Following Sweden's EU accession in 1995 alcohol consumption first rose and then returned to almost the same level as before the country joined, a recent study commissioned by the conservative think-tank Timbo shows. This means the fears that cheap alcohol from the EU would turn the Swedes into a nation of drinkers have proved unfounded, writes the free newspaper Metro: "For decades, the authorities regarded the Swedes as potential barbarians who would burn down red houses, hit little children and swear at the slightest opportunity. We would spend hours queuing up at the alcohol monopoly stores, which closed when people had days off. The customs officers searched the dirty washing of people returning from holidays for green bottles. Then the dams broke and the alcohol flowed freely - and the Swedes exchanged their canisters of illegal spirits in front of the TV for a glass of red wine at the restaurant. This proves that people who are treated like adults act like adults. Sweden became freer and merrier without turning into a hell on earth." (23/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Salud, » Suecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Johan Norberg

Italy marked the 20th anniversary of the murder of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone with numerous ceremonies on Wednesday. Speaking in the Sicilian city of Palermo, Prime Minister Mario Monti said that the whole country must take part in the fight against the Mafia. A call that is no longer falling on deaf ears, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera observes hopefully: "Something has happened in the past 20 years. Not only have Mafia bosses been arrested and sentenced, their assets confiscated and their land transferred to social organisations, Italian society as a whole has developed antibodies against the Mafia disease. … In these past 20 years the conviction has crystallised that the Mafia is not merely a problem in southern Italy. It is a problem for all Italy, not just because the Mafia is active in northern Italy too, but because we have realised that the fight against the Mafia is a joint battle that transcends geographic borders and political affiliations." (24/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Delincuencia, » Sociedad, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Aldo Cazzullo

A 15-year-old Czech youth from the town of Břeclav confessed to the police on Wednesday that contrary to allegations he has been making for weeks, he was not attacked by a Roma gang but wounded himself in a fall. The media had spread the gang version of the story without checking the details, fanning tensions between the communities. The conservative daily Lidové noviny urges all parties to learn from the incident: "The young man's accusations were never even doubted. Radicals demonstrated in Břeclav, a street where Roma live had to be put under police protection and the town councillors have promised more police officers and surveillance cameras. Let's hope everyone learns a lesson from this. The youth, his mother, the journalists, the demonstrators - and also those whose own negative experiences with Roma led them to believe everything they heard. In similar situations let's try to imagine what it's like to be suspected merely because of the colour of your skin." (24/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Minorías, » Delincuencia, » Medios de comunicación, » La República Checa
Todos los textos disponible de » Martin Weiss

Large numbers of teachers and pupils went on strike in Spain on Tuesday to protest cuts in the education sector. These cutbacks will only deepen the social divide, the left-liberal daily El País fears: "There's little hope that a strike will overturn the government's decisions, but it would be good if it at least showed the same sense of responsibility it demands from others and combined the cuts with measures aimed at using the resources freed in this way effectively. However there is a conspicuous lack of such measures. It won't be easy to minimise the effects of cuts in this sector. In an impoverished population with 2.2 million minors living in households that are threatened by poverty, according to a recent Unicef report, higher tuition fees, fewer daycares, fewer teachers, larger classes and fewer extra lessons for weaker pupils will automatically increase social inequality. These measures will also compromise the quality of public education and threaten to hijack the future of this country." (23/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política financiera, » Asuntos sociales, » Educación, » España
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

The Lithuanian data protection authorities have banned the US company Google from launching its Street View service in Lithuania in May as planned, on the grounds that since Google has no office in Lithuania it is not entitled to gather personal data. The portal Irytas.lt sees the decision as bureaucratic idiocy: "So this is how the state protects our private sphere. But if you look closer, neither would private life be made public nor would advertisements be shown. ... Google Street View doesn't force its way into homes and doesn't take pictures of private property. All it shows is public space, and those people who are photographed by accident are not the central subjects of the images. In most of the world the law lets people photograph the places they want to without them needing special permission. ... Sometimes one gets the feeling that this and similar public authorities only exist so that a few members of a 'circle for pointless work' get their pay." (21/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación online, » Sociedad, » Lituania
Todos los textos disponible de » Arnoldas Lukošius

The educator Robert M. was sentenced in Amsterdam on Monday to 18 years imprisonment followed by preventive custody with compulsory treatment for the sexual abuse of 67 babies and small children. A fair judgement, although nothing can make up for such a crime, writes the Christian-social daily Trouw: The severity of the sentence corresponds to the sheerly unimaginable nature and extent of this crime. The perpetrator will serve his sentence and receive treatment in an institution, and will only be released once he is cured. ... But what is an 'appropriate' punishment? It's impossible to determine a fair punishment in such cases. Ultimately no punishment will seem just, bearing in mind the large number of victims covered in a single trial. No punishment can alleviate society's sense of powerlessness at the idea that small children cannot be protected. The call for harsher punishments fails to take account of other factors, as if that could make the victims and their parents suddenly feel better. What they most need now is very practical: support to be able to go on living." (22/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Justicia, » Holanda

A heavy earthquake in the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy left seven people dead, 50 injured and thousands homeless on Sunday. You can't prevent earthquakes but you can prepare for them instead of treating them like strokes of fate, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera writes: "When Ferrara was half destroyed in 1571 and was full of the dead there was talk of God's punishment and rulers bringing disaster. But centuries later it's inadmissible to talk of tragic, unpredictable events in view of the victims and destruction in the region. Because now we know precisely which areas are prone to earthquakes. … We can despair over the destroyed old buildings but not accept the collapse of new buildings with resignation. … Other countries would pass stringent building regulations and hold regular courses on how to react in an earthquake." (21/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Catástrofes naturales, » Catástrofes naturales, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Gian Antonio Stella

Monarchs from around the world have gathered at Windsor Palace for a celebration lunch to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. It is no contradiction that many of them represent democracies, writes the conservative daily Basler Zeitung: "It is striking how often precisely the politically advanced countries have retained the monarchy: England, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian nations. The only old democracy in Europe that never had a king is Switzerland. The Northern European monarchies, a historic paradox? Only at first glance. In attaining broad political powers relatively early, the British, Dutch and Danes could come to an arrangement with their rulers: who needs to overthrow a king whose only tasks are ceremonial? And so the monarchs in London, The Hague and Copenhagen have been able to put up their feet and relax. Metaphorically speaking, that is." (20/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Historia, » Sociedad, » Gran Bretaña
Todos los textos disponible de » Hansjörg Müller

Smoking is to be banned in all public spaces in Bulgaria as of June 1, the parliament in Sofia legislated on Thursday. However a law alone will not deter the stubborn Bulgarians from smoking, the daily Novinar writes, calling for strict punishment for offenders: "Until now the rights of non-smokers have been violated, who against their will were subjected to smoke and the smell of tobacco. ... So it is now high time that Bulgaria follows the trend in the civilised West and also bans smoking. Even our 'oriental' neighbours in Turkey have introduced a total ban on smoking and are implementing it strictly. ... But for the smoking ban to function here it cannot just remain on paper: it must also be enforced. The Bulgarians use every means at their disposal to hoodwink the state. And as this behaviour is deeply rooted in their psyches, we need stronger controls and hefty fines for all those who fail to heed the ban." (17/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Salud, » Sociedad, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Peter Chergarov

The Danish centre-left government is considering axing one or two Christian holidays such as Common Prayer Day or Pentecost in a bid to stimulate the economy. This is an assault on Danish culture, the liberal-conservative daily Jyllands-Posten fumes: "With their attack on our public holidays the prime minister and her followers not only demonstrate a fundamental ignorance of Church holidays and the Christian cultural heritage. That would be bad enough in itself. They also show that their research logic lacks even the most basic understanding of the common holidays, common rhythm and common rituals that create our community and ultimately the Danish people and the Danish welfare society. Perhaps the goal is to make us richer. But what good is that when our culture is impoverished because of a blind historical ignorance?" (16/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura cotidiana, » Religión, » Dinamarca