Domingo, 26 de agosto de 2007

Europa

By George F. Will (THE WASHINGTON POST, 26/08/07):

French libraries are said to file their nation’s constitutions — there have been more than a dozen since 1789; the current one is a relatively ancient 49 years old — under periodicals. Now Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s peripatetic new president, has created a commission on constitutional reform. The commission includes Jack Lang, who, as minister of culture in 1983 under President Francois Mitterrand, staged a sublimely unserious conference on the (supposed) world economic crisis, featuring the likes of Sophia Loren, Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer.

Is Sarkozy a serious man? Some American conservatives consider him a kindred spirit and think they see in his election a heartening portent of their coming revival: He succeeded an intensely unpopular two-term president of his own party (Jacques Chirac) by promising bold reforms.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

By Fotini Christia, a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (THE WASHINGTON POST, 26/08/07):

It was during a recent visit to a middle-class beauty salon here, amid the women getting their upper lips threaded and their legs waxed, that I saw what the One Million Signature Campaign is up against. A female volunteer approached another customer and encouraged her to sign a petition, which organizers hope to submit to Iran’s parliament along with a request for legal reforms on gender equality. The woman said she supported the demands for equality but shied away from what she considered overt political activity against the regime.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

By David Ignatius (THE WASHINGTON POST, 26/08/07):

The Bush administration, beyond the daily temperature readings about the progress of the U.S. troop surge in Baghdad, is making a subtle but important shift in its strategy for the Middle East — establishing containment of Iranian power in the region as a top American priority.

A simple shorthand for this approach might be «back to the future,» for it is strikingly reminiscent of American strategy during the 1980s after the Iranian revolution. The cornerstone is a political-military alliance with the dominant Sunni Arab powers — especially Saudi Arabia. The hardware will be new arms sales to Israel, Egypt and the Saudis.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

By Boris Berezovsky (THE TIMES, 26/08/07):

Putin and Putin’s Russia are being widely discussed in the West. Opinions have split: some say it’s better to be friends, others insist that a hardline approach is more fitting.

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia still plays a key role in world politics. Discord between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the West is seen everywhere: energy resources and their transport, military security, Kosovo, eastern Europe, Ukraine, the Caucasus, central Asia, the Middle East . . . there is hardly an area left where the interests of Putin’s Russia coincide with those of the West.…  Seguir leyendo »