The Korea Herald

French appeal for Strauss-Kahn: Ironic Einhorn echo

Philadelphians know better than anyone why Dominique Strauss-Kahn should remain anchored to New York City.Two words: Ira Einhorn.Einhorn, the slovenly, self-appointed hippie guru of 1960s and ‘70s counterculture with a history of abusing women, was convicted in 2002 of murdering his former girlfriend Holly Maddux, a Texas-born cheerleading beauty.The road to that elusive conviction, however, took

Viewpoints June 1, 2011

[David Ignatius] War on terror: How lines blurred

WASHINGTON ― One consequence of the early “war on terror” years was that the lines between CIA and military activities got blurred. The Pentagon moved into clandestine areas that had traditionally been the province of the CIA. Special Forces began operating secretly abroad in ways that worried the CIA, the State Department and foreign governments. The Obama administration is now finishing an effor

Viewpoints June 1, 2011

[David Ignatius] War on terror: How lines blurred

[Mario I. Blejer] Greek day of reckoning looms in Ponzi Europe

One of the undeniable features of the European debt crisis is the tendency to obscure, verbally and politically, the real issues at play. Euphemisms, statistical gimmicks, meaningless institutional squabbling, undecipherable acronyms, and plain double talk proliferate as part of the debate. In my experience as central-bank governor in Argentina during the worst financial crisis in our history, at

Viewpoints June 1, 2011

[Albert R. Hunt] Republicans can stop waiting for white knight

Godot isn’t likely to show up for the Republicans. Like the characters in Samuel Beckett’s play, the Republican establishment probably will wait in vain for a white knight ― Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are the most oft-cited ― to rescue the party’s presidential prospects. The Republican field seems set, with the major contenders likely to be former Governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts

Viewpoints June 1, 2011

[J. Bradford DeLong] Construction boom: Built to bust

BERKELEY ― In the mid-2000s, the United States had a construction boom. From 2003-06, annual construction spending rose to a level well above its long-run trend. Thus, by the start of 2007, the U.S. was, in essence, overbuilt: about $300 billion in excess of the long-run trend in construction spending.When these buildings were constructed, they were expected to more than pay for themselves. But th

Viewpoints June 1, 2011

[J. Bradford DeLong] Construction boom: Built to bust

[Rachel Marsden] Harper a role model for conservatives

A few years ago, if Americans had been asked to name the world’s most conservative countries, Canada likely wouldn’t have been on most people’s list. But as so many previous top contenders, including the U.S., slide into socialism, Canada is beginning to shine as a beacon of free-market success. After decades of Liberal Party rule, broken only by eight years of Conservative governance in the 1980s

Viewpoints May 30, 2011

Eyes on East Asian future

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo on May 21-22 as scheduled, even though Japan is still recovering from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, demonstrating the three countries’ consensus on regional responsibility.The leaders agreed to strengthen a future-oriented partnership aimed at constructing a nuclear power safety and disaster prevention system, and developing co

Viewpoints May 29, 2011

[Robert Reich] The battle for the soul of the GOP

Who’s more influential in the Republican Party ― the so-called Tea Party, or Wall Street and big business? The answer will be critical in the weeks ahead as the House decides whether to raise the limit on the nation’s debt.Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warns that if the limit isn’t increased by Aug. 2, the federal government goes broke. It doesn’t just close down. It stops making lots of payment

Viewpoints May 29, 2011

[Robert Reich] The battle for the soul of the GOP

[Joel Brinkley] A tangled knot in Pakistan, Afghanistan

America’s involvement in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be the most complex foreign-policy dilemma the nation has ever faced. And with the death of Osama bin Laden, along with Pakistan’s furious response, the knot is growing ever more tangled.Right now, Afghan officials are reviling their Pakistani counterparts. Pakistan is flirting with China. American officials are threatening to curtail aid to Is

Viewpoints May 29, 2011

[Joel Brinkley] A tangled knot in Pakistan, Afghanistan

[Editorial] Back to 6-party talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has called for an early resumption of the stalled six-party talks. According to Xinhua News Agency, Kim expressed his view that “the six-party talks should be resumed at an early date” during his summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Wednesday.Kim, who returned home Friday wrapping up his eight-day visit to China, was also quoted as saying that “the

Editorial May 27, 2011

[Editorial] Match-fixing scams

Prosecutors in the southern city of Changwon are expanding their investigation into the nation’s first match-fixing scandal involving K-League professional soccer players. They have already arrested two gambling brokers on charges of bribing two active players in their bid to rig match results and win Sportstoto lotteries. The brokers allegedly gave 120 million won to a goalkeeper of a K-League cl

Editorial May 27, 2011

[Michael Boskin] A retreat from growth of welfare state?

STANFORD ― Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, by winning an outright majority of seats in his country’s parliament for the first time since assuming office, continues a remarkable series of national election victories, backed by voters demanding at least a pause, and perhaps some reversal, of the growth of the welfare state.Moreover, Harper’s victory follows the Republican Party’s resounding

Viewpoints May 27, 2011

[Michael Boskin] A retreat from growth of welfare state?

Taiwan must ease restrictions on hiring of foreign workers

Earlier this month, The China Post reported that a meeting was held by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to discuss the possibility of relaxing some of the current restrictions on hiring foreigners as “white-collar” employees. Immigration officials and others in the fields of education and economics attended the conference, but the report stated that the meeting concluded without any consensus be

Viewpoints May 27, 2011

Tight power supply

Chinese power companies are trying hard to make a big fanfare about the urgent need to raise the price of electricity to avoid the country’s worst power shortage in decades. The country’s leading power distributor, State Grid Corp., warned on Monday that some 26 provincial regions will suffer combined power shortages of 30 million kilowatts this year. Should that be the case, enterprises should br

Viewpoints May 27, 2011

Mizuho must regain trust through reform

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., one of the country’s three major banking groups, is being put to the test over whether it can evolve into a financial group with a sense of unity by carrying out necessary reforms.On Monday, the company announced a plan to integrate the operations of Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank and other banking units under its wing in a few years.The integration is aimed at reg

Viewpoints May 27, 2011

Articles by 류근하