On Saturday, several thousand people demonstrated for equal rights for gays and lesbians in an "Equality Parade" in Warsaw. "What a miracle! We're moving towards normality,” says Bogumil Luft, commenting on the fact that the demonstration went peacefully despite all the controversy it has provoked. "The problems are in fact not as widespread as the number of people demonstrating would make you think. On the one hand they're exaggerated by gay activists, who not only demand the toleration they deserve, but also want homosexuality to be given as much recognition as the norm. On the other hand the problems are exaggerated by politicians who would have gay rights activists beat with truncheons If they could get away with it.” (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, polaco)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Minorías, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Bogumil Luft

"The new conservative polish government, which, like the Catholic Church, has a difficult relationship with homosexuality, has bowed to pressure from the EU and allowed the demonstration to take place,” Ulrich Schmidt explains. "Catholicism, along with anti-communism, is the supporting pillar of this new government, which sees itself as decidedly 'moral' and whose leading figures have already made it clear that they regard homosexuality as unnatural, and that they have trouble tolerating the gay demonstrations that are taken for granted in other western Europe countries nowadays…The influence exerted by the rest of Europe is making itself felt, and it will grow stronger with time. The fact is that Poland's democracy is not in jeopardy, its media is independent and the country poses no threat to its neighbours. We must stay alert, and minorities in particular would be well advised to jealously guard their rights.” (12/06/2006)

» ir a la página de inicio (enlace externo, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Minorías, » Polonia

Despite pressure from the far right to have it banned, the 'Equality Parade' went off without a hitch on Saturday, save for a few eggs thrown at the marchers," reports Maja Zoltowska, the daily's Warsaw correspondent. "Up to the very last minute, the education minister, Roman Giertych, leader of the League of Polish Families (LPR, far right), tried to prevent it from happening: 'The current mayor made a grave mistake in failing to have the courage to oppose evil'. ... The skinheads who attempted to provoke skirmishes on Saturday were promptly arrested. The 'war' confined itself to the level of insults and placards: 'Stop Eurosodomy!', 'No to the EU!'." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, francés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Minorías, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Maja Zoltowska

Paul Flückiger is not very optimistic about the significance of this weekend's demonstration for gay rights in the context of Poland's new domestic policy: "Is this a victory for tolerance and human rights? Yes, but it's only the first stage in the race. It won't be long before half of the country's constitutional judges are replaced. Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski made it clear at the PiS party conference that these judges will be replaced by staunch right-wing conservatives. His twin brother Lech, once mayor of Warsaw and now head of state, will no longer have to pretend he doesn't know about the constitution, as it will soon be changed. So what seems like a victory for tolerance today may well be banned tomorrow.” (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, alemán)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Paul Flückiger

Journalist Angeles Espinosa traveled to Iran to meet Zoreh Sefati, who holds the honorific title of mujtahida, the female equivalent of an ayatollah, conferred upon particularly learned members of the Shiite clergy. Sefati, who founded the first Islamic school for women in Iran, sought to convince the journalist that there is no discrimination against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran. "In the West, people are not aware that Islam does not treat men and women differently. A woman can attain the same level of knowledge and recognition as a man. If there are very few female mujtahida (only five), it is not the fault of men; it is that women have not wanted the title. It requires a long and difficult commitment, and few women are prepared to enter the political or religious arena. But the same situation exists in european countries." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, español)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Religión, » Ideología, » Irán
Todos los textos disponible de » Zoreh Sefaty

The weekly publishes a joint interview with english historian Eric Hobsbawm and french economist and author Jacques Attali in which the latter stresses the modern aspect of Marxist thought. "With the international socialist movement, Karl Marx launched a remarkable bid to conceptualise the world as a whole. He is an exceptionally modern thinker because his writings do not sketch the outlines of an organised socialist state, but rather of the future capitalism. Marx was, above all, an admirer of capitalism. In his eyes, it was a much better system than all its predecessors, which he deemed obscurantist. ... He believed capitalism would only disappear once it had transformed itself into a planetary, universal force, and the entire working class had a piece of the pie, nations faded away and technology was able to obviate the need for effort and provide more goods and services free of charge." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, francés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Filosofía, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Jacques Attali

Journalist Zafer Senocak examines why Germans have prevented the integration of Turks in their society. He points out that the term 'ghetto' is frequently used to describe their marginalisation. "But what exactly does the 21st century ghetto look like? The isolated network in which the members of an ethnic group end up nowadays is very different to the organised ghetto of the past… The so-called ghettoes of today are in themselves open and heterogeneous structures. They are inhabited by religious fanatics and non-believers, families and singles, and there are always different ethnic groups living together rather than just one alone. It's not those within, but those outside the ghetto who close the door. This is how the desire to shut oneself off from foreigners is expressed. People feel their country is being infiltrated and their justified criticism of archaic lifestyles and authoritarian family structures is tinged with xenophobic ways of thinking and racial prejudice.” (12/06/2006)

» ir a la página de inicio (enlace externo, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Integración, » Minorías, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Zafer Senocak

"There's still no sign of white smoke above Prague's government quarter,” writes Tomas Nemecek commenting on the complicated process of forming a government following the Czech elections one week ago. "Up to now, everybody has said no – the country is in a deadlock. The 'no' to a government (led by conservative election winner) Mirek Topolonek, the 'no' to a cross-party government, the 'no' to a grand coalition (between Social Democrats and Conservatives) and the 'no' to early elections are all part of the big guns brought in in preparation for negotiations. And this year those negotiations could well take longer than they usually do. Economists are already joking that a blocked parliament is the best way to maintain the country's present economic growth at seven percent.” (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, checo)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » La República Checa
Todos los textos disponible de » Tomáš Němeček

"Suicide has a primal potency which can shock in a way other human acts do not," the left-leaning daily observes after three inmates at the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison camp hanged themselves with nooses made from bedsheets at the weekend. "In the Arab world, it will further darken America and Britain's reputations, already sullied by images of abuse at Abu Ghraib and the orange suits, shackles and hoods of Camps X-Ray and Delta. ... What is most horrific about Guantánamo is not the way prisoners are treated physically ... but the abandonment of judicial process by a nation whose identity is built on constitutional rights". (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, inglés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Global

Estonian MEP Marianne Mikko criticises the fact that around 40,000 prostitutes from Eastern Europe have been allowed to travel to Germany for the World Cup. "The German authorities have expressed no desire to act against those who are organising the white slave trade, namely the brothel owners. In Germany these businesses that live from the sale of human bodies are legal, and one could even say welcome. Often enough brothels are basically seen as something positive there… It's no secret that brothels are more popular with politicians, businessmen and creative artists than with the average citizen, and that's why these people defend prostitution.” (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, estonio)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Marianne Mikko

"Sexier than Bellucci", Segolene Royal, a contender to become the Socialist party's nominee for French president, is on her way to claiming first place in the ranking of the world's sexiest women. The daily's Paris correspondent, Cesare Martinette, tries to understand why. "The lady has become a national event, and with her popularity climbing by the day she appears to be the only one capable of beating Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 ... When she promises order and security, her suit makes the rest and contrasts with the sombre grey tones of the Parisian political class. ... But Segolene is not a softhearted person. ... One would say there is something perverse - more masochistic than sadomasochistic - in this French political love affair. And there is a hint of fetishism in a photo (published a few days ago by the daily, Liberation) focusing on Madame's feet: Segolene has become an object of desire." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, italiano)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Francia
Todos los textos disponible de » Cesare Martinetti

Owing to an inflation rate that is approximately 0.1 percent higher than that stipulated by the Maastrich criteria, Lithuania is not to be permitted to introduce the euro as planned on January 1, 2007. Jonas Cicinskas comments bitterly: "All previous experience with the EU shows that conformity with certain criteria is mainly a question of political interpretation to serve the purposes of EU leaders. This was the case with the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union, the Stability Pact and the Convergence criteria... Although candidate countries were required to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria for the last round of EU enlargement, there was one tacit condition which everyone knew about: no one was to join the EU before Poland did, because this was Germany's strategic interest... Lithuania's joining the Eurozone would not have posed a threat to anyone." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, lituano)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de la UE, » Lituania, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Jonas Cicinskas

The Spanish writer, Luis Mateo Diez, talks about his literary inspirations in an interview with journalist Antonio Astorga that coincides with the publication of his short-story anthology, 'El árbol de los cuentos' (The Tree of Tales). "I feel that my stories are part of a literary tradition. Languages are manifold, but literature is of a piece. I was influenced by the great masters of storytelling - Poe, Maupassant , Tchekhov. ... Contrary to the novel, the story does not tolerate imperfections. The great stories of the past deal substantially with the human condition. Through luminous moments, intense outbursts, extreme emotion or even in an abstract or occasionally worrying manner, as in Kafka." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, español)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Literatura, » España
Todos los textos disponible de » Luis Mateo Díez

Budapest's legendary New York Café, one of the Danube monarchy's most popular literary cafés, has reopened after extensive renovations. Writer Ivan Bächer recalls: "Once, every corner and every room, not only of the café but also of the entire palace and even the entire block, was full of journalists, authors, publishers and editors.” But now, according to Bach, the new Italian owners have killed its literary soul with their refurbishing zeal. "A bullet-proof showcase in which a few dozen beautiful old books are hermetically sealed hangs on one wall – a safe full of books. When the café opened back in 1895, playwright Ferenc Molnar threw the keys into the Danube so that this shining institution could never be closed. Now that the café has reopened, the keys of the showcase should be thrown into the river so that no-one gets any silly ideas like wanting to leaf through a book here.” (10/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, húngaro)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Literatura, » Cultura cotidiana, » Hungría
Todos los textos disponible de » Ivan Bächer

The 22nd edition of the 'Festroia' International Film Festival ended yesterday in the town of Setubal. "The film 'What a Wonderful Place' by Israeli director Eyal Halfon won the Golden Dolphin prize for best film and the Silver Dolphin for best director," the paper reports. "Focusing on four intersecting destinies, this film stresses the importance of contact and interethenic understanding in human relations, and expresses concern about the discriminatory treatment to which immigrants are subjected." (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, portugués)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Película, » Portugal

Slow Food is an international association created in Italy in 1986 as a response to the fast food frenzy. Present in 104 countries today, the association advocates dining for pleasure and the defense of biodiversity. On Sunday, June 11, it celebrated its 20th anniversary in Sanremo with a colloquium on the future of the movement, entitled 'A thousand reasons to feel slow'. Special correspondent Marisa Fumagalli reports: "Twenty years of battles. Against GM foods, to name just one ... Slow Food is a philosophical manifesto that has achieved a worldwide cultural revolution whose cradle is Italy ... From Sanremo, it has launched a new project: classroom vegetable gardens to teach the art of food in schools and, ultimately, to make today's children tomorrow's savvy consumers. A utopia?" (12/06/2006)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, italiano)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Movimientos sociales, » Italia, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Marisa Fumagalli