This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.
Korea stirs nationalism over Dokdo/Takeshima islands on Liberation Day
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South Korea’s president Lee Myung-bak was harshly critical of Japan in his Liberation Day speech on Monday, at a time when Korea-Japan relations are at a low ebb. Liberation Day commemorates the end of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea from 1905-1945. Lee was particularly critical of Japan’s approval of new textbooks that claim Japanese sovereignty over two small islands between the two countries, known as the Dokdo islands to the Koreans, and the Takeshima islands to the Japanese. According to Lee,
“Japan has a responsibility to teach its young generation the truth about what happened in the past,” Lee said. “By doing so, we can then allow young people in Korea and Japan to forge ahead into the new era with a correct recognition and understanding of history. This kind of cooperation will greatly contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world as well as Northeast Asia.[The pain and suffering inflicted by the Japanese would be something that Koreans would never forget.]
For the sake of the future relationship, Korea will not be bound by the unfortunate past. But at the same time, the Korean people can never forget the history of the recent past altogether.”
Here’s a pretty interesting video that describes the situation:
[youtube DKMS-4Fy7sQ nolink]
Euro crisis continues as ‘euro bond’ proposal stirs debate
It was revealed that, in order to keep Italy and Spain from being dragged into a sovereign debt crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) last week bailed out the two countries and broke all previous records by purchasing €22 billion in bonds from the two countries. The ECB has been harshly criticized for waiting too long to bail out Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and apparently they’re taking the criticism to heart by pursuing an early and enormous bond purchase program. Guardian
Many analysts are saying that there’s only one way left to save the euro — by issuing “euro bonds.” Instead of having each of the 17 eurozone countries issue its own bonds, the countries would jointly issue and guarantee euro bonds that represent the entire eurozone. (This seems to me like another total fantasy — or worse — being perpetrated by EU politicians. If Italy and Spain and the euro could be saved by issuing euro bonds, then Italy and Spain and the euro could be saved by the ECB purchasing country bonds, which is what they’re doing now. This is another example of politicians thinking the rhetoric and appearances will trump fundamentals.) Bloomberg
The German government is saying publicly that it is adamantly opposed to the “euro bond” idea, because they would “take away the pressure to save” from debt-laden states. However, there are some mixed messages coming from Berlin that some politicians, especially Angela Merkel’s political opponents, are ready to accept the euro bond idea. Financial Times (Access)
U.N. says Somalia food aid is being stolen, fueling civil war
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With nearly 3.2 million people in Somalia facing starvation, it’s to be expected that some food aid pouring into Somalia might go missing. But the sheer scale of the theft taking place calls into question aid groups’ ability to reach the starving. It also raises concerns about the willingness of aid agencies and the Somali government to fight corruption, and whether diverted aid is fueling Somalia’s 20-year-old civil war. Associated Press
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