Martes, 22 de agosto de 2006

MundoÁfrica,

Nick Grono is vice president of the International Crisis Group. John Prendergast is a senior adviser to the group (International Herald Tribune, 22/08/06):

Hard though it is to believe, the horrific humanitarian situation in Darfur is getting worse. There are more clashes now than a year ago, the number of rapes has steadily climbed and humanitarian workers are being attacked. The Darfur Peace Agreement, signed in May, is on the verge of collapse, and more than two million people continue to languish in refugee camps.

Meanwhile the United Nations and its member states fiddle, gently trying to persuade the government of Sudan to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, but getting nowhere.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías,

By Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges. He is on the advisory boards of two university presses and a university library (THE WASHINGTON POST, 22/08/06):

The nation's colleges and universities should support Google's controversial project to digitize great libraries and offer books online. It has the potential to do a lot of good for higher education in this country.

The rapid annual increase in the number of new books and journals, coupled with far-reaching technological innovations, is changing relations between academia and the publishing industry. In the recent past, college and university libraries collaborated with publishers in creating online collections of selected published works.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesSocial

By Frederick P. Rivara and Charles Mock. Both are physicians and they are with the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington (THE WASHINGTON POST, 22/08/06):

In our time we have seen the eradication of smallpox, the unraveling of the human genome, the transplantation of organs and the development of vaccines to eliminate many scourges of childhood. Philanthropic organizations have often played pivotal roles in these developments -- for example, the Carter Center, which is well on its way to eliminating the scourge of river blindness, and the Gates Foundation, which is investing billions in combating infectious diseases.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOrden Mundial

By Richard Cohen (THE WASHINGTON POST, 22/08/06):

In his upcoming book about the horrors of the 20th century, "The War of the World," the British historian Niall Ferguson has a chapter called "The Pity of Peace." It is about 1938, when World War II loomed, and Britain -- especially and importantly Britain -- did precious little to stop it. The warnings of Churchill -- "believe me, it may be the last chance . . ." -- were ignored, and the government under Neville Chamberlain obstinately pursued a policy that forever after made the word appeasement one of the most odious in history.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

By Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of EE.UU., heads the Clinton Foundation (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 22/08/06):

TEN years ago today I signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. By then I had long been committed to welfare reform. As a governor, I oversaw a workfare experiment in Arkansas in 1980 and represented the National Governors Association in working with Congress and the Reagan administration to draft the welfare reform bill enacted in 1988.

Yet when I ran for president in 1992, our system still was not working for the taxpayers or for those it was intended to help.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

By Carlos Pascual, the vice president for foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, was the State Department’s coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization from 2003 to 2005 and Martin Indyk, the director of Brookings’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy, was the assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs from 1997 to 2000 (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 22/08/06):

VICTORY in the latest war in Lebanon will not be won on the battlefield, but in the race between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government to rebuild homes and lives. Despite President Bush’s pledge yesterday of an additional $230 million for reconstruction, Hezbollah is far out front.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Por Gregorio Luri, filósofo y pedagogo (LA VANGUARDIA, 22/08/06):

Ante un conflicto tan doloroso como el actual entre Israel y Hezbollah hay dos posturas muy útiles para adormecer la conciencia: el maniqueísmo y el escepticismo diletante. Pero para practicarlas uno ha de poder disfrutar de su miopía moral. Entiendo por miopía moral esa incapacidad para captar los matices que es propia del prejuicio, esa disposición a conceder a un bando sistemáticamente el beneficio de la duda que le negamos sistemáticamente al otro o a negárselo a ambos bajo el supuesto de que un enfrentamiento entre fanáticos igualmente exaltados no tiene arreglo.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Por Alfredo Conde, escritor (EL PERIÓDICO, 22/08/06):

No salgo de Chateaubriand, no abandono su lectura. Acaso suceda así porque sus Memorias de ultratumba sean muy largas, al mismo tiempo que frescas y vigentes, tanto, que llegan hasta nosotros a pesar del verano y sus incendios, del calor y sus infiernos. Quizá no pueda ser de otra manera, porque el verano sea cálido, como lo está siendo, y el espíritu reclama aire, ventilación, cualquier pasión del ánimo. No es imposible que porque su prosa sea sabia y llena de cautelas. No se sabe. El caso es que permanezco atado a su lectura como este calor, pegajoso y húmedo, lo hace a nuestra piel ya fatigada.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaMemoria Histórica,

Por Javier Redondo, profesor de Ciencia Política de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (EL MUNDO, 22/08/06):

Durante aquellos días se produjo un enorme desconcierto. El golpe militar del 18 de Julio no había triunfado inmediatamente y había abocado a España a la Guerra Civil. Muchos personajes ilustres al servicio siempre de la democracia fueron cruelmente asesinados. Hoy, 22 de agosto, se cumplen 70 años de una de aquellas jornadas aciagas en la que varios ministros republicanos a los que el levantamiento les había sorprendido en el lugar equivocado fueron fusilados en los sótanos de una prisión. En aras de cumplir fielmente con los designios de la Ley de Memoria Histórica conviene recordar lo sucedido.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaModelo de EstadoDemocracia,

Por Julio José Ordovás, escritor (ABC, 22/08/06):

AFERRADOS a un discurso viejo y vacío que suena cada vez más a arenga decimonónica, sin capacidad para ofrecer respuestas a las preguntas que plantea, con carácter de urgencia, una realidad tremendamente poliédrica y cambiante, los partidos denominados de izquierdas parecen haberse adentrado no ya en un túnel sin salida sino en una auténtica cueva, que, dicho sea de paso, nada tiene que ver con la de Platón. Y ni se dan ni quieren darse cuenta de que la gruta que siguen sólo les conduce al pasado. Aunque me temo que en esto peca uno de ingenuidad: si algo tiene claro la izquierda desde hace ya unos cuantos años, es que en el pasado vivía mejor.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia

Por Andrés Ollero Tassara (ABC, 22/08/06):

CUANDO se planteó la candidatura de Oriana Fallaci a uno de los Premios Príncipe de Asturias no tardó en surgir el debate público sobre si cabría considerar políticamente correcto otorgar tal reconocimiento. Desde tal perspectiva, parece obligado situarse ante un dilema diabólico: o la adhesión inquebrantable (todo lo dicho por el homenajeado ha de considerarse puntualmente compartido, incluido el cómo se dijo) o el silencio. Pasó el tiempo y el propio Príncipe de Asturias haría solemne entrega en la casa de ABC del Premio Luca de Tena, con el que se reconoció su trayectoria periodística.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaCultura y Ciencia,

Por Gregorio Peces-Barba Martínez, catedrático de Filosofía del Derecho y rector de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (EL PAÍS, 22/08/06):

La posición de la Iglesia institucional española, sobre todo de algunos cardenales y obispos, no tiene precedente comparado con la postura y el comportamiento de las demás iglesias cristianas, incluidas las católicas en el resto de Europa. Quieren seguir teniendo el monopolio de las luces y de la verdad, no sólo en el campo religioso, sino también en el científico, en el educativo, en el cultural y en el político. Esas pretensiones acabaron en Occidente con el Siglo de las Luces.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesSocial

Por Iñigo Moré, analista especializado en economía internacional (EL PAÍS, 22/08/07):

Los muros, murallas y vallas proliferan en las fronteras que separan países con una relevante desigualdad de riqueza. Este escalón económico produce problemas de emigración, contrabando o narcotráfico, que el muro pretende atajar. Pero las vallas no frenan los tráficos irregulares, mientras agravan el problema de fondo, la desigualdad.

Por ejemplo, Botsuana ha iniciado la construcción de una verja electrificada en su frontera con Zimbabue, la 10ª frontera más desigual del mundo (FMD). El motivo oficial es evitar la propagación de enfermedades para el ganado, pero todo sugiere que la verja intenta también contener la emigración de Zimbabue, colapsado por el desastroso régimen de Robert Mugabe.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

By Alain Gresh, a specialist on the Middle East for Le Monde Diplomatique. His most recent book is "L'Islam, la République et le Monde" (Fayard) (THE GUARDIAN, 22/08/06):

Killers slaughter dozens of civilians in Iraq every day just because they are Sunni Muslims. Suicide attacks are increasingly common in Afghanistan, where they used to be unknown. On the Gaza Strip, 1.5 million Palestinians are caught in a trap, hemmed in by the Israeli offensive and the decision by the US and the EU to freeze all direct aid. The sudden escalation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon may drag Syria and Iran into a regional conflict.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalONU

By Salim Lone. Before his recent retirement from the UN, Salim Lone worked closely with Shashi Tharoor for more than 10 years (THE GUARDIAN, 22/08/06):

In the next few weeks, a new secretary general of the United Nations will be chosen by the security council. In a world racked by violent divisions surpassing anything witnessed since the organisation was created "to end the scourge of war," the secretary general can play a much more important role than is currently the case in easing global tensions and in making the weak and the dispossessed feel that their voices are being heard.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional,

By Kathryn Hughes (THE GUARDIAN, 22/08/06):

Apparently it will not be long before uniformed Spot operatives are patrolling our airports. Although this sounds like a parody of a parody - one of those weak jokes referencing Austin Powers that a certain kind of middle-aged man still insists on making - Screening Passengers by Observation Technique is already up and running in the US.Trained by the likes of Paul Ekman, the professor who helped turn face-reading into a science back in the 1980s, Spot operatives are wizard at picking up "micro-facial expressions" that give away what we're really feeling. This means that would-be terrorists who blithely tell check-in staff that they haven't got any sharp objects, radio-controlled devices or hair gel in their hand luggage will give themselves away with a fleeting grimace that lasts barely 1/25th of a second.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia,

By Isabel Hilton (THE GUARDIAN, 22/08/06):

When the first cracks appeared in the concrete base and bridges of the Qinghai Tibet railway, just weeks after the carefully staged, triumphal opening on July 1 (the 85th birthday of the Chinese Communist party), they were not the only sign that all is not well with China's policies in Tibet. The cracks seem to be the result of the unstable geology of the Tibetan plateau. Equally worrying to Beijing, shifts in Tibetan political geology have caused cracks in the official Chinese narrative of unity and harmony between Tibet and China.

There had been sporadic unrest for several months: in November last year the monks of Drepung monastery in central Tibet staged a sit-down demonstration against "patriotic education" - the government's enforced propaganda campaign.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión Europea

By Michael Clarke, professor of Defence Studies at King's College London (THE TIMES, 22/08/06):

IT IS EASY to be cynical when military hardware turns up in the wrong conflict. As reported in The Times, British night-vision equipment has been discovered in Hezbollah bunkers in southern Lebanon. The Government licensed the sale of such items to Iran in 2003, but similar equipment has been supplied to Lebanese and Israeli forces. If the serial numbers on the captured equipment lead back to any British sale, the Government will certainly be embarrassed; no less so than by the fact that weapons for the Israelis in this same conflict were passing through Prestwick airport.…  Seguir leyendo »