"Only Mankind is in a position to reverse the self-destructive mechanism resulting from its anarchic and selfish activities", insists the editorialist Pascal Aubert. "And without a lot of good will, the degradation of the earth's atmosphere and its cortege of natural calamities will very soon reach an irreversible state that will have to be accounted for facing future generations. It is the responsibility of political and economical leaders, but also of the individual consumers that we all are to leave behind a planet as viable and liveable as the one that we inherited. Some are already applying themselves to this; others think that they still have time ahead of them. The merit of the respected economist Nicholas Stern's work is to try to make them understand that the more they wait the higher the price to pay is going to be". (31/10/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Środowisko, » Rynek konsumencki, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Pascal Aubert

"It is a testament to the power of money that Nicholas Stern's report should have swung the argument for drastic action, even before anyone has finished reading it", comments the journalist George Monbiot. "He appears to have demonstrated what many of us suspected: that it would cost much less to prevent runaway climate change than to seek to live with it. Useful as this finding is, I hope it doesn't mean that the debate will now concentrate on money. The principal costs of climate change will be measured in lives, not pounds. As Stern reminded us yesterday, there would be a moral imperative to seek to prevent mass death even if the economic case did not stack up. ... It will require more economic intervention than we are used to, and some pretty brutal emergency planning policies (with little time or scope for objections). But if you believe that these are worse than mass death then there is something wrong with your value system." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Środowisko, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » George Monbiot

"Capitalism is discovering climate change", writes Stephan Kosch, adding that it's better late than never. "The truth of the matter is that climate change represents a threat to the global economy. It shouldn't really have taken the government review published in Britain yesterday to make us realise this. The disruption of oil production following the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, which pushed up oil prices to record levels, was a taste of things to come for companies all over the world. ... And because the economy only understands the language of profit and loss, companies only start to take things seriously once their profit margins are in jeopardy – or when new markets emerge. British companies have realised this and can see the economic potential of climate change. The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions encourages innovation." (31/10/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Środowisko, » Handel, » Przedsiębiorczość, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Stephan Kosch

Stéphane Bussart notes that in Britain, global warming has become a national political issue. "The subject of climate change was an electoral cosmetic not so long ago. Now it has become incontrovertible. Long withdrawn from environmental issues, the British Labour government has got the message now. Informed by the Stern report, the British government is proposing three measures to fight against global warming. ... Gordon Brown [British Chancellor of the Exchequer], who commissioned the Stern report, has also just taken on as environmental adviser the former American Vice President Al Gore (author of the documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth' on the same theme of global warming). In addition, a commission is due to supervise the UK business investments in green technology." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Środowisko, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Stéphane Bussard

Following a meeting with Günter Grass and other colleagues, the novelist Burkhard Spinnen expresses his opinions on political literature. "In the post-ideology era, political competence can only be gained with and within those devices which are the domain of writers: in other words with and within literary texts. As an author I must distance myself from day-to-day discussions and not get involved in opinion surveys. I don't base my arguments on an abstract literary reputation but on the context of my work! ... The pivotal element is always language. The task of literature does not consist in solving the problems of heads of government; rather, it is here that what they say is put to the test. ... Now, as in the past, aesthetic endeavour neither stands in opposition to political endeavour nor is it simply a supplement to the latter. It is a necessary pre-requisite for the success of literature, including political literature. This is because literature doesn't give concrete instructions nor does it construct abstract systems; it provides concrete examples – by telling people about them." (31/10/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Literatura, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Burkhard Spinnen

Ségolène Royal, Socialist candidate for the French presidential elections, has proposed the creation of "civil juries" given the task of evaluating the politics of those elected. Denis Stokkink, Fanny Gleize, Judith Ferrando y Puig and Yves Mathieu, members of the European think tank 'Pour la solidarité', support this approach to political life. "Participative democracy is exactly what we need today in order to get out of this situation where choices in universal suffrage are made according to image and positioning rather than political intentions, discourse and action. ... This is not a question of pitting these two modes of democracy against one another, but of turning participative democracy into a complementary tool of universal suffrage. What Ségolène Royal is proposing and what numerous left-wing members of parliament are working towards is a indeed an in-depth renovation of our democracy". (31/10/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Le Figaro)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Francja, » Europa

Georgi Parvanov emmerged victorious from the presidential elections in Bulgaria on Sunday October 29th, with 76% of the vote over his far-right challenger Volen Siderov, leader of the nationalist party Ataka who captured 24%. The journalists Theodor Troev and Kerin Hope comment that the victory was portrayed in Sofia as a "triumph for pro-European Union forces on the brink of the country's EU accession on January 1st. ... Mr Parvanov's victory was eased by the lack of a serious challenger from the right-of-centre parties. ... Ataka is not a threat to Bulgaria's credentials as a new EU member-state according to Daniel Smilov of the Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS), a Sofia think tank. 'Bulgaria still has no anti-European party. Despite its questionable policies and positions on many issues, Ataka had not claimed the banner of Eurosceptism or anti-Europeanism'." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rozszerzenie UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Bułgaria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Theodor Troev, » Kerin Hope

The daily ponders the influence of voters from Turkish backgrounds in the campaign leading up to the legislative elections on November 22nd. "The 'Turkish Forum' is circulating a public notice calling for a massive vote for Fatma Koser Kaya, candidate of the D66 party [liberal left party]. Their anger is mainly aimed at the CDA [Christian democrat party] and the PvdA [labour party] who have excluded three candidates of Turkish origin because of their refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. ... The candidate Koser Kaya reaches the hearts of Turkish nationalists because she refutes all Turkish responsibility concerning the Armenian genocide of 1915. She also voted against the law on integration proposed by the minister Rita Verdonk [charged with Integration]. The Turkish Forum is calling for 'a massive vote for this lady of great value in order for her to maintain her seat in parliament'". (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niderlandzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Migracja, » Historia, » Holandia

The preamble to Serbia's new constitution declares Kosovo an "integral part of Serbia." Commentator György Kakuk questions the legitimacy of the new constitution. "The majority of Kosovo's population was not allowed to vote on whether the new constitution should declare Kosovo part of Serbia. However, they didn't want to either, because for seven years now Kosovo has only been part of Serbia on paper, and even when it comes to trivial matters the Kosovo-Albanians try to avoid giving the impression they have anything to do with Belgrade. The constitution project is part of the survival strategy put together by Serbia's government coalition, led by the Democratic Party. In a few months there will probably be early elections in Serbia and this constitution is Vojislav Kostunica's attempt to prove to voters that he did everything possible to prevent the loss of Kosovo." (30/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Europa Południowo-Wschodnia, » Serbia

Jerzy Haszczynski comments on Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's visit to Germany in the context of strained  German-Polish relations. He notes that the meeting between Angela Merkel and Mr. Kaczynski did not bring a breakthrough on this score. "On the other hand, it would not be true to say that German-Polish relations are still as tense as they were recently. This can be seen as a step in the right direction, a step towards reaching an agreement regarding Poland's energy supplies, which are threatened by the German-Russian pipeline project. ... Unfortunately, as far as the confrontation with the past is concerned, no progress has been made. Angela Merkel still hasn't understood that her repeated promises that the German government will not support individual claims brought by Germans who were expelled from Poland are simply not enough." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rozszerzenie UE, » Historia, » Niemcy, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jerzy Haszczynski

A magistrate from Milan decided on Monday, October 30th, to take Silvio Berlusconi alongside his former lawyer, the British David Mills, to court under penal law, for corruption. The beginning of the trial has been set for March 13th. If Berlusconi defends himself as usual by accusing the justice system of persecuting him and practicing politics, the commentator Roberto Zuccolini, notes the awkward position of the left-wing in power. "Now what to do? Launch a forceful attack, or keep quiet up until the trial? The centre-left is wondering how to behave now that enemy number one is being brought before justice. Torn between what strategy to adopt and what stance to take. Because this is a delicate moment. ...  Il Cavaliere is trying to round up crowds against the new finance law, and it would not necessarily be a good idea to add problems to problems." (31/10/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Corriere della Sera)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Włochy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Roberto Zuccolini

The French sociologist Sébastien Roché was interviewed by Joëlle Meskens on violence in French suburbs. "The rioters are looking for adrenaline. They are attacking vulnerable targets, getting cheap thrills. ... What is most worrying is the fact that these phenomena have become structural. Since 1981, burning 20,000 cars a year has become normal. Nobody talks about it anymore, so they have taken to destroying buses. It is like a fashion. ... What is most astounding is that no one even tried [to bring an answer to the riots]! Of course no one can resolve these problems in a year. But not even a parliamentary inquiry commission has been implemented to investigate and try and work out the causes. All the other democracies that have experienced riots have done so. Here, the government thought that the problems would work themselves out on their own." (31/10/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Le Soir)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Sébastien Roché

Sweden is currently discussing introducing a weapons amnesty under which owners of unregistered or unlicensed firearms can hand them over to the police without facing criminal charges. The "Hells Angels" would be one of the main target groups. In a similar initiative in 1993, a total of 17,000 illegal firearms and 15 tonnes of ammunition were hand over to the police. The Swedish opposition has expressed its doubts about the success of such measures but columnist Maria Abrahamsson welcomes the initiative proposed by the country's new justice minister, Beatrice Ask. "Each weapon handed over to the police makes our society safer – even if, as happened last time, it's mainly normal, law-abiding citizens getting rid of family heirlooms that nonetheless are completely functional. It would be also be a good idea to increase the prison sentence for illegal possession of weapons from four years to six at the same time. However, this second course of action should not by any means preclude the implementation of the first." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, szwedzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Szwecja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Maria Abrahamsson

"You must think this is ironic. But no, not at all! Greece may be one of the last countries in Europe when it comes to Internet connection, but that does not stop it from being interested in what is at stake on the net", explains the daily. "This is a first. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that is taking place at the moment in Vouliagmeni [on the outskirts of Athens] is not a small gathering. On the contrary, the representatives of almost 90 states, along with the biggest Web magnates, are united to agree upon a code of respect in the use of the net, notably in matters of protection against the use of personal data." (31/10/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, To Vima Online)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media internetowe, » Grecja

Aneta Kyziol explains why plays about the communist era are seldom shown in Poland. "Older directors don't want to look back while younger ones prefer universal authors or to readapt the works of their contemporaries... Following the collapse of communism in 1989, Polish theatre did a crash course in contemporary western theatre." Kyziol quotes theatre critic Jan Majcherek: "After communism there was a strong urge, increased by Western influence, to give a 1:1 perspective of reality – a kind of naturalism. There was a move away from metaphor and form. Directors concentrated on portraying events on the stage... I think that artists as well as audiences will soon start to look for meaning again – works that are more discreet, subtle and poetic than what we see on stage today." (30/10/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Scena, » Polska

"For a long time it seemed that skyscrapers were incompatible with the Helvetic self-image: Hubertus Adam points out that the rural emphasis in the country's self-image led it to resist the trend to go vertical. However, in view of projects for the construction of "sculptural high-rises in Zurich, Basel, Locarno and Davos, he reports on a "renaissance of the high-rise building" in Switzerland. "While in cities like London, Paris and Frankfurt – not to mention the American and Asian metropolis – high rises don't stand alone but in clusters; in Switzerland they will, for the time being, be solitary figures on the skyline. However, the trend towards new and unusual forms which make individual buildings stand out in a crowd (like Norman Foster's 'Cucumber' in London) is also making its mark here in Switzerland. It's no longer about who can build the highest building but more about symbolic and creative design." (31/10/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Architektura / Miasta, » Szwajcaria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Hubertus Adam