Fabrice Nodé-Langlois considers the two leaders' willingness to cooperate to 'create a system to respond to potential ballistic threats in which Russia, the United States and Europe would participate as equal partners.' "We can't see a system like this working, where Moscow, Washington and Brussels all have their finger on the trigger, with the state of international relations - and European defense policy - being what it is. We have trouble seeing as well the Pentagon renouncing its anti-missile shield because of Russian opposition, especially now that NATO has given its approval. This didn't prevent Bush and Putin from conducting their 28th encounter with an eye to a more cooperative future. Their personal relationship is warm and direct - at least in appearance - in order to gloss over a history that some think is mediocre, if not disastrous." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Rusia, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Fabrice Nodé-Langlois

Marcin Wojciechowski writes that George Bush has been very accommodating towards Vladimir Putin in agreeing to integrate Russia into the anti-missile defence shield project on an equal basis. He warns the West not to be overly obliging in its Russia policy. "Although Russia is still too weak, too poor and too technologically backwards to keep up with the US or Western Europe or block their decisions, it's nonetheless trying to exert influence over these countries. Russia's efforts to make its voice heard are increasingly successful. ... Russia is willing to form an alliance with the West, but this willingness has its price. Countries like Poland should make sure that price isn't too high and doesn't impinge on the sovereignty of others." (07/04/2008)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Marcin Wojciechowski

The newspaper's Moscow correspondent Polina Frehlih reviews the relationship between Bush and Putin: "On countless occasions, enthusiastic claims of friendship were exchanged. This began with their first meeting in Brdo pri Kranju back in 2001, when Bush famously said he had peered into Putin's soul. Despite the odd verbal attack, like when Putin compared Bush to Hitler, their relationship deepened. Soon the two presidents were meeting on almost friendly and informal terms. It's probably only owing to this personal aspect in US-Russian relations that the whole thing didn't escalate into a new Cold War. This fact alone is sufficient for the two to go down in history." (07/04/2008)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Polina Frelih

This final meeting between the two presidents was dominated by a "sentimental mood", according to Sonja Zekri. "None of what the two presidents did in Sochi is irreversible. ... It was already pretty much clear that a couple of pleasant hours spent on the Black Sea and an exquisite meal wouldn't be enough to patch up the months of dispute over the US missile defence shield in Eastern Europe. ... America has mostly ignored Russia over the past few years. This was careless behaviour. Russia has allowed itself to become wrapped up in an aggressive rhetoric that drowns out even its justified concerns. That was risky. The signals from Sochi point to a certain amount of panic generated by this rhetoric, but they also show how difficult it has become to change course." (07/04/2008)

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In an interview conducted by Christophe Schoune, French philosopher Dominique Bourg discussed the environmental challenge facing the world. "Let's assume that the idea that technological progress could save us is a falsehood. I'm tired of this illusion that consists of convincing us that we can solve our problems with growth or with technological progress, as important as they may be. It's not true. If we want to meet the challenges of this situation and avoid dramatic scenarios before the middle of this century, the flow of material, energy included, has to be reduced. ... If we want to substantially reduce the flow of material, even with dematerialisation strategies, circular economies... , the question of justice must be central. Either environmental efforts are made on the principle of a better distribution of wealth and it becomes possible for everyone to participate, or the efforts are made against this principle, and everyone cannot. This could lead to a planetary crash. Without environmental justice, it would be chaos." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medio ambiente, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Dominique Bourg, » Christophe Schoune

Sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf tries to demythologise the German student revolts of 1968 in an interview with Susanne Lang and Jan Feddersen: "I'm convinced that the true reforms began before 1968, when the Brandt-Scheel government came to power. 1968 was basically an end, not a beginning. Take the big discussion about education - the reform of laws on citizens' education rights was implemented in 1963/1964. And Willy Brandt's government statement was truly amazing, but when you look at it closely it didn't include any more proposals for change. ... At any rate, as far as I'm concerned '68 was the conclusion of a reform movement, not the beginning of a new era." (05/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Movimientos sociales, » Historia, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Ralf Dahrendorf

Juliet Fall, a professor at the University of Geneva, explains how refusing to take Naples' garbage contributed to reinforcing Swiss national identity. "We have apparently avoided the arrival of mountains of filth... . Between false announcements and real debates, the rumour of Naples' garbage was stoked most notably by the foreign nature of this refuse. If this rumour had so much success, it's because it plays not only on the symbolic register of nation as body, but also on our fear of a globalisation over which we are losing control. ... This portrayal of the threat, this repeated reference to dangerous foreign garbage, participates directly in the creation of the national identity: in presenting the other as dangerous, as an invader, we define ourselves. Thus, in describing Naples' garbage as a direct threat to Switzerland and its population, the different positions display who we are, and therefore, who the others are as well." (07/04/2008)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Juliet Fall

Russian President Vladimir Putin's presence at the NATO summit in Bucharest was the first visit by a Russian head of state to Romania since 1990. Florian Bichier sees this as a new beginning: "The pathological fear of the Russians is a result of our foreign policy and also, quite justifiably, our past. It's difficult to simply erase the 50 years of communism. Romania's accession to NATO was an act of revenge. Nonetheless, there are many people who continue to hope for good relations with Russia ... Now the path is being paved for a dialogue between Russia and Romania, whose relations have been anything but friendly since 2005. Putin's inviting Basescu to visit Moscow was more than just a formal gesture." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Ampliación de la UE, » Rusia, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Florian Bichir

In the lead-up to the International day of the Roma, celebrated April 8th, Emmanuel Drevon decries the living conditions of these people in Romania, which has Europe's largest Roma population. "The government, conscious of the issues and international pressure, isn't skimping on the initiatives to better integrate a population that has for a long time been considered nomadic, but today has largely settled. Despite these efforts, however, the Roma's situation is far from being resolved. ... It's a paradox in a country that multiplies the helping hands offered to the Roma, when persistent rumours amongst the Romanians reinforce the idea that this integration is nothing more than a ploy, a waste of time and money. What's more, this occurs against the wishes of the community. But everyone congratulates their recent entry into the EU. The Roma question should now be considered even more seriously. Romania is cognisant of the difficulty of resolving this problem alone." (05/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Integración, » Minorías, » Europa, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Emmanuel Drevon

The Turkish Constitutional Court proceedings aimed at banning Turkey's ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and barring 71 AKP politicians from politics, including head of government Recep Tayyip Erdogan, could hinder Turkey's efforts to join the EU, the newspaper writes. "The EU needs Turkey as a bridge to the Islamic world. But as long as Turkey continues to reinforce the cultural and political instability that certain European countries and nationalist Turkish politicians use as an argument against EU membership, it will be difficult to see Turkey as the united country the EU needs. The problem isn't eased by the fact that fewer and fewer Turks believe in the advantages of EU membership. Turkey is undermining its own considerable efforts to become an accepted member of the European Community." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Turquía

In 2006 the Danish government presented an official cultural canon. Now, in 2008 it has presented a democracy canon aimed at improving people's knowledge about the principles of freedom and democracy in schools, educational institutions and the media. The Swedish daily comments: "After a first round in which he won the cultural battle against his ideological opponents in the ranks of the far left, the [Danish] head of government is now aiming at religious fundamentalists with political ambitions in a second round. He has realised that there are still strong forces that don't see the victory of liberal democracy as the end of the story. Not everyone loves personal and political freedom, but is it really the task of the state to publish a canon for democracy? The answer is: the ideological war between totalitarianism and liberalism can't be won by military means." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Integración, » Historia, » Ideología, » Dinamarca, » Suecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Sofia Nerbrand

Art historian Angel González recently published a book ('Painting without having the faintest idea') that strongly criticises artistic practices today. In an interview with Fietta Jarque, he laments that art "has become a gigantic joke. A joke in which we shouldn't participate. Maybe we should call a sort of strike against contemporary museums, or museums in general. They have nothing to do with art anymore; they are part of the image industry. It's regrettable that art, conceived of to make man's existence on this earth more pleasurable, has become a source of obsessions, worries, and hallucinations. And to see all these artists who do nothing by bore us. ... Where can we spend an enjoyable moment? I always tell my students: as long as there are nightclubs, there is hope." (05/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Exposiciones / Museos, » Artes gráficas, » España, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Angel González, » Fietta Jarque

Nathalie Versieux comments on the recent theatrical adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses,' playing at the Hans Otto theatre in Potsdam. "The police surveillance is discreet, and the angry demonstrations by religious extremists that the organisers dreaded are inexistent. Most German Muslim organisations called for moderation. On the stage as well, not much happens, despite the gesticulation, the cries, the sound and lighting effects that dramatist Eric Laufenberg seems to like. ... Laufenberg's production often looks like a bad comedy, and the play will not go down in the history of German theatre. ... But the critics insist above all on the absence of intercultural dialogue that the theatre promised. There isn't much more to say about the play other than it exists." (05/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Literatura, » Escenarios, » Religión, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Nathalie Versieux

Following the protests that disrupted the Olympic torch's visit to London on Sunday, April 6th, Jim White defends the athletes caught in the middle of a geo-political conflict. "Judging by the anger being expressed yesterday, it was as if sports people are the only ones consorting with the Chinese ... Why is no one asking questions [of] the banks opening up branches in Shanghai... ? How come only sport is required to display a conscience ? ... The presence of the games in China will do far more to highlight the country's human rights deficiencies than any other single event in a decade. Without the embarrassing and chaotic scenes in London yesterday, few would have thought about Tibet, and its plight would certainly not have been leading the news bulletins all day. As it made its way past the banner-wavers and chanters yesterday, the torch showed us what it does best: cast light into the darkest corners." (07/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Gran Bretaña, » China
Todos los textos disponible de » Jim White