The Korea Herald

[Ramin Jahanbegloo] Two years on Iran’s Green Movement is losing steam

Celebrated in June 2009 as a model of nonviolent protest against autocracy, the Iranian Green Movement has lost much of its strength and mobilizing capacity inside Iran while the Arab Spring has toppled regimes across the region.In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak is under arrest. But in Iran, the two defeated candidates in the disputed presidential elections of June 2009 who played such an important role in

June 16, 2011

[Ramin Jahanbegloo] Two years on Iran’s Green Movement is losing steam

[William Pesek] Is biggest short selling scam hiding in plain sight?

Buy a farm house in the middle of nowhere, pick up a gun or two, prepare for hyperinflation and brace for a catastrophic bankruptcy. Thirty minutes with hedge-fund manager J. Kyle Bass has you wanting to do all of the above. The head of Dallas-based Hayman Advisors LP isn’t thinking about Greece or even Spain but Japan, the world’s third-biggest economy. He says his bet against Japanese government

June 15, 2011

[Javier Solana] Time to reset Turkey-EU relations

MADRID ― Just five months ago, Osama bin Laden was alive, Hosni Mubarak was firmly in control in Egypt, and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali ruled Tunisia with an iron hand. Today, popular rebellion and political change have spread throughout the region. We have witnessed brutal repression of protests in Syria and Yemen, Saudi troops crossing into Bahrain, and an ongoing battle for Libya.For Europe, the “A

June 15, 2011

[Javier Solana] Time to reset Turkey-EU relations

Power is so totally hot

How was Anthony Weiner so easily able to find such willing sexting partners?Even conceding that Weiner’s pecs were pretty impressive when he took off his shirt, this is nevertheless the embodiment of the geeky guy we all grew up with who struggled with girls. Sure, his quick thinking and tart tongue probably earned him a few points with ladies, but not to a level that could account for the online

June 15, 2011

[Bruce Gale] Stakes on growth plan

No other president has invested as much political capital in a national development program.This assessment by Danareksa Research Institute’s chief economist Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa of a new economic blueprint launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on May 27 says it all.Since his reelection in 2009, Yudhoyono has tried various means to stimulate economic growth by improving the performance of

June 15, 2011

West is still waiting for its Libya gamble to pay off

Hope isn’t a strategy. But it was a major part of NATO’s decision to launch an air war against Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi almost three months ago.Back in March, when the bombing began, the leaders of France, Britain and the United States hoped Gadhafi’s regime would shatter under the shock and awe of modern munitions, and that Libyan military officers would take the advice of their European counterpa

June 15, 2011

[Joel Brinkley] Afghanistan: Money pit for U.S.

If you were to read two new government reports on American aid to Afghanistan, you would come away first astounded and then utterly furious, just as I did. Ten years into the Afghan war, our government still heedlessly throws many billions of dollars at Afghan organizations that steal some of it and pass the rest off to militants who use it to kill American troops.The State Department, for example

June 15, 2011

[Joel Brinkley] Afghanistan: Money pit for U.S.

With reported rapes, the DSK case is the exception

The charges filed recently against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn have perpetuated a myth: that the U.S. justice system moves swiftly and effectively to resolve allegations of sexual assault.In the wake of Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, the media, particularly in Europe, have highlighted the perceived equality and fairness of a justice system that allows an immigrant single mother with relatively

June 14, 2011

[Lee Jae-min] English lectures at Korean colleges

Imagine how awkward it would be if you were required to speak a foreign language with your colleagues on a particular topic at a designated time each week. All other times, you use your mother tongue with them. This is the awkwardness that many Korean instructors feel in front of Korean students during English-only classes. Interestingly, that awkwardness usually does not occur in front of foreign

June 14, 2011

[Lee Jae-min] English lectures at Korean colleges

[Albert R. Hunt] Deluded parties taste victory without deficit cuts

Republicans and Democrats alike need a significant deficit-reduction package. It is increasingly elusive. President Barack Obama and his congressional allies face a sputtering economic recovery that signals an inhospitable election environment next year, a bad situation getting worse. They need an infusion of confidence that most analysts say a serious debt deal would achieve. Republicans need to

June 14, 2011

[Gus West] Banking: Senate reins in debit card ‘swipe fees’

Remember those dark days after the 2008 financial collapse, when Congress vowed it would get tough with the banks? Well, that resolve seems to be dwindling. A move to undo some of the reforms legislators were touting just months ago was barely stopped last week.The issue at hand this time was debit cards. Currently, when you make a purchase with a debit card, the retailer has to pay a so-called sw

June 14, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Caring about others: from egotism to altruism

At school, we teach our students that Korea was founded on a humanitarian ideal called “Hong-Ik In-gan,” which means “devoting ourselves to the welfare of humankind.” In reality, however, you must go far to find someone who genuinely cares about others’ welfare these days. In fact, we are too busy securing and insisting on our own welfare. As a result, the so-called “NIMBY (not in my backyard)” me

June 14, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] Caring about others: from egotism to altruism

Afghan troop withdrawal must be significant

President Obama must soon choose whether to order a “significant” withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan ― as he promised ― or content himself with a token drawdown. After nearly a decade of war and a troop buildup that seems to have produced results, the president should abide by his commitment, even if it means overriding his military advisors.In December 2009, when he authorized a surge of

June 13, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] India turning itself into a donor

NEW DELHI ― The recent India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at which India’s government pledged $5 billion in aid to African countries, drew attention to a largely overlooked phenomenon ― India’s emergence as a source, rather than a recipient, of foreign aid.For decades after independence ― when Britain left the subcontinent one of the poorest and most ravaged regions on earth, with an ef

June 13, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] India turning itself into a donor

[Meghan Daum] What’s with the ‘hiker hate’ in the U.S.?

The story of Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd, the American hikers who in July 2009 crossed the border ― inadvertently, all evidence suggests ― from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran and were imprisoned for espionage, is back in the headlines. Shourd, who was released in September on humanitarian grounds and after paying $500,000 in bail, has been promoting a “rolling hunger strike” to remind us

June 13, 2011

[Meghan Daum] What’s with the ‘hiker hate’ in the U.S.?

Nuclear proliferation: Engaging with Iran

As ambassadors to Iran during the last decade, we have all followed closely the development of the nuclear crisis between Iran and the international community. It is unacceptable that the talks have been deadlocked for such a long time.The Arab world and the Middle East are entering a new epoch in which no country is immune from change. This includes the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is facing t

June 13, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] Ex-bin Laden colleague sees al-Qaida’s influence waning

LONDON ― Abdullah Anas, a jovial, bearded onetime Algerian imam, was a close colleague of Osama bin Laden in the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan.He considered bin Laden a friend, but broke with him over the slaughter of innocents on 9/11. Today, Anas thinks al-Qaida’s grip on the minds of radical Muslim youth is finally ending.“I think the philosophy of al-Qaida is failing now,” Anas says

June 13, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] Ex-bin Laden colleague sees al-Qaida’s influence waning

[Dick Polman] Democrats sing new tune on finances

Obviously, if we had a dime for every time the politicians junked their avowed convictions, we’d all be living in luxury. But it’s still breathtaking to behold the Democrats’ blatant embrace of a sleazy campaign tactic that they condemned just eight months ago.Last autumn, President Obama and his political allies insisted that secret donations were a “threat to democracy.” On the eve of the 2010 c

June 12, 2011

[David Ignatius] Obama’s ‘partnership deficit’

WASHINGTON ― There was some head-scratching in Washington at the recent presentation of the Medal of Freedom to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The previous foreign recipients included Pope John Paul II, who championed the freedom of Eastern Europe; Nelson Mandela, who triumphed over apartheid in South Africa; and Helmut Kohl, who reunited Germany. Did Merkel, for all her good qualities, really f

June 12, 2011

[David Ignatius] Obama’s ‘partnership deficit’

[Peter Goldmark] GOP playing with fire on debt ceiling

There they go again.The Republicans in the House of Representatives are acting like jackasses. And they’re doing it on the critical issue of the debt ceiling, which could undermine confidence in the United States around the world if it is mishandled.The Republican-dominated House of Representatives recently said they would refuse to raise the national debt limit unless their draconian spending cut

June 12, 2011