most recent period of contrived warmth. Proximity to A

June 25, 2012

Taiwan is the only casualty of war on U.S. beef imports

Su Tseng-chang, the newly elected chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, adopted a “scorched earth” strategy to continue to ban American beef and beef products containing the leanness-enhancer ractopamine, though he certainly didn’t seem to know what that strategy actually was. A scorched earth strategy, made world-famous by Joseph Stalin who applied it to stop Nazi Germany’s invasion during World War II, is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that

June 25, 2012

[Jeffrey Frankel] Which eurobonds could be a solution to the crisis?

OSLO ― Any solution to the eurozone crisis must meet a short-run objective and a long-run goal. Unfortunately, the two tend to conflict.The short-run objective is to return Greece, Portugal, and other troubled countries to a sustainable debt path (that is, a declining debt/GDP ratio). Austerity has raised debt/GDP ratios, but a debt write-down or bigger bailouts would undermine the long-term goal of minimizing the risk of similar debt crises in the future.Long-run fiscal rectitude is the only wa

June 25, 2012

[Jeffrey Frankel] Which eurobonds could be a solution to the crisis?

Welfare cuts won’t solve Japan’s debt problem

Last month, when popular Japanese comedian Junichi Komoto was discovered to have arranged for his mother to collect welfare payments ― despite the fact that he earned 50 million yen ($633,000) a year ― there was a national outcry.Politicians joined talk-show hosts in criticizing him. There was nothing funny, they argued, about people allowing their relatives to claim welfare at a time when the ranks of the poor were growing and the government was struggling to reduce the national deficit.Japan’s

June 24, 2012

[Hans-Werner Sinn] The European banking union?

MUNICH ― In blatant violation of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Commission has come forward with one bailout plan after another for Europe’s distressed economies. Now it wants to socialize not only government debt by introducing Eurobonds, but also banking debt by proclaiming a “banking union.”Socializing bank debt is both unjust and will result in a future misallocation of resources. Socialization of bank debt across borders implies that a country’s private borrowing costs are artificially

June 24, 2012

[Hans-Werner Sinn] The European banking union?

Deconstructing China’s involvement in Africa

The People’s Republic of China’s unprecedented worldwide economic expansion in the years after its World Trade Organization accession created abundant opportunities for U.S.-China coordination, cooperation or collaboration on matters peripheral to bilateral relations, such as trilateral regional engagement outside the Asia-Pacific.The thrust of U.S. policy over that span has been to encourage China to participate fully, not selectively, in the response to common international challenges and in t

June 24, 2012

[Nouriel Roubini] Trouble on 3 continents brews perfect economic storm

NEW YORK ― Dark, lowering financial and economic clouds are, it seems, rolling in from every direction: the eurozone, the United States, China, and elsewhere. Indeed, the global economy in 2013 could be a very difficult environment in which to find shelter.For starters, the eurozone crisis is worsening, as the euro remains too strong, front-loaded fiscal austerity deepens recession in many member countries, and a credit crunch in the periphery and high oil prices undermine prospects of recovery.

June 24, 2012

[Nouriel Roubini] Trouble on 3 continents brews perfect economic storm

A ‘responsibility to protect’ in Syria

The continuing massacres in Syria ― summary executions of women and children, the total destruction of entire towns ― present a horrid picture far more disturbing than we saw in Bosnia during the 1990s, before NATO intervened.With cell-phone cameras, social media, Skype and other new communication devices, we can now see the crimes against humanity soon after they are committed ― something not available in Bosnia, Rwanda or Cambodia before that.As a result, the entire world has turned against Ba

June 22, 2012

[Peter Singer] Use and abuse of religious freedom

MELBOURNE ― What are the proper limits of religious freedom? Marianne Thieme, leader of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands, offers this answer: “Religious freedom stops where human or animal suffering begins.”The Party for the Animals, the only animal-rights party to be represented in a national parliament, has proposed a law requiring that all animals be stunned before slaughter. The proposal has united Islamic and Jewish leaders in defense of what they see as a threat to their religi

June 22, 2012

[Peter Singer] Use and abuse of religious freedom

Rio+20: Gut realities

Today the United Nations’ Rio+20 summit formally opens in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. About 50,000 people in all have converged on Rio for the conference and its side events. Imagine the words that will spew forth from the leaders and representatives of some 190 countries attending the summit, not to mention the reams of documents and position papers that the world’s nongovernment organizations and civil society and political groups will add to the hubbub.But even before today’s opening, perhaps the

June 22, 2012

After the Greek vote, euro crisis goes into extra time

Greek voters gave Europe a bit of a reprieve by not voting to tear up the nation’s loan agreements. As it is, most have chosen to stay in the euro zone, but that remains a wish without much leverage in renegotiations for less punishing austerity terms. New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, whose party won the biggest share of the votes, might now find it less difficult to form a coalition government than after the election last month. But even with the socialist Pasok and Democratic Left parties

June 22, 2012

Malaysia needs action to avoid troubled waters

Today, parts of Malaysia are enveloped by the haze, a perennial problem that invites the usual comments.And the problem is compounded by the fact that demand for more water in the current dry spell could lead to shortages in certain areas.While the haze problem may be beyond our control, especially if they cross geographical and international boundaries, a country blessed with so much water resources should not have to deal with water shortage issues, whether now or in the future.But the ongoing

June 22, 2012

[Chodechai Suwanaporn] How will Thai banks be affected by the euro crisis?

Growth of bank credit in Thailand has been robust in recent years, and generally healthy balance sheets have helped buffer Thai banks against the gradual deleveraging by European banks that has occurred so far.Nevertheless, I think Thai banks remain potentially vulnerable to a large shock to foreign funding of the kind that occurred during the 2008 crisis.How could Thai banks be affected by the euro-zone crisis? With some of the major financial institutions in Europe in deep trouble, these Europ

June 22, 2012

[Chodechai Suwanaporn] How will Thai banks be affected by the euro crisis?

[David Ignatius] Drone warfare or diplomacy?

WASHINGTON ― As America’s relationship with Pakistan has unraveled over the past 18 months, an important debate has been going on within the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad over the proper scope of CIA covert actions and their effect on diplomatic interests. The principals in this policy debate have been Cameron Munter, the U.S. ambassador since October 2010, and several CIA station chiefs who served with him. The technical issue was whether the ambassador, as chief of mission, had the authority to ve

June 21, 2012

[David Ignatius] Drone warfare or diplomacy?

Shimon Peres says two states for two peoples

The Middle East is ailing. The malady stems from pervasive violence, shortages of food, water and educational opportunities, discrimination against women and ― the most virulent cause of all ― the absence of freedom.There can be no peace without freedom. Economic growth is impossible without integration in the free global economy. Tragically, this simple logic eludes us in the Middle East.The young generation, which makes up most of the region’s population, insists on equal rights, access to edu

June 21, 2012