The Korea Herald

[Graham E. Fuller] Who wins and who loses in the turmoil of Arab change?

Who are the winners and losers in the dramatic and evolving turmoil in the Middle East? For the citizens of Arab world the way ahead may yet be rough and unpredictable, but events represent a major net gain in breaking away from the frozen, sterile and crushing old orders.But with the breakup of the old Middle East system on the international level, who wins and who loses?The biggest single loser, hands down, is Israel. Many of the old dictators propped up by U.S. money and political support to

Nov. 21, 2011

[Graham E. Fuller] Who wins and who loses in the turmoil of Arab change?

Salmon sushi roll might have big hidden price tag

Salmon, once a pricey delicacy, is now an affordable staple at supermarkets and sushi restaurants everywhere. For that, we can thank fish farms. They produce 70 percent of the salmon eaten by consumers, who savor its subtle texture and rich flavor. Medical researchers say the fatty acids in salmon might help prevent cancer and heart disease. So it was troubling that researchers over the past few weeks may have found an infectious disease known as salmon anemia in wild fish in British Columbia. L

Nov. 20, 2011

[David Ignatius] Too overt with covert on Iran

ABU DHABI ― The leading Republican candidates were weirdly overt with their promises in last weekend’s debate about waging covert war against Iran, and even assassinating its scientists. Perhaps it’s a sign that foreigners don’t take American politics very seriously, but the inflammatory talk created barely a ripple in this part of the world. Or maybe the savvy, cynical Middle East believes that the covert war has already begun ― with Israel’s Mossad conducting lethal operations of the sort Repu

Nov. 20, 2011

[David Ignatius] Too overt with covert on Iran

Let’s prepare for the biotechnology age

If we call the 20th century the age of physics and chemistry, the 21st century will be the age of biotechnology. Since Dr. James Watson and Dr. Francis Crick discovered the DNA double helix in 1953, biology has made great progress. Nowadays, so-called biotechnology can clone a life form in addition to manipulating genes. Since the first cloned sheep Dolly came into being in 1996 in Britain, also in Korea, a cloned cow Youngrongie and a cloned dog Snuppy have been “born” in succession.Moreover, K

Nov. 20, 2011

[Meghan Daum] Don’t drink the Kool-Aid

Drunk any Kool-Aid lately? Or maybe you accused someone else of doing it? If so, congratulations, you’re right in step with one of the nation’s most popular idiomatic trends. A snappy, fruit-flavored way of referring to someone who unquestioningly embraces a particular leader or ideology, “drinking the Kool-Aid” has become a staple of self-righteous public discourse.Bill O’Reilly is fond of the expression, as is Washington Times columnist Marybeth Hicks, whose new book “Don’t Let the Kids Drink

Nov. 20, 2011

Tarnished corporate image

The admission by Olympus Corp., a major maker of cameras and endoscopes, that it has covered up investment losses since the 1990s damages not only the firm but also the image of corporate Japan.It is all the more regrettable that the financial wrongdoing, which has become the target of a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department, was committed by a 92-year-old company known for its technological prowess and enjoying a more than 70 percent share in the global market for endosco

Nov. 20, 2011

[Erik Berglof] Cross-border banking at risk

LONDON ― The gravity of the eurozone crisis has finally sunk in. The stakes could not be higher. Governments and international financial institutions have scrambled to put together a solution within exceedingly tight political and economic constraints. Many questions have yet to be answered about the design; implementation will be at least as challenging.Eurozone leaders must now aim to preserve not only the single currency, but also the gains from financial integration in Europe. No region of t

Nov. 20, 2011

[Erik Berglof] Cross-border banking at risk

Seoul 2008 offers lessons for New York 2011

The Occupy Wall Street that is happening now in New York resembles a familiar episode that I witnessed in Seoul. As Yogi Berra said, this is like dj vu all over again!When my long stay in Seoul on a project started in the beginning of 2008, the new administration was elected but had not yet taken the office. The Korean democracy at work allowed a smooth transition to the new government, with befitting joyous ceremonies.Shortly after the new government was sworn in, some major shifts in policies

Nov. 18, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] Ties between India and Europe

NEW DELHI ― The recent Indian-Italian bilateral dialogue, held in Milan on Nov. 7, at a time when Italy was reeling from the euro crisis and Silvio Berlusconi’s impending political demise, offered a fraught reminder of the potential, and the limits, of India’s relationship with the European Union.India has a long history of relations with Europe, going back to the days of the Roman Empire. Its southwestern state of Kerala boasted a Roman port, Muziris, centuries before Jesus Christ was born; exc

Nov. 18, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] Ties between India and Europe

U.S.-China relations call for determined diplomacy

It is essential for Japan to pursue strategic diplomacy with the United States and China if effective international rules are to be worked out to ensure peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Honolulu Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and explained to him a government plan to submit to Okinawa Prefecture within this year an environmental assessment report on the planned

Nov. 18, 2011

Thai government eyes short-term political gain

Although the Yingluck Shinawatra government has planned a budget for the 2012 fiscal year with spending as high as 2.38 trillion baht, the spending details do not respond well to the needs of the country, which is suffering from the ongoing flood crisis and mismanagement by the administration.The massive flooding has prompted many economic institutions to revise the country’s growth projection downwards. The Bank of Thailand, for instance, has lowered the projected growth rate for next year to o

Nov. 18, 2011

Focus on real agenda

The series of meetins held by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) starting in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday, should be an opportunity for participants to expand common ground and explore new areas of cooperation, so that the region can better contribute to regional and global development and stability. ASEAN’s traditional dialogue partners, China, Japan and South Korea, will participate and Russia and the United States have been invited to take part for the first time. Despite the

Nov. 18, 2011

‘Biggest free trade zone’

Last Friday, before leaving for the 19th Leaders’ Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Honolulu, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said that the meeting would help solve the problems of the Philippines. He mentioned in particular economic growth, job creation, regulatory reforms, competitiveness and protection from the turbulence that has swept the European Union.Well, indeed he may be getting some ideas on how to solve the problems of the country from the strategies, p

Nov. 18, 2011

[Noeleen Heyzer] Asia must safeguard growth by protecting its people

While European and North American leaders struggle to regain fiscal credibility by cutting back social entitlements, those of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Bali this week at a historic turning point, an economic coming of age for their region, which may require them to move in the opposite direction.Asia remains by far the most dynamic region in the world and the locomotive of global growth. Its growth rate is one and a half times that of any other region. But this g

Nov. 18, 2011

[Noeleen Heyzer] Asia must safeguard growth by protecting its people

[Dominique Moisi] America in the Asian century

NEW YORK ― At “ground zero” in lower Manhattan, two empty spaces will be filled by water cascades, memorializing in a serene and respectful way the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Next to them, a powerful tower, designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind and nearly completed, rises vigorously into the sky, a symbol of the triumph of life over the forces of death. One word comes to mind to characterize the impression made by this place, the site of an unprecedented crime: resi

Nov. 17, 2011

[Dominique Moisi] America in the Asian century

Technocrats step in where political leaders fear to tread

In the past 12 months, four European premiers have lost their jobs because they failed to fix their countries’ mounting debt problems. A fifth could join the list on Nov. 20, when Spain holds a general election. The take-away: When leaders fail to address urgent fiscal matters, the capital markets will punish ― and ultimately remove ― them by making the cost of financing debt prohibitively high. Heads started rolling this year when Ireland’s and Portugal’s prime ministers lost elections soon aft

Nov. 17, 2011

[David Ignatius] Europe’s unending fiscal circus

WASHINGTON ― After so many months of watching Europe’s economic follies, we should better appreciate the merits of America’s bipartisan response to the great crash of 2008. If the Europeans had handled their problems as cleanly as the United States did three years ago, the financial world wouldn’t be spinning like a yo-yo. The U.S. turned a corner in 2008 and 2009 because officials from both parties made good decisions and backed them up. The Europeans, by contrast, just keep dithering. They set

Nov. 17, 2011

[David Ignatius] Europe’s unending fiscal circus

Handicapping a war over Iran’s nuclear aims

As concerns mounted over a possible military confrontation between Israel and Iran, several leading Arab commentators argued that such worries were overblown.This was so even as the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded last week that Iran appeared to have worked on developing a nuclear bomb and as media in Israel reported that the country’s leaders may be nearing a decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. Wrote columnist Rachid Hassan, in the Amman-based Ad-Dustour daily: “We are cert

Nov. 17, 2011

[Michael Smerconish] Scandal cries out for tougher child-abuse reporting law

Among the many things that need to change in the aftermath of the Penn State scandal is Pennsylvania law.First, the commonwealth needs to require that any witness to child abuse must call the police. Second, the statute of limitations for civil claims against child abusers needs to be expanded.Consider that when Mike McQueary saw a 10-year-old boy being raped in the shower at the campus’ Lasch Football Complex, he was under no legal obligation to dial 911 ― much less intervene. According to the

Nov. 17, 2011

Firms that aid Syria crackdown deserve sanctions

Terrible things tend to happen when Syrian security officials catch their quarry. Dissidents are detained, tortured and sometimes killed. It is thus disturbing to learn that U.S. and European technology companies are working to help the regime of President Bashar al-Assad monitor Internet traffic to keep tabs on citizens. A Bloomberg News investigation revealed that the Italian company Area SpA has been installing a wide-reaching surveillance system for the Syrians, using equipment from the U.S.

Nov. 16, 2011