In Austria, several cases of medical experiments being carried out at children's homes in the 1960s have come to light. According to victims' reports, children living in the institutions were subjected to electroshocks and administered animal medications and malaria pathogens with the aim of preventing violent outbursts, bed-wetting and suppressing sexual urges. The legacy of Nazi medicine and an authoritarian Catholicism made such abuses possible, the left-liberal daily Der Standard explains: "In the 1960s, the doctors who had studied under National Socialism and whose teachers were in some cases sadistic monsters were at the height of their careers. Not just doctors, but also (university) lecturers, kindergarten teachers employed by the state and public officials had internalised this ideology of contempt towards other human beings. … But the 'scientific' Nazi sadism was also combined with the traditionalist Catholic authoritarian mentality. Thomas Bernhard referred to it as the 'Catholic-National-Socialist' upbringing under which he himself suffered. The terrible thing is that a 'strict' upbringing was broadly accepted by society." (10/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Zdrowie / Medycyna, » Etyka, » Przestępczość, » Austria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Hans Rauscher

At the EU summit on January 31, EU Commission President José Mauel Barroso called on eight EU members, including Lithuania, to take action against youth unemployment. The online edition of the daily Vilniaus diena regrets that it takes pressure from above for Lithuanian politicians to start acting: "Thanks go to EU Commission President Barroso, who cracked the whip and called attention to the major problem of youth unemployment in our country. ... Barroso unwittingly resembles the type of Moscow central committee functionary who used to perform great deeds for the party, socialism or his own clan with no more than a telephone call. And we act every bit the part of Homo Sovieticus, who only works to receive praise from on high. After Barroso pointed out this problem the Lithuanian president immediately convened her minister for labour and social policy. And on Wednesday this minister announced that the relevant institutions would work out proposals for fighting youth unemployment within a week." (09/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, litewski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Praca, » Litwa, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Juodeliene, Violeta

A conference on sexual abuse in Catholic institutions came to an end at the Vatican on Thursday. However the Polish clergy continue to remain silent on the issue, admonishes the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "What conclusions can we draw for the Polish Church from this unique conference? Above all that both for the public and for the Church it is immoral to sweep cases in which priests have been accused of sexual abuse under the carpet. And that it is equally immoral to delay investigating such cases in the mistaken belief that such behaviour may protect the interests of the establishment in question. Unfortunately the Polish clergy still have a problem understanding this. One example: Józef Michalik, the chairman of the Episcopal Conference, has doggedly defended a priest from Tylawa who was given a two-year suspended sentence for sexually abusing six girls. And who was banned from working as a teacher eight years ago." (10/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Przestępczość, » Polska, » Watykan
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Katarzyna Wiśniewska

The organisers of the legendary Eleven Cities Tour cancelled the ice-skating race on Wednesday because the ice is too thin. The left-liberal daily De Volkskrant looks back at the last few days of collective hope that the ice would hold up: "It has been a long time since so many people in this country longed and hoped for the same thing so passionately. This proves that we are not such egocentric individualists as people think we are. We would like nothing better than to clear away the snow together and eagerly await the Eleven Cities Tour. If a government was able to garner even a tenth of the collective support for this tour of tours, we would emerge from the crisis tomorrow and our country would be an oasis of happy anticipation. … There is still some hope [of another period of frost]. We can continue waiting for the Eleven Cities Tour, just as Vladimir and Estragon waited for Godot. He'll be here tomorrow." (09/02/2012)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, niderlandzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » społeczeństwo, » Holandia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Bert Wagendorp

The Latvians will vote on 18 February on whether Russia should become a second official language in the country. The referendum was initiated by the national Bolshevist Vladimir Linderman and is widely regarded as an attack against Latvian culture. But the daily Neatkarīgā urges a relaxed approach to the matter: "Let's assume part of the Russian and other minorities don't want to intensify the climate of mutual distrust and won't join the battle against the Latvian language this time. This may not mean that they will vote against Russian, but at least they won't join in with the agitators and chauvinists. In other words many will stay at home on this February day, which has advantages and disadvantages. … The referendum is like an expensive shock therapy without precedent in Eastern Europe. All the Latvians and anyone who feels a bond with this country either with their hearts or through their roots must stick out this ordeal with self-respect and self-assurance - and without hysterics." (09/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, łotewski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Integracja, » Mniejszości, » Języki, » Łotwa

The extreme cold snap that has had Europe in its grip for the past two weeks has claimed 300 lives, 135 in Ukraine alone, 68 in Poland and 60 in Russia. These figures show how precarious life in Eastern Europe remains, writes the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau: "The bitterest example is Ukraine. ... Oligarchs have amassed billions and flaunt their luxury yachts and other status symbols. The general populace, by contrast, is freezing and hungry. ... But there's still much to be done in the EU - as well as in Europe's economic miracle, Poland. ... More than a dozen people have died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes because their heating systems were defective. ... The West-East divide remains vast in Europe. It can only be overcome when the EU and its strongest members like Germany and France place social harmonisation high on their agendas." (08/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ulrich Krökel

Around 200 Church dignitaries and experts are discussing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church at a four-day Vatican conference that ends on Thursday. The left-liberal news portal Polityka Online applauds the conference's objectives but demands more transparency: "Zero tolerance for sexual abuse in the Church. This is what the psychologists and pastors should have in mind in discussing the paedophile scandals. With this conference the Vatican is sending a message to the world that it is indeed taking this disgusting matter seriously, that it condemns it and is not afraid to face up to the truth. ... But it remains unclear whether media representatives will be given access to the conference, and Pope Benedict XVI refuses to appear in person. His presence would add weight to the conference and make the Church's message even more credible. This doubt must be dispelled before the end of the conference. If it isn't, the impression will remain that the conference was little more than a PR stunt." (08/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Przestępczość, » Watykan
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Adam Szostkiewicz

The Czech railway company wants to introduce special compartments for women in trains, an idea from Austria aimed at boosting security. The liberal daily Sme doesn't think much of the idea: "According to a spokesman for Czech Railways, certain women find it unpleasant to sit together with men in a closed compartment. So certain wagons will be fitted out with a special pictogram (a man with a red line through him?), and when a man sets foot inside he will be ushered out again by an attendant. No one says that travelling by night in a passenger train is the safest way to get around. And of course a leering traveller can spoil your trip. But that's no reason to declare all men potential criminals, or to stylise women as victims. In that case we should also set up compartments for white people who don't like travelling with Roma. ... You don't instil a feeling of security in women or other travellers by setting up special compartments, but by putting more police officers on the trains." (07/02/2012)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, słowacki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Równouprawnienie, » Przestępczość, » społeczeństwo, » Czechy, » Austria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Miriam Zsilleová

Fewer and fewer British children are learning a second language in school. This puts the UK at a disadvantage in many respects, writes the liberal-conservative daily The Times: "Native English speakers, being understood anywhere in the developed world, are notoriously reluctant to learn foreign languages and diffident about speaking them. There are costs to a culture of monolingualism. It hampers British companies in international markets. It restricts the recruitment opportunities for British nationals in multinational enterprises. It diminishes Britain's voice in diplomacy. This country's living standards and influence are less than they might be, because languages are increasingly a specialist interest rather than a common stock of knowledge. Possessing another language may not literally yield, as Charlemagne put it, a second soul. But it will provide to future generations the incalculable gift of enabling them to see the world through the eyes of others." (07/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Edukacja, » Wielka Brytania

According to several surveys the Lithuanians' trust in state institutions has declined considerably. The poor state of the country's society underscores this, writes political expert Vytautas Dumbliauskas on the online portal of Lithuania's public radio broadcaster LRT: "Only between four and five percent of the respondents trust the Lithuanian parliament - in European countries with a long democratic tradition that figure is between 40 and 60 percent. Even fever people trust the political parties, which are not state institutions but assume a mediating role between the citizens and the state. In comparison to older democracies we Lithuanians place much less trust in our legal system, our police force or our education system. ... People's trust in each other is also very low, according to sociological studies. ... An important feature of societies where people have little trust in institutions or each other is a weak civil society. And this in turn fosters the uncontrolled expansion of state bureaucracy. The state becomes a anonymous machine against which the populace feels powerless and disillusioned." (06/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, litewski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » społeczeństwo, » Litwa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dumbliauskas, Vytautas