Violence against women is deeply rooted in our culture, writes peace researcher Carmen Magallón in left-wing daily Público. She uses the theory of sociologist Johan Galtung to explain the reasons for this violence: "Galtung's model facilitates understanding of the causal links between the three types of violence. These links flow in all directions, but the main one is that which flows between cultural violence and direct violence passing through structural violence. The symbolic devaluation of women (cultural violence) led in the course of history to a status of subjugation and marginalisation (structural violence) and this marginalisation and lack of power promoted their conversion into an object of physical abuse (direct violence). The slow pace of progress [in the fight against violence against women] can be explained by the profound character of the main, symbolic-cultural root of this violence." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » History, » Gender equality, » Spain, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Carmen Magallón

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the daily Večer urges Slovenian judges to apply the laws in force in the country. "It's encouraging that fewer and fewer women are afraid or ashamed to report cases of violence. ... But that makes it all the more difficult to understand why those very people who should take action against violence are looking away. I am referring to the social workers and judges who all too often do less to prevent domestic violence than the police. It's not enough that a year and a half ago Slovenia was one of the first countries in Europe to pass a law against domestic violence, as we're so fond of boasting. It's high time the law was applied. Other ministers should follow the example of Interior Minister Katarina Kresal and explain to their employees that there is zero tolerance for violence here, how victims are to be helped and what action is to be taken against perpetrators." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Slovenia
All available articles from » Tanja Milakovic

The daily Le Monde welcomes a new French campaign for combatting violence against women: "The government has decided to give a new impulse to the combat for the safety of women which started in 1972. ... [Prime Minister] François Fillon has declared the fight against domestic violence the 'national cause' for 2010, which will allow associations to deliver public messages free of charge. A praisworthy decision, accompanied by governmental measures. ... In Spain a 'constitutional ammendment against gender-based violence' was passed in 2004 following an iniative by the Socialist government under José Luis Zapatero, focussing on all aspects of such acts of violence. ... Above and beyond the legal arsenal however, the important thing is to develop prevention, as well as education and solidarity. Only then will we have done with this indignity." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Gender equality, » Global

The foreign policy committee of the Dutch parliament has threatened to cancel its trip to Turkey, because the Turkish government has refused entry to the right-wing populist Geert Wilders, chairman of the Dutch Party for Freedom. In view of Turkey's controversial bid for EU accession it would be unwise to give Wilders the cold shoulder, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "The leader of the Party for Freedom likes to be provocative, and has repeatedly made disparaging remarks about what he calls the 'backward' Muslim culture. That does little to promote constructive dialogue, and of course is maddening, but it is no reason to refuse him entry. The same goes for his criticism of democracy in Turkey. ... If they turn Wilders away, the Turkish authorities will only be confirming the prejudice that they are not open to dialogue." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Netherlands, » Turkey

The Swedish EU presidency and the EU Commission are now seeking a quick solution to the dispute over an agreement between the EU and the US on passing on bank data (Swift data) in the battle against terrorism. For the daily Die Presse this is a further example of Washington not taking the EU seriously: "On the other hand it's mainly about the fact that Europe has once again failed to show some guts. Just like with the dispute over finger-printing on entering the US, where there was a terrible verbal uproar - and that was the end of it. Or with the plans to introduce a ten-dollar entry fee for entering the US: Brussels may be threatening to introduce visa requirements for US citizens as a countermeasure, but you can bet your boots this will never happen. As far as Swift data is concerned Europe has every right to charge a heavy political price for such access, because since the 9/11 attacks the US has been using the pretext of national security to search through this data illegally. … In Washington they only respond to tough politics." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Norbert Rief

In the eyes of business paper Hospodářské Noviny German Chancellor Angela Merkel is caught between two fronts in the dispute over German politician Erika Steinbach, head of the Federation of Expellees. Steinbach's insistence on being made a member of the advisory board for the planned federal foundation "Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung" has met with opposition not only in Poland but also from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle: "In the grand coalition with the Social Democrats Merkel found an elegant solution to the problem by having her former [social democratic] foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier exercise his veto [against Steinbach]. Now she's trying to circumvent the problem. She offered Steinbach the post of Secretary of State [in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research], a position endowed with a monthly salary of 9,000 euros and an official car, but she declined. … If the federal government backs Steinbach it risks worsening relations with Poland. If it abandons her it will incur the wrath of both the Federation of Expellees and the CSU [Christian Social Union - Bavarian conservative party]." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Remembrance culture, » Germany, » Poland
All available articles from » Adam Černý

The US dollar and the Swiss franc are now on a par - not necessarily a good thing for the global economy, writes the Berner Zeitung: "The monetary turbulences caused by the weak dollar will not be quick in subsiding. The reasons for the weak dollar have to do with the US's inordinately high level of indebtedness in times of peace. To avoid falling into a depression, the national debt has risen to over twelve percent of the annual GDP. At the same time the Fed flooded the market with cheap money. All experts are aware that this state of things cannot go on indefinitely. However most also agree that it is now too early to raise interest rates or balance the state budget, which would most likely lead to renewed economic collapse. The upshot: the world will have to live with the weak dollar for a while longer." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » U.S., » Global
All available articles from » Philipp Löpfe

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn has dismissed proposals for taxing purely speculative capital flows, in the wake of Brazil's decision to impose a two-percent tax on such flows to prevent a speculation bubble. Harvard professor Dani Rodrik criticises Strauss-Kahn's approach in the business paper Világgazdaság: "Unfortunately, this makes the new IMF sound too much like the old one. ... The IMF's reaction to Brazil's financial taxes reflects how ingrained finance fetishism has become. ... The problem is not just right-wing market fundamentalists. The failure of imagination extends across the entire political spectrum. Referring to capital controls, John Maynard Keynes famously said: 'What used to be heresy [restrictions on capital flows] is now endorsed as orthodoxy.' That was at the dawn of the Bretton Woods era in 1945. What an irony that more than 60 years later we need to undergo the same shift in mindset." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Dani Rodrik

Seventy years ago this week the Soviet Union started the Winter War by invading Finland, which then changed allies two times during the course of World War II. The East Finnish daily Karjalainen reflects on how external factors can decide the fate of smaller nations: "Independence is always a power balance. Becoming independent means becoming independent from someone. Finland first became independent from Sweden, then from Russia. In the 1930s Finland was a young state capable of waging war, with deep prejudices against the economic sytem of its large neighbour. Finland felt threatened, and looked for help in all directions. But it is extremely difficult for a small country to take independent decisions. Finland's history bears testimony to this. In the spring of 1940 Finland was ally to Britain and France against the Soviet Union and Germany for a short while. A year later it was fighting on the side of Germany against the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. In summer 1944 it was then on the side of the Soviet Union in the war against Germany. When the possibilities of a small country are limited its leaders must adapt to the tide of history." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Remembrance culture, » Germany, » France, » United Kingdom, » Finland, » Russia

The Republic of Macedonia and Greece have been locked in a name dispute for years now. Former Greek minister Nikos Martis writes in the daily Kathimerini about what Macedonia means for Greece: "Nikola Gruevski [prime minister of the Republic of Macedonia] insists on the historical deception according to which [the dictators Josip] Tito and [Joseph] Stalin created the definition 'Macedonian nation' before the Cold War began with the intention of taking the region of Macedonia away from Greece. … Because Sweden currently holds the EU presidency I would like to cite a report by the Swedish Institute for Foreign Affairs …: 'Everyone, including the ministers, must realise that the history of Macedonia is not just the history of Greece, but also that of the Europeans because the Macedonians disseminated Greek culture all over the world.' For Greece Macedonia is a Greek region." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Greece, » Mazedonien
All available articles from » Martis Nikos

The autobiographical novel by author Raymond van de Klundert (pseudonym: Kluun) about a man who cheats on his wife who is dying of cancer has become an unexpected hit. Around a million copies have already been sold, mostly to women. The daily NRC Handelsblad asks why: "What does this tell us? Are many women masochists, attracted by forms of male behaviour that injure their self-respect? Unlikely. Is it that many women are secret advocates of free love and no longer want a monogamous relationship? Even less likely. The solution to the puzzle is obvious: there is a huge gap between the views of women (and men) in everyday life and what they expect from a novel or other works of art. … The peculiar thing is that this difference is no longer recognised by many as soon as a tie is established with sex or general codes of behaviour." (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Raymond van den Boogaard

Portugal's media report daily on cases of corruption involving politicians and other leading figures. This is nothing new, writes politician Maria José Nogueira Pinto, who blames the judiciary for this state of affairs in the daily Diário de Notícias: "It surprises me, but not because of the subject, which is a very important one, but because it's treated as if it was something new ... . Corruption is tied to the poor functioning of the judiciary, which to be quite honest is the biggest case of corruption. There were always crimes and always will be. But the certainty of going unpunished, the perception that the law is useless, the lack of faith in the courts - this is not the way it should be in a constitutional state. The corruption at the core of the government and the system has been a fact for some years now." (26/11/2009)

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All available articles from » Maria José Nogueira Pinto

The English version of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has lost over 50,000 authors this year. The daily The Times welcomes the exodus: "The persistent decline in the number of Wikipedia editors may signal the end of the dominance of a remarkable online resource. It cannot happen too soon. ... Wikipedia is routinely cited in online articles as a substitute for explanations of concepts, events and people. It has thereby coarsened public culture. It is an anti-intellectual venture to its core. Knowledge is democratic in the sense that no one has the right to claim the last word. Wikipedia is democratic in the different and corrosive sense that anyone can join in regardless of competence. Every editor's contribution is of equal value. That is an affront to the notion of disinterested intellectual inquiry. What Wikipedia prizes is not greater approximations to truth but a greater degree of consensus. That ethos undermines Wikipedia in principle as a reference source. ... Wikipedia stands for vainglorious amateurism." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Global
All available articles from » Oliver Kamm

In the Romanian capital of Bucharest there are far more cars than parking spaces, resulting in battles between car drivers over empty spaces and a booming business niche for estate agents, the daily Evenimentul Zilei writes: "They'll do almost anything … for their piece of the street - they set traps, pull off windscreen wipers and stickers, lie in wait all night long to catch the criminal who dares to enter their [parking space] domain. … So it's no wonder estate agents have discovered they can make a fortune with car owners. … No one gets away without paying a fee of 5,000 euros, and depending on the part of town or the desired level of comfort people have to pay up to 15,000 euros [for parking spaces]. … The price some desperados pay to be left in peace is sometimes higher than the value of their vehicles. … For sure, the solution could be to leave the car at home, but then why would you buy one in the first place?" (26/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Romania
All available articles from » Teodora Trandafir