As one of his self-imposed budgetary constraints, US President Barack Obama plans to halt NASA's moon programme. The daily Times finds this short-sighted: "In cutting back Nasa's Moon programme, Mr Obama wants to turn over space transport to commercial companies, which are not only ferrying crew members to space stations but also increasingly catering to rich tourists. His plans will grate in Congress with politicians who see Nasa's manned space programme as key to national pride. It is vital, too, for America's future. President Obama needs to show the world that America knows where it wants to be several decades hence, and has the vision and will to get there." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » U.S.

US President Barack Obama's savings measures are coming too fast and furious, suggests the business paper, Les Echos: "In order to show his determination, President Obama is using a powerful symbol: He announces plans to freeze funding for the second moon mission, and thereby leaves the door open for the Chinese rival and creditor. ... Obama's talk about deficits and debts sounds familiar. Such efforts are essential, necessary, even crucial, ... but you really have to wait a while. There is currently a general consensus among industrial countries on this matter: Let's not kill the economic upturn by removing the public crutches too fast. Understood. And then, at some point one has to also make good on the promises of deficit reduction." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » U.S.

The economic measures US President Barack Obama has charted out for his country won't set in for a while to come, writes the business paper Expansión: "After a year of presidency in which Obama relied on stimulus programmes to propel the US's recovery, the time has come to change the strategy. ... His economic team warns that the deficit poses a threat to the country's finances. Despite the urgency in Obama's message the expenditure will continue to rise for now - by three percent this year - until the deficit reaches a record high of 1.56 billion dollars, or 10.6 percent of the gross domestic product. ... Obama understands that creating jobs still has priority, particularly given the poor survey and election results, such as those in Massachusetts. The country must put an end to the destructive dynamics of the past two years in which more than seven million jobs were lost." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Elections, » Labour, » U.S.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon used his visit to Cyprus last weekend to promote the reunification of the island. But this symbolist politics can't conceal the island's deep rifts, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "Cyprus is divided by fear, mistrust and prejudices, by a bloody past and the strong political interests of the present. There's the dispute over property rights that is reminiscent of the once-divided Germany. Then there are economic concerns should the poor North and the rich South reunite. But more importantly: Cyprus is still a bargaining chip for Turkey. And in particular the Turkish military has no intention of parting with this trump card. Not for the sake of Cyprus. The strategic advantage of the island is nowhere near as great as it was once supposed to be. The generals are intent on using Cyprus as a level with which to keep the government in Ankara in check. After all, the latter's EU ambitions could sink into the Mediterranean if the army stubbornly refuses to withdraw its 40,000 troops from the island." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Cyprus, » Europe, » Turkey

The former Slovakian governing party, the Christian liberal SDKU of Mikuláš Dzurinda, is reported to have accepted bribe money during the privatisation of land process. Jozef Klucho, in his blog in the daily Sme, expresses his disillusionment: "There isn't a single parliamentary party in Slovakia that never had this kind of problem. It would be naïve to think that those who are not yet in parliament would not steal. Sooner or later, every party falls back on this 'working method.' They may have moral intentions to serve those who give them their mandate. But these moral principles break down as soon as comes to 'providing' for friends or relatives. Of our politicians, 99 out of 100 will be weak in such instances. ... The quagmire and experiences of communism, that taught us that one can and must steal, has been transferred to our children. Notwithstanding that we live in a Christian land." (31/01/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Jozef Klucho

The German government has indicated its intention to purchase data about 1,500 alleged tax evaders sourced in Switzerland. The Austrian daily Die Presse criticises this and argues that wrong should only be fought with right: "Frustrated bank employees, informers and anyone who wants to earn a quick buck: Pay attention! Here's a new business model. Encouraged by its success in the Liechtenstein affair, the German government now wants to pay millions for stolen bank data from Switzerland. ... But does the end justify the means? Liechtenstein has shown the way: Give a warning shot and even notoriously taciturn tax havens start to cooperate. But this is an argument taken from the pages of Machiavelli's archive, which doesn't tip the Scales of Justice by even a millimetre. Yes, it is wrong that the Swiss protect tax evaders. But he who responds to wrongdoing with wrongdoing loses his moral legitimation. Haven't we been telling the Americans this all along?" (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Karl Gaulhofer

The second round of Ukraine's presidential elections takes place on Sunday. The daily Savon Sanomat complains that the West has neglected Ukraine: "From the point of view of Western democracies, Ukraine has missed an opportunity. ... One of the biggest countries in Europe was unable to taste the sweet fruits of freedom and has instead run up huge debts owing to the chaotic state of the economy. Nor is Western Europe or indeed the rest of the Western world free of blame for the loss of democracy. The EU may have allowed the central European countries of the former Eastern Bloc to become members and taken them under its wing, but it excluded Ukraine and thus violated its own principles, as Newsweek columnist Owen Matthews noted. For the EU, Islamic Turkey was more important as a potential partner than Ukraine. Why has the West forsaken Ukraine? The best and most plausible explanation is that the material took precedence over ideals." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Elections, » Ukraine, » Europe

Apple's iPad could have an impact both on people's online communication habits as well as on the ideologies and metaphors of the internet, writes Frank Schirrmacher in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "We need to understand that almost all technological innovations in the digital sector have led to cognitive changes. They have resulted in boundless creativity as long as the systems were open and everyone could participate in their evolution. But the democratisation of the computer now shows that most people wants things to be simpler and don't want to drown in the flood of data and commands. So convenience, transparency, and freedom from viruses come first even if it means having a new central government. Monitoring that government is above all the task of the media. Steve Jobs' iPad signals the transition from the revolutionary phase in computer technology to a restoration period. ... Whatever becomes of the gadget the Apple founder has presented, it tells us nothing other than that the hardware changes the content. The tool changes our way of thinking." (01/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Corporations, » Philosophy, » U.S., » Global
All available articles from » Frank Schirrmacher

Is political science really a science? Blogger Palibatya discusses this provocative question in his blog on the website of the left-liberal daily Népszabadság: "What we must be aware of in any case is that politics is about us and our lives. We cannot escape its impact. ... Thanks to the sciences, our knowledge today stretches from distant planets to the microscopic components that make up the material world to the genetic code of our organisms. This expansion of our knowledge can be observed in all 'traditional' fields of science, and new branches of science are constantly forming. Only political science has yet to provide us with sound knowledge. ... In the case of political science, power is the scientific object under examination. ... Scientific knowledge should on the one hand be based on independence and on the other on strictly scientific research methods. ... But with political science maintaining objectivity is made difficult (or rather impossible) by the following circumstance: the 'scientist' must scrutinise the reality of the very political structures and the actions of the very same people on whom he depends to earn a living." (01/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Science / Research, » Hungary, » Global
All available articles from » Blogger Palibatya

On Monday, the Polish złoty gained over the euro again, becoming the strongest currency in Central Eastern Europe. The conservative daily paper Rzeczpospolita analyses the effects on the Polish economy: "Today, clearly, importers are rubbing their hands, as are those who pay off their debts in foreign currency. But exporters are looking less optimistically at the future. Still, they have shown that they are more than capable of weathering a period in which the Polish currency shows strong gains in value. It is surely just a matter of time before the banks offer tools designed to help avoid losses brought on by the strength of the złoty." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Poland, » Europe
All available articles from » Paweł Czuryło

The EU wants to submit the Greek budget to strict controls. Greece's economic weakness can become the Eurozone's touchstone for a common European strategy, writes the liberal daily La Stampa: "The International currency market will be watching carefully to see how European authorities guide the Greek parties. Especially since this particular case, which is limited and resolvable in itself, presents an important test of the ability of the Eurozone to centralise strategic aspects and common monitoring of the economic policies of member states. ... The European Parliament should quickly create the new central administration as recommended by the Council, within the framework of the reorganisation and centralisation of the monitoring process." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Financial Markets, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Franco Bruni

While telecommunications have advanced greatly in Estonia's urban areas, the overall infrastructure in rural areas is worsening, warns the daily newspaper Postimees: "There are dozens of small towns where trains haven't stopped for a long time now; bus routes are being reduced; post offices are shut down; cash machines are nowhere to be found and the next shops are several kilometres away. Still, these problems would be bearable if one could get quick and reliable Internet access. But while telecommunications firms seem to have a lot of cash for ad campaigns, claiming that their particular network is the best in the world and constantly coming up with new PR tricks somewhere in Tallinn, the reality is a different story. Anyone who has a new 3G mobile phone in their pocket is well aware that their super-fast Internet access, available in the deepest forest, only works in advertisments - and that's the real gap between city and country." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Audiovisual Media, » Corporations, » Consumers, » Estonia
All available articles from » Neeme Korv

Valentin Ceauşescu, the adoptive son of the Romanian ex-dictator and his wife, wants to legally ban production of the Swiss-German play The Last Days of the Ceauşescus. He has secured for himself all rights to use of the brand name Ceauşescu in Romania, and the daily newspaper Adevărul heartily disapproves: "[It is] just more evidence for what a dumb people we are! ... He profits from an infamous complicity with the OSI patent authority, which authorised him exclusive use of the name Ceauşescu, whether it is a colour, a lubricating oil, glue, ... alcohol, baking powder, musical instruments, sport or cultural events. Watch out! We must not market a Ceauşescu vodka or doll named Elenachen [an affectionate form of Elena, the wife of the former dictator]. Nor may we make films, write books or produce plays about this magical couple! ... Ceauşescu is not a brand but a sick man who bequeathed suffering and frustrations. Suffering to his people, and frustration to his family." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Stage, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Germany, » Switzerland, » Romania
All available articles from » Grigore Cartianu

Catalonia's regional government is planning to introduce a law obliging cinemas to show half of the films they screen in a dubbed Catalan version. The film industry and cinema operators fear major losses. Many Catalan cinemas remained closed on Monday in protest. Both sides should seek compromise, left-liberal daily El País writes: "To prevent radicalised positions on both sides will require flexibility and dialogue. The industry should show more sensitivity regarding Catalan reality - as it already does in other countries by dubbing its films into languages with an equal or lesser number of people who speak them, like for example Danish. And the Catalan government should lower its maximum demands, because a law that goes against the film branch will hardly last long. And whatever happens, the citizens shouldn't be made to suffer the consequences of this dispute." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Cultural Policy, » Languages, » Spain

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) is facing bankruptcy, and its heating budget only stretches to March. The daily Standart sees this as an expression of its senility and lack of reform: "The truth is simple. The BAS resembles other state institutions that are a legacy of socialism. It's like an old people's home that has no money left for heating despite its large budget. ... The reality is that there are around 500 people working at the BAS who should be pensioned off, who are already pensioners anyway. But they can't be dismissed because they are working on international projects. And we have this state of affairs because such international contracts are based on the principle of the 15th Conference [of the former communist party, the BKP]: Don't let any new people, any younger, unknown people, get their fingers in the pie." (02/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Science / Research, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Martin Karbovski