She produced her first film on tick in 1973 and straightaway it won her a German Film Prize. Now, in 2008, Regina Ziegler is considered Germany?s most successful film and television producer, and this year marks her production company?s 35th anniversary....
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Le Figaro | Foreign Affairs | Plus-Minus | L'Espresso | The
Spectator | Revista de Libros | Elet es Irodalom | Al Ahram | Die
Weltwoche | New York Times Magazine
Le Figaro, 09.07.2005 (France)
In
the context of the attacks on London, the French writer and essayist
Pascal Bruckner warns of a widespread European "pacification rhetoric" around the terrorist threat and the denial of it. His first
reaction to the most recent attacks: "Is this due to English
isolationism? Or is it due to a tradition which has already demonstrated itself with respect to Nazism? At any rate, Great
Britain is as unwilling to bow down to the apocalyptic destructive
will today as it was yesterday. It opposes in the 'Churchill
way'. In contrast to the Spanish after the attacks in Atocha, the
English react cold-blooded. They don't demand from their government
that their troops on the American side in Iraq be pulled out.
(...) On top of that, Blair together with his people, continues a
tradition of freedom for which I suspect continental Europe has lost
its taste." (More about Bruckner here and here)
Foreign Affairs, 01.07.2005 (USA)
Robert
S. Leiken describes the new nightmare of American security authorities:
the mujahideen with European passport: "In smoky coffeehouses in
Rotterdam and Copenhagen, makeshift prayer halls in Hamburg and
Brussels, Islamic bookstalls in Birmingham and 'Londonistan', and the
prisons of Madrid, Milan, and Marseilles, immigrants or their
descendants are volunteering for jihad against the West. It was a Dutch
Muslim of Moroccan descent, born and socialized in Europe, who murdered
the filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam last November. A Nixon Center
study of 373 mujahideen in western Europe and North America between
1993 and 2004 found more than twice as many Frenchmen as Saudis and
more Britons than Sudanese, Yemenites, Emiratis, Lebanese, or Libyans.
Fully a quarter of the jihadists it listed were western European
nationals - eligible to travel visa-free to the United States."
Plus - Minus, 09.07.2005 (Poland)
The
philosopher Agnes Heller attacks "some well-known American and German
intellectuals", who seek to explain terrorism either as the rebellion
of the poor against the rich, the losers against the winners of capitalist globalisation, or as an almost natural reaction against
American imperialism. "The people behind global terror are themselves
global capitalists, just like Hitler was supported by German
industrialists and financiers. Anti-capitalism merely serves as a
slogan to direct massive resentment against the rich and to wage a
racist or religious war. Many of them are frustrated intellectuals –
young people who want to be remarkable in a very unremarkable world,
with big ambitions but little talent, or whose careers were hindered
for other reasons." (More about Agnes Heller here and here)
L`Espresso, 14.07.2005 (Italy)
The
Polish writer Andrzej Stasiuk does not understand why everyone is afraid
of the Polish plumber. He wonders a bit about the greater symbolic
importance of a professional class, which only was powerful under
communism. "He took a down-payment, one made out a time for him to come
but he never came then. He came when it suited him. For example after a
week. Manky, eating a meal, consumed by the need for a shower, the
occupants received him nonetheless like a saviour. They offered him
coffee, food and alcohol and worshipped him. The plumber ate, drank,
listened to all the flattering remarks and then went about his work
with a worthy lethargy. He screwed around somewhere, took something
off, caused a disastrous flood in the kitchen or in the bathroom and
then suddenly, having lost interest, claimed to be missing a part, left
the place an promised to come back the next day, only to return a week
later, to take another payment."
The Spectator, 09.07.2005 (UK)
The
genocide of the Indians, lynchings of blacks, Pinochet, the Holocaust,
and now Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib – the monument at Ground Zero is the
expression of an "Ultimate Guilty Complex", writes Mark Steyn, who
would have liked to see more Western self-confidence at the site. "I
never cared for the Twin Towers, which were never anything more than a
couple of oversized slabs of Seventies tat. But once the Islamonutters
had taken them down and the various 'internationally acclaimed
architects' began submitting designs of ever more limpid tastefulness,
I decided Donald Trump had it right: rebuild the ugly muthas but make 'em taller, and stick a giant extended middle finger on the top of each
one, or maybe pose that Saddam statue hanging sideways off the roof so
he’s being toppled in perpetuity. The latest hastily revised design for
the new Freedom Tower eliminates the 'life-affirming vertical gardens'
and other milquetoast features proposed by the architect Daniel
Libeskind but it’s still a feeble un-American wimp-out."
Revista de Libros, 08.07.2005 (Chile)
Peruvian
author Alfredo Bryce Echenique meditates on the past and future of the
Latin American city: "While in North America, the original core of the
city, the symbol of colonisation, was represented by the 'fort' as we
know it from Wild West movies, behind whose walls settlers barricaded
themselves and were in no way dependent on local labour, the founders
of South American cities – the representatives of the
Counter-Reformation and the Inquisiion, Catholicism and aristocracy –
gathered the masses of natives – their future servants – on a large
square in the centre, and let them feel the might of their new masters
on their own bodies." The fast growing South American cities of the
present, "which defy state control and all attempts at urban
rationality," the main role model is Miami – now the de facto capital
city of Latin America."
Elet es Irodalom, 08.07.2005 (Hungary)
Hungarian
writer György Konrad makes a plea for new ideas on European (and the
EU): "The substance of Europe is curiosity (perhaps the most venal sin
and the most charming virtue), the hunger to learn and research, the
desire to understand, the hedonism of the brain. What's special about
Europe is the lively dialogue between tradition and innovation, the
removal of the books from the monasteries during the Gutenberg
revolution, the emergence of independent islands of intellectuals...
Through works of art, we are able to understand other peoples. Reading
novels is a well known method of practising empathy. If you want a
Union, then you should put yourselves in the shoes of other Europeans,
for example by reading their literature. Let us recognise our own
complexity, so that we can enjoy and amuse ourselves!"
Al Ahram Weekly, 07.07.2005 (Egypt)
That
hiphop has transformed itself from a local Afro-American subculture to
global youth culture and a economic powerhouse is now a commonplace.
What's new is Hesham Samy Abdel-Alim's approach. Politically he's more
outspoken than subtle, but nonetheless refreshing. In an lengthy
article he discusses the worldwide march of hiphop and the
post-traditional Islamic identity: "What we are witnessing is a massive
movement of Muslim artists who are networked around the world through
the power of hip hop culture." Calling the resulting community as a
"transglobal hiphop umma", he describes its representatives – from the
New York underground icon Mos Def to Palestinian rappers – as the
"avant-garde of modern Islam". He finishes by asking: "Will this new
knowledge transform our view about the impact of popular culture,
particularly hip hop culture, in constructing an Islam appropriate to
the needs of contemporary society?"
Die Weltwoche, 07.07.2005 (Switzerland)
Writing
under a pseudonym, Katharina Wille-Gut describes in good-humoured
detail the arduous life of the noble housewives in Zurich's "Gold
Coast". "Concerning partnership, we still-youngish Gold Coast Women are
pretty passionate. The result is fewer separations and divorces than in
Oberglatt or Emmenbrücke. At worst, when marital crises get completely
out of hand, we have a look at the job market, and flirt with financial
independence. With crushing results. For a single Thierry-Mugler suit –
I worked this out years ago – I would have to work for two entire
weeks. My marriage isn't that bad, I said to myself over a glass of
champagne at the Savoy, quit the job and devoted myself from then on to
successfully performing my wifely tasks" (here the book).
The New York Times Magazine, 10.07.2005 (USA)
James
Bennet writes a long portrait on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad,
wondering whether he really stands behind a policy of openness and
democracy, or if he's just a traditional Arab dictator whose Western
mask is slowly crumbling. "Although he is viewed in Washington as
possibly a mere figurehead, he says he is just at the point of
consolidating control by removing the so-called old guard of his
father's government and installing change-minded technocrats. While his
Syrian critics see him as trapped in the system created by his father,
or complicit in it, or simply uncertain what to do, Assad insists he
has a plan but is implementing it at a rate that Syria can manage,
given its turbulent past and social divides. In any event, he is acting
like a man with plenty of time."
RSS
In Die Welt, Victor Erofeyev collects his thought on Solzhenitsyn's life and work. The New Republic laments the Europeanisation of American cities. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, theatre directors Monika Strzepka and Pawel Demirski are pining for the equality that neoliberalism has abolished. Prospect magazine covers the re-emergence of character in Britain. Przekroj magazine covers both Sarkozy and heavy metal, albeit in separate articles. And Roberto Saviano tells us in L'Espresso why Italy's boxers will be packing a punch with Southern gusto.
The London Review of Books finds one point on which to agree with General Franco. Rue89 asks: How anti-Semitic is the cartoonist Sine? The Wall Street Journal reports on a Dutch cartoonist who landed in jail for making anti-Muslim jokes. In the New York Times Thomas Schweich looks at myopia, corruption and poppies in Afghanistan. Al-Ahram watched the Egyptian remake of 'Cabaret'. In Espresso, Umberto Eco uses taxi drivers to justify the rise in global security. And political scientist Seyla Benhabib tells ResetDoc why we need blogs.
In the Hungarian Quarterly, Magda Szabo remembers how her first manuscript was smuggled out of Hungary and into the hands of a German publisher's reader by the name of Hermann Hesse. Portfolio portrays the new publisher of the Washington Post, Katherine Weymouth. The Financial Times portrays the editor of the New Yorker, David Remmick. In Espresso, Robert Saviano meet actors who would never join the Mafia. The Economist is amazed to see that the music industry is starting to wise up at last. And in the New Yorker, Chinese students ask why they need democracy.
"Hands off Lech Walesa!" demands Adam Michnik in the Gazeta Wyborcza. Polityka also defends the Solidarnosc leader against the hatred of the Kaczynski brothers. La vie des idees introduces a resistance programme against the dominance of English. In The Nation, Naomi Klein explains the neat rationale for pillaging Iraqi oil. Suketu Mehta encourages slum tourism in Espressso. Martina Navratilova lobs and smashes her way into the art world in the Spectator. And Elet es Irodalom can't get over the Dutch in Hungary.
In American Scholar, Yale professor William Deresiewicz sees the downside of his elite education while standing opposite his plumber. Wired welcomes in the Petabyte Age. Tygodnik Powszechny visits the "Sacroexpo" to look at camouflaged chalices. In the New York Review of Books, Zadie Smith analyses the supra-Kafka. In L'Espresso, Umberto Eco explains the vocative to Italian ministerial officials. Merkur recommends that art critics take a leaf out of Theocritus' Fifteenth Idyll. And the New York Times goes out in search of children in Europe.
The New Republic portrays the last hero of Tiananmen, the surgeon Jiang Yanyong. In Tygodnik Powszechny, historian Jochen Staadt explains why Polish lustration is anything, but not a witch hunt. Polityka says Poles just wanna have fun. The Spectator fears that the Catholic Church is on the brink of civil war. Espresso portrays Italy's two most famous fugitives. The TLS reads Prokofiev's diaries. And the best English-language books of the moment, Outlook India claims, all come from Pakistan.
In Lettre International, philosopher Michail Ryklin explains how power functions. In Le Point, historian Patrice Gueniffey explains the revolutionary passion of the French. In the London Review, psychogeographer Iain Sinclair watches on as Olympic preparations destroy London's East End. In Polityka Adam Krzeminski is irritated by the Polish neo-National Democrats and the German Left. Atlantic hears the music in Rupert Murdoch's plans for the Wall Street Journal. The New Statesman remembers Austrian football hero Matthias Sindelar. Elet es Irodalom asks why we need literature?
The Economist watches the evolution of the book market. Theatre director Pawel Demirski tells Tygodnik Powszechny that Lech Walesa is a dead symbol for Polish youth. The TLS tells us why we're all geeks now. Espresso looks into the female face of India's future labour market. The New York Review of Books has the latest on the love affair between dopamine and the human brain. In Nouvel Obs anti-globalisation network Attac explains the effects of globalisation. In ResetDoc Zygmunt Bauman tells us what to do about it. And the New York Times takes us down to PigCity.
The London Review wishes Elfriede Jelinek's novel "Gier" had never been translated. Polityka provides a history of Polish anti-Semitism - in German too. In Clarin, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is confident that our cities will soon become pleasant places to live. In Gazeta Wyborcza, political scientist Ivan Krastev assuages ex-Yugoslavian fears that the end of the EU is nigh. In the Guardian, Ian McEwan pours cold water on apocalyptic belief. Al Ahram looks back at the history of the Jews in Egypt. And the New York Times admires Pakistan's strongest democratic weapon: men in black.
The New Humanist observes the rise of Muslim Creationism. Nepszabadsag wonders how democracy should deal with covert racism. The New Yorker introduces Dr. Fadl, a reformed terrorist and one of al-Qaeda's fiercest critics. In the New York Review of Books, the head of the Harvard library explains why the news is only a story. Caffe Europa describes the xenophobia of Italian politicians. Die Weltwoche warily watches the vicious hoodies in the new Justice video.
In the London Review of Books, Kevin Kopelson spills the beans about his plagiarism-littered path to professorship. Elet es Irodalom is green with envy over the independence of the Polish press. The Christians had it better under Nasser and Saddam Hussein, claims Coptic priest Giuseppe Scattolin in Resetdoc. In Le point, Bernard-Henri Levy spits out a colourful array of adjectives to describe the regime in Burma. And in L'Espresso, Umberto Eco analyses how the Mafia is murdering with the times.
In Eurozine the 69-year-old Catalan philosopher Xavier Rubert de Ventos admits to his growing radicality. In Nepszabadsag the 75-year-old writer György Konrad declares: remembering is rebellion. In Artforum the 84-year-old philosopher Artur C. Danto thinks about art and revolution. In The New Republic Anne Applebaum takes a hammer to Nicholson Baker's pacifist polemic "Human Smoke". In Folio Christian Demand sends out a distress signal for art criticism. And the Spectator portrays the Anglican Church's only openly gay Bishop.
In the TLS, tenor Ian Bostridge writes about music under totalitarianism. The New Yorker introduces the millionaire-nerd-led group "Intellectual Ventures". Caffe Europe describes Aldo Moro's attempt to reconcile Church and communism. Nepszabadsag and Elet es Irodalom analyse the frequently misundertood concept of "competition" in Hungary. The London Review of Books explains Thabo Mbeki's motivations for backing Mugabe. And in the Weltwoche, violinist Julia Fischer demonstrates how to put up a wall.
Literaturen searches in the giant haystack of literature on '68 for a book on equal rights. The TLS rediscovers the man who sexed the English language. In Outlook India, political scientist Kishore Mahbubani closes the lid on Western cultural dominance. The New York Review of Books looks at the dominance of the national conservatives in Putin's Russia. Le Monde des livres reports on a clash of historians over the role of Islam in the Middle Ages. The Economist fears for freedom of the press in Eastern Europe. And the New York Times portrays Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswan.