The Irish Times hopes that the most recent attacks by Eta do not mark the start of a new campaign: "The sudden surge in Eta's terrorist campaign for an independent Basque Country has surprised and disturbed many observers, not least in Spain's interior ministry. The ministry, along with the French authorities, has enjoyed a series of significant police successes against Eta over the last year. ... The hope must be that these attacks are not the start of a new sustained campaign by the group but are, as the interior ministry claimed, simply a last desperate attempt to convince both its supporters and the Spanish government that Eta is still a significant force. Clearly though, there are still Basques who believe that self-determination for the region is a prize worth fighting for. Much will depend on how many Eta can call on for such actions and the success enjoyed by the police in catching the culprits and their leaders." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Separatism, » Spain

After Eta's Majorca attack the right-wing conservative daily Le Figaro writes: "Fifty years after its birth in the midst of the Franco era the terrorist organisation Eta still knows only one approach: killing. If the 'armed battle' could ever be defended that was fifty years ago, when the goal was to fight one of non-communist Europe's last dictatorships. There was a time when one could talk of a 'separatist' armed organisation or of 'unbending freedom fighters'. But those who hide behind the 'Basque country and freedom' slogan today and distort it with so much bloodshed are merely an anachronistic relict of times long gone when violence dominated politics. Eta holds the sad privilege of being the oldest terrorist organisation on our continent. While Spain has become one of the largest European democracies its totalitarian past lives on in these enlightened youths who are blinded by their own violence." (01/08/2009)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Spain
All available articles from » Pierre Rousselin

After the two attacks by the Basque underground organisation Eta last week the conservative daily El Mundo warns against future negotiations with the political arm of the terrorist group: "The Basque country's separatist Left probably realises it can get more concessions from the state by taking the Catalan approach [official political negotiations] than through terrorism, which is provoking more condemnation with every passing day. This is why it's so interested in negotiating, in being the government's negotiating partner once more and regaining a legal status that enables it to run in elections. The government should not fall into this trap. The only course at this point is for the police to take tough action and the democratic parties to present a united front. Until Eta finally renounces violence for good we must pursue this careful policy aimed at the total and unconditional submission of the group." (03/08/2009)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Social movements, » Separatism, » Spain

The vast majority of Spaniards stand united in the fight against Eta, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "The leadership of the Basque terrorist organisation Eta ... lives 'a thousand kilometres from reality'. The striking thing about this observation is that it stems not from the opponents of the terrorist organisation ... but from the pen of Txema Matanzas, until recently the radicals' key ideologist. It is time to put an end to the violence, Matanzas declared from prison. The idea that the state so despised by Eta will once more sit down at the negotiating table as it did in 2006 is completely misguided. ... Three times various governments have ventured to negotiate, and three times Eta went back to setting off bombs in the name of its idea of the Basque Country. Both major parties, the governing Socialists as well as the conservative People's Party, are demonstrating unity in the fight against Eta with their words and their actions. This unity is profoundly shared by almost the entire Spanish population, and enjoys widespread support from abroad." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Weltanschauung, » Separatism, » France, » Spain
All available articles from » Javier Cáceres

Nato's new Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen takes office today, Monday. Great challenges await the former Danish prime minister, the daily Berlingske Tidende writes: "Nato will change in the coming years. In the US there is talk of expansion to include Australia and New Zealand and perhaps also Japan and South Korea. But the European countries which see Nato as a European-American club won't accept this without a fight. … Anders Fogh Rasmussen also faces the task of improving relations with the Muslim world. No one knows at present how the fact that Denmark was at the centre of the so-called Muhammad affair [about the cartoons of the prophet published in Danish newspapers in 2006] will affect the way he performs his tasks, but he must realise that it will involve a lot of work. … The job begins in Washington. Fogh must build trust there - trust in change, but without antagonising the old Nato countries." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Denmark, » Europe, » North America, » Global

A trial against 100 opponents of the Iranian regime began on the weekend in the country's capital Tehran. The accused are charged with inciting unrest in the wake of the controversial elections in June. The conservative daily The Times condemns the move: "A show trial reveals nothing except that those who organise it are guilty. Any attempt to stage a judicial spectacle intended to deliver a prearranged verdict and intimidate those not in the courtroom is a grotesque miscarriage of justice. It was the hallmark of political trials in Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany. And the trial that opened in Tehran on Saturday of 100 people accused of rioting in the aftermath of Iran's stolen election is equally repulsive. ... The show trial is an ominous sign that Iran is now so preoccupied with its own struggles for power that it would welcome the escalation. The trial is more than just a show: it is a trial of strength on which the stability of the region depends." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Iran

The Belgian police has issued a new guideline stipulating that passport control identity checks on women wearing Muslim burkas should only be carried out by female officers. This is a dangerous policy, the daily De Morgen writes: "No one wants to prevent the police from respecting the cultural particularities of different sections of the population. But this should not be done at the expense of the fundamental principles of democratic society, among which is the equality of men and women even when on police duty. This includes it not being left to the person being checked to decide who checks him or her. If we follow through on the argumentation of the … federal police we would have to accept it when Muslim men say in court that they don't want female judges to judge or sentence them. This, by the way, is a much more frequent occurrence than women in burkas on the street scene. And no one would think of putting up with that nonsense." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Minorities, » Belgium
All available articles from » Yves Desmet

Economist Péter Farkas wonders in the left-liberal daily Népszabadság how long the global economic crisis will last: "Analysts are now more upbeat. While the globl economy was still in a nosedive at the start of the year, it has been able to recover somewhat in recent months. But how long will it take for it to recover altogether, and when will things start looking up? ... This is simply impossible to say at present. ... Looking back at history we can see that there can be no talk of a quick recovery. Taking a good look at the global crises of the past we see that in many countries the crisis period lasted two years on average. ... We are now witnessing not only a financial and overproduction crisis, but also a kind of nodal crisis of global capitalism, meaning that capitalism will certainly change after the crisis. Three scenarios are imaginable for the post-crisis era: 1. If a worsening of the crisis can be avoided by re-inflating the economic balloon, a slightly modified neoliberal model can be expected. ... 2. Should the crisis worsen and the global economy collapse, a Keynesian model would result. ... 3. The third model could only occur on the long term, after the end of the social crisis which accompanies the economic one: a model of economic and social sustainability." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Péter Farkas

The trend towards a normalisation of the credit market is evident in the falling Euribor, the rate of interest at which European banks lend each other money, the liberal daily La Vanguardia writes. "The gap [between the Euribor] and the interest rate of the European Central Bank, currently at one percent, has shrunk considerably. This shows that trust in the inter-bank credit market has returned if not completely then at least to a large extent, because the Euribor is the average interest rate at which Europe's most important banks lend each other money." (03/08/2009)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Europe

The news magazine Newsweek Polska is only moderately enthusiastic about the current strength of the Polish złoty: "Poles now preparing to go abroad have good reason to be happy. The exchange rate of the złoty compared with the euro and the dollar ... has climbed to its highest mark this year. ... After a short phase of recovery, the złoty topped last week's high mark, reaching 4.14 złotys to the euro, 2.91 to the dollar and 2.70 to the Swiss franc. ... Many analysts say that the Polish currency will continue to climb. ... Can the złoty really continue gaining in value? There are good reasons for scepticism. Because the złoty has not skyrocketed as a result of a surprising boom in the Polish economy, but as a consequence of developments in the US [financial markets]." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Poland
All available articles from » Miłosz Węglewski

Vasilis Moulopoulos bewails in the daily To Vima the large number of migrants and refugees who have lost their lives on the borders of Europe: "The sum is appalling: 14,679 people have died trying to get into Europe [in the past ten years]. [Europe's borders are like] a virtual wall. It is far longer and higher than the famous wall in Berlin whose fall was celebrated as a victory for the free world. These shameful figures will never by addressed at a G8 summit or in the EU, not to mention in our national parliament which (like other European countries) voted for the pact against illegal migration. These laws treat those who strive to enter the promised land of Europe like criminals. ... Anyone dealing with the topic of illegal migration knows that these monster laws cannot possibly be implemented without violating national and international law. ... This is a dangerous blunder, less for those who are desperately seeking a new life on our continent than for our democracy itself." (02/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Greek)
More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Europe

Commenting on the Gay Pride festival that took place in Stockholm on the weekend Göran Skytte points to parallels between the fight for the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transvestites and the so-called '68 Movement: "As always, it was interesting to observe hour after hour and day after day for a whole week the parade of people who in the glare of ample media coverage constantly claimed they were oppressed and persecuted. … Back then as now: the media utterly capitulated. At the time the editorial department were in the hands of left-wing journalists (I was one of them) who saw it as their task to lead a class struggle. … All those who made any attempt to oppose the demands to make Sweden a socialist society were 'fascists', 'bourgeois' and 'reactionaries' and were silenced. Today some of the media are like spokespersons for the homosexual, bisexual and transvestite movement: Anyone who dares to question something is automatically stamped with the label 'homophobic'. I've even heard the term 'hetero-fascist'. I personally am relieved and thankful that this time I can keep my distance from the most politically correct subject of the moment." (01/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Social movements, » Gender equality, » Sweden
All available articles from » Göran Skytte

The online mail order company Amazon.com has incensed some customers by erasing files from their eBook readers. But their anger is based on a misunderstanding, writes Matthias Becker in the weekly Der Freitag. "An electronic book cannot be compared to its paper predecessor. If you own a book printed black on white you can take it home and even dunk it in the bathtub. But people who buy text files from Amazon merely purchase the right to read the contents (and clearly in some cases only for a limited time). Buyers may only read the book on certain devices, and under no circumstances may they pass them on to third parties - as is clearly indicated in the terms and conditions. ... One of the books so brashly erased by Amazon was George Orwell's novel '1984'. Let us recall that the book's hero works in the 'Ministry of Truth', which continually alters the past to fit the current party line, continually falsifying historic records. An army of bureaucrats is busy retouching photographs and rewriting news articles. How cumbersome and anachronistic: today advanced and traceless censorship is possible simply with an automatic update." (31/07/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Online media, » Global
All available articles from » Matthias Becker

The UK's oldest Sunday newspaper The Observer, which was founded in London in 1791, is facing the threat of closure. The Italian daily Corriere della Sera comments: "Whatever the outcome ... this is about an important piece of quality journalism that is disappearing and thus highlighting the insecurity of the entire branch. … The Observer is one of the 'institutions' of the British Sunday. It was the first newspaper to be dedicated in 1791 to coverage that was 'Unbiased by Prejudice - Uninfluenced by Party...Whose Principal is Independence,' as its founder W.S. Bourne wrote at the time. A mandate … that has been defended for over 200 years. … Today The Observer is read by the moderate Left. … But it is respected by all and everyone is impressed by its courage to battle on all fronts in keeping with the motto 'We belong to no party'. It has survived the political storms. For 218 years it has informed and explained, but in times of crisis it has become very difficult to stay above water." (03/08/2009)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Publishing houses, » Print media, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Fabio Cavalera

The Swedish Internet exchange The Pirate Bay has been banned in the Netherlands. But the ban will be difficult to implement, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "It is certainly laudable that the music and film industry are trying to fight the free downloading of copyrighted material. Creators have a right to receive payment. However in view of the intensive web traffic, producers cannot limit themselves to this defensive legal strategy. Above all they must invest in webshops which make it attractive for consumers to switch to legal fee-based sites. ... Although consumers will have to pay for this service, they know they will be operating in a protected environment free of viruses, spam and fake data. Another positive development is presented by 'streaming sites' offering limitless music and film contents for a fixed monthly rate. One can only hope that in the end not the judges but technology will decide the arduous battle between the industry and consumers." (03/08/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Consumers, » Netherlands, » Global