KANDAHAR, Afghanistan ― As the war grinds toward its endgame, and administration officials debate how fast to draw down troops and whether to talk to the Taliban, I got a startling earful on both subjects ― from one of Afghanistan’s most powerful and controversial leaders, Ahmed Wali Karzai, President Hamid Karzai’s younger brother.I interviewed AWK, as he is known, in his two-story office behind

Viewpoints May 24, 2011

The wage levels of national public servants have been determined based on recommendations by the National Personnel Authority every year since 1948. The system makes up for the restrictions imposed on government workers’ basic labor rights, including the right to strike.Without the NPA’s recommendations, the Kan administration plans to reduce the wages of national public servants. It aims to use t

Viewpoints May 23, 2011

Northeast Asia, namely China, Japan and the two Koreas, has been engaged in brisk top-level meetings since last weekend to address the increasingly complex issues involving the region. While North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was touring China, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed security, trade and disaster control in a sum

Editorial May 23, 2011

Forcible demolitions will not stop unless local government leaders are made to realize that they have to pay a price for exploiting land to earn revenue. The amended regulations on requisition and compensation for State-owned land took effect on Jan. 21, but only a few local land and resources officials have been punished. The central government, therefore, has to take some strict measures to ensu

Editorial May 23, 2011

It does not seem a very wise move that a group of South Korean lawmakers would visit one of the Kuril islands, the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan, as part of their campaign to manifest Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo islands in the East Sea. First of all, there is little similarity between Dokdo and any of the four islands which have been under Russian juris

Editorial May 23, 2011

The newest slumlord in Los Angeles is a pillar of German capitalism. Earlier this month, the city attorney’s office filed suit against Deutsche Bank, the world’s fourth-largest bank, for letting many of the more than 2,000 L.A. homes it has foreclosed on descend into squalor and decay.A yearlong city investigation of the properties on which Deutsche Bank foreclosed turned up tenants compelled to l

Viewpoints May 23, 2011

Woohoo! Secularism has arrived. That was one reaction to the news that Pitzer College in Claremont, California, is launching a secular studies department.“Well, it’s about time!” wrote an eager academic in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The editor of CNN’s Belief blog didn’t know “whether to be surprised that it happened or surprised that it took so long.”The blog at the conservative journal F

Viewpoints May 22, 2011

Back in October of 2003, I witnessed a remarkable spectacle at a San Diego rally for gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger. As I talked to people about allegations that Schwarzenegger had crudely groped women against their will, using his celebrity and power to have his way, they were outraged.Not at Schwarzenegger, but at the Los Angeles Times, for reporting the stories.Even after Schwarz

Viewpoints May 22, 2011

Chung Jin-suk, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, denies he did anything illegal when he was an outside director for Samhwa Savings Bank, which has recently slid into insolvency. He may not have breached the law but he may be criticized for negligence“Never did I attend a conference on bank management or engage in lobbying (on behalf of the savings bank),” says Chung, who took 2

Editorial May 20, 2011

As a recent survey indicates, almost eight in 10 Koreans support the Ministry of National Defense’s idea of giving favors in written employment tests to those who have completed active duty. Given this high approval rate, the ministry may be tempted to believe all it needs to do is request the legislature to pass the relevant bill awaiting action.But it is not as simple as it looks. A similar law

Editorial May 20, 2011

The government on May 13 decided on the overall framework of a scheme to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. compensate people who have suffered losses from the accidents at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.Compensation will be paid to those who were evacuated from their homes as well as to farmers, fishermen and others who have suffered financial losses due to the accidents.The government plans

Viewpoints May 20, 2011