Stéphane Thirion thinks cycling needs a strong man to reform it. "The failure of a system merits a concordat and, in the case of cycling, the revolution needs to be fuelled from above. The International Cycling Union unfortunately lacks a strong man who is serene, placid, measured and strong enough to extract cycling from the quagmire it has sunk into. Why not imitate football's UEFA, which named Michel Platini as its boss? Why not choose a cycling figurehead to lead it , someone to put his foot down, eliminate culprits for life, supervise the length and difficulty of races, get rid of this stupid ProTour? Who else, other than a former famous racer, with an irreproachable past, could possibly save this raft of the Medusa?" (26/07/2007)

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Renaud Dély reacts vigorously, saying "The doped will try anything! That's how you can pick them out. The presumed liar Rassmussen yesterday flew over the Pyrenees just as he had glided over the Alps. The puppet is in yellow and the circus goes on. Grotesque. The Tour should stop. This cycling procession has turned into a ludicrous pageant. If the organisers really want to save cycling, as they claim they do, they should end the competition now. They should then decree a pause for several years, for as long as it takes to cure the former sportsmen who have become junkies. That a racer as mediocre as the Italian Moreni, lagging 2 hours behind the summit, has also been caught red handed, illustrates the scope of the problem. The last straw was scheduled for Sunday, on the Champs Elysées, where a new impostor from Copenhagen intended to see his name added to the prize list of liars." (26/07/2007)

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The online edition of the newspaper is discontinuing its live coverage of the Tour de France in compliance with the close results of a poll among its users. "'Should the Standard continue its live coverage of the Tour de France?' was the question put to our web community following the Winokurow doping affair. The result: 55.6 percent of respondents wanted live coverage to be discontinued. And just as we were about to undemocratically ignore the results of the poll and cover the tour to the bitter end instead, ... the French sport magazine 'L'Equipe' announced the next doping scandal. ... We will continue to provide you with the results of the doping controls and the different stages of the race here at our website." (26/07/2007)

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"Professional cycling, with its archaic group pressure, is a special case in the world of sports," Klaus Hoeltzenbein concludes. "The extent to which this is not an isolated case will become clear at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The sport will suffer its next dramatic defeat there. In China lies will no doubt form the basis for all transactions. And there will be athletes like Alexander Vinokourov who are willing to risk everything for the sake of eternal glory and a fat bank account; Athletes who are so greedy that in addition to all the stuff that can't be detected by doping controls are also willing to take pills and injections that push them right into the arms of the investigators. To revive this sport the old system must be destroyed. Bank accounts must be monitored, state subsidies capped and TV funding cancelled. We must resort to measures like those used in the battle against arms and drug dealing." (26/07/2007)

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All available articles from » Claus Hoeltzenbein

The Polish film maker Andrzej Wajda, interviewed by Benedetta Craveri, explains why he decided to make a film called 'Katyn', about the massacre of over 20,000 members of the Polish elite committed by the Soviets in 1940. "Katyn is deeply rooted in the Polsih memory ... . The Polish communist regime was never willing to tell the truth about Katyn, no book, no debate on the subject was allowed. The memory of it represented a big obstacle in relations between Russia and Poland. ... At the same time, the attitude of the allies also damaged relations between Poland and the west. Their silence concerning the massacre has been considered a betrayal. This is indeed why part of the Polish elite chose communism, even though it was known who perpetrated the crime." (25/07/2007)

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The neo-liberal policies that have been pursued since the great upheavals in Eastern Europe have destroyed the economies of these countries and turned the region into a playground for Western Europe's economic agents, writes philosopher Gaspar M. Tamás. "The Eastern European economies have been stripped of their assets and their agriculture and industries destroyed. Competitiveness was interpreted here as a race to see which country can attract the West's multinational companies, which are the major proprietors of our times, with the lowest taxes, the cheapest loans, the lowest salaries and the longest working hours. Liberalisation and deregulation has rendered the entire region defenceless against the rich competitors from the West. We've been left looking at a field of rubble: within our societies, enclaves have developed that will be dominated by long-term unemployment and extreme poverty for generations to come." (26/07/2007)

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At the end of the 1990s, while Germany as well as Belgium and the Netherlands legalised prostitution, Sweden adopted a "hard" line and made the purchase of sex a punishable offence. Nowadays Sweden is regarded as a shining example, the newspaper writes. "There are around 400,000 prostitutes in Germany today. Their legalisation was intended to combat discrimination, however so far there has been no major improvement in their situation. Only one percent of all prostitutes have taken out an unemployment insurance policy. The Greens, who enthusiastically backed the law, are now in the opposition, and the CDU doesn't like the law. The wind has changed. ... In Sweden the number of prostitutes is comparatively low. One explanation for this is the successful campaign of the Swedish feminist movement at the end of the 1970s. ... As a result of the law against the purchase of sex, prostitution has disappeared from Sweden's streets. To date there has not been a detailed assessment of the effects of the law, but it's not necessary anyway. 80 percent of the Swedish population is in favour of it." (26/07/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Germany, » Sweden

On Wednesday, July 25th, Gordon Brown unveiled a panoply of anti-terrorist measures after a series of attempted car bombings marked the beginning of his leadership. Gideon Rachman comments. "He announced an integrated border force to combat terrorism, a review of the use of intercept evidence in court and plans to double the current limit for detaining terror suspects without charge, from 28 to 56 days. Brown's thinking on detention without trial echoes that of Tony Blair, but his approach is markedly different. ... It is better than Blair's, because it displays more determination to surround new powers with qualifications. But one thing is missing, and that is precisely considered risk assessment. Alongside the safeguards Brown has suggested, there should be reporting to parliament and to the public about what the risks are at any point in time, backed with informed thinking." (26/07/2007)

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Gigi Becali owns the Romanian football team FC Steaua Bucharest and wants to become President of Romania. In 2004 he took over leadership of the 'Party of the New Generation', gave it a right-wing conservative orientation and has now engineered its fusion with the 'Environmental Party'. Michael Shafir comments. "Becali's party recruits its supporters mainly from the ranks of the ultra-right 'New Right' - but now it has put away its fascist uniform and adopted a modern ideology which - how revolting! - leans more towards the left. ... There's no doubt that Romania needs an environmental party. Hundreds of tonnes of plastic bottles were recently fished out of the Danube delta. ... But Romania hasn't been particularly lucky with its right-leaning 'Greens'. One can't help asking how the country can get rid of all its rubbish if everything here is dirty anyway." (26/07/2007)

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"This Thursday, July 26th, Barcelona is celebrating 15 years since the Olympic Games were held there in 1992, qualified as the best ever. ... The electricity black-out that we endured these past few days [A giant electricity cut occurred on Monday, July 23rd and electricity has yet to be returned to some areas], with over 300,000 people affected, the sad reality has to be faced and we are obliged to refrain from any triumphant commemoration of the Olympic Games", regrets the local daily. "Since the few days of glory at the time of the Olympic games, the city has accumulated debts over 15 years, while its population has grown. ... Not only is the electricity network insufficient, so are the railways, the roads, the airport ad the sanitary facilities." (26/07/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Sport, » Spain

The Italian geologist Mario Tozzi reacts to the terrible fires that have been devastating the south of Italy for several days. "Our forests are burning at a rate of 100,000 hectares a year and 47% of the national territory lacks trees to maintain earth and prevent slippage. ... We will win this war thanks to prevention, technology and the denunciation of those responsible. The pyromaniacs are known and they live among us. ... It is too easy to put fires down to summer heat, without recognising that the aim of this disfigurement of the landscape is to satisfy corporate profits and interests. ... Fire is part of a strategy intended to destroy territory in the name of interests linked to the building industry or individuals, ruining life for seasonal workers who are in despair." (25/07/2007)

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All available articles from » mario tozzi

In a guest commentary, media rights activist and blogger Neli Ognyanova refutes claims that bloggers are extravagant and therefore pose a risk to the media. "After all, it's not a risk to have your own opinion. Blogging is just an additional means of freely expressing your opinion. Blogs are unobtrusive by nature. In Bulgaria most blogs are not commercial projects financed by advertising and they're not fighting for approval or controlled by ratings. A blog is a luxury; the author defines its format, content, and links as he sees fit. ... The freedom of knowledge and culture are key values in the blogosphere. ... and this can be seen as a good or a bad thing depending on your position." (26/07/2007)

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The daily's columnist, Ferreira Fernandes, defends the Portuguese writer José Saramago, who recently said that "Portugal will end up becoming part of Spain". "Saramago has been accused of everything, even treason". Because he said that we will one day find ourselvesa part of Spain. He didn't even say that he wanted this. He said it the way you mention something inevitable, like, 'The world will disappear one day'. Are the Scientists who say this to be insulted too? I am not going to join in the howling. Saramago is over 80 and he is still working, despite everything. He pays taxes in Portugal although he needn't. He also practices a useful profession: He writes. He doesn't, for example, sell pit-bull. And he writes in Portuguese. In a country that likes to repeat that 'my homeland is the Portuguese language', no one has the right to call Saramago a traitor." (26/07/2007)

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"He was an actor who could portray mental processes and make them visible", writes Peter Michalzik of German actor Ulrich Mühe, who died on July 22 aged 54. Mühe, who was born and brought up in the GDR, portrayed Stasi captain Gerd Wiesner in the film 'The Lives of Others'. "And he was an actor whose appearance could change along with his surroundings. He could look like the typical, rather grey Eastern German but later on he could look like the typical dynamic Western German. This must have been the result of a physical porosity towards the past and his environment which is among the greatest gifts an actor can aspire to - without him probably having to do much to accomplish it. Mühe was the type of actor who is like a blank piece of paper on which he can draw his character. Not only as far as his film roles were concerned was he extremely versatile, he could also change within the course of history: he wasn't a type but a time." (26/07/2007)

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All available articles from » Peter Michalzik

Poland's largest outdoor market, the 'Jarmark Europa' in Warsaw, where mainly Eastern Europeans and Asians offer their wares, is to be closed down. The market is held in the Dziesięciolecia football stadium, which will be cleared to make way for a new stadium for the 2012 European Cup. Weronika Mliczewska laments the closure of the bazaar, which attracted many immigrants. "When the name 'Jarmark Europa' was created no one expected so many people from other continents to come here. Once the stadium is closed down these groups of immigrants will look for other places in other cities where the cost of living is cheaper and there's less red tape. The closure of the stadium is therefore not just Warsaw's concern." (23/07/2007)

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All available articles from » Weronika Mliczewska

"It was the Great British Cheese awards last Friday at The Mill House Hotel in Kingham, and I was more excited than I have been for ages", enthuses Alex James, former bassist for the band 'Blur', turned farmer and cheese maker. "There were 900 different cheeses in the competition. That's more than they have in France. Hang on a minute ! What ? No, it's true. The astonishing thing is the quality is there, too. Newly christened members of the camembert family, golden inside, made with Jersey milk and better than anything I've had in France, sat among huge wheels with lemony centres like brie wants to be. British food culture has exploded faster than internet pornography in the last 15 years. Our chefs are world famous. Our restaurants are the best in the world. In pubs, where there used to be a dartboard, now there's a blackboard showing the specials. ... Someone asked whether a cheese contest was really necessary or whether it was just a bit of fun. It's definitely both." (26/07/2007)

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All available articles from » Alex James