Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 11.11.2005

"Is the free flow of information on the Internet in danger? Are authoritarian states gaining more influence on the Internet?", asks Rainer Stadler before the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) kicks off next week in Tunis. Stadler sums up what's at stake: "Some commentators fear the worst, that the freedom of speech may be gagged. These worries are prompted by current attempts to reform the administration of the world wide web. At present the Internet is being managed by Icann, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a private US firm. And Icann is supervised by the US Department of Commerce. That means that the USA can make unilateral decisions about the Internet that have repercussions around the globe. Such a situation must seem strange to people outside the US. That's why attempts are being made to give major Internet players outside the USA more decision-making clout. The UN summit in Tunis will be addressing this question."


Frankfurter Rundschau, 11.11.2005

What remains of the Ukrainians' hopes a year after the Orange Revolution? Poet Tymofiy Havryliv provides two lists. In the left-hand column, the negative points, in the right the positive ones. The list on the left is longer. "Nonetheless, if you ask me if I'm disappointed, I'll say no, despite the most recent corruption scandals. The right-hand column shows promise: freedom of the media, at least from interference by the state apparatus; the re-privatisation of steel giant Kryvorizhstal (more here), the green light for investors and the widespread hope that the 'take the biggest slice of the pie' mentality is on its way out. And clear priorities have been set in foreign policy: membership in the EU and NATO. Wasn't it Joseph Roth who wrote: 'No, Europe does not stop here'? But the most important entry on the right-hand side is the feeling that things are possible now, the feeling of coming of age."

Elke Buhr has visited an exhibition of works by painter Eberhard Havekost at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. "It's the first big solo exhibition of Havekost's work in a museum, the results of a career that has taken off in the last few years. Havekost, who studied in Dresden, belongs to the group of painters attracting major international interest under the label (East) German painters. The coolness of his slick portraits and his cold landscapes are admirable, as is what might casually be referred to as the 'Eastiness' of his subjects: one might be a little horrified by the pale children in fitted kitchens or the rear view of a camouflage jacket taken from the trendy repertory of the suburban white trash - but at the same time, one is comforted by the distance that Havekost's painting creates from its subjects."


Die Welt, 11.11.2005

On the occasion of Chinese President Ju Hintao's visit to Berlin (news item here), the feuilletons are full of China. German sociologist Wolf Lepenies offers a portrait of Chinese sociologist Wang Hui, who says that the space for critique in China has become so large that it's no longer necessary to becomes a dissident: "Wang Hui would like not to be considered part of China's 'new left'. But it's his 'leftist critique' of the conditions in China that hits the mark. Where the Chinese state wants to hold on to its power, it's an uncompromising Leviathan. Where it should be a provider, it plays the slacker and refers to the powers of the markets which supposedly can no longer be steered by the state.... The extensive 'privatisation' of the Chinese economy is not the result of liberal, but rather authoritarian policies. As a provocation, Wang Hui turns the idea of socialism against the politics of a communist party that has lost its social conscience." (article by Wang Hui here, his book "China's New Order" here)


Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11.11.2005

Going against her usual strategy of "always being on the cutting edge and always working with the hottest producers", Madonna's newest album "Confessions on a Dancefloor", is produced by Stuart Price in the old style tradition: "Sure, it's a bit too sugary-sweet, too controlled, too pink, too spandex, too porn-hairstyle," writes Tobias Kniebe (who admits his "romantic awakening" coincided with Madonna's rise to fame). But he doesn't find the album Madonna's worst effort to date: "If such brilliant, convincing and audacious music is once more possible, music that zeroes in on the most powerful and most basic dance-floor instincts, I fail to see why I should listen to the despondent nit-picking of dissatisfied critics."