Archivo «julio de 2007»
By John Gray, a professor of European thought at the London School of Economics and the author of Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia (THE GUARDIAN, 31/07/07):
The era of liberal interventionism in international affairs is over. Invading Iraq was always in part an oil grab. A strategic objective of the Bush administration was control of Iraqi oil, which forms a key portion of the Gulf reserves that are the lifeblood of global capitalism. Yet success in this exercise in geopolitics depended on stability after Saddam was gone, and here American thinking was befogged by illusions. … Seguir leyendo
By George Monbiot (THE GUARDIAN, 31/07/07):
In one short statement to parliament last week the defence secretary, Des Browne, broke the promises of two prime ministers, potentially misled the house, helped bury an international treaty and dragged Britain into a new cold war. Pretty good going for three stodgy paragraphs.You probably missed it, but it’s not your fault. In the 48 hours before parliament broke up for the summer, the government made 46 policy announcements. It’s a long-standing British tradition: as the MPs and lobby correspondents are packing their bags for the long summer break (they don’t return until October), … Seguir leyendo
By David Ignatius (THE WASHINGTON POST, 31/07/07):
The National Intelligence Estimate released July 17 put the problem plainly enough: Al-Qaeda has “regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability” using a new haven in the lawless frontier area of northwest Pakistan known as Waziristan.
The question is: What is the United States going to do about it?
For those who might have forgotten in the six years since Sept. 11, 2001, what a reconstituted al-Qaeda could do, the intelligence analysts explained that the terrorist group has “the goal of producing mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, significant economic aftershocks and/or … Seguir leyendo
By Harriet A. Washington, the author of “Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans From Colonial Times to the Present” (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31/07/07):
TO Westerners, the repatriation of five nurses and a doctor to Bulgaria last week after more than eight years’ imprisonment meant the end of an unsettling ordeal. The medical workers, who in May 2004 were sentenced to death on charges of intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with H.I.V., have been freed, and another international incident is averted.
But to many Africans, the accusations, which have been validated by a … Seguir leyendo
By Nicholas Thompson, a senior editor at Wired magazine, who is writing a book about George Kennan (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31/07/07):
SIXTY years ago this month, writing under the byline of X, George Kennan supposedly laid out America’s cold war foreign policy. Kennan’s essay is often said to be the most influential article in the history of this country’s foreign policy, but neither Harry Truman, nor any president after him, actually followed X’s recommendations. “Containment,” the word the essay introduced, was applied in a bellicose way that Kennan didn’t intend.
But while Truman dodged X’s advice, George W. … Seguir leyendo
By Robert D. Novak (THE WASHINGTON POST, 30/07/07):
The morass in Iraq and deepening difficulties in Afghanistan have not deterred the Bush administration from taking on a dangerous and questionable new secret operation. High-level U.S. officials are working with their Turkish counterparts on a joint military operation to suppress Kurdish guerrillas and capture their leaders. Through covert activity, their goal is to forestall Turkey from invading Iraq.
While detailed operational plans are necessarily concealed, the broad outlines have been presented to select members of Congress as required by law. U.S. Special Forces are to work with the Turkish army to … Seguir leyendo
By Gordon Brown, prime minister of the United Kingdom (THE WASHINGTON POST, 30/07/07):
Within a few weeks of becoming prime minister of Great Britain, I have come to the United States to affirm the historic partnership of shared purpose that unites our two countries.
Outside observers may think of even great alliances only in narrow, 19th-century terms: treaties of convenience driven forward by nothing more than mutual needs and current interests.
Yet I believe our Atlantic partnership is rooted in something far more fundamental and lasting than common interests or even common history: It is anchored in shared … Seguir leyendo
By Michael E. O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and Kenneth M. Pollack, the director of research at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 30/07/07):
VIEWED from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.
Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: … Seguir leyendo
By Terence Kealey, Vice-Chancellor of Buckingham University (THE TIMES, 30/07/07):
We scientists are kindly creatures, anxious to see only the best in our fellows. Consider a recent paper in Science magazine entitled “Via Freedom to Coercion: The Emergence of Costly Punishment”. The study was led by Christoph Hauert, of Harvard University.
The problem of punishment is simple. Imagine a tribe of hunter-gatherers. Imagine that all the men are brave and that they share equally in the risks of the hunt. Now imagine that one of those men is actually a creep, hiding behind a tree while the risks are … Seguir leyendo
By William Rees-Mogg (THE TIMES, 30/07/07):
When presidents of the United States make reassuring statements about the stock market, investors with any historic memory prepare to run for the hills. The most famous example was Herbert Hoover after the 1929 crash: “The business of America is sound.”
Last week global stock markets fell heavily. On Friday President Bush commented that: “The world economy is strong.” Until that point, I felt fairly sure that what was happening in stock markets was a relatively minor correction, a response of the equity markets to the problems of the debt markets. Now I am … Seguir leyendo
Por Mario Vargas Llosa (EL PAÍS, 29/07/07):
El semanario satírico español El Jueves publicó la semana pasada en su carátula una viñeta de los príncipes de Asturias desnudos y haciendo el amor, a la vez que él comentaba con vulgaridad la posibilidad de que ella quedara embarazada y el niño o niña resultante les permitiera recibir la subvención de 2.500 euros con que el presidente Rodríguez Zapatero se propone premiar a las parejas que procreen a fin de elevar la demografía (decreciente, como en todos los países desarrollados) de España. El fiscal general de la nación encontró que esta portada … Seguir leyendo
Por Julián Casanova, catedrático de Historia Contemporánea de la Universidad de Zaragoza (EL PAÍS, 29/07/07):
Corrupción y sobornos. Pagos indebidos con fondos públicos. Familias y amigos. De eso estuvo hecha durante mucho tiempo la política en España. Abundó en la Restauración, en las décadas finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX, en ese complejo entramado que Joaquín Costa definió con el binomio “oligarquía y caciquismo”, y se generalizó como práctica política durante la dictadura de Franco, cuando los vencedores en la guerra civil y los adictos al Generalísimo hicieron de España su particular cortijo. La Segunda República, el … Seguir leyendo
Por Adam Michnik, escritor polaco. Traducción de Jorge Ruiz Lardizabal (EL PAÍS, 29/07/07):
En el verano del año pasado, cuando Polonia estaba azotada por una fuerte sequía, el presidente del Parlamento invitó a los diputados a rezar en la capilla del Legislativo por la lluvia. Igualmente curioso fue que en la Unión Europea el primer ministro polaco afirmara que valía la pena morir por un sistema de votación basado en la raíz cuadrada. Muchos europeos se preguntaron qué pasaba con Polonia.
Ahora son los polacos los que tienen que hacerse esa pregunta, porque desde las últimas elecciones presidenciales y … Seguir leyendo
Por Ignasi Guardans, diputado al Parlamento Europeo (EL PAÍS, 29/07/07):
“La legislación polaca en los ámbitos que corresponden al orden moral que rigen la vida social, la dignidad de la familia, el matrimonio y la educación, así como la protección de la vida, no podrán en ningún caso ser limitados por disposiciones internacionales”. Así lo proclamaba solemnemente el 11 de abril de 2003 la Dieta (Parlamento) de Polonia con el apoyo de los que hoy son oposición. Los días 7 y 8 de junio de ese año se iba a celebrar el referéndum de adhesión de Polonia a la … Seguir leyendo
Por Pedro J. Ramírez, director de EL MUNDO (EL MUNDO, 29/07/07):
El día que conocí a Carmen Iglesias entendí, en el sentido más gratificante del término, lo que es recibir una lección. Cenando en casa de unos amigos comunes la proximidad del bicentenario de Carlos III -yo era aún aquel bisoño director de Diario 16 de hace veintitantos años- estimuló mi radicalismo retrospectivo y un cierto afán por hilvanar mis pinitos como aficionado a la Historia con la línea editorial de un periódico que ejercía todas las mañanas de indesmayable vigilante de la playa.
Menuda birria de Ilustración, vine … Seguir leyendo