Miércoles, 12 de agosto de 2015

Europa

Whenever Russians think about Iran, soul-searching ensues. Some look at the Iranian system favorably, and some despise it, but in the aftermath of the recent deal to limit Iranian nuclear production in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions and increased commercial contacts with the outside world, many Russians, worried by their country’s growing status as an international pariah, have begun to ask themselves: “Are we the new Iran?”

This may sound strange to foreign ears, but it is not really so far-fetched. Many Russians, both inside and outside the Kremlin, admire the Iranian way of dealing with a hostile world.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía

Greece is in a deep hole, and everyone involved seems determined to keep digging. As the country bids for a third bailout since 2010, the momentum from economic damage inflicted during the last five years threatens to undermine the latest agreement.

The economy is in free-fall and politics are unstable. One crisis feeds the other. Just as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared to accept that he had no alternative but to work with Greece’s partners on a new bailout, hard-liners in his Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) declared that they wanted no compromise with creditors, and are now pushing to leave the euro.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaMundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, , , ,

After a year of playing a muted role within the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, Turkey is now actively engaged in airstrikes against the terror group. But ISIS isn't Turkey's only target.

Turkey is genuinely concerned about the terror threat bubbling away on its border, but ISIS has also given President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a convenient cover to crack down on Ankara's long-time nemesis: Kurdish rebels from the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

Erdogan is now waging parallel campaigns -- one against ISIS, and one against PKK rebels in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq. The strikes on PKK targets have brought an end to a two-year ceasefire between Turkey and Kurdish rebels, prompting the latter to cry foul.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía, ,

While the politicization of climate change has transformed climate reporting into something of a circus, the Coalition's announcement of a 26% emissions reduction target on 2005 levels for Australia by 2030 has surely placed its climate policy on a dangerous high wire.

The high wire is not that the target has been set too high. It is that trying to balance this "defeatist" target is going to lead to the collapse of Direct Action, and will impair the ability of the Coalition-News Corp publicity machine to defend fossil fuels.

Already, Prime Minister Tony Abbott is resorting to increasingly desperate and absurd arguments, such as his comments on the ABC's AM on Wednesday morning about exporting coal to India and China: "The great thing about the Australian coal industry is that it's actually helping countries like China to reduce their emissions intensity, if not their overall emissions, because our coal is better quality coal than the Chinese and Indian coal."…  Seguir leyendo »

Cataluña y el enemigo imaginario

EspañaEleccionesEspañaModelo de EstadoModelo Territorial,

El mes de agosto es un tiempo de vacaciones. Incluso ahora cuando nuestro periodo de descanso se ve fraccionado por imperativos empresariales o acortado por los efectos de la crisis económica, sigue siendo un intervalo en nuestras rutinas laborales. Es un tiempo de desinhibiciones y la ligereza se instala en el ambiente. Los políticos aprovechan para comprobar el efecto de sus tesis más atrevidas y radicales; así, el ministro de Justicia, entre muchas comillas y condicionales, ha manifestado la disposición del Gobierno para modificar la Constitución; y los socialistas, por su parte, han aprovechado para desterrar a su portavoz en el Ayuntamiento de Madrid, una vez exprimido suficientemente.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

El proceso será ruidoso y desagradable, pero el Congreso de EE UU acabará aprobando el acuerdo con Irán. Pero esa es la parte fácil. ¿Y la difícil?: comprender lo que ocurra a continuación en Oriente Próximo.

Irán se atendrá a las cláusulas del acuerdo, por lo menos al principio. Tiene demasiados incentivos para no hacerlo. Se calcula que las sanciones le han constado al país casi el 20% de su PIB desde 2010. Una vez recortadas esas sanciones, se cree que Teherán introducirá cada día 600.000 barriles de petróleo más en los mercados mundiales al llegar la próxima primavera. Y la cifra ascenderá hasta el millón de barriles diarios a finales de 2016.…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaAspectos Generales

Los nuevos tiempos de la política española, con la irrupción de nuevas caras y el evidente relevo generacional, seguramente serían calificados por Michael Oakeshott como un momento álgido de política de “fe” y no de “escepticismo”. En la primera, la actividad pública está al servicio de la salvación de la comunidad: el Gobierno lo abarca todo y se espera de los gobernados no sólo obediencia, sino, incluso, entusiasmo. Por el contrario, la política del escepticismo, entiende el Gobierno como una actividad distinta de la búsqueda de la perfección humana. El político escéptico observa que los hombres tienden a entrar en conflictos, porque a menudo tienen intereses contrapuestos, y la misión del Gobierno no es otra que minimizar la gravedad de tales disputas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Iran's heavy water nuclear facility, located near the central city of Arak, as seen in 2011. U.S. intelligence officials say the deal requires Iran to provide an unprecedented volume of information about nearly every aspect of its existing nuclear program. (Hamid Foroutan / Associated Press)

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

Critics of the Iran nuclear deal claim John F. Kerry and company improperly downplayed the military option. Had Iran truly believed we would vaporize its nascent nukes — the argument goes — we could have cut a better deal. For this crowd, President Obama's refrain that our choice is his deal or war is greeted with disdain — or worse. Michael Mandelbaum, in the American Spectator, writes that the deal was negotiated from "a position of self-imposed weakness"; John Bolton claims "no one took Mr. Obama's threat of military force seriously — a credibility gap that Israel still fears and Iran still exploits."…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesSocial

Aunque a la vejez se llega de modo paulatino y progresivo, la conciencia de esa llegada es abrupta e imprevista. De repente uno se da cuenta de que es viejo. Las incapacidades, las molestias y las limitaciones se han ido sucediendo –y quedando–, pero nos resistimos a pensar que somos viejos. Hasta que un buen día nos levantamos y constatamos que, queramos o no, lo somos.

En otras épocas, en el siglo XVIII sin ir más lejos, era bueno ser viejo; era mejor que ser joven; los jóvenes, incluso los más jóvenes, como Mozart, se ponían pelucas empolvadas para parecer mayores, para parecer viejos.…  Seguir leyendo »