Cornelia Funke tells stories of fairies and mud monsters, of adventurous girls, a gang of children in Venice ? and her stories somewhere between fantasy and adventure are Germany?s most successful literary export at the moment....
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The Spectator | Outlook India | Szombat | Il Foglio | The Economist | Die Weltwoche | Le Monde diplomatique
The Spectator, 08.07.2006 (UK)
The G8 summit takes place in St. Petersburg this weekend. The historian and columnist Anne Applebaum is astounded that the West is preparing the stage for Vladimir Putin's propaganda offensive: "By attending the summit, Western leaders will show their approval of the nationalisation of private property, destruction of the rule of law, violation of human rights and liquidation of democracy. ... The Kremlin — along with Venezuelans, Iranians, Arab leaders and other oil tyrannies — will sit back, laugh and agree that the leaders of the so-called West merely pay lip service to the ideals of freedom and democracy; they don't really believe in them. If you have enough oil, they'll let you into their fancy clubs anyway. As Putin's defence minister recently put it, 'In the contemporary world, only power is respected.' As Putin's adviser recently put it, 'They [the West] talk about democracy but they're thinking about our natural resources.'" Applebaum finds it similarly staggering that the Russian oil company Rosneft, which absorbed the assets of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Yukos company when it was forced into bankruptcy, is to be floated on the London Stock market on July 14.
Outlook India, 17.07.2006 (India)
S. Anand remembers the first mutiny of Hindu and Muslim Indian soldiers against the British at Fort Vellore 1806. "Though discontent had been brewing among the Indian soldiers drawn from various parts of the Deccan over poor treatment, loss of erstwhile status, and poor pay, the immediate provocation for the unbridled outburst of aggression was apparently the introduction of a controversial new turban, viewed by Indians as a firangi topi (hat), and the implementation of new regulations over the sporting of caste marks on foreheads, earrings and facial hair." The mutiny ended with hundreds of dead on both sides.
Szombat, 01.07.2006 (Hungary)
"judapest" is the name of Budapest's first Jewish weblog which reports on alternative civil society initiatives and Jewish pop culture. In an interview with Csaki Marton judapest founder Bruno Bitter describes the scene's cultural diversity: "The blogger team consists of an anarcho-capitalist business punk, a member of the Lubavitchians who is also an expert on Japanese film, an author and ex-doctor, an accountant, a practising hedonist and a bike currier/psychologist. This is a heterogeneous bunch – also in religious terms: all the different views are represented, from the orthodox to the anti-clerical liberals. An orthodox friend of mine read my blogs and said I was a kind of 'art for art's sake' Jew. It sounds funny and it's true. Like most young people, I can't see the point of religious labels. Our identity is far too fragmented for us to avow to just one religion."
Il Foglio, 08.07.2006 (Italy)
Claudio Cerasa sticks his neck out for Luciano Moggi. The sport director of Juventus Turin is the central figure in the match-fixing scandal which is rocking Italian football. It's all water off a duck's back to Cerasa. "Which games were fixed? There are none. No games were manipulated so the whole system must be being manipulated. The only real evidence is the bugged telephone calls. There are no irregularities to be found. So everything must be irregular." And the finale was (sporting) proof of Moggi's system: Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Buffon, Viera, Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Thuram , Del Piero -" It is no coincidence that Italy will be represented by eight very Moggian players at the finale in Berlin."
Lanfranco Pace praise of Serge July, the founder and chief editor of the French newspaper Liberation who has been forced to quit his post. "He was the only one who could be at the same time father and the boss, psychoanalyst and strategist, manager and chief editor, reporter and opinion maker."
The Economist, 07.07.2006 (UK)
With the approach of George Bush's Germany visit to Germany, the magazine reflects on the marked improvement in German-American relations. But things are still a long way from a close alliance, the magazine warns. "Ms Merkel is herself more pragmatic than many Americans realise. She has adjusted Germany's bilateral relations, but the substance of foreign policy has changed little. And, as in domestic politics, there is a risk of overestimating what she can do. She may be Europe's most powerful leader now, but could she deliver her country (or the rest of the continent) if it came to tough action against Iran? Domestically, her position may also weaken if her reforms disappoint or upset voters—as this week's health-care plans may do. Here, indeed, lies the big danger to American-German relations: that America may expect too much help from Germany, whether on Iran, the Balkans or Russia. Ms Merkel has repaired ties with Washington at the same time as showing that she is no poodle, criticising Guantanamo and pushing the Americans to talk directly to Iran. But even this political acrobat could lose her balance if she is hugged too hard."
Die Weltwoche, 07.07.2006 (Switzerland)
Nomen est omen: Larry Brilliant "played a decisive role in eradicating the pox in India. A friend of the rock band The Grateful Dead, Brilliant lived for a while in an Ashram in the Himalyas. He was part of the 'The Well,' the first and undoubtedly the most formative 'virtual community' on the Internet. And he founded or a number of larger and smaller technology firms," reports Bruno Guissani. Now the 61-year-old Californian is to become the director of Google Foundation. The new foundation has big plans – of course with the help of the Internet. "Brilliant is planning a system for a digital anti-pox strategy connecting search engines, satellite images, historical databases and all manner of communication. It will comb the Internet for information on new illnesses like Sars and new cases of avian flu, but also for new biological threats from terrorism or accidents. And it will report on natural catastrophes, chemical and industrial accidents, floods, poisoned water, famine and other catastrophes where a quick response is decisive.
Le Monde diplomatique, 07.07.2006 (France / Germany)
Sinologist Isabelle Attane writes on the scandal that can't be decried often enough: the deficit of millions of women in Asian countries resulting from the systematic abortion of female foetuses and the mistreatment of girls. In China today, the number of boys born is 12 percent over the norm, and six percent in India, Attane notes. "The mortality rate among boys five years old and younger is normally higher than among girls. In India, by contrast, the mortality rate of girls is seven percent higher than that of boys. In Pakistan it is five percent higher, and in Bangladesh three percent. In China, Taiwan and South Korea, not having a male heir is tantamount to the end of the family line and the veneration of ancestors. In Hinduism, boyless parents see themselves condemned to eternal wandering, as the parents' burial ritual is traditionally taken care of by the son."
RSS
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.
In the Weltwoche, Tom Ford makes the case for full, natural pubic hair. Vanity Fair blames Bill Keller for the diminishing Timesness of the New York Times. In Espresso, Umberto Eco mourns the diminishing importance of the newpapers all together. The Times waves its fork about over the English breakfast. In L'Express, über ad-man Maurice Levy wants to give the industry a complete rehaul. The LRB experiences the joy of French painting, the TLS the joy of German Romanticism, the Economist the joy of Japanese "infantile capitalism and Al Ahram, the joy of Russian photography. The New Yorker conquers English with Li Yang.
Elet es Irodolam knows that 'minor literature' doesn't have to be political to be political. World Affairs defends Hirsi Ali, Bruckner and Berman against Buruma, Garton Ash und Ramadan. Rue 89 works through a black book of censorship. In the TLS professor of geriatric medicine, Raymond Tallis, argues that too much brain is the death of literary criticism. Hector Abad speaks out against literary protectionism in Semana. Outlook India is thoroughly put out: revolution is simply not cricket. And Vanity Fair plunges into icy water with the Russians. 
The New Left Review introduces China's most influential intellectual magazine, Dushu. Outlook India would be embarrassed to be embarrassed by the Dalai Lama. "Generation 1,000 Euro" has made into Italian cinemas, Caffe Europa reports. In Nepszabadsag, philosopher Gaspar Miklos Tama declares an end to the days of anti-Semitic journalism. Folio is bowled over by the musical compositions of electronic engineer William Sethares. The New York Times is transported back to the founding of Liberia. And Vanity Fair picks apart Monsanto.
In the Blätter Jürgen Habermas joins the debate launched by signandsight.com and Perlentaucher about Islam in Europe. Merkur reveals how Adorno pinned his hopes on the Nazis and had them dashed. In La vie des idees philospher Philippe Lacour celebrates the true DJ of digital knowledge. In Literaturen Micha Brumlik reviews the new Carl Schmitt biography by Christian Lindner. Nepszabadsag takes the pulse of the unconscious body of Hungary. In Edge.org evolutionary biologist Iain Couzin explains the importance of one mormon cricket wanting to bite another in the rear. And New Republic puts its favourite Democrat on the cover.
Le debat explains why the press is on its way out. The New York Times is starting to look like the next victim of a hostile takeover by Murdoch, fears Howell Raines in Portfolio. The New Yorker sees the end in sight for the entire American newspaper industry. ResetDoc examines the role of immigrants in the Italian election campaign. In Europa, Leszek Kolakowski philosophises on success. Aharon Applefeld tells Rue89 what he will be writing about when he turns 268. And Die Weltwoche asks whether anyone in German literature is still taking risks.
Vanity Fair exposes a scandalously covert, Bush-approved operation in the Middle East. In the NYRB, Nicholson Baker extols the virtues of the Wiki vandal. Edwy Plenel announces the launch of a new independent online paper Mediapart. L'Espresso sniffs out the diabolicalness of cheese. Expert Sibir sounds out the Siberian art market. And the Economist inspects the tumorous bureaucracy in the belly of the tiger.
The London Review of Books is concerned about second-hand journalism in Britain. Prospect fills us in on the Chinese intellectual scene. Al Ahram explains why Egyptians prefer their flags made in China. Caffe Europa asks: where was Tariq Ramadan when Milan Kundera's book was banned at the Cairo Book Fair. And Gazeta Wyborcza examines the self-confidence of the Polish worker.
A healthy selection this week! Nigerian women should be punished, because they've only got oil on the brain, The Atlantic discovers. Nepszabadsag is amazed: Jan T. Gross has avoided offending the Turkishness of the Poles by the skin of his teeth. Columbian Hector Abad Faciolince sees the human face of Swiss conservatism. The precariat is today's working class, Telerama announces. Al Ahram introduces the first beauty salon for veiled women. And Denis Johnson discovers Paul Wolfowitz's wet dream in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The New York Review of Books sees the future of America in a Harlem hairdressers. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Serbian historian Slavenko Terzic declares Kosovo's independence illegal. The London Review of Books considers the links between Modernism and liberalism, or the lack thereof. In the Novel Obs, Edgar Morin explains how he became a radical anti-Stalinist. Zanan is dead, long live Zanan! cries Al Ahram. The New York Times portrays the Turkish-Kurdish politician Abdullah Demirbas who wanted to ease the pressure on the Kurds and Armenians to assimilate in Turkey.
Why do Germans like Nicolas Gomez Davila, asks Semana. Le Monde diplomatique goes on a cruise with some Park Avenue ladies. The Spectator buries Venice. Nepszabadsag looks for real Hungarian liberal democrats. In Edge.org, Kevin Kelly looks to the future of the culture industry in the internet. And Portfolio has seen the nemesis of the culture industry in the internet.
The Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik warns about Google the monster snoop. Merkur has a transcendental experience with Gerhard Richter and Swarovski. Prospect worries about traditional book reviewing. In Nepszabadsag, historian Dusan Kovac looks into the likelihood of Hungarian-Slovakian reconciliation. And the New Statesman searches for the mild Anglican God.