The columnist Dominic Lawson is not convinced that Gordon Brown's refusal to attend the EU-Africa summit will be very effective. "Like most (if not all) sanctions, this has the effect of making us feel slightly more virtuous while doing nothing to end the oppression it is notionally designed to deter. I would imagine that Robert Mugabe would be delighted if his presence in Lisbon turns out to be the cause of Britain's absence from the table; and if Portugal should rescind its invitation, does anyone seriously imagine that this would do anything to put a single extra gram of maize into the mouths of Zimbabwe's children – or accelerate by one second the ending of Mugabe's rule? ... The view that it was sanctions that brought an end to white apartheid rule in South Africa is a common misconception." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Wielka Brytania, » Afryka, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dominic Lawson

The Lisbon daily gathers from Gordon Brown's announcement printed in the British press that his ultimatum is not definitive. "Gordon Brown denounces the lack of democracy in Zimbabwe and the systematic violation of human rights, reminding us of the reasons why the EU imposed sanctions on Robert Mugabe's regime. He uses these arguments to explain why he will not be attending the Lisbon conference in person if Mugabe is present. But Gordon Brown is also saying something else: not only does he praise the Portuguese initiative [to organise an EU-Africa summit] and wish Prime Minister José Socrates success, but above all he has not ruled out the possibility of the British government being represented at the summit. This is good news. The EU-Africa summit is indeed decisive." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, portugalski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Wielka Brytania, » Afryka, » Europa

The newspaper approves of Gordon Brown's stance: "Zimbabwe's economic collapse under Mugabe's dictatorship is a human and political catastrophe. 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, human rights are constantly violated and millions are fleeing the country... The EU must stick to its hard line and refuse to fraternise with Mugabe. If the member states can't reach a consensus on this then [the Swedish head of government] Fredrik Reinfeldt and [Foreign Minister] Carl Bildt should follow Gordon Brown's example and refuse to travel to Lisbon." (21/09/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Dagens Nyheter)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Szwecja, » Afryka, » Europa

Horst Bacia maintains that Gordon Brown's boycott threats are not a solution for everyone. The EU faces a dilemma: "You can't officially uninvite the stubborn old tyrant or prevent him travelling to Portugal. Other heads of African states and governments would then refuse to come, and the entire summit might even have to be cancelled. The last EU/Africa summit was seven years ago. Is this one to be cancelled just because of Mugabe, even though the EU wants to strengthen relations with the states of the black continent for many good reasons?... British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now threatening to boycott the summit if Mugabe attends. This is a way out of the dilemma for him - but not for everyone." (21/09/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Afryka, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Horst Bacia

The globalisation of exchanges has revived the old dream of a world without frontiers, open to all on every level. For Yves Charles Zarka, French professor of political philosophy, this cannot work. "A frontier does not only serve to separate and demarcate, it also allows the recognition of others and meeting with them. A frontier has a negative as well as positive meaning. ... A world without frontiers would be a smooth, homogenous desert populated by a nomadic humanity composed of identical individuals without any differences. However, a world criss-crossed by frontiers that are recognised and accepted on all sides is a world of coexisting differences and flourishing diversity. But for mutual recognition and acceptance to exist there must be a balance. Life should be liveable everywhere and everyone should be able to pay others a visit when they wish." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Yves Charles Zarka

Gabriel Tortella, professor of the history of economy, confesses that he looks back with "nostalgia on the Cold War. ... This confrontation [of Marxism and liberalism] posed great dangers, but, in the end it was a question of the clash of two rational attempts to understand human beings and society. ... [Today], terrorism has replaced the Cold War. Facing this omnipresent and indistinct threat, the United States are overcome by irrational panic that has triggered an absurd 'war against terrorism' and the inexplicable invasion of Iraq. We have entered an alarming vicious circle; hatred and fear encourage irrational behaviour. ... In this respect, we find ourselves in a world more dangerous than when rational ideologies were set against one another. Marx was a far nobler adversary than Putin, Ahmadinejad, or Ben Laden." (21/09/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, El País)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Historia, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gabriel Tortella

Oana Popescu reflects on the country's NATO membership and the deployment of Romanian soldiers in Afghanistan: "The deployment of our troops has earned us international praise and probably played a key role in the decision to hold the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest. It also enabled us to 'compensate' for our withdrawal from the even greater disaster in Iraq. Moreover, there's the fact that such joint military operations are the only opportunity the Romanian military has of learning from soldiers with more technical experience and better equipment. It's only natural that our army still has its shortcomings, but is our cynicism justified? Can we justify paying for political capital and an image boost with the lives of our soldiers, who are being sent to the most dangerous areas without proper equipment?" (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, rumuński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Oana Popescu

Former Polish Prime Minister and Social Democrat Leszek Miller (2001-2003) has resigned from his party, the SLD. He announced that in the upcoming parliamentary elections he will lend his support to Samoobrona (Self-Defence), the populist farmers' party led by Andrzej Lepper. Television journalist Dorota Gawryluk comments on this surprise move: "Miller wants to prove at any cost that he hasn't gone into political retirement. He's looking for a place - it doesn't matter where - from which he can show his SLD colleagues that he still has some clout. He perceives it as a personal injury - not without reason - when people blame him for all the failures of the SLD. ... But if you want to be active in politics you have to learn to dispense with emotional identification. Ultimately all that counts is whether you're in on the game or not." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dorota Gawryluk

The Estonian government has refused a request by the Russian-German consortium Nord Stream for permission to conduct a survey of the seabed lining Estonia's coast. This effectively rules out the possibility of a route that would take the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea through Estonian territorial waters. Raimo Ülavere questions whether the decision was not premature: "What did Estonia have to lose by saying: yes, we'll grant permission for the survey, but only on the condition that there is no drilling and that our territorial rights are not violated? And more importantly we demand that Estonia be allowed to carry out the survey itself and then present the results to Nord Stream. This would have put us in control of the data and the situation." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, estoński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Środowisko, » Energia, » Niemcy, » Estonia, » Rosja, » Kraje Nadbałtyckie
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Raimo Ülavere

The European Commission's proposals for liberalising Europe's energy markets while at the same time restricting access for non-European companies will pose a considerable hurdle to Russian energy giant Gazprom's plans for expansion, Ceslovas Iskauskas writes: "The ban from Brussels aimed at preventing further monopolisation of the European energy sector is a reaction to Moscow's refusal to sign the energy charter. Russia instead opted to raise the price of gas supplies to Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus as a means of exerting political pressure. Initially Brussels was hesitant, but the persistent protests of the Baltic countries and Poland against the Baltic Sea gas pipeline have persuaded it to take action." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, litewski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Energia, » Rosja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Česlovas Iškauskas

Since he was elected, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been omnipresent in the media. The editorialist Laurent Joffrin recognises that the French president's communication strategy poses a problem for him. "We are indeed talking too much about him. But if we abstain from doing so an important declaration or a decision that counts might escape us. ... A balance needs top be struck between being totally weaned off him and overdosing. ... The problem, in this system, is that Nicolas does not run a newspaper, he runs France. This tactic of omnipresence has a major defect: it allows those in power to control the public theatre as they wish. A bad decision ? A policy that doesn't work ? No matter, dim the lights, switch to another channel ! There is only one option for the press now : ... to take the remote control and hit the 'pause' button." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Media drukowane, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Laurent Joffrin

On the 25th anniversary of the 'smiley', Simon Jenkins wonders : "How on earth did we manage before the Internet ? Somehow we communicated love, hurt, remorse, anger and joy under the bountiful guidance of the Oxford English Dictionary. ... Why is email so lacking in feeling and nuance as to require its own additional alphabet ? ... email has become a substitute for both the telephone and the letter, and an inadequate one at that. As against the telephone, email is a distancing device. It not only eliminates tone of voice, it prevents interruption or response. It is a one-way conversation, a monologue, with all the rudeness that can imply. As against a letter, email has more immediacy but carries none of the humanity, not to mention courtesy , of handwriting." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media internetowe, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Simon Jenkins

This evening, France's rugby team will be playing against Ireland in the Rugby World Cup. 'Les Bleus' cannot afford any mistakes if they are to make it through to the second round of the competition. The daily's journalist has his eyes riveted on 2nd line Sébastien Chabal, the unshaven giant who has become France's favourite. "The beast is back ! On all TV screens and in all the press. This time the beast is Sébastien Chabal, the French rugbyman smashing clichés as well as jaws. Today, THE star everyone is crazy about is a rebel with a rough and shaggy look. ... And yet what might appear a magnificent publicity stunt is in fact just the result of his colossal laziness. When in England with the Sale Sharks, he says that he had so little grasp of the language that he dared not go to the hairdresser." (21/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Sport, » Francja, » Irlandia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Thérèse Untersander

In his new film director Romauld Karmakar has actor Manfred Zapatka read aloud two sermons written by the Moroccan Imam Mohammed Fazazi. Fazazi preached at the Hamburg mosque attended by terrorists who planned September 11. Susan Vahabzadeh comments on the unique character of Fazazi's sermons: "It begins quite harmlessly but  gains steadily in momentum... until he reaches the issues of real importance to him - that all the rules within Islam regarding the protection of people of other faiths don't apply in the West, because the Westerner is a walking threat and thus his rights to protection, life and everything he owns are rendered null and void. Fazazi plays a treacherous game with discrimination and inferiority complexes... In the end it is secondary whether or not Mohammed Atta listened to this preacher. It is almost more disturbing that in a room full of people who are mostly not terrorists, no one protests." (20/09/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Film, » Religia, » Światopogląd, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Susan Vahabzadeh

"A recent visit to the Louvre allowed me to benefit from the joys of cultural tourism, an activity that is still looked down upon", writes Sergi Pamies who joined the crowd of visitors congregating to admire the 'Mona Lisa' by Leonardo de Vinci. "Suddenly the atmosphere is as stifling as in rush-hour public transport. I try to access the room where the oh-so-prodigious painting is exhibited. There, the enthusiasm is inordinate. All that is lacking is a Mexican wave. ... 'There she is !' everybody cries out in different languages. Little matter how far away she is, protected by bullet-proof glass that displays more reflections than nuances. Little matter if your are pushed and your feet trodden upon. The euphoria is by no means elitist, but rather a wild democratisation of cultural iconography, where all rules of politeness are broken." (21/09/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, La Vanguardia)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Wystawy / Muzea, » Sztuki piękne, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Sergi Pàmies

The Slovenian journalist Ervin Hladnik Milharcic took the liberty of describing Slovakia as part of Eastern Europe and was promptly corrected when he visited the country. But if Slovakia belongs to Central Europe, the journalist asks, what about the other geographical assignations within the region? "In Poland or the Czech Republic, which once shared borders with Eastern Germany and where the East's western-most borders lie, raising such questions is an extremely awkward matter. Eastern Europe starts beyond their borders...We in Ljubljana or Zagreb react just as strongly when a foreigner unacquainted with local geography ascribes our countries to the Balkans rather than the West, where we ourselves see them, or Southeast Europe, where it's correct to locate them from a political point of view. Actually it's rather comforting to learn that we're not the only ones concerned about improving people's understanding of our geographical affiliations." (20/09/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, słoweński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Historia, » Słowenia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ervin Hladnik Milharcic