The Korea Herald

[Yuliya Tymoshenko] Ukraine’s desire for democracy and revolution betrayed

KYIV ― From snowy Kyiv, I have watched the revolutions in Cairo and Tunis with joy and admiration. Egyptians and Tunisians are right to be proud of their desire to peacefully overthrow despotic governments. But, as someone who led a peaceful revolution, I hope that pride is tempered by pragmatism, because a change of regime is only the first step in establishing a democracy backed by the rule of l

Feb. 7, 2011

[Yuliya Tymoshenko] Ukraine’s desire for democracy and revolution betrayed

Russian government’s enduring terrorism

A suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport last month has reminded Russians, and the world, of the country’s continuing vulnerability to terrorist attacks. As in the past, the Russian authorities blamed Islamic extremists for the violence and promised retaliation. That reaction is certain to intensify the cycle of violence that has left a bloody trail of victims in its wake. Islamic extremis

Feb. 6, 2011

[Chen Weihua] A canny way to get things done

When China first opened up to the outside world 30 years ago, Chinese people applying for jobs at foreign-funded ventures learned that they had a better chance of getting the job by answering questions in the way a U.S. jobseeker would. For example, a Chinese engineer who had operated machine tools for 20 years would previously have modestly said “I know a little bit” when asked how familiar he wa

Feb. 6, 2011

[J. Bradford DeLong] Intelligent design of the U.S. economy

BERKELEY ― As Stephen Cohen, with whom I wrote “The End of Influence: What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money,” likes to say, economies do not evolve; they are, rather, intelligently designed. He also likes to say that, though there is an intelligence behind their design, this does not mean that the design is in any sense wise.The first claim is, I think, incontrovertible. Since long befo

Feb. 6, 2011

[J. Bradford DeLong] Intelligent design of the U.S. economy

[Michael Smerconish] Exploring a U.S. stranger’s generosity

In the height of the Great Depression, Myrna Jury was in economic despair, which explains her reply to the advertisement of a stranger who had run an ad in the Dec. 18, 1933, issue of the Canton (Ohio) Repository. The ad was titled “In Consideration of the White Collar Man!” and offered assistance from an anonymous source to families in need.Jury wrote and reported that her husband had been out of

Feb. 6, 2011

[Gregory Rodriguez] Take that, Travel + Leisure magazine

I demand a recount! Or a re-survey! Or some form of redress for the aspersions Travel + Leisure magazine has cast not only on the City of Angels but on all of us Angelenos.Recently, the magazine released a survey of travelers who, in all their wisdom, concluded that Los Angeles surpasses New York as the rudest city in America.Excuse me?My first reaction was fear that I would never again be able to

Feb. 6, 2011

[Yves Mersch] Preventing the euro area’s next crisis

LUXEMBOURG ― Much dedication and energy are currently being devoted to institutionalizing a crisis-management mechanism for the euro area. This is a good and important goal. But a far more significant challenge ― largely covered in the accompanying debate ― is the need for crisis prevention.At the European Union’s pre-Christmas summit, European heads of state and government agreed in principle to

Feb. 6, 2011

[Yves Mersch] Preventing the euro area’s next crisis

Your medical prescription or your privacy

IMS Health Inc. operates in the shadows of the healthcare industry, gathering data that drug makers can use to sell medications more effectively. The data, however, are taken from the prescriptions that doctors write for their patients. That information is at the heart of a dispute over how far states can go to protect privacy ― a dispute that has reached the Supreme Court, and one that could broa

Feb. 1, 2011

[Zhang Monan] China’s quality time for development

China’s double-digital economic growth over the past years has helped it replace Japan as the world’s second largest economy. In terms of gross domestic product China exceeded Japan from the second quarter of 2010 and its full-year GDP was more than 39 trillion yuan ($5.93 trillion), as indicated by statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics. That means China now has the second largest glob

Feb. 1, 2011

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] America’s ungovernable budget policy

NEW YORK ― The heart of any government is found in its budget. Politicians can make endless promises, but if the budget doesn’t add up, politics is little more than mere words.The United States is now caught in such a bind. In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama painted a convincing picture of modern, 21st century government. His Republican Party opponents complained that

Feb. 1, 2011

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] America’s ungovernable budget policy

[Saree Makdisi] Craven ‘leaders’ offer to sell out Palestinian people

A massive archive of documents leaked to al-Jazeera and Britain’s Guardian newspaper offers irrefutable proof that years of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians have been an empty sham. The papers make clear that the time has come for Palestinians and anyone interested in the cause of justice to abandon the charade of official diplomacy and pursue other, more creative and nonviolent path

Feb. 1, 2011

[Brian Blase] Repealing new entitlements to reduce deficit

In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that repealing his health-care law would increase the deficit by $230 billion. While technically true according to Congressional Budget Office estimates, this statement is misleading.In CBO’s own words: “(the) legislation contained a set of provisions ... which CBO and (Joint Committee on Taxation) estimated would have a gross cost of about $

Feb. 1, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Funny car names and awkward titles

Cultural differences often inspire harmless laughter among individuals. For example, rumors say that the Americans’ favorite car, the Chevy Nova, did not sell in South America because Nova literally means ‘no go’ or ‘doesn’t go’ in Spanish. When GM executives changed the car’s name to the Chevy Caribe, sales increased considerably. This funny anecdote well illustrates the fact that you should thin

Feb. 1, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Funny car names and awkward titles

Welcome policy of checking housing prices

China’s State Council document released on Thursday to further check housing prices reflects the central government’s determination to deflate the property market bubble and stabilize or even lower real estate prices that have been rising for the past few years. Despite the series of measures the government took last year to rein in housing prices, statistics show that the number of houses sold an

Jan. 31, 2011

Information glitch for bullet-train operation

The suspension of all bullet train service Jan. 17 on JR East’s five shinkansen lines ― Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu and Nagano shinkansen lines ― reminds railways and any organization, for that matter, of the importance of sharing important information among personnel concerned and designing a computer system that can flexibly cope with changing situations. At 8:23 a.m. on that day, a screen o

Jan. 31, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] Old order finally ending in Mideast

For years, many Middle Easterners have operated on the premise that things could continue as in the past. Arab autocrats assumed they could rule forever, and many Israelis thought they could occupy forever.President George W. Bush tried to explode the status quo by imposing democracy on Iraq from above, but we’ve seen where that led.As of this month, we are entering a new era ― for Arabs and Israe

Jan. 31, 2011

[Steven Hill] China’s baby steps for democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― During the state visit to the United States of Chinese President Hu Jintao, President Barack Obama pressed Hu on human rights. He probably should have asked more about spreading democracy in China, because he might have been surprised by what he heard.In September 2010, Hu gave a speech in Hong Kong in which he called for new thinking about Chinese democracy. He said, “There is

Jan. 31, 2011

[Steven Hill] China’s baby steps for democracy

[Meghan Daum] ‘Skins’ MTV episodes pass an ick test

Even if you haven’t watched MTV since Duran Duran broke up, you’ve probably heard of “Skins.” It premiered on Jan. 17 amid a fanfare of anticipation after the Parents Television Council pronounced it “the most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children.”The council has demanded a federal investigation as to whether the young actors on the show (ages 15 to 19) are participating i

Jan. 31, 2011

[Meghan Daum] ‘Skins’ MTV episodes pass an ick test

[Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich] States should have option of bankruptcy protection

During the 2008 financial crisis, the federal government reacted in a frantic, ad-hoc fashion, tapping taxpayers for bailouts galore, running roughshod over the rights of bondholders and catching the American people unaware and unprepared. In contrast, we still have time to prepare for the looming crisis threatening to engulf California, Illinois, New York and other state governments.The new Congr

Jan. 31, 2011

[Kavi Chongkittavorn] Can withering Taiwan engage ASEAN?

The mood in Taipei today is of concern and anxiety. Why? The Taiwanese lai bai xing (commoners) feel quite strongly that the world’s soon-to-be largest economy will eventually usurp up their island, known as Taiwan. Indeed, some even believe that growing economic dependency on the mainland is a kiss of death which they cannot avoid. Tourists, brides, students, agricultural and manufactured product

Jan. 31, 2011

[Kavi Chongkittavorn] Can withering Taiwan engage ASEAN?