All the members of the European Union espouse the common value of fair and efficient cooperation, which in turn involves smooth communication on as equal a footing as possible in business, politics, the arts and the EU institutions. The large linguistic communities, whose languages are often learned as foreign languages, also have particular interests....
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The New Republic | The Nation | The New Yorker | L'Espresso | Gazeta Wyborcza | The New York Review of Books | Nepszabadsag | Al Ahram Weekly
| The Times Literary Supplement | Die Weltwoche
The New Republic, 27.02.2006 (USA)
In an excellent article, economist and Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen
considers what form multiculturalism could take in the future. In many
European countries, the view that people are defined by their
origins, religion and culture is gaining ground. This inherent – as
opposed to freely chosen – identity is considered more relevant than
political orientation, language, or class.
For Sen, this is not
multiculturalism. "The vocal defense of multiculturalism that
we frequently hear these days is very often nothing more than a plea
for plural monoculturalism. If a young girl in a conservative
immigrant family wants to go out on a date with an English boy, that
would certainly be a multicultural initiative. In contrast, the
attempt by her guardians to stop her from doing this (a common enough
occurrence) is hardly a multicultural move, since it seeks to keep
the cultures separate. And yet it is the parents' prohibition, which
contributes to plural monoculturalism, that seems to garner the
loudest and most vocal defense from alleged multiculturalists, on the
ground of the importance of honoring traditional cultures - as if the
cultural freedom of the young woman were of no relevance whatever,
and as if the distinct cultures must somehow remain in secluded
boxes. "
The Nation, 06.03.2006 (U.S.A)
The cartoonists Art
Spiegelman and Joe Sacco give an interview on the cartoon conflict.
Sacco's first reaction was, "'What a bunch of idiots those Danes
were for printing those things.'" Spiegelman exercises a little more
restraint: "If there's a right to make cartoons, there has to be a
right to insult, and if there's no right to make cartoons, well, I'm
in big trouble. And I think America might be too."
The New Yorker, 27.02.2006 (USA)
Like the Christian ban, the Islamic ban on images of the Prophet was always the subject of infringement down the ages, writes Jane Kramer
in a commentary on the cartoon dispute. Kramer believes the
tumultuous protests in the Arab world have less to do with the
caricatures than with the 25 million Muslims living in Western Europe.
At the heart of the "power struggle in the Gulf Region" is not oil, but
"control over the Islamic diaspora, or what you could call
international Islam. It was clear to everyone involved that if the
diaspora in Europe produced a modern, critical, democratic Islam, the
Islamist regimes of the Middle East would begin to fall."
L'Espresso, 23.02.2006 (Italy)
Director Luc Besson
explains to Alessandra Mammi why his new film "Angel-A",
about a little man and a blond angel nearly two meters tall, is set
in Paris. "I needed an fabulous city that Andrew fails to see
in his desperation. If I had chosen a banal city, there would have
been no contrast. I wanted to show how this person gradually
recognizes the wonders surrounding him and thus comes to love
himself. That's why I chose Paris, but I could have shot just as well
in Rome, Venice or Siena." Apparently not in Berlin.
Gazeta Wyborcza, 18.02.2006
(Poland)
In an article published on
February 12, the Stockholm paper Dagens Nyheter wrote that "in
the Second World War, ninety percent of Dutch Jews were taken to
German and Polish death camps." Shortly thereafter, Katarzyna
Tubylewicz reports from Stockholm, Relacje, the magazine of Poles
abroad, printed an open letter objecting to the use of the term
"Polish death camp." The letter claims "This is an
insult to the Polish people. It looks as though the Swedish media
wants to respect Muslims but doesn't mind insulting Poles." The
editor in chief of Relacje, Krzysztof Mazowski, called for a boycott
of the Swedish paper. Tubylewicz reports that the spokesman of Dagens
Nyheter has in the meantime admitted that "Polish death camp"
was "incorrect and sloppy wording" that would be amended.
The author of the article, Bengt Albons, has now apologized.
The New York Review of Books,
09.03.2006 (U.S.A.)
"How swiftly victory
can spoil the best-laid plans," write Hussein Agha and Robert
Malley in an analysis of Hamas' election victory in Palestine.
"Hamas' leaders had hoped to hide behind Fatah and the PA; they
are now on the front lines. The burden that was supposed to be on
others is now squarely on them. In the days just after the election,
Hamas suddenly sounded more modest, restrained, and dependent on
third parties.... Paradoxically, Hamas' electoral sweep has curbed
its freedom of action far more than defeat would have."
Nepszabadsag, 15.02.2006 (Hungary)
This year the the Berlin International Film Festival seems to have been used primarily as a platform for German cinema, writes
Geza Csakvari somewhat sourly: "The festival takes place before the
ultra-modern backdrop that has gone up where until recently the
no-man's-land separated the East Bloc from the West. Presumably this year's edition
is supposed to demonstrate the triumph of German film. The
strict selection committee chose four German films for the competition,
while East European filmmakers barely featured in the programme,
despite the fact that they have played an increasingly important role
at the Berlinale over the past few decades... The only east European
film in the competition is 'Grbavica', the debut of Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic - and, needless to say, a German co-production." (Still, the film did end up winning the Golden Bear.)
Al Ahram Weekly, 16.02.2006 (Egypt)
Writing from Berlinale, Samir Farid reviews the Danish film "1:1" by Annette K. Olesen about a Muslim immigrant in Denmark: "With this film and the popular demonstrations against the caricatures, the Danes extend their hands to Arabs and Muslims.
Why should we turn them away simply because one imbecile drew a
caricature and another published it?" Another report by Ayman El-Amir picks up on the subject, demanding that people should try to understand the differences between the Arab-Muslim world and the West, "instead of masking them in an empty 'dialogue of civilisations'."
The Times Literary Supplement, 17.02.2006 (UK)
Christopher Hitchens calls "The Dragons of Expectation", the latest book by historian Robert Conquest, an absolute must for anyone who appreciates "irony and scruple and detachment".
The book deals with the failures, blindness and ideological gullibility
of intellectuals down the ages. But for all its readability, Hitchens
is still somewhat startled: "Is Conquest really recommending that
visions of the future be abandoned? The human desire to imagine a
better world may be the root of much idiocy and crime, but it does seem to be innate and it might, like religion, be ineradicable."
Die Weltwoche, 17.02.2006 (Switzerland)
Peter Wensierski's book "Schläge im Namen des Herrn" (blows in the name of the Lord) has not yet been reviewed in Germany. Reinhard Mohr is shocked
at the book, which investigates violence in Church orphanages in the
postwar period. "Most of the sisters were not at all qualified in
childcare, and some of their methods were directly taken over from Nazi practices. More than that: in the 'Kalmenhof'
orphanage in Idstein, for example, at least one thousand children were
murdered between 1941 and 1945 in the context of the institution's forced sterilisation
and euthanasia programmes. Many of the 'educators' and staff from this
time remained employed until the 1960s. And it was only in the 80s that
the mass grave containing children's skeletons was uncovered."
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.