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Nepszabadsag | The Spectator| Letras Libres
| L'Espresso| L'Histoire | The New York Review of Books | The Times Literary Supplement | Elet es Irodalom | Le point | Die Weltwoche | Przekroj
Nepszabadsag 21.10.2007 (Hungary)
In the lead up to October 23, the anniversary of the 1956 Uprising in Hungary, complaints are coming in from all sides that the national day cannot be fittingly celebrated and that it means nothing to younger generations. Journalist Petri Lukacs attributes this disconnect to the absence of a culture of remembrance. "To this day, society has never discussed what these days of revolution meant to individual families. And yet we expect our children to understand everything that they are seeing now: crypto-Nazi protesters or national celebration days emptied of their meaning. We first have to inspire them to show an interest and gain familiarity with the history of their parents and grandparents. This means enlisting the help of schools and families to encourage children to discuss issues they learn about in school with their parents at home. This could lead to a much more nuanced picture of 1956 in the minds of the young."
The Spectator 20.10.2007 (UK)
Historian Norman Stone won't tolerate politics interfering with his work. Which is why he believes that the latest effort of the US Congress to "recognise the Armenian genocide" is counter-productive for all sides. "On the whole historians who know the subject and the sources (they are very difficult) do not take the 'genocide' line: the best recent account of it all is Guenther Lewy's 'A Disputed Genocide'. But whether they are right or wrong, it is surely nonsense for Congress to be involved at all, or any other body.(...) None of this is any help to Armenia; she is a poor and landlocked place, dependent for energy on of all places Iran, and without diaspora money she would be in an even worse state. She regularly loses people to emigration - 60,000 of them incidentally to Istanbul - and she badly needs good relations with Turkey. Perhaps such countries, once they are independent, should make a second declaration of independence from their diasporas."
Letras Libres 20.10.2007 (Spain/ Mexico)
Writer Gabriel Zaid lists a number of key misunderstandings about culture. "The belief that we are not animals, or that we are nothing but animals; the belief that everything has been discovered already, or that we could simply ignore all discoveries and 'start from scratch'; the belief that all traditions should be respected, or totally disregarded; the belief that everything was better in the past, or that it will be better in the future; the belief that all experiments are dangerous, or that no experiment is dangerous; the belief that culture should not or could not be commercial, or that it is a business like any other. "
L'Espresso 19.10.2007 (Italy)
"Mammoni" or "bamboccioni" are words used in Italy to describe young people who remain ever longer in the parental nest because of high rents and low wages. The minister of the economy Tommaso Padoa Schioppa has now suggested that these stay-at-homes who among other things are being held responsible for the low birth rate, should be tempted out of their hidey-holes by tax bonuses for living away from home. In his Bustina di Minerva Umberto Eco applauds this suggestion and takes up the fight for the minister and his controversial plan. "These thirty somethings are mostly graduates or doctors (as anyone who completes a three-year degree is absurdly called in Italy), who consider themselves too good to deliver parcels. Almost all American biographies of major writers or politicians show that they polished shoes after university, washed plates or sold newspapers. Why will Americans to do this and not Italians?"
L'Histoire September 2007
The French are fighting over the latest decree by Nicolas Sarkozy, ordering that the farewell letter written by 17-year-old Resistance fighter Guy Moquet to his parents be read out on the radio, TV and in schools. Moquet was a communist Résistant who was shot by the Nazis, along with 26 other hostages, in revenge for the murder of the Field Commander of Nantes, Fritz Hotz. Sarkozy wants the letter to revive the memory of the Resistance. For leading historian Jean-Pierre Azema, it is the job of teachers to plan history lessons. "Many people are opposed to this militarisation of remembrance: a letter which is to be read aloud in all educational establishments, every year at the same time? While the pupils basically stand to attention? We should leave it to the teachers to plan lessons, and if they decide to read out this letter, they should read it when they so choose and with the aid of works which shed light upon it."
More on this subject in Le Figaro: read the letter and its historical background, read the newspaper report. Watch a - somewhat kitschy - video on the subject on Telerama, and listen to sections of the letter read aloud.
The New York Review of Books 08.11.2007 (USA)
Malise Ruthven reviews a series of recent books on Islam, among them John Kelsay's "Arguing the Just War in Islam,"
Hans Küng's "Islam: Past, Present and Future" and Michael Bonner's "Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice." All three deal with the question of whether Islam is actually a peaceful religion as Bush and Blair have insisted, or whether it doesn't sound the battle cry from the start.
Ruthven fears the worst: " Like it or not, these terrorist campaigns
were inspired by the example of the Prophet's struggle - his 'just
war'- against the Quraysh, the pagan tribesmen of Mecca. In the context
of the original conflict between the early Muslims and the Meccans, the
sources, including the Koran and the narratives of Muhammad's life,
suggest that 'fighting is an appropriate means by which Muslims
should seek to secure the right to order life according to divine
directives.' In militant readings of the Sharia, the historical
precedents are not so much interpreted as applied."
The Times Literary Supplement 19.10.2007 (UK)
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum has read the latest book by psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who became famous with his 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. The book is called "The Lucifer Effect," and investigates what makes people evil.
"Zimbardo concludes that situational features, far more than underlying
dispositional features of people's characters, explain why people
behave cruelly and abusively to others. He then connects these insights
to a detailed account of the abuses by United States soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison,
where, he argues, the humiliations and torments suffered by the
prisoners were produced not by evil character traits but by an evil system that,
like the prison system established in the SPE, virtually ensures that
people will behave badly. Situations are held in place by systems, he
argues, and it is ultimately the system that we must challenge, not the
frequently average actors." Nussbaum doesn't buy it: People, she
writes, "are not all alike. The research described by Zimbardo shows a
surprising level of bad behaviour in the experimental situations, but
nothing like uniformly bad behaviour."
Elet es Irodalom 19.10.2007 (Hungary)
Hungary has dropped to 17th place on the new worldwide ranking of press freedom
recently published by the organisation "Reporters without Borders."
Although this puts Hungary above all of the G8 countries, it
nonetheless gives critic Janos Szeky cause for thought.
"In 2004, Poland ranked roughly equal to Hungary, it then dropped to
56th place. This began – perhaps – with a steep fine for a journalist
said to have made an insulting comment about the Pope. The moral of
this and other stories is that one should be more careful with phrases
like 'something like that would never happen here' or 'Brussels would
never allow it.' Something like that is entirely possible here, and
Brussels is no frowning kindergarten teacher, but a
self-contented, somewhat cynical and hesitant political veteran with
almost no inkling of how to handle the fierce deviance of elites from
different schools. The questions must be put the other way around: do
the secret services have a stronger hold on society here? Are there
politicians here who see the media as a means and critics as an
enemy? And if yes, how many? Is there a tendency among the political
elite to establish and foster taboos? And how much freer is the press
in Hungary than in Poland? The answer is blowing in the east wind."
Le point 18.10.2007 (France)
Anthropologist and philosopher Rene Girard has discovered astonishing parallels between his own ideas and those of Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz. In an interview with Elisabeth Levy he explains the dire image of society painted in his book "Achever Clausewitz": "The world wars marked an important step in the rise of
extremes. September 11 2001 was the beginning of a new phase. Today's
terrorism still has to be thought through, because we haven't yet
grasped that a terrorist is ready to die in order to kill
Americans, Israelis or Iraqis. What's new here in relation to Western
heroism is that suffering and death are called for, if necessary by
experiencing them oneself. The Americans made the mistake of 'declaring
war' on Al Qaeda, without knowing whether Al Qaeda exists at all. The
era of wars is over: from now on war exists everywhere. Our era is one of universal action. There's no longer any such thing as an intelligent policy. We've almost reached the end."
Die Weltwoche 18.10.2007 (Switzerland)
Die Weltwoche prints a critical commentary by Swiss journalist Roger Schawinsk on Die Weltwoche, its editor in chief Roger Köppel – an admirer of the right-wing populist billionaire politician Christoph Blocher – and other Swiss journalists. Die Weltwoche is
"by far the most interesting publication in German-speaking
Switzerland," Schawinsky writes, and much of the credit goes to Köppel.
"No other major publication has anyone who can even
remotely measure up to him. In the publishing houses directed by
managers and run-of-the-mill publicists, other qualities are in demand. That's why nowadays – as opposed to in the recent past – no one else rises above tactical mediocrity.
This makes it very easy for Köppel to set the tone and
select the topics of the day. This is fatal. Because he takes
ice-cold advantage of a second asset: by siding with Blocher, he
profits from reactions similar to those that made the SVP Switzerland's
dominant party."
Przekroj 18.10.2007 (Poland)
Rafal Kostrzynski examines the future of Kosovo,
sensing a danger to the cohesion of the EU. "A unilateral declaration of
independence would mean a further blow to the common foreign policy of
the EU. Romania and Slovakia will have nothing to do with an
independent Kosovo, due to their Hungarian minorities. Greece fears Albanian separatism
in neighbouring Macedonia. Even Cyprus and Spain fear secession. The
opponents of sovereignty for Kosovo, however, can only do one thing:
demonstratively refuse diplomatic relations." But the disunity of the
EU and the dissatisfaction of Russia and Serbia will not stop the
Kosovars, Kostrzynski writes. "According to expert Adam
Balcer, the worst-case-scenario after the declaration of independence
would be a KFOR intervention to preserve the integrity
of Serbia under international law. Or the Serbian army will take care
of things, which would be tantamount to a repetition of 1999."
RSS
The Internet is changing our brains, philosopher Joaquin Rodriguez Lopez explains in the French magazine, Books. David Hockney shows his new iPhone drawings to the Spectator. In the New York Review of Books, historian Timothy Snyder calls for a new understanding of the Holocaust, that begins not in Auschwitz, but deep in the forests of Eastern Europe. In Literaturen, Aleksandar Hemon remembers an empty reading that turned out to be a success. Dawn introduces Michael Jackson as internalised by the Pakistanis. In the Weltwoche, pedagogy professor Georg Feuser calls for a ban on Ritalin for kids. The NYT witnesses the end of the black middle class in Detroit.
The Economist is impressed the by the hybrid of old and new media in the coverage of events in Iran. Outlook India looks at racism at home. In Le Point, Bernard-Henri Levy rallies support for the Iranian opposition. In Salon.eu.sk, Zygmunt Bauman continues his thoughts on the effects of totalitarianism in Poland. In the Guardian, Wallace Shawn explains why sex is still shocking. Al Ahram sings the praises of the Pakistanis who chased the Taliban out of their villages. In Nepszabadsag, Lajos Parti Nagy explains why he doesn't want to be Hungarian. And the TLS holds its nose in Versailles.
MicroMega wants nothing to do with the ritual of 1000 women – especially if it involves Gaddafi. Outlook India explains how Berthold Brecht put the fun into Hindu theatre. Polish author Pawel Huelle savours his vote while riding his bike. The Guardian learns from Abbas Kiarostami where to find the beauty in art. In Nouvel Obs Breyten Breytenbach wonders what went wrong in South Africa. Elet es Irodalom is irked by intellectuals who won't go to the theatre. The NYRB reads books about Darfur, the Nation reads books about Cuba. And the New York Times is very excited indeed about the new Grand Paris.
Al Ahram asks what the Arabs can do for Obama. Outlook India says the US president should have talked to non-Arab Muslims instead. Charlie Kaufman's film "Synecdoche, New York" plunged the London Review into a thick fog of existential questions. Polityka discovers a republic of soloists in Poland. The Economist loses itself in the life of an American dreamer who is pinned down by a 483,000 dollar debt. In Clarin, Beatriz Sarlo asks: What does Buenos Aires want to be? In Elet es Irodalom, Ignac Romsics describes the difference between the Western and Eastern European right. NZZ Folio travels the coast of the Black Sea. And in the Guardian, sculptor Alexander Stoddart reaches for his pistol. 
Al Ahram witnesses Tunisians hitting the roof at the Arab Theatre Festival in Cairo. Alaa Al Aswany assures the Observer that democracy is coming to Egypt soon. Polityka complains about the grumblers who have rained on the June 4 parade. The New Statesman, Prospect and The Nation discuss China. In Nouvel Obs, Michel Pastoureau describes the fine line between man and pig. In Salon.eu.sk Zygmunt Bauman criticises Slavoj Zizek for not looking "beyond the barbed wire". Bookforum is excited by the boom in African literature.
Wired explains what Google really is: an auction house. The New York Review of Books sees Pakistan near the brink of anarchy. Elet es Irodalom introduces a new Hungarian magazine about culture on the periphery. The Nation turns to the Kundera Affair. In Literaturen, novelist Barbara Vinken compares sex stories by children. The LRB is impressed by a wiki. In El Espectador, Hector Abad describes the potentially fatal consequences of reading. Espresso portrays the fascists of the third millennium.
What makes us happy?, the Atlantic asks. Outlook India celebrates the victory of secular politics in India. The Spectactor finds itself in the hour of the medievalist. The Economist explains why Perlentaucher is essential reading. Magyar Narancs asks what happened to May 8th in Hungary. In ResetDoc, Nasr Abu-Zayd explains why Afghan marriage laws have nothing to do with the Qur'an. And jazz is fading into the background in Poland.
The Nouvel Obs features an interview with Imre Kertesz about survival after survival. The New York Review of Books celebrates the affluent and brilliant Madame de Stael. Tygodnik Powszechny welcomes the first film of a Stasiuk book. In the Guardian, Elaine Showalter asks why America's women writers are so notoriously underrated. Le Point profiles Dieudonne, who has declared his anti-Semitism as art. Rue89 asks whether it's left-wing to block Internet access. And in the New Republic, John Banville reads Samuel Beckett's letters.
The Nation portrays Bulgarian mafioso and author Georgi Stoev, who met the same death as many a victim in his books. In Nepszabadsag, poet Akos Szilagyi explains why outlawing Holocaust denial would not restrict freedom of speech. The New Yorker wants to see more command responsibility. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Roza Thun wants to see more Polish passion for the EU. Andrew Orlowski in the New Statesman has lost his belief in Long Tails on the Net. And in the New Yorker, Russell Shorto explains the difference between the Dutch and the Americans.
In Merkur Ralf Dahrendorf speaks out for the stakeholder. In the Guardian, Kazua Ishiguro warns writers not to "fart about" in their thirties. In Literaturen, Peter Sloterkijk tells it like it is: you have to put in at least 10,000 hours of practice to become even a passable craftsman or musician. The London Review explains the appeal of sharia-compliant banks. In Le Monde, philosopher and theologian Mezri Haddad talks about the vampirisation of Islam. The NYT fathoms the sub culture of drug smuggling.
In Espresso, Suketu Mehta calls upon his fellow writers to save the world from the banksters! In the Guardian, Julian Barnes reads the only poem Arthur Hugh Clough ever received a penny for. The Polish language does nothing but express distrust, Tygodnik Powszechny complains. In Commonweal, Terry Eagleton describes the clash of culture and civilization. Observator Cultural throws a spotlight on Norman Manea. And Google's clairvoyant, the Economist discovers.
In Eurozine, Serbian artists refuse to be reminded of their past. La vie des idees shows how the skirt has become a symbol of emancipation in France. In the Boston Review, Evgeny Morozov tells cyber-utopians that bloggers can be as anti-democratic as anyone else. The Spectator wants a "muscular Christianity" on its side. In Beszelö, the poet Akos Györffy sees a new Golem approaching. Paper money is confetti, Dr. Doom tells the NZZ Folio. And Douglas Adams cries on his bed in the Guardian.
Google Street View provides the London Review with the key to understanding, finally, Stendhal's description of realism. Le Figaro reads Cioran's juvenilia. Outlook India salivates over food blogs. Babelia observes the divorcees in the Teatro Colon. Vanity Fair gloats over the promiscuous micturition in the Bohemian Club.
In the Spectator, John Cleese tells a critic what a critic is. In Tygodnik Powszechny, philosopher Jean-Luc Marion has no problem proving the existence of God. In Prospect, Hanif Kureishi wishes authors had more balls. In the New Yorker, Seymour Hersh outlines the sort of sophisticated diplomacy that the Obama team needs. Espresso watches the Calabrian mafia using PTT. Wired visits a prison to hear the tale of the world's biggest diamond heist. n+1 is glad that the weirdness has been put back into German sex. The Gazeta Wyborcza drowned in the earnestness of a Berlin production of Dorota Maslowska's new play. And in the NYT, Freeman Dyson heats up the climate.
Lettre International prints Bela Hamvas' 1960 essay on direct morality and bad conscience. The Nation demands state subsidies for old media. In El Pais Semanal, Javier Cercas waits for a novel about Hitler's moustache hair. In the Guardian, Mary Beard dispels all hopes for a good death. In Novel Obs, Alain Finkielkraut does not mention the Kundera Affair. In the New York Review of Books, John Gray learns all about debt from Margaret Atwood. Elet es Irodalom dwells on otherness. The TLS celebrates Josef Skvorecky. Umberto Eco eyes up the bodies of Mussolini and Berlusconi for L'Espresso. And Carlos Fernando Chamorro sheepishly tells the New York Times how he opposed his mother.