"The ceremony on Sunday October 28th happened at a significant moment", notes the Spanish daily. "This day marked the 25th anniversary of the first big electoral victory obtained by the PSOE [Spanish socialist party], as this very same party is now governing Spain and defending radically secular positions which have provoked serious tension with the Vatican and the clergy. ... After inflamed debate in Parliament, the socialist majority is on the point of passing a law on historical memory that favours republican legitimacy. Despite the polemics and tensions imposed by this tragic past, this is perhaps the best time for remembrance. The State should honour the memory of all those who were killed, without exception, without sectarianism, with dignity. ... Mutual recognition and mutual forgiveness pave the path that Spain should follow once and for all." (28/10/2007)

» ir a la página de inicio (enlace externo, La Vanguardia)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Religión, » Historia, » Italia, » España

Christian Laporte ponders the Catholic Church's attitude towards Franco's regime. "We had to wait for a Polish Pope for the Catholic Church to honour those who chose Franco's side. Neither Jean XXIII, nor Paul VI, nor Pie XII wanted to hurry things. According to historians the latter Pope was not the least bit reticent towards Franco's regime... while Paul VI quite simply ordered the suspension of the beatification process and the canonisation that had been begun. The wind had turned under Jean-Paul II: less than four years after investing Saint Pierre's throne, he announced to Spanish archbishops that he was going to make up for lost time. Better still he was going to do everything in his power to canonise Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the founder of Opus Dei who had clearly chosen Franco's side, despite it must be said, some of its members suffering in turn from Franco's excessive nationalism." (26/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, francés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Religión, » España
Todos los textos disponible de » Christian Laporte

The journalist and writer Lorenzo Mondo considers the beatification of the Spanish martyrs. "The 498 Spaniards ... who were beatified on October 28th by the Pope represent the tip of the iceberg of the anti-religious persecution that killed at least seven thousand people between 1934 an 1936. We are led to remember the abominable massacre of a civil war that tore apart Europe's conscience. Especially as the Zapatero government is adopting a law on historical memory to honour republican victims. Of foremost importance is the crucial freedom that everyone has to raise their dead without resorting to political exploitation. ... The massacre's death count can represent a pious testimony to the dead and redemption for those of good faith who escaped ignominy. It cannot be used to celebrate a dark page of history that nobody can honestly glorify." (29/10/2007)

» ir a la página de inicio (enlace externo, La Stampa)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Historia, » Italia, » España
Todos los textos disponible de » Lorenzo Mondo

The Lisbon daily considers that "As in any conflict, atrocities were committed on both sides, republican and nationalist. During Franco's dictatorship, History demonized the republicans. But as of 1975, as Spain became democratic, academics started to do their work. The fruit of this work, numerous books on the Civil War have appeared allowing the Spanish to judge events of the time for themselves. With the passing of generations, we had hoped to see the wounds of the Civil War heal. But today confrontation is in the air with Zapatero's government imposing a Law on Historical Memory, exalting the republicans while the Spanish Church is beatifying 'martyrs' to denounce the old anticlerical fury." (29/10/2007)

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

A maximum improvement in the popular masses' chances of achieving prosperity is the only guarantee for the continued existence of a liberal-democratic order," writes Wojciech P. Duda, chief editor of the Gdansk-based quarterly Przegląd Polityczny. Talking to Rafał Kalukin he contends that Poland is currently facing a challenge similar to the one Germany confronted after 1945. "How can we secure a freedom that is threatened by the dark side of the Polish soul? There can be only one answer: to provide equal opportunities and guarantee prosperity. We must learn the lesson the West has learned. When [Prime Minister elect] Donald Tusk talks of liberal economic policies and collective social policies he is addressing this very problem." (27/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, polaco)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Economía política, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Wojciech P. Duda, » Rafał Kalukin

Mark Vernon is a journalist and writer. He explores the dangers of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace that are transforming how friendship is formed and dissolved. "The personal quandaries thrown up by social-networking sites seem to be escalating by the day. What do you do when, say, a work colleague - whom you see across the office but with whom you never exchange more than courteous pleasantries - asks you to become a friend on Facebook ? Your policy to date has been that your profile is strictly for real friends only. But can you risk the icy stares should you refuse him and click 'ignore'? ... With remorseless logic, the communicative non-communication of social-networking sites includes the new phenomenon of 'defriending'. This is when those virtual 'nods' that were once reciprocated are subsequently ignored." (24/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, inglés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación online, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Mark Vernon

Miriam Zsilleova diagnoses a swing to the left in Germany's Social Democratic Party, which last week approved a new basic programme: "In 2003 Gerhard Schröder, the social democrat chancellor at the time, had great difficulties pushing through his Agenda 2010 reform programme. The unpopular measures didn't go down well with either his party's left wing or the voters. Four years later, now that the reforms are beginning to bear fruit, the Social Democrats are determined to correct their course. ... The SPD is losing its followers, mainly to the Left Party and the Greens. This is another reason why it has decided to make changes in social policy and also surprised not a few people regarding environmental issues. In a country where up to now there have been no speed limits on motorways it wants to introduce a top speed of 130 kph." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, eslovaco)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Miriam Zsilleova

According to the Estonian daily last Friday's EU-Russia summit in Mafra, Portugal, was a sorry affair. "Even before the summit many EU politicians well-versed in foreign policy had warned that there could be no breakthrough before Russia's parliamentary elections in December. Portugal [which currently holds the rotating EU presidency] ignored these warnings and even rejected an initiative headed by EU parliamentarians aimed at passing a resolution condemning Russia for human rights abuses. The EU adopted an extremely reserved stance on Friday and steered clear of all conflict. ... To avoid a repeat of this summit the EU must learn to play by the same rules as the Kremlin. Estonia and a few other countries already know these rules." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, estonio)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de la UE, » Portugal, » Rusia, » Europa

Jacekas Komaras reflects on how the change of government in Poland will affect important cross-border projects such as the construction of the Via Baltica motorway or the so-called power bridge between Lithuania and Poland, which is supposed to connect the Baltic states to Central Europe's power network. "It's quite likely there will be few changes in Poland's foreign policy. In this way Tusk's Civic Platform can prove it's not one of Brussels' puppets. Many of its priorities are similar to those of the old government, but its main goal is to boost Poland's position within the EU. Tusk has made it clear that rather doing what the Kaczynski brothers did and complaining that Poland deserves better because it's a large nation, he intends to achieve similar or better results through negotiation." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, lituano)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de la UE, » Energía, » Infraestructuras / Tráfico, » Polonia, » Lituania
Todos los textos disponible de » Jacekas Komaras

The Scottish National party's first conference in power, closed yesterday October 28th with a speech by First Minister Alex Salmond. The daily comments. "According to Alex Salmond, figures show that an independent Scotland in charge of its own resources would be the third richest country in Europe and the sixth richest in the world. The not-so-subliminal message is that Scotland would be transformed into a world-beating Celtic Lion if only it were not being weighed down by the rest of the UK and an unstoppable momentum is leading towards independence. ... The view from south of the Border could hardly offer a starker contrast. In Middle England, with the help of large sections of the press, Scotland is viewed as the land of 'milk and honey' ... all at the expense of the English taxpayer. In fact, the balance between what the English and the Scots generate and spend shifts back and forth and there will always be arguments about who gets the better deal." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, inglés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Gran Bretaña

Ulricht Schmid reports that Czech neo-Nazis are planning a march through Prague's Jewish district for November 10. He points out that for some obscure reason the city court has twice overruled a city council ban on such marches. "The neo-Nazi scene is still active in the Czech Republic, although it's much smaller and less aggressive than its Hungarian counterpart, which cultivates the most extreme anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe. Ignoring the fact that Hitler didn't think much of the Slavs, Czech neo-Nazis often get together with their German, Polish and Slovak counterparts in border areas and celebrate their international brotherhood in drunken parties and ceremonies. ... Yet on countless occasions the custodians of the law in Prague have exercised regrettable restraint regarding the rowdy right-wing extremists." (29/10/2007)

» ir a la página de inicio (enlace externo, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » La República Checa
Todos los textos disponible de » Ulrich Schmid

The poker game for the Serb province of Kosovo is entering its final phase, Norbert Mappes-Niediek reports: "Belgrade is playing its final cards to prevent the European Union from recognising Kosovo's independence in December. One of its trumps is stability in Bosnia. ... If the Bosnian Serbs carry through their threats to separate from the joint state, the EU will face a problem that would probably cause more concern than the Kosovo conflict. And yet over the past few weeks everything seemed to be going smoother than it had been for a long time. Once again the Europeans had wasted time, ostensibly working on a 'negotiation solution' that would be acceptable to both Serbs and Albanians, but in reality trying to achieve consensus in their own ranks. The strategy has apparently been successful. ... Now none of the players really has the situation under control. This is true of everyone, not just the Europeans, who until now so loved to act as if they were sitting alone at the table." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, alemán)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Serbia
Todos los textos disponible de » Norbert Mappes-Niediek

Until recently, Bulgarian politicians were unaware of the possibilities of the blogosphere. However Julian Popov observes that in the run-up to the country's local elections last Sunday a few of the more imaginative ones have discovered the potential of this new medium. "Blogging is a global instrument of confession. You can use it to defuse anger, publicly express regret for past errors and announce facts to the world that don't make it into the newspapers. Politicians have obviously realised that they can use blogs and YouTube to reach out to the nation. But only those who don't misuse the blogosphere as a pulpit for sermonising are successful. The voters sympathise with people they feel they know and can identify with. They want great ideas, not deep analysis. You have to surprise them every day." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, búlgaro)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación online, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Julian Popov

In addition to its own daily newspaper, radio station, publishing house and printers, Romania's Orthodox Church now has its own television channel. Bogdan Pacurar comments: "Although he hasn't been in office for a month yet, Patriarch Daniel has already revealed the kind of management skills that would be the envy of any media mogul. ... But what's really surprising is that an institution that is so geared towards the future is at the same time being so secretive about its past. The Church refuses to recognise a report compiled by the Council for Studying Securitate Archives (CNSAS) according to which Metropolitan Nicolae Corneanu worked as a Securitate spy for 41 years. What's to deny? Nothing. Yet the Church is now setting up a special commission subordinate to the Synode solely for the purpose of re-examining the files. It now has the complete range of media at its disposal, which it can use to pronounce its own brand of truth." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, rumano)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación audiovisuales, » Religión, » Ideología, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Bogdan Pacurar

François Lévêque is professor of Law and Economy and has been interviewed by Christophe Alix and Marc Chevallier on a proclivity for monopolies in the high-technology industry. "This is a sector where innovations are amplified by networks: the more widespread a product is, the more consumers are better off adopting it to ensure comfortable usage. In the high-tech market, competition does not aim to corner part of the market, but to control more or less all of it. This is the real motivation of innovation. A company will dominate for a period, like Microsoft in the PC and Apple era during the first stages of digital music, and then another innovation will come and they will progressively loose their influence. The succession of monopolies is a rather common trait in the high-tech industry." (29/10/2007)

» ir al artículo completo (enlace externo, francés)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación online, » Empresa, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » François Lévêque, » Christophe Alix, » Marc Chevallier

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa reacts to the project dreamt-up by two Spanish architects for the Chinese city of Shanghai: a 1,228 metre high tower, 'The Bionic Tower'. "[After September 11th 2001], the world had a few doubts about the future of skyscrapers. Was there any sense in building ever-higher towers? ... But that only lasted a while and skyscrapers continued to proliferate around the world. ... Records for height are lasting less and less. However, at this pace, other questions are being raised: up until which point is this technically feasible? How long can this last? ... The bionic tower is a utopian project. At best it will serve as a lighthouse to light-up the future, at worst it will be put away in a cabinet of curiosities." (29/10/2007)

» informaciones adicionales (enlace externo, español)
Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Arquitectura / Ciudades, » España, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Anatxu Zabalbeascoa