The Korea Herald

[Martin Khor] Still in pursuit of full independence

The Merdeka (Independence) season is a good time to ponder over what independence means to Malaysia and the other developing countries that are still battling to overcome the disadvantages that the colonial era brought.The problems of governance in a developing country, 54 years after independence,

Aug. 26, 2011

[Martin Khor] Still in pursuit of full independence

[Editorial] Put more pressure for change on the Burmese regime

U.N. human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Burma last Sunday for a five-day visit to assess the human rights situation in the country.Quintana, who was previously denied a visa to Burma after visiting there in February last year, is expected to meet with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu K

Aug. 26, 2011

[Editorial] China’s oil spill shame

The investigation, jointly organized by seven central government departments, into the oil spill involving ConocoPhillips China in Bohai Bay is long overdue given the continuing leaks and the uncooperative attitude from the subsidiary of the Houston-based U.S. energy giant. The State Oceanic Adminis

Aug. 26, 2011

[Editorial] Maglev train project must serve national interests

Central Japan Railway Co.’s ongoing project to build a maglev train system linking Tokyo and Osaka is finally in full swing.Early this month, JR Tokai released a list of probable locations for intermediate stations in four prefectures ― Aichi excluded ― through which its envisaged magnetically levit

Aug. 26, 2011

[Barak Barfi] Rebuilding Libya after Gadhafi

BENGHAZI ― Six months after Libyan rebels took up arms against the country’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Gadhafi, they have finally toppled him. But, while victorious on the battlefield, they have not been triumphant in political and economic terms. If the rebels are to ensure their revolution’s long-te

Aug. 25, 2011

[Barak Barfi] Rebuilding Libya after Gadhafi

[Jeffrey Goldberg] As Sinai deteriorates, Israelis fear the worst

It wasn’t much noticed at the time, but this past winter, as some Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square to bring down a pharaoh, others were busy opening the gates of Cairo’s jails. Common criminals found their way to freedom, and so too did an unknown, but possibly substantial, number of hardened jihadis

Aug. 25, 2011

[Howard Davies] Europe’s financial wasteland waiting for German action

PARIS ― “April is the cruelest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot at the beginning of his great poem, “The Waste Land.” But, if Eliot had been a professional investor who had observed European financial markets over the last few years, I am quite certain that his choice would have been August.In August 2007,

Aug. 25, 2011

[Howard Davies] Europe’s financial wasteland waiting for German action

[Elena T. Reigadas] Legal or not, these students deserve a chance

It happened again this semester. A student came to my office and asked me to close the door. After going through this drill so many times before, I knew what would come next. In a process akin to “coming out of the closet,” these students reveal to me their terrible secret: They are undocumented imm

Aug. 25, 2011

[Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney] College path: Expensive, but a smart investment

The 3 million Americans who graduated from high school last spring have had to grapple with a big decision: whether to continue with their educations this fall. In today’s economic climate, a growing number of families are questioning the value of higher education. Will an investment in college pay

Aug. 25, 2011

[David Ignatius] An uncertain Arab transition

WASHINGTON ― U.S. intelligence analysts, like most American observers, have often referred to the process unfolding in the Middle East as the “Arab Spring,” with its implicit message of democratic rebirth and freedom. But some senior analysts are said to have argued for a more neutral term, such as

Aug. 24, 2011

[David Ignatius] An uncertain Arab transition

[Albert R. Hunt] Super PACs line their coffers for 2012 battle

Mike Toomey, Bill Burton and Edward Conard: Each of these men is a close ally of one of the would-be next presidents of the United States. All three insist they have no involvement in their close associates’ campaigns. That’s because they’re helping direct so-called Super PACs ― Burton for President

Aug. 24, 2011

[Yuriko Koike] The final days of Col. Gadhafi

BENGHAZI ― The endgame in the Libyan conflict has at last arrived. Much of Libya’s capital is now in insurgent hands, with the rebel army itself entering from all directions.The military impotence of forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gadhafi ― visible for a week ― had been matched by the regime’s growing

Aug. 24, 2011

[Yuriko Koike] The final days of Col. Gadhafi

[Frida Ghitis] Hoping for winds of Middle East peace

Nobody expected a quick happy ending, but the depths to which the Middle East peace process has fallen, and the degree to which American influence has collapsed, are nothing short of astounding.Just three years ago, a deal between Israelis and Palestinians seemed tantalizingly close. Today, politica

Aug. 24, 2011

[Nathan Rice] Crimes against women

A recent article suggesting that women-only subway cars would help curb the problem of crimes against women in the subway is misguided. The points raised before are quite valid. It is discriminatory towards men. According to the report, 1,192 incidents were handled last year, which is estimated to b

Aug. 24, 2011

[Thomas Klassen] Korea needs to retire mandatory retirement

Mandatory retirement at a very young age, often in the mid 50s, is a defining feature of Korean workplaces. After being forced to retire so early, workers face a long period of low paying and precarious employment either in self-employment or contract work. Not surprisingly, Koreans have working liv

Aug. 24, 2011

[Lee Jae-min] FTAs and trade remedy measures

Import restrictions are detested by trade agreements. The purpose of such agreements, most notably FTAs, is to dismantle trade restrictions between the signatories. There is one important exception to this general rule: raising an import barrier against unfairly traded goods is permitted. Unfai

Aug. 23, 2011

[Lee Jae-min] FTAs and trade remedy measures

[Margaret Carlson] Obama vacation easy to criticize, hard to read

A lot of perks come with being U.S. president. You’re whisked here and there so that your feet barely touch ground. Heads of state pay their respects. There’s no such thing as a dropped call. You have parties and someone else cleans up. But there’s one perk that almost everyone else gets that you do

Aug. 23, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Of human touch and the computer

We now live in a world where our lives are unwittingly controlled by computers. In fact, computers are so ubiquitous that we cannot imagine a world without them. Wherever you go, you will encounter a computer ― at schools, workplaces, stores, and airports, just to name a few. Our wellbeing prac

Aug. 23, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Of human touch and the computer

[Myung Oak Kim] Focus on quality of meals

The special poll in Seoul on Wednesday is the culmination of a bitter and bizarre political fight that has little to do with what is best for children and lots to do with the future direction of Korea’s elections. Opposition Democratic Party members, who control the Seoul Metropolitan Council and th

Aug. 23, 2011

[Dick Polman] Mr. President, try the Truman approach

An unsolicited memo to Barack Obama:Mr. President, can you speak Truman? If you want to stay in office beyond 2012, you need to channel his language.Enough, already, with all your overtures to the Republicans. Why bother trying to extend your hand to people whose primal impulse is to devour it? You

Aug. 23, 2011