Archivo etiqueta «EEUU»
Por Norman Birnbaum, catedrático emérito de la Universidad de Georgetown. Traducción de María Luisa Rodríguez Tapia (EL PAÍS, 08/02/12):
La situación política actual en Estados Unidos está tan polarizada que los esfuerzos para lograr un consenso nacional, ya sea en la legislación o en el lenguaje, parecen quijotescos. Muchos ciudadanos se defienden contra lo que consideran intromisiones utilizando la palabra política como término despectivo. Piensan que gran parte de lo que ven y oyen es irrelevante para la marcha general de la sociedad y su propio destino dentro de ella. Los debates de los candidatos presidenciales republicanos permiten pensar … Seguir leyendo
By Anthony D. Mancini, an assistant professor of psychology at Pace University (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 06/02/12):
When the United States announced last week that its combat troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn by mid-2013, there was obvious relief. But it was followed by familiar concerns.
One of the biggest of those concerns is the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among the tens of thousands of returning veterans, which according to some media reports runs as high as 35 percent. These reports have incited fears that we will soon face a PTSD epidemic. But are such fears justified?
According … Seguir leyendo
By Thomas Carothers, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of the report Democracy Promotion Under Obama: Revitalization or Retreat? (THE WASHINGTON POST, 04/02/12):
Just after the first anniversary of the onset of the Arab Spring, the Obama administration announced in December an enormous arms sale to Saudi Arabia, with a price tag greater than the annual gross domestic product of more than half the countries in the world. The administration hailed the sale as a “historic achievement” that “reinforces the strong and enduring relationship between the United States … Seguir leyendo
By William H. Luers, a career diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Venezuela and as president of the United Nations Association from 1999 to 2009 and Thomas R. Pickering, an under secretary of state for political affairs in the Clinton administration who served as United States ambassador to Russia, Israel, Jordan and the United Nations (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 03/02/12):
“If you deal in camels, make the doors high,” an Afghan proverb cautions. As the dangers mount in the confrontation between the United States and Iran, both sides will have to raise the … Seguir leyendo
Por Guy Sorman, filósofo y ensayista (ABC, 25/01/12):
Schumpeter, un economista austriaco refugiado en Estados Unidos desde 1932 y profesor en Harvard, dejó en sus biógrafos y sus discípulos el recuerdo de un seductor, pero, ante todo, una expresión importante que resume su obra: «La destrucción creadora».
Demostró que el progreso en el régimen capitalista exige que lo antiguo deje paso sin cesar a lo nuevo. Contrariamente a lo que sostenían Marx y Keynes, consideraba que las crisis eran inherentes al desarrollo económico: gracias a las crisis y en periodo de crisis, escribía, la innovación se manifiesta. Para corroborar … Seguir leyendo
By Peter W. Singer, the director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution and author of Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 22/01/12):
In democracies like ours, there have always been deep bonds between the public and its wars. Citizens have historically participated in decisions to take military action, through their elected representatives, helping to ensure broad support for wars and a willingness to share the costs, both human and economic, of enduring them.
In America, our Constitution explicitly divided the president’s role as commander in … Seguir leyendo
By Naomi Oreskes, a professor of history at UC San Diego and the coauthor of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 22/01/12):
Recently I had jury duty, and during jury selection something remarkable occurred. Early in the proceedings, the judge posed a hypothetical question to the 60 or so potential jurors in the room: “If I were to send you out now and ask you to render a verdict, what would it be? How many of you would vote not guilty?” A few … Seguir leyendo
By Rebecca MacKinnon, the author of the forthcoming Consent of the Networked:The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom and a Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation (THE WASHINGTON POST, 20/01/12):
In late 2010, on the eve of the Arab Spring uprisings, a Tunisian blogger asked Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah what democratic nations should do to help cyberactivists in the Middle East. Abdel Fattah, who had spent time in jail under Hosni Mubarak’s regime, argued that if Western democracies wanted to support the region’s Internet activists, they should put their own houses in order. He called on the … Seguir leyendo
By Albert A. Foer, a lawyer formerly with the Federal Trade Commission and president of the American Antitrust Institute (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 20/01/12):
AT this moment, all over the United States, consumers are buying tickets to games, concerts and other live events under the impression that they have the right to give away, donate or resell the tickets they purchase. They assume that they can do so whenever and with whomever they wish and (as long as they don’t violate the few remaining laws against scalping) at whatever price they choose.
But those consumers may be mistaken. In … Seguir leyendo
By Jaron Lanier, the author of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto and a researcher at Microsoft Research, but these views are his alone (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 19/01/12):
We who love the Internet love the fact that so many people contribute to it. It’s hard to believe that skeptics once worried about whether anyone would have anything worthwhile to say online.
There is, however, an outdated brand of digital orthodoxy that ought to be retired. In this worldview, the Internet is a never-ending battle of good guys who love freedom against bad guys like old-fashioned Hollywood media … Seguir leyendo
Por Antoni Gutiérrez-Rubí, asesor de comunicación (EL PERIÓDICO, 19/01/12):
Alan Solomont, embajador de Estados Unidos en España, tuvo la osadía de enviar, el pasado 12 de diciembre, una durísima carta de reprobación política al entonces aún presidente José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. El motivo de la misma era quejarse por la debilidad y el incumplimiento de los «compromisos adquiridos por España ante los dueños de los derechos y ante el Gobierno de Estados Unidos». Se fundamentaba en que el último Consejo de Ministros del Gobierno en funciones no aprobó, tras un fuerte debate sobre su rechazo social en internet, la … Seguir leyendo
By James Gattuso, a senior research fellow in regulatory policy at the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org) (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 18/01/12):
It’s one of the most contentious but least understood issues now before Congress. It’s one that does not align neatly along party lines and has split the business community.
The issue is online piracy – the illegal sale of copyrighted and trademarked products on rogue pirate websites. Proposals aimed at putting these rogue websites out of business, now pending in the House and Senate, would strengthen restrictions on foreign-based rogue websites, while imposing new obligations on U.S.-based firms that facilitate … Seguir leyendo
By Jared Metzker, a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He reads the Los Angeles Times every day with breakfast (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 16/01/12):
My mother, reacting to the recent spate of alarmist headlines about “raging” violence and increased security measures affecting Peace Corps volunteers in Central America, has taken to calling me on a near-nightly basis.
“Just needed to hear your voice,” she says to explain the call.
“I’m fine, Mom,” I respond.
Frankly, it’s getting annoying.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate … Seguir leyendo
By Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University (THE WASHINGTON POST, 13/01/12):
Every year, the State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries, monitoring the passage of restrictive laws and regulations around the world. Iran, for example, has been criticized for denying fair public trials and limiting privacy, while Russia has been taken to task for undermining due process. Other countries have been condemned for the use of secret evidence and torture.
Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free … Seguir leyendo
By Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian American Council and the author of the book A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy With Iran (THE WASHINGTON POST, 14/01/12):
Just 13 minutes into his presidency, Barack Obama indirectly reached out to Iran in his inaugural address, offering America’s hand of friendship if Tehran would unclench its fist. After eight years of the George W. Bush administration’s ideological contempt for diplomacy with America’s foes, it was a bold move born out of necessity, not desire.
But Obama’s diplomacy has fallen short. After two rounds of talks in October … Seguir leyendo