Viernes, 11 de agosto de 2006

MundoOriente Próximo

By Simon Tisdall (THE GUARDIAN, 11/08/06):

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to confront the US and United Nations security council over Iran's nuclear activities partly to distract attention from the country's worsening economic problems, sources in Tehran have said.Iran's hardline government said it would respond by August 22 to a western compromise package designed to defuse the dispute over its nuclear activities. But diplomatic sources said that while expressing readiness to continue negotiations, Mr Ahmadinejad was opposing concessions on the issue, which has become key to maintaining his support following his disputed election victory one year ago.

"People say it's Ahmadinejad who's the problem," a western diplomat said on Friday.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional,  

By Gerard Baker (THE TIMES, 11/08/06):

THERE’S A familiar ritual each time an operation to thwart a putative terrorist incident dominates the news. After the public’s initial expressions of relief and shuddering contemplation of what might have been, a rising chorus of sceptics takes over, with a string of questions and hypotheses.

Was it really a serious terrorist plot, or only a bunch of misguided, alienated Muslim kids larking about with a chemistry set and a mobile phone? Sometimes, unfortunately, as with this summer’s ludicrously overplayed Miami “plot” to blow up buildings in Chicago, in which the plotters had got as far as purchasing some boots but not much else, overzealous authorities bring this sort of suspicion on themselves.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Par Patrick Haenni, sociologue suisse et analyste à Beyrouth pour l'International Crisis Group, une ONG active dans la prévention et la résolution de conflits. Patrick Haenni a reçu le prix de la meilleure thèse de langue française sur le monde musulman pour «L'Ordre des caïds: conjurer la dissidence urbaine au Caire», paru en 2003 (LE TEMPS, 11/08/06):

La guerre entre le Hezbollah libanais et Israël est à facettes multiples. Dans une perspective large, et si l'issue de la confrontation armée est encore indécise, on peut cependant considérer que le Hezbollah a déjà marqué des points sur trois tableaux

Tout d'abord la guerre des images.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalEconomía

By Frederick W. Smith, president and chief executive of FedEx Corp. and P.X. Kelley, a retired general, was commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan. They are co-chairmen of the Energy Security Leadership Council, a project of Securing America's Future Energy (THE WASHINGTON POST, 11/08/06):

Could a mere 4 percent shortfall in daily oil supply propel the price of a barrel to more than $120 in a matter of days? That's what some oil market experts are saying, and if they're correct, we face the very real possibility of an oil shock wave that could send our economy reeling.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional

By Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of "Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America." (THE WASHINGTON POST, 11/08/06):

Yesterday on this page, in a serious and thoughtful survey of a world in crisis, Richard Holbrooke listed 13 countries that could be involved in violence in the near future: Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Somalia. And in addition, of course, the United States.

With those 14 nations Holbrooke could make the case for what I describe as "an emerging third world war" -- a long-running conflict whose latest manifestation was brought home to Americans yesterday with the disclosure in London of yet another ghastly terrorist plot -- this one intended to destroy a number of airliners en route to America.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

By Eugene Robinson (THE WASHINGTON POST, 11/08/06):

When unsmiling agents at the airport take away your contact lens solution, your toothpaste, and your cologne or after-shave, remember Osama bin Laden. Remember the real war on terrorism that the Bush administration and its allies decided not to fight, preferring cowboy-style military adventures.

The revelation yesterday of the elaborate plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic Ocean with liquid explosives reminds us of the real threats we face -- as opposed to the phantom threats that George W. Bush and Tony Blair have conjured to justify their disastrous war in Iraq.

The airliner conspiracy seems to have all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda extravaganza: careful and sophisticated planning, the intent to shock the world with simultaneous detonations, cold-blooded determination to murder innocents by the hundreds, and a timeline that comes suspiciously close to the fifth anniversary of the Sept.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaPolítica Inmigración

By Polly Toynbee (THE GUARDIAN, 11/08/06):

It was one of those now-you-see-it, now-you-don't policy moments. John Reid appeared on BBC television to pre-announce a speech he was about to make on the fraught subject of immigration. He said he wanted to limit immigration to balance "enhancing the economy of this country commensurate with our social stability". That is indeed the dilemma - more GDP v social justice for the low paid.

Soon the EU will decide on admitting Bulgaria and Romania. If they join the union, will Britain again be one of the few to let their citizens work here immediately?…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

By Paul Moorcraft, former senior instructor at Sandhurst and the Joint Services Command and Staff College, is director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis (THE GUARDIAN, 11/08/06):

Washington has dumped Tony Blair and its disdain of the UN. America is now working with France, the old colonial power, to shape Lebanese events via the international organisation. Friction between Washington and Paris as well as strong objections from the Arab League are delaying a "first-stage" UN resolution on a ceasefire. Immediate Israeli withdrawal is not in the current text.The Lebanese government has offered 15,000 troops to replace the Israeli Defence Force and to monitor Hizbullah while a robust French-led UN force moves in.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, ,

By Arber Koci, an Albanian living in Britain (THE GUARDIAN, 11/08/06):

I could tell from the first few lines that Gyula Hegyi's article was going to be one of those I've come to dread reading (Barbed wire and bridges, April 26). They break the ice with a little exaggeration and before you know it end up slapping you in the face. For example, according to the author, my birthplace, Pristina, has become "a 100% Albanian and Muslim city".I read that a few times over and wondered to myself how remarkable a figure that was. Remarkable because the last census that was not boycotted by either Serbs or Albanians was in 1981, and that certainly made no mention of 100% of anything.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaNaturaleza, ,

Por Suso de Toro, escritor (EL PAÍS, 11/08/06):

Sopla el Noreste, el Nordés que seca las casas. Correrá aún un par de días este viento que barre nubes y, sin embargo, el cielo no es azul, que es turbio y gris. En esta aldea, hoy vigilan a este viento revoltoso, que parece que se esté burlando, pues ya ha ardido casi todo: los montes comunales y los particulares; hubo incluso que defender algunas casas del fuego.

Hace ya tres años que se cerró la última cuadra de vacas de la aldea. La gente joven o está embarcada o emigró a Canarias.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Por Jorge Edwards, escritor chileno (EL PAÍS, 111/08/06):

A mediados de febrero de 1971, cuando llevaba casi tres meses en Cuba como representante diplomático de Chile, me tocó entrar en contacto con Raúl Castro para organizar la visita del buque escuela Esmeralda a La Habana. Era la primera visita oficial de un barco de la escuadra chilena, después de largos años de ruptura de relaciones, y el Gobierno revolucionario le daba gran importancia al asunto. Había que evitar a toda costa que los trescientos o cuatrocientos jóvenes oficiales y grumetes en viaje de instrucción transmitieran una imagen negativa de la Revolución Cubana a su regreso a Valparaíso.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaMemoria Histórica

Por Francisco Frutos, secretario general del Partido Comunista de España (EL MUNDO, 11/08/06):

En el verano de 1945, en la Conferencia de Postdam (Alemania), Winston Churchill, Harry Truman y Iósiv Stalin declararon que rechazarían la solicitud de ingreso en las Naciones Unidas del régimen franquista porque «habiendo sido fundado con el apoyo de las Potencias del Eje (Alemania e Italia), no posee en vista de sus orígenes, su naturaleza, su historial y su íntima asociación con los estados agresores, las condiciones necesarias que justifiquen su admisión». Si la URSS fue junto con México el único país que ayudó a la República española durante la Guerra Civil, Londres y Washington compartían la vergüenza de la llamada política de no intervención, de haber abandonado a un Gobierno democrático frente a la sedición de los militares fascistas apoyados por Hitler y Musolini.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

By Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the mayor of Mexico City from 2001 to 2005, was a candidate for president in 2006, representing a coalition led by his Party of the Democratic Revolution (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/08/06):

NOT since 1910, when another controversial election sparked a revolution, has Mexico been so fraught with political tension.

The largest demonstrations in our history are daily proof that millions of Mexicans want a full accounting of last month’s presidential election. My opponent, Felipe Calderón, currently holds a razor-thin lead of 243,000 votes out of 41 million cast, but Mexicans are still waiting for a president to be declared.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

By Aidan Foster-Carter, an honorary senior research fellow on Korea at Leeds University (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/08/06):

Leeds, England

KNOWING what to be scared of is, sadly, a skill we all need. But South Koreans seem a bit confused about this, judging from what’s making waves in Seoul right now.

First, the real world. Last week, the semiofficial Yonhap news agency raised the alarm about a new report on North Korea’s missile threat compiled by a researcher at a foreign ministry think tank called the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. According to the author, Yun Deok-min, the July 4 missile tests that caused an international furor were just part of a major expansion of Kim Jong-il’s capacity to menace his neighbors.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Por Abraham B. Yehoshua, escritor israelí, inspirador del movimiento Paz Ahora. Traducción: Sonia de Pedro (LA VANGUARDIA, 11/08/06):

Si el Gobierno de Israel quiere obtener logros significativos y duraderos de esta terrible guerra contra Hezbollah en Líbano, debe promover en seguida la celebración de una cumbre con la cúpula del Gobierno palestino. Y eso aunque el presidente pertenezca a la OLP y el primer ministro sea de Hamas. Incluso convendría que asistiera a esa cumbre Maruan Barguti, quien promovió el famoso Documento de los Presos. Los temas que se traten en esa cumbre han de conllevar objetivos realistas y concretos.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

By Michael Clarke, professor of Defence Studies at King's College London (THE TIMES, 11/08/06):

For all the time jihadi groups spend fantasising about ways to commit mass murder, there is a pretty conventional terrorist mind-set behind most of the plots that materialise.

The security services anticipate all manner of possible terror attacks on Britain — chemical, biological, radiological, and cyber attacks, and cunning assaults on key infrastructure. There is a great deal of loose chat among would-be jihadis about such exotic homicidal possibilities. Kamel Bourgass, the Wood Green “ricin plotter”, intended to smear deadly poison on strap handles in the Tube and on door knobs in London’s Jewish neighbourhoods.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías

By Ben Macyntire (THE TIMES, 11/08/06):

FIFTEEN YEARS after the birth of the world wide web, the lines of battle are clear. On one side the still young culture of the internet — anarchic, playful, joyfully (and sometimes wilfully) inaccurate, global and uncontrollable; on the other, a paper-based set of priorities — precise, polite, often national in perspective and increasingly paranoid. The latter seeks to manage, limit and define the culture; the former delights in its resistance to regulation.

The battle rages in the conflict between Wikipedia, the sprawling internet encyclopaedia, and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the canon versus the loose cannon.…  Seguir leyendo »