The Korea Herald

[Thomas R. Mockaitis] Why armed guards don’t make airports safer　

Q. What’s a good way to waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money without trying very hard?A. Wait for a devastating terrorist attack to frighten people, and then deploy at airports and transportation hubs lots of highly visible security measures that make people feel more secure without actually making them safer.I hate to be cynical, but in the years since 9/11, I have seen this drama play out repeatedly. The terrorists carry out a major attack at home or abroad, politicians call for improve

March 30, 2016

[Kim Ji-hyun ] Who’s the peninsula’s real bully?

South Korea is a country with a big headache: North Korea. The North has lately been more intensely provocative. This week, it fired a short-range rocket. Two weeks ago, it was medium-range ballistic missiles. Before that, it was a nuclear test.And now, U.S. President Barack Obama, President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are meeting in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. While this is a welcome development because it means the world leaders are actu

March 30, 2016

[Kim Ji-hyun ] Who’s the peninsula’s real bully?

[Bryan Dean Wright] We must beware of job-killing robots

A viral video released in February showed Boston Dynamics’ new bipedal robot, Atlas, performing human-like tasks: opening doors, tromping about in the snow, lifting and stacking boxes. Tech geeks cheered and Silicon Valley investors salivated at the potential end to human manual labor.　Shortly thereafter, White House economists released a forecast that calculated more precisely whom Atlas and other forms of automation are going to put out of work. Most occupations that pay less than $20 an hour

March 29, 2016

[Robert J. Fouser] What makes Seoul?

What makes Seoul? Back in town after a 10-month absence, I have been obsessed with the question as I meet old friends and visit places that feel as familiar as the town I was born in. I have toyed with the question before, but the struggle to find an answer seems more intense this time. To answer the question, I have been working on the outlines of a “theory of Seoul” that can explain the past and present while offering a window into the future.I have always thought of Seoul as a jumble. The rap

March 29, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] Contingency plans in an irrational environment

Recently, North Korea threatened the South by carrying out military drills that involved simulated attacks on Seoul using more than 100 pieces of long-range artillery. The North insolently declared it would turn the South Korean capital into “a sea of flames.” Strangely, no one in the South seemed to care or be on alert. Clearly, this situation posed a serious threat to South Korea’s national security, and yet the people in the South seemed completely oblivious. But what if the North were to act

March 29, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] Contingency plans in an irrational environment

Choking on India’s real tobacco problem　

Starting next month, the government of India will require that cigarette packs be largely covered in graphic warning labels. That’s smart; in other countries, such warnings have effectively pushed smokers to quit. The trouble is that cigarettes aren’t India’s biggest tobacco problem.　Most Indians who smoke, smoke a much cheaper, unfiltered product called a bidi: shredded tobacco wrapped in a “tendu,” or ebony, leaf and tied with a string. Popular among the poor -- a pack can cost as little as 10

March 29, 2016

[Michael Smerconish] U.S. embargo froze Cuba, Castros in place 　

I recognized the setting immediately. The high ceilings, giant windows streaming natural light, marble floors, verdant plantings, and decoratively incorporated bedrock. I knew at once it was the Palacio de la Revolucion. And from what I saw of President Obama’s trip on television last week, the home to brothers Fidel and Raul Castro has changed little in the 14 years since I was there as a columnist, as part of a small delegation accompanying Sen. Arlen Specter.　The 2002 trip was a return visit

March 29, 2016

[Park Sang-seek] Dilemma between nationalism, patriotism 　

The relationship between South Korea and North Korea is unique in modern world history. The Korean people are perhaps the only ethnically homogeneous nation in the world living in two separate states in the same territorial sphere. Until the end of the cold war there were two more such peoples -- the Germans and the Vietnamese, but the Vietnamese division was resolved by the joint action of the armed revolt of the South Vietnamese communists and North Vietnam, while the German division was ended

March 28, 2016

[Park Sang-seek] Dilemma between nationalism, patriotism

[Adam Minter] Too friendly to fly?

Travelers love Virgin America, the hip, mood-lit airline backed by Richard Branson. And why not? The self-described “low-fare, upscale” carrier promises passengers that they don‘’ need to accept the dismal nickel-and-dime, fee-for-everything flying experience offered by the competition. Instead, fly Virgin and you can have it all -- legroom and the cheap ticket.　Unfortunately, telling customers they can have it all rarely ends well. And Wednesday’s news that Virgin America is seeking buyers sugg

March 28, 2016

[Trudy Rubin] Uprooting IS’s territorial power is more crucial than ever

After Brussels, President Obama’s strategy of gradually degrading the Islamic State group looks terribly risky. And much too slow.　Yes, IS has lost around 40 percent of the territory it seized in Syria and Iraq, much of it retaken by Kurdish forces with U.S. air support. But it still holds the cities at its heart: Raqqa in eastern Syria and the major urban area of Mosul in northern Iraq. Right now, it appears unlikely that either will be liberated in the near term.　That cross-border territorial

March 28, 2016

[Trudy Rubin] Uprooting IS’s territorial power is more crucial than ever

Drop complacency in fight against terrorism

Thailand must not lower its guard against extremism in any form. 　Malaysian authorities have foiled a plot by the Islamic State group to carry out multiple terrorist attacks in the country, as well as an attempt to kidnap Prime Minister Najib Razak and two other high-ranking officials.　The plan was uncovered in January last year. Thirteen terrorists with ties to IS were involved, the parliament was informed last week by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was also one of the targets.　“

March 28, 2016

[Faye Flam] Scientists can keep life simple

Astronomer Fred Hoyle famously quipped in 1982 that the odds of a simple living thing assembling itself from inanimate chemicals were as slim as the chance that a tornado passing through a junkyard would leave in its wake a Boeing 747.The statement reflects the 20th-century understanding that even pond scum was composed of cells of mind-boggling complexity. Today biologists believe that modern cells evolved from much simpler ancestors -- organisms that no longer exist.Now scientists have used ge

March 28, 2016

[Faye Flam] Scientists can keep life simple

[Jeffrey Frankel] Reckoning with economic inequality in the U.S.

When it comes to the rise in economic inequality since the 1970s in the United States and some other advanced economies, it doesn’t really matter which measure of income distribution we choose: They all show the increase. And, while many competing explanations have been proposed, we do not need to agree about causes to concur on sensible policies to address the problem.There are many ways to measure inequality. Each can tell us something different. Many Asian countries’ recent economic success h

March 27, 2016

[Jeffrey Frankel] Reckoning with economic inequality in the U.S.

[Margaret Carlson] Surviving sex scandal in the post-Clinton era

Sounding a lot like Bill Clinton, the beleaguered governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, called a news conference on Wednesday to say in no uncertain terms that he did not have sex with that woman.Accused of having an illicit relationship with an aide, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, he stopped short of wagging his finger. But, in another Clinton parallel, there is readily available evidence that contradicts his denials: Text messages and audio recordings made public by the Alabama Media Group and the gov

March 27, 2016

[Noah Smith] Patent law holds back scientific progress

One of the biggest stories in science right now is the fight over the Crispr patents. Crispr is a gene editing technique that promises to allow previously unthinkable feats of bioengineering. It was discovered in stages, like most scientific breakthroughs, by multiple teams working at various universities and research institutes around the world. The final, key advancements were made more-or-less simultaneously by two teams of researchers -- one based in California and led by Jennifer Doudna and

March 27, 2016

[Fabiola Santiago] After Obama visit, Cuba needs support for change 　

“You come here wanting to hear salsa. I want to hear rock ’n’ roll.” Cuban singer David Rico of the group Aire Libre (Open Air) at Havana’s Yellow Submarine club.　There’s more than musical preference in this young rocker’s assessment of how Americans relate to Cuba in this “new day” branded by President Barack Obama and set to irreverent music by the Rolling Stones. For Cubans hoping to build a society with freedom of speech, assembly and free elections as cornerstones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfa

March 27, 2016

[David Scheffer] Justice delayed, not denied, in Bosnia

On March 24, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Radovan Karadzic -- the political leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1990s war in the Balkans -- to 40 years in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It is a judgment that will profoundly influence international law, deter those who might otherwise commit atrocities, and open the possibility of political reconciliation in Bosnia. Lawless leaders, such as those in Syria, Sudan, South S

March 27, 2016

[David Scheffer] Justice delayed, not denied, in Bosnia

[David Ignatius] Europe, U.S. should fix woes together

“We have the Europe we deserve,” admitted French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday. The question is how Europeans can build the security structures they need. The first requirement is solidarity, within each country and among the 28 nations of the European Union. This begins with better links with the Muslim communities, the angry, alienated people at Europe‘s table. Yes, Europe needs to be more welcoming, but that’s only half of it. Muslims need to embrace the obligations of European res

March 25, 2016

[David Ignatius] Europe, U.S. should fix woes together

Brazil's theater of the absurd

Acclaimed Brazilian actor and director Claudio Botelho is used to enthusiastic audiences. But bringing the house down mid-performance was not in the script earlier this week, when Botelho -- who is currently on stage playing a theater troupe impresario -- turned to the audience and ad-libbed a few quips about a “crooked former president” and a “thieving president” facing impeachment.　In moments, scores of audience members were on their feet and shouting “There will be no coup!” while an opposing

March 25, 2016

[Adam Minter] Is China exporting environmental problems?

One of the best pieces of news in years is that China is finally getting serious about cleaning up its environment. Its renewable energy use is growing rapidly while its coal use is declining. Air pollution targets are being tightened. Contaminated farmland is finally getting high-level attention. Yet all that good could be undermined if China simply exports its environmental problems elsewhere.A case in point is China’s campaign to protect its forests. For years, logging ran rampant as the coun

March 24, 2016