"We are still far from being able to breed mythological creatures like the minotaur, the sphinx or the chimera. Researchers are sticking to the field of cytoplasm and have no plans for combining human and animal DNA in stem cells. Yet the voices of those who fear scientists could lose control over their hybrid creations, as doctor Frankenstein did, are growing louder. In truth, Westminster's vote yesterday was an important step in opening the boundaries of science which will help counter the lack of human embryos available for research and the ethical problems bound up with their use. ... The number of egg cells needed for a series of experiments is extremely high, and the only alternative to creating hybrid cells would be to subject women to hormone treatment on a massive scale so they produce thousands of egg cells." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Vittorio Sabadin

"The spoilsports in the Catholic Church have voiced the opinion that experimenting with the human genetic make-up violates human dignity and Biblical teaching. Researchers may consider these words relics of the past. Nevertheless they are a portent for the sustainability of our society. What is our view of human dignity? The search for therapies and cures for diseases is an abstract goal. But in concrete cases, the use - and destruction - of living embryos is diametrically opposed to this goal. Human life is degraded and reduced to genetic material, to research matter in a test tube. ... This chimera stands for the overbearing pride of man the researcher, whose scientific curiosity pushes him to rival God. Our tradition offers analogies from Adam to Dr. Frankenstein. In general, the undoing of proud man is the very inconvertibility of the promises he makes to himself. Adam is exiled from Paradise and Dr. Frankenstein perishes in the eternal ice. Man has seldom done well by his desire to rival God. Because man is just that - man, and not God." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Alexander Görlach

Under the heading "Right Decision", the tabloid comments on the decision taken in the House of Commons in support of embryo research: "Gordon Brown and [conservative leader] David Cameron have their differences, but they are rightly united in support for embryo research. Both have children with medical conditions which may one day be cured or prevented by advances in stem cell science. ... Science is advancing at a pace never before seen. It is vital that its development must be strictly regulated to prevent abuse. But we must not forget that this kind of science holds the key to potentially fabulous advances in our quality of life. In coming years, we will see breakthroughs which will benefit us all. That is progress. We must control its advance but be careful not to stand in its way." (20/05/2008)

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The newspaper comments on the dispute in France over a ban on genetically modified organisms: "Academics and researchers have now bid farewell to the passionate discussion, and left it to politicians and organisations to work out a seemingly unattainable consensus. French researchers working in established and highly-respected institutions are not at all against genetic engineering in principle. ... However surveys show that the a majority of the French population - who are well-nourished even without genetically modified plants - are against it. But what will happen in ten years? Genetically modified organisms significantly improve corn yields. Bearing in mind the growing demand for cereals, countries with the best harvests will be the most competitive. By contrast, the demand for expensive French cereals will plummet." (19/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Science / Research, » France

Lluis Foix, former editor in chief of the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, comments on a diplomatic dispute between Spain and Italy: "The Spanish Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, attacked xenophobic violence ... condoned by Berlusconi's government. Her statements do not seem fitting to me however." Foix nevertheless regrets that Ms. Fernández de la Vega toned down her criticism just a few hours later: "Once again realpolitik has ... won out over morals. ... The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 founded national sovereignty. Its purpose was to put an end to war, but wars have not stopped since then. Looking at Italy and immigration ... one should never forget that first and foremost the persons concerned must be recognised and treated as such, wherever they come from, whatever they think, and whatever their residency status may be. If Europe loses these principles, it will take a big step backwards." (20/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Migration, » Integration, » Italy, » Spain, » Europe
All available articles from » Lluís Foix

The ChristianUnion, one of the three parties in the Dutch governing coalition, is currently discussing whether homosexuals may exercise political functions within the party. An internal commission has now presented a report on the subject. "The report reveals a major dilemma", writes De Volkskrant newspaper: "In a nutshell, homosexuality may exist, but it should be discreet. The paper's cumbersome wording is not least a consequence of the differences of opinion within the party's ranks. The commission does a good job of keeping the Church out of things. No one can maintain that the ChristianUnion excludes homosexual candidates a priori, while orthodox members will be happy with the parsimonious wording. ... If the party congress now refuses homosexual candidates, it could mean major difficulties for the ChristianUnion, which could lose its right to subsidies. ... In addition, a party that transgresses the ban on discrimination written into its constitution has no place in the government." (20/05/2008)

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Discussions on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU Troika and Ukraine will be held in Slovenia on Thursday. Aleš Gaube writes that Kiev has one clear objective: "Ukraine wants to become a European star." Nevertheless, "major shifts in position are not to be expected ... at the meeting. The decisive step in EU-Ukraine relations, perhaps with the promise of full membership, will be taken in September during the French European presidency. ... Since the last states joined ... the Community has grown weary of expansion. ... For this reason, the recent speech by Slovenian President Danilo Türk arguing for Ukraine to be given a fair chance at membership is all the more encouraging for Kiev. Nevertheless things do not look at all promising, despite Ukraine's efforts." (20/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Ukraine, » Europe
All available articles from » Ales Gaube

The Romanian writer Horia-Roman Patapievici comments in an interview on the role of intellectuals in Eastern Europe. "There are those who declare that with the fall of European communism came the death of the intellectuals, just as Roland Barthes once declared the 'death of the author' or Michael Foucault the 'death of man'. This is nonsense. ... Of course it may be that the role of intellectuals is no longer as prominent as it was in the 20th century (although even then it was often a pitiful one). But to claim that intellectuals no longer have any influence is tantamount to denying citizens their intellectual status. ... The resentment against intellectuals arises from the notion that to be an intellectual is a privilege, and many who have a university education and can be seen and heard in the media but do not enjoy the 'privilege' of belonging to the circle of intellectuals want to get rid of it. But being an intellectual by no means gives you a carte blanche to be a prominent media figure and well-known or famous." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Horia-Roman Patapievici

In the Spanish daily El País, Mário Soares, former Prime Minister and President of Portugal, analyses the need to find an answer to the crisis of the neo-liberal economic model which originated in the US: "Neo-liberalism ... is dead. Like the former Soviet Union it has been defeated by its own inherent contradictions. And the impact of the US's multiple crises is reaching Europe at a time of political and strategic paralysis that is preventing it from reacting. How can Angela Merkel, a fervent European, bolster Europe when faced with the disastrous trio made up by Brown, Sarkozy and Berlusconi? Only the joint mobilisation of the European public can prompt ... policy makers to take the necessary steps for regulating globalisation. Forty years ago, in May 1968, we witnessed an unexpected great revolt by students and workers ... that made De Gaulle tremble. ... So let us not lose hope." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Mário Soares

In view of the bank crisis and the weakness of the dollar, the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung ponders whether foreign firms should pull out of America. "The US's enormous trade deficit continues almost unabated and the slightest financial difficulty prompts the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. ... Warren Buffet, the great investor, plans to invest his billions in Europe and in US companies with a large proportion of foreign turnover in future. ... The global economy has become multi-polar and the relative weight of the US economy has dwindled considerably. ... In addition the US's own monetary policy, financial market practices and legal security are eroding its economy. ... Those who doubt the wisdom of US policies now have new options. The imperial impact of the US is only in part the result of its military might. It is also rests on its power to set the rules governing the economy, trade and currency. This role is under great threat at present." (19/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe, » U.S., » Global
All available articles from » Beat Kappeler

On The Guardian's online portal, Keith Kahn-Harris detects a touch of snobbery in British and Irish attitudes to the Eurovision Song Contest: "The standard way of watching Eurovision in the UK is to treat it as a fiesta of 'so bad it's good' TV in which naive continentals demonstrate their charming misunderstandings of the Anglo-American popular music idiom. ... When the former eastern bloc countries began to enter the contest, they entered their top creative talents. ... A large part of the UK's slump (and Ireland's too) is a result of the mediocrity of their entries. ... The UK and Ireland's attitudes to Eurovision - once genial, good-natured mockery - now look increasingly petulant, like deliberate self-sabotage. ... We can no longer assume that Europeans will take notice of and respect Britain without an effort to communicate and engage with the rest of Europe." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Keith Kahn-Harris

Gert Morreel, an English literature lecturer at the University of Antwerp, comments on the arguments of critics of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and names its historical models. "Its competitors focus exclusively on accuracy and objectivity and in doing so ignore what makes Wikipedia unique: its founders did not base it on an abstract system of validity criteria, they based it on a dynamic model which generates knowledge and is constantly refined through the overlapping of different viewpoints. ... More than any other of its predecessors this vision resembles its most radical: the encyclopaedia created by Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert. Unlike his co-editor Diderot did not envision an ideal, static knowledge system but a permanent process of social and intellectual interaction. ... Internet encyclopaedias and search engines can help us [to navigate] but the route one take remains a personal one. We must learn for ourselves what knowledge means for us." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Gert Morreel

With the Tibetans' struggle for freedom and the Beijing Olympics in mind, Csaba Gombár reflects on the relationship between sport and politics: "The case put forward by those who defend the Olympics is as follows: let us not mix sport with politics. Fair enough. No one can claim that the high jump is a political act. However without politics the Olympic Games would not have been possible back in Ancient Greece and nor would they be possible today. The Olympic Games themselves, the preparations for them, their financing and their symbolic omnipresence are all the product of fierce competition between nation states - or in other words political communities. To classify an interpersonal and, more importantly, intergovernmental relationship of this nature as free of politics, borders on thoughtless ignorance, to say the least. As a framework for interpersonal relations, politics does not sully athletic competition. On the contrary, by guaranteeing peace politics makes such competition possible. Perhaps this is another way of looking at the relationship between politics and sport." (20/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Csaba Gombár