tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381364682024-03-19T09:50:10.939+01:00europikaNotes about the wild wild EastXavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-65274898865534846512011-10-10T11:37:00.001+01:002011-10-10T11:37:54.036+01:00Again (first time)<img src="http://cdn1.beeffco.com/files/poll-images/normal/donald-tusk_330.jpg" alt="donald-tusk_330.jpg" title="donald-tusk_330.jpg"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br> </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Donald Tusk has become the first Polish prime minister in history to be democratically re-elected for a consecutive term, <a href="http://www.tvn24.pl/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(124, 140, 197); ">exit polls</a> show. </span>Mr Tusk's centrist Civic Platform took 39.6% of the vote, followed by the national conservative Law and Justice on 30.1%, the liberal Palikot Movement on 10.1%, the agrarian PSL (Civic Platform's junior coalition partner) on 8.2%, and the socialist SLD on 7.7%, the survey by TNS OBOP said. Turnout was a paltry 47.7%. The surprisingly bad result for Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice came after the former prime minister made anti-German remarks in a newly published book. The vote for continuity as a sign of political maturity in Poland: is the first time it happens.<div> <br></div><div>Tusk has said ""In these coming four years we will have to work twice as hard, we will have to act twice as fast".</div><div><br></div><div>More in <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/10/polands-election-tusk-triumphs">The Economist</a> and in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/world/europe/poland-vote-leaning-toward-centrist-party.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=tusk&st=cse">NYT.</a><div> <br></div><br></div> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-29205373822340820742011-07-10T22:22:00.001+01:002011-07-10T22:22:52.306+01:00Poland rocksThe road to recovery has divergences in Central Europe, the Baltic states and southeastern Europe. Estonia, Poland and Slovakia are forging ahead, with estimated growth rates of nearly 4 percent this year. The Polish economy has been sustained by resilient domestic demand and credit markets, <b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/business/global/23iht-rbus-overview.html?ref=poland">writes the NYT.</a> </b>Latvia and Lithuania are still struggling after the excessive credit boom before the global financial crisis, when getting mortgages was easy, followed by fiscal retrenchment, when banks tightened credit rules. The secret? <div> <br></div><div>solid consumption, </div><div><br></div><div>deep integration with E.U. markets </div><br>the good absorption of E.U. funds. <br><br>Polish banks in particular hewed to prudent credit policies before the global financial crisis<br> <br>Poland was one of a few formerly communist countries in which peasants could own their land and small, independent trades were allowed.<div><br></div><div><br><br> </div> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-52230271973627976112011-04-04T12:42:00.002+01:002011-04-04T12:44:12.889+01:00New light on Lech Walesa<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyggXCR-1z_YA_bchvkpXeL7lif1wZUl-Nu5l5yM_CfCZzBcHaORcW5GfIkUGKy7Mzl-Tr51wRiEwqrNCyoJK8Q6P5PX4ihBdWfgVimz_QoarfALutbndbz_FTRWeorLrraLTJ5g/s1600/imgLech%252520Walesa4%255B1%255D-741334.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591692402016335026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyggXCR-1z_YA_bchvkpXeL7lif1wZUl-Nu5l5yM_CfCZzBcHaORcW5GfIkUGKy7Mzl-Tr51wRiEwqrNCyoJK8Q6P5PX4ihBdWfgVimz_QoarfALutbndbz_FTRWeorLrraLTJ5g/s320/imgLech%252520Walesa4%255B1%255D-741334.jpg" /></a></div>Andrzej Wajda, a veteran Oscar-winning film director and, at 85, presents a biopic recounting the Solidarity struggle. As The Guardian writes, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/poland" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Poland">Poland</a> has had a complicated relationship with Lech Walesa. The love-hate of past years, however, is danger of fading into indifference and neglect. Poles are often surprised when foreigners ask after him, as if he is a half-forgotten uncle. Two years ago, Wajda took on another giant historical subject, the Katyn massacre of the Polish officer corps in 1940 by the Soviet NKVD. Wajda says: "This is not going to be a critical film about Walesa. I see no point. It's not the moment." <br />
<br />
I just found that the author of the article, <a class="contributor" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/julianborger">Julian Borger,</a> has some good articles about Poland has some <a class="contributor" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/julianborger">here</a><br />
<br />
Read de article <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/04/andrzej-wajda-film-on-lech-walesa"><b>here</b></a>. <br />
<br />
And more about Lech Walesa <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/04/lech-walesa-sees-errors-all-around-poland"><b>here. </b></a>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-32916757504676292842011-03-10T21:24:00.001+01:002011-03-10T21:24:35.263+01:00Kurt Westergaard: “A fanatic has lost the very valuable feeling: the doubt”<b></b><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4"><b><img title="tumblr_lhuu6al2jh1qbf9owo1_500.jpg" alt="tumblr_lhuu6al2jh1qbf9owo1_500.jpg" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhuu6al2jh1qbf9owo1_500.jpg" width="368" height="491"><br> <br></b></font><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4">Kurt Westergaard (1935) is probably the most famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_people" title="Danish people" class="mw-redirect">Danish</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoonist">cartoonist</a> since he created the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy">controversial cartoon</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim">Muslim</a> Prophet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad">Muhammad</a> wearing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb">bomb</a> in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turban">turban</a>. This cartoon was one of the 12 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy">Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons</a> which met with strong and sometimes violent reactions from Muslims worldwide. Since the drawing of the cartoon, Westergaard has received several death threats and murder attempts. I spoke to him for the first time in 2009, at his place in a small town in Denmark. </font><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4">In 2010, a 28-year-old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somali</a> Muslim intruder armed with an axe and knife entered Westergaard's house and was later shot, wounded and arrested by police. </font><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4">Since then, he is under constant police protection. <a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/01/03/comunicacion/1262485995.html"><b>But he as always choosen freedom to safety</b></a>. </font><b><br></b><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4"><b><br> </b></font><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;" size="4"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.179542108616907">Are we in the peak of war between civilizations?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For the time being we experience a clash or friction between two different cultures.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Should we speak with those who can't respect other´s life or it is better to fight them?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For a democrat a dialogue is the most natural way to settle a disagreement. But we must stand firm on our democratic principles.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In Spain many people blamed the war of Irak and Afganistan for the bombings of the trains in Madrid, 7 years ago. Can a democratic government be responsible of such attacks?</span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A democratic government should first of all defend its country. But sometimes it may be necessary to attack. But I think the Afghan war is a mistake. Seen with many Afghan eyes we are acting as cultural imperialists who want to impose on them our values. Values which most Afghans do not like and do not understand. And no foreign powers have been able to conquer Afghanistan til now.Let us instead try, to talk or negotiate with these people, offer them humanitarian help on areas they can accept. The time where the Western powers can be the policeman of the world with the big stick is over. There are other ways to support a growing democratic consciousness in Muslim world as we see it these days in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You had a bitter experience with Muslim radicals. What have you learn from that?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have experienced Islam fanatism very close. A fanatic has lost the very valuable feeling: the doubt. No dialogue is possible, we have got to crush them.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is there any danger of losing part of our liberty in order to be more safe?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Safety has a very high priority these days. But let us not be overwhelmed by the fear of terror. That would mean more and more surveillance and there by reduce our liberty</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many terrorist are grown in poor/Muslim countries. But some, including those who tried to kill you and those who killed <a href="goog_39224073">191 people</a><a href="http://zernikalo.blogspot.com/2009/03/191.html"> in Madrid in 2004</a>, are grown in rich/western cities. How can we avoid this 'new breed of killers'?</span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To avoid or eliminate this new breed of terrorists we in Denmark use a lot of money to integrate and educate emigrants children in our school system, so that they leave the school on the same level of knowledge as the ethnic Danish Children, as for Danish reading and writing, mathematics etc. And thereby prepared to all kinds of education. Education is a good mean to integration.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How much time it´s needed for a real change in the Islamic world: towards peace, dialogue, tolerance and respect? Are you optimistic about the revolts in the Muslim world or do you think the situation of freedom and state-supported-terrorism can become worst?</span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anyway till now I think, that the democratic revolution in the Muslim countries is the start of a development which if it succeds will mean very much for both the Muslim world and the Western world.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What terrorism want: destroy our values or being left alone?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Islamic terrorism wants in its insanity to destabilise our world and scare us .</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You retired as a cartoonist. Why you did so: tired, scared or want to focus in some other things. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I retired at he age of 75. So I think there will be time to have focus on other creative works. <br></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><font style="font-family: times new roman,serif;">You said bye with a drawing of 'Don Quixote'.</font><br> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For me Don Quixote is the romantic idealist with visions, sometimes impossible, to get fulfilled, but necessary. Sancho Panza is always the realist. There should be a balance between these two.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the front page of your memories it will be the most controversial <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Jyllands-Posten-pg3-article-in-Sept-30-2005-edition-of-KulturWeekend-entitled-Muhammeds-ansigt.png">cartoon</a> of Allah. Why did you choose it?</span><br> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Islam terror has a part of a religion or interpretations of parts of religion as its spiritual ammunition therefore.<br> <br><br><a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/01/03/comunicacion/1262485995.html"><b>Interview for EL MUNDO in 2010 here (spanish)</b></a></span></font><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-50406488777877838412011-01-14T01:21:00.002+01:002011-01-14T01:32:52.124+01:00Baltic Way 1989 / Baltijos Kelias 1989 / Baltijas ceļš 1989 / Balti kett...<iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BQUMmqAbs6s?fs=1" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
Paceful people from the baltics: in 1989 they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a> between the Soviet Union and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> with the <b>Baltic Way</b> or <b>Baltic Chain.</b> It was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on August 23, 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chain" title="Human chain">human chain</a> spanning over 600 kilometres (370 mi) across the three <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic states</a> – <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_SSR" title="Estonian SSR">Estonian SSR</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_SSR" title="Latvian SSR">Latvian SSR</a>, and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_SSR" title="Lithuanian SSR">Lithuanian SSR</a>, republics of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>.<br />
<br />
The protest was designed to draw global attention by demonstrating a popular desire for independence for each of the entities.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Baltic_Way_1989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Baltic_Way_1989.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I learnt that you can break up with history without killing others.<br />
<br />
But 20 years ago happened this.<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/POHqwKPs7RU?fs=1&hl=es_ES"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/POHqwKPs7RU?fs=1&hl=es_ES" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-89814922422330427082011-01-07T15:59:00.000+01:002011-01-07T15:59:29.308+01:00Good Israel and the evil world<object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M9Sdkps0Quo&hl=es_ES&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M9Sdkps0Quo&hl=es_ES&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some humor about Israel and how they deal with arabs. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"><a class="external" href="http://www.mako.co.il/mako-vod-keshet/eretz_nehederet-s8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Eretz Nehederet</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"> (It’s a Wonderful Country), is Israel’s most popular and most iconoclastic satire show. In a skit from a recent episode, it imagines a Tel Aviv kindergarten class with a curriculum managed by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"><a class="external" href="http://imti.org.il/en/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #1f638a; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Im Tirtzu</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;">, the ultra-nationalist group that last year led a scurrilous campaign against Israeli NGOs like the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"><a class="external" href="http://www.nif.org/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #1f638a; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">New Israel Fund</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;">and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"><a class="external" href="http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #1f638a; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> Breaking the Silence</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;">. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; line-height: 18px;">Via <a href="http://www.guerraeterna.com/">Guerra Eterna.</a></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: Arial, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-77545132856360703022010-10-31T00:36:00.001+01:002010-10-31T00:36:33.267+01:00Capitalism&Socialism<span style="font-family:Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;font-size:15px;color:rgb(68, 68, 68);line-height:19px">"Under capitalism man exploits man; under socialism the reverse is true". -<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/AncientProverbs/status/29216401301" target="_blank">Polish Proverb</a></span> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-31650076445318369672010-08-05T00:47:00.001+01:002010-08-05T00:47:28.960+01:00Happy birthday 'gaspadin' Obama!Congrats to Obama from <b><a href="http://twitter.com/KremlinRussia_E/status/20315417480">Russian president Medviedev</a></b>... on <a href="http://twitter...">twitter...</a> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-71617149597629245762010-08-03T11:10:00.002+01:002010-08-03T11:14:46.922+01:00Sometimes I see corruption, mister president<div class="summary" id="libraryPlayerDesc"><iframe frameborder="0" height="373" id="nyt_video_player" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/bcvideo/1.0/iframe/embed.html?videoId=1247468521083&playerType=embed" title="New York Times Video - Embed Player" width="480"></iframe><br />
<div class="summary" id="libraryPlayerDesc">A <a href="http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/07/27/world/europe/1247468521083/russias-youtube-cop.html?ex=1296014400&en=5e2328836e677d59&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=VI-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M160-ROS-0810-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click"><b>police officer</b></a> in Russia uses the Internet to challenge the country's leaders to address rampant corruption.<br />
And it seems that others are willing to do so. <br />
<br />
</div><div class="summary" id="libraryPlayerDesc"><br />
</div></div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-91293289907363987572010-07-20T01:39:00.001+01:002010-07-20T01:39:52.879+01:00Police in S. Russia to probe donkey parasailing claim<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(1, 0, 0); "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "> Police in the Krasnodar Territory in southern Russia will investigate a case of animal cruelty involving a donkey forced to parasail along a beach on the Sea of Azov, a local police spokesman said on Monday to <b><a href="http://rian.ru/">RIA Novosti.</a></b> </p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "><br></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "> <img src="http://en.rian.ru/images/15986/89/159868903.jpg" alt="159868903.jpg" title="159868903.jpg"></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "> <i>collage</i><br></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "><br></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "> "The donkey was taken on a parasailing ride to draw attention to this attraction. The donkey was braying and children were crying but no one had the sense to report it to the police," the spokesman said. </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; "> <br></p></span> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-65007542950578667722010-06-24T23:43:00.000+01:002010-06-24T23:44:16.149+01:00Wow!President Medviedev visited <a href="http://eskup.elpais.com/1277417233-e560b84a632c56588ba53626161882ec">twitter</a><br><br>And wrote his first <a href="http://twitter.com/KremlinRussia_E/status/16864333645">tweet.</a><br> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-16302514951792305482010-04-16T11:33:00.001+01:002010-04-16T11:33:54.424+01:00When you have memory you create better front pages<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7u-fId3BD4VM51NBlwpIMy8Yqa0D-Fs7JzaPjaMj7oYBtRNYvoAhQF6PUvmxZyboRYzdzMVVIP974JLsRzP76B_6wSwBbwVcxyZ35f4X8SB5GONaKvSBX3-GjWkQQ4ZFQ7Qr1LQ/s1600/the_times.750%5B1%5D-734425.gif"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7u-fId3BD4VM51NBlwpIMy8Yqa0D-Fs7JzaPjaMj7oYBtRNYvoAhQF6PUvmxZyboRYzdzMVVIP974JLsRzP76B_6wSwBbwVcxyZ35f4X8SB5GONaKvSBX3-GjWkQQ4ZFQ7Qr1LQ/s320/the_times.750%5B1%5D-734425.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460681699318355314" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatk7DiQhnl2AOLuONQYj1V8oF54wM1099EQ6qMhh55pHOTKoIDM3kFyoldOZASgrQ3lKp_vsDsasVAcB0iYCBVa6LBDtySOq0BmukHe-V8pe9tyFcdeFLlARXZiotXHTzaUyhzA/s1600/the_independent-debat%5B1%5D-736453.gif"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatk7DiQhnl2AOLuONQYj1V8oF54wM1099EQ6qMhh55pHOTKoIDM3kFyoldOZASgrQ3lKp_vsDsasVAcB0iYCBVa6LBDtySOq0BmukHe-V8pe9tyFcdeFLlARXZiotXHTzaUyhzA/s320/the_independent-debat%5B1%5D-736453.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460681704356235570" /></a></p><a href="http://paperpapers.blogspot.com/2010/04/una-portada-buena-y-otra-mala.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PaperPapers+%28Paper+Papers%29">PapersPapers</a> noticed.<br> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-71198988795026500572010-04-14T14:11:00.001+01:002010-04-14T14:12:10.182+01:00The anti-utopian revolution<blockquote><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Anyone who has suffered that humiliation, at some level, wants revenge. I know all the lies. I saw people being killed. But I also know that revanchism is never ending. And my obsession has been that we should have a revolution that does not resemble the French or Russian, but rather the American, in the sense that it be for something, not against something. A revolution for a constitution, not a paradise. An anti-utopian revolution. Because utopias lead to the guillotine and the gulag.”</span> <b><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Michnik">Adam Michnik. </a></b></blockquote><br />
Watching Putin beside Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/opinion/13iht-edcohen.html?src=me&ref=general">NYT </a>columnist <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/opinion/13iht-edcohen.html?src=me&ref=general">Roger Cohen</a> thought of François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl hand-in-hand at Verdun in 1984 and also remembered Willy Brandt on his knees in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1970. And writes: "Do not tell me that the people in the streets of Bangkok and Bishkek and Tehran dream in vain of freedom and democracy. Do not tell me that lies can stand forever. Ask the Poles. They know"Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-34077634772970074672010-04-04T17:15:00.001+01:002010-04-04T17:15:44.921+01:00"He speaks very well ... but still do not know for whom he works"<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7N-Ty7BLmTQfU3E_c8fu3ZixoEPkbbS8WAOx_8GbW__i9-RsBlU2YIWn7YhKaAjZZY_ZVeqKSA7J19-WZxJMh1CFwvZ-qzPbgdSb0kOSEqkEo6LcNvWlaWSZuSVSYd_STOoY9bA/s1600/PutinDM_468x658%5B1%5D-744922.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7N-Ty7BLmTQfU3E_c8fu3ZixoEPkbbS8WAOx_8GbW__i9-RsBlU2YIWn7YhKaAjZZY_ZVeqKSA7J19-WZxJMh1CFwvZ-qzPbgdSb0kOSEqkEo6LcNvWlaWSZuSVSYd_STOoY9bA/s320/PutinDM_468x658%5B1%5D-744922.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456316764808141266" /></a></p><span id="result_box" class="long_text"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Una vez pregunté a mi casero ruso qué opinaba de su presidente Putin." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"> I once asked my russian landlord his opinion about president Putin. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title=""Habla muy bien... pero todavía no sabemos para quién trabaja"." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">"He speaks very well ... but still do not know for who he works." </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="El sentido del humor ahí es algunas veces indescifrable, pero tal vez precisamente por eso es la mejor clave de cómo siente ese inmenso país." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">Russian sense of humor is sometimes indecipherable, but perhaps because of that is the best clue to understand this huge country. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Putin, ex agente del KGB, es ahora primer ministro de un país que piensa que "no existen los ex agentes del KGB, porque nunca se deja de serlo"." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><br><br>Putin, former KGB agent, is now prime minister of a country were people think that "there are no ex-KGB agents, they never cease to be." </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="A una de mis ex profesoras le pone y –como lo que no mata, engorda– no sería de extrañar que la carnicería del lunes en Moscú le haga más popular." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><br><br>What does not kill, fattens. So it would not be surprising that the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/suicide-bomber-widow-of-terrorist-leader-1934730.html">carnage</a> on Monday in Moscow would make Putin more popular. </span><span title="Vladimir ha salido de atolladeros peores." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Si en lugar de haber nacido en Leningrado hubiese crecido en Torrejón, es probable que pasase las sobremesas viendo Amar en tiempos revueltos." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Una de sus frases más conocidas es: "Quien no extraña la Unión Sovietica, no tiene corazón. Quien la quiere de vuelta, no tiene cerebro"." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">One of his most famous phrases is: "Who does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Who wants it back has no brain." </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="En España ninguno queremos sentirnos orgullosos por nuestros pasado: divididos, huyendo de la libertad y derrotados en ultramar." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">Today poverty is not rare, but</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Pero San Petersburgo te recibe en su primera rotonda con un Lenin descomunal." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"> Saint Petersburg welcomes you with a huge Lenin. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="En el centro se han abierto camino las hamburgueserías y hasta la franquicia de Al Qaeda parece haber llegado para quedarse." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><br> <br></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Ninotchka, es una película de 1939 en la que Greta Garbo es una agente comunista de Rusia que es enviada a París para investigar el trabajo de tres camaradas seducidos por las trampas del capitalismo." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031725/"><i>Ninotchka</i></a> is a 1939 film in which Greta Garbo plays a Russian communist agent who is sent to Paris to investigate the work of three comrades lured by the trappings of capitalism. </span><span title="Al verla le preguntan:" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">They ask: <br></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="–¿Y como está Moscú?" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><br>- And how is Moscow? <br></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="–Muy bien, los juicios en masa han constituido todo un éxito." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">-Okay, mass trials have been a success. </span><span title="Quedarán menos rusos pero serán mejores." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">Russians will be less but will be better. <br></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="La poda está siendo más fina ahora: son las elites las que importan, el asesinato en la dosis justa." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"><br>Pruning is becoming more fine now: only the elites matter, the murder in the right dose. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Lenin dijo que la democracia es una forma de gobierno en la que cada cuatro años se cambia de tirano." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">Lenin said that democracy is a form of government in which changes every four years tyrant. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" title="Cercados por los Urales y el Polo Norte, los eslavos elegidos se han propuesto durar." onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'">Surrounded by the Urals and the North Pole, some Slavs want to last forever.<br><br><img title="putins_russia_01.jpg" alt="putins_russia_01.jpg" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2007/putins_russia/putins_russia_01.jpg"><br></span><span title="Con un conve" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebeff9'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#fff'"></span></span> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-88622893393838488162010-04-03T11:14:00.004+01:002010-04-03T11:56:11.272+01:00In Lithuania: cut, cut and cut again<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Credit <a href="http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/25457/">rating agencies</a> said the worst appeared to have passed for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Lithuania</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">, Latvia and Estonia after the crisis . <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;">But <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/business/global/02austerity.html?hp=&pagewanted=all">NYT</a> writes that if many indebted countries want to see what austerity looks like, they might want to visit this Baltic nation of 3.3 million. Lithuania cut public spending by 30 percent — including slashing public sector wages 20 to 30 percent and reducing pensions by as much as 11 percent. Even the prime minister, Andrius Kubilius, took a pay cut of 45 percent. The baltic countries rode a boom driven by banking and real estate earlier this decade. Low interest rates spurred a housing boom. Many Lithuanians took out low-interest-rate mortgages denominated in foreign currencies. With the crisis, house prices plunged and thousands lost their jobs and began to default on their debts. Now austerity has exacted its own price, in social and personal pain. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;">The article of NYT about Lithuania is among the most emailed of the week from Business section. Another proof of Lithuanian power?</span></span></span><br />
<div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div></div></div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-84346395452707138822010-04-01T10:57:00.000+01:002010-04-01T10:58:12.778+01:00The Russian Indy?<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxTqHeJxraJbOlHelIWIVKOASytG51aXId9Fudl0WR8Z2JFeLAfLWYHkxZB5xzmHJGn3uP3Es8x3G09YbaFt7ywmV0f51Xns2M6mZiXbkVMLgnd9AoHqgLBBCI1fz2jLI_YYWyA/s1600/Guardian-ad-on-the-Indepe-007%5B2%5D-792779.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxTqHeJxraJbOlHelIWIVKOASytG51aXId9Fudl0WR8Z2JFeLAfLWYHkxZB5xzmHJGn3uP3Es8x3G09YbaFt7ywmV0f51Xns2M6mZiXbkVMLgnd9AoHqgLBBCI1fz2jLI_YYWyA/s320/Guardian-ad-on-the-Indepe-007%5B2%5D-792779.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455106219343342482" /></a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; border-collapse: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><div><em style="font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-weight: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;">You read the headline this week: </span><a href="http://www.google.es/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143653952079836.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj&ei=b2e0S9idEoW-4ga0x8zBDg&sa=X&oi=news_article&resnum=2&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CEcQqQIoAjAB&usg=AFQjCNHyOD-43wQchb1lakW-J5gEdL7DdA" style="color: rgb(34, 0, 204); ">Russian</a></em><a href="http://www.google.es/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143653952079836.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj&ei=b2e0S9idEoW-4ga0x8zBDg&sa=X&oi=news_article&resnum=2&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CEcQqQIoAjAB&usg=AFQjCNHyOD-43wQchb1lakW-J5gEdL7DdA" style="color: rgb(34, 0, 204); "> Billionaire Buys U.K.'s </a><em style="font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; "><a href="http://www.google.es/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143653952079836.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj&ei=b2e0S9idEoW-4ga0x8zBDg&sa=X&oi=news_article&resnum=2&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CEcQqQIoAjAB&usg=AFQjCNHyOD-43wQchb1lakW-J5gEdL7DdA" style="color: rgb(34, 0, 204); ">Independent</a></em><a href="http://www.google.es/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143653952079836.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj&ei=b2e0S9idEoW-4ga0x8zBDg&sa=X&oi=news_article&resnum=2&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CEcQqQIoAjAB&usg=AFQjCNHyOD-43wQchb1lakW-J5gEdL7DdA" style="color: rgb(34, 0, 204); "> for $1.49</a> </div> </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; border-collapse: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><br></span></div>In his early life in London Alexander Lebedev was a KGB man. "He is now businessman willing to make the investments he thinks necessary to produce a superior product that will win back readers and if that doesn't work then he would likely give up the ghost . That gives him an easier time than Rupert Murdoch who does not want to go down in history as the man who killed The Times of London even though it is now losing more than £1 million a week", says <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkboard; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 77, 85); font-weight: bold; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 4px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 4px; "><a href="http://followthemedia.com/fittoprint/lebedev01042010.htm">Philip M. Stone </a><br> <font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000" face="arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size: small;"><br> </span></font></span><div> <div>He said this week: "I invest in institutions which contribute to democracy and transparency, and at the heart of that are newspapers which report independently and campaign for truth. I am a supporter of in-depth investigative reporting and campaigns which promote transparency and seek to fight international corruption. These are things The Independent has always done well and will, I am sure, continue to do."</div> <div><br></div>Quality papers have found it close to impossible to bring revenues and costs into equilibrium, let alone generate a sustainable profit margin. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(121, 121, 121); line-height: 17px; "><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/robert_peston/" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(13, 48, 89); ">Robert Peston</a> </span>says his <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/03/indie_lebedev_paid_to_take_it.html">strategy</a> may be to challenge the internet at its own game, by giving the Indie away (as he has already done with the Evening Standard in London) Advertising rules...</div> <div><br></div>In addition to the London Evening Standard, the Lebedevs also co-own, with former president Mikhail Gorbachev, Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's few pro-democracy newspapers. The <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/lebedevs-buy-independent-titles-to-secure-future-1928187.html">paper</a> has a reputation for independence and high-quality reporting and was where the celebrated journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in 2006, worked.<div> <br></div><div><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/26/independent-sale-alexander-lebedev">The Guardian</a> wrote that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; "><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/28/peter-preston-lebedev-independent" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(0, 86, 137); text-decoration: underline; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Lebedev will bring hope, not instant salvation</a></span></div> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-60839135685292608182010-03-29T12:29:00.002+01:002010-03-29T12:31:41.064+01:00Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on the Moscow subway: 35 killedThe suicide bombers were believed to have set off their explosives as trains approached Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations. <br />
<br />
<object width="280" height="225">
<param name="movie" value="http://rt.com/s/swf/player.swf?file=http://rt.com/v/2010-03-29/557596_medv-14.flv&image=http://rt.com/s/obj/2010-03-29/medvedev.jpg&controlbar=over&skin=http://rt.com/s/swf/skin/stylish1.swf&streamer=lighttpd"></param> <embed src="http://rt.com/s/swf/player.swf?file=http://rt.com/v/2010-03-29/557596_medv-14.flv&image=http://rt.com/s/obj/2010-03-29/medvedev.jpg&controlbar=over&skin=http://rt.com/s/swf/skin/stylish1.swf&streamer=lighttpd" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="280" height="225" />
</object><br />
<br />
<i>"We will continue operations against terrorists without compromise and till the end," </i>said Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev.<br />
<br />
The pictures are <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/global/article7080013.ece?slideshowPopup=true&articleId=7080013&sectionName=News">here</a>. The last time Moscow was hit by a confirmed terrorist attack was in August 2004, when a suicide bomber blew herself up outside a city subway station, killing 10 people. Check the terrorist timeline <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/29/russian-terror-attacks-timeline">here</a>. Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-53935864278067623542009-09-05T11:24:00.002+01:002009-09-05T11:28:51.911+01:00Interesting bed questions<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJqGuSXGlHCZlZxLX_ZKO557O5GI3xBkr-Q4F77jbSwKgfyYccrDaGdz-7aB2KN0zVhxj8Gi6Nnr1SusL1KXL18PCKApat3e3lApPVrshAW34NvoHUElHHq-fvk-SAjbmlJWJxA/s1600-h/putin_cartoon1002-767836.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377927266881397746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJqGuSXGlHCZlZxLX_ZKO557O5GI3xBkr-Q4F77jbSwKgfyYccrDaGdz-7aB2KN0zVhxj8Gi6Nnr1SusL1KXL18PCKApat3e3lApPVrshAW34NvoHUElHHq-fvk-SAjbmlJWJxA/s320/putin_cartoon1002-767836.gif" /></a></div>Some day you woke up and you read that Putin and Hitler slept in the same <a href="http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/09/putins_room_with_a_view.htm">room.</a><br />
<div></div><div>And then you think: Is <a href="http://dzutsev.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/is-putin-hitler/">Putin = Hitler?</a></div><div></div><div>Really you <a href="http://therussianreader.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/no-6-igor-averkiev-on-our-good-hitler/">think</a> so?</div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-42201517440956594062009-08-31T10:14:00.001+01:002009-08-31T10:14:33.349+01:00A grip of the Euro-blogosphere (updated) <a href="http://www.jonworth.eu/"><strong>Jon Worth</strong></a> (European, social democrat, federalist, atheist, anti-monarchist, ENTJ, inline skater, blogger, website designer, avid Mac user, trainer) groups together all the different <a href="http://www.jonworth.eu/getting-a-grip-of-the-euro-blogosphere/">EU blogs he follows</a>. Including this one :-)<br> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-15071298639097074302009-08-27T18:26:00.008+01:002009-09-23T14:14:38.866+01:00"I don't feel the 'Obama' of Central Europe"<span style="font-size: 130%;"></span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
<div id="no:8" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3807266014_71f5ed532a_b.jpg"><img src="http://docs.google.com/File?id=d8gftjg_313c84mm4gx_b" style="height: 427px; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-size: 130%;"><b><br />
</b></span>Dalia Grybauskaite, economist at 53, not even a month has been installed at the presidential palace in Vilnius (Lithuania) but she has managed to at least show that it is serious. He said she would cut costs and started for his salary, which halved. But after the cuts have come to the officials and all kinds of expenses. Their determination coupled with small gestures such as his official car stops at traffic lights to Grybauskaite can win the trust of many, something essential in a country which has fallen 15% this year. The slump in economic activity surpasses that of its neighboring Latvia, forced to tap new IMF aid to avoid bankruptcy. But Grybauskaite, former European commissioner and a black belt in karate, does not want outside help. Although certainly need more than gestures to treat more complicated with its neighbor, Russia. <span style="color: #3366ff;">Text I published in EL MUNDO, (in spanish) </span><a href="http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2009/08/08/mundo/18418045.html" style="color: #3366ff; font-weight: bold;">here</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-Just as happened in Latvia, once a woman ruling a country in Central Europe, and again he succeeds without the support of a political party. </span><br />
-It's a trend in the new EU members, who have suffered a major political transformation. In any case it is uncommon for a woman governs a country, there are only seven in the world and Lithuania never happened, although the former president also was related to a political party.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-But he was very involved in the secession of Lithuania in the 90's. And you don't. </span><br />
-Everybody is different. It has been 20 years since that and probably more people are looking forward rather than backward. I do not want to evaluate why they trusted me, but the devaluation of the quality of politicians I think that was one reason.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-Woman, single, no children. Why people just need things done in the personal life of a politician when is a woman? </span><br />
-Women are starting, but in Europe is becoming commonplace. Somehow most interesting results to discuss us, I notice that people talk about the clothes on my man and if only speak of what I do.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-Does you feel like the Obama of Central Europe? </span><br />
-I have never had this news not compare myself to anyone, every political leader is different. And my country do not regard as central Europe but as a country of northern Europe.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Are you a feminist? </span><br />
-Depends on what we call a feminist. I've never participated in any of those movements.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-Your predecessor, Valdas Adamkus, didn't had good relations with Russia, and you have advocated a more pragmatic stance. What will change? </span><br />
-I never said "pragmatic", that was an interpretation of my words. What I have always said is we have to have a constructive dialogue with our neighbors, of course without sacrificing our values.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">- What will you do if Russia is to condition the position of Lithuania through the price of energy? </span><br />
-I've said that some values are not negotiable.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-You are not the first, they tried other presidents before and this new relationship with Russia was not possible. </span><br />
-Now all countries are in difficulties, Russia too. And both there and here there are political forces that seek to divert attention from problems for a common enemy. We are showing goodwill, and from there we'll see. Russia expect mutual respect based on our values.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-And meanwhile Europe remains wihout a common energy policy. </span><br />
-The EU has never had a common position on energy, not on the treaties. It is more a necessity, a trend. But coordination is necessary to reflect the quality of EU integration, and if no agreement will be split and supply difficulties, and that includes Russia. But the joint efforts to ensure the supply were very important and very visible after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine last winter. It is an evidence that such coordination is important, but still a long way to go.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-The global crisis may be triggered by lack of regulation, but in the European elections have won just more liberal positions. </span><br />
-It's a unique phenomenon. A lack of international intervention in financial markets has created many problems for the world, hence the stresses in the financial sector. This means that international regulatory organizations like the IMF or the World Bank need to be radically reformed and already lagging behind in this process. But in each member country the situation is quite different. After the election we can say that European governments were able to center the most votes, which is very unusual in a downturn. But it is also a sign that the ideological barriers are falling, at least in my country. The political powers do not behave in a purely ideological: some more leftist governments to protect companies and other center-right people are protecting more than the Social Democrats, at least in my country. The ideological differences are being dissolved by what leaders do.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-It seems that this crisis makes the euro more attractive to both Lithuania and more inaccessible. </span><br />
-Yes, because for me the euro is not just a currency but monetary discipline that prevents governments are populist tax policy and this is a guarantee for the stability of countries. But certainly in a slowdown situation will be very difficult to achieve in the next three years because of the stability pact criteria are stringent. But if there were no euro in Europe would be worse off.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-Your country has benefited from European cohesion funds. But you refuse to seek help from the "rescue funds" from the IMF. </span><br />
-There are no bailout funds. There are funds that can borrow, but with many conditions.<br />
In practice, this means you are leaving for an outsider to dictate your entire economic policy because the government does not know how to deal with the situation. I do not want my country to be treated as if it were not capable of governing. We know what we do: we are cutting public spending on wages, investing in infrastructure to stimulate the economy. We are sinking and need outside help, we can rescue ourselves.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Is it possible to go further enlargement of NATO? </span><br />
-Probably yes but I prefer quality to quantity, not only to expand expand. But it's something everyone has in mind, also in the EU, which wants to enter Iceland.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-But every time a former member of the USSR into Russia is angry. </span><br />
-Nobody can dictate to NATO and develop.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">- Do you think that after the fiasco of the European Constitution EU is more difficult to catch up beyond the Lisbon Treaty? </span><br />
-The treaty of Lisbon is a small step forward, talks about how to make decisions but does not reform. We must make reforms in the budget and review common policies and all or that determines the quality of integration.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-You've been commissioner of the Budget. As a Lithuanian citizen have you got the feeling of arriving in the EU when there is less desire to redistribute to those with less? </span><br />
-For new members the EU is not just money, but political, security and freedom of movement. Of 27 members, 21 are still receiving. But for us it was not just money but freedom.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">-The Lithuanians were not just as enthusiastic of the EU in June. It was the country where fewer people voted. </span><br />
-In Lithuania has always been low participation in European elections. It is a question of political culture and lack of information, plus the votes were weeks after the presidential election. But somehow the everyday people at home, not in Brussels or Strasbourg.Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-33648093798529901882009-08-16T11:22:00.002+01:002009-08-16T11:33:36.914+01:00Polish immigrants leaving Britain: What the Poles did for UK<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 17px; ">I</span>ncreased <a href="http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=549283&story_id=13527532">prosperity in Poland</a> and the prospect of a severe recession in Britain mean that the economic gap between the two countries is closing fast. The dream of fast cars, fast living and fast fortunes is as attractive as ever but, for many Poles, the odds of achieving it here are lengthening fast. Britain's Polish workers are heading home in search of a better life – and it's a loss, says Harry de Quetteville in <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(178, 41, 41); font-weight: bold; line-height: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:12px;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/3248852/Polish-immigrants-leaving-Britain-What-the-Poles-did-for-us.html">TELEGRAPH.CO.UK</a></span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:7;color:#B22929;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px; line-height: 12px; text-transform: uppercase;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-22515568770104213532009-07-30T13:01:00.000+01:002009-07-30T13:02:18.422+01:00No question of "what Obama can do for us, but what we can do for Obama"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; ">Prime minister Zapatero said this no <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/world/europe/30zapatero.html?_r=1&ref=global-home">NYT</a>. Spain is willing to increase its troops on long-term assignment in <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/afghanistan/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Afghanistan." style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118); text-decoration: underline; ">Afghanistan</a>. In a gesture of support to the Obama administration. </span> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-73537451254982767742009-07-03T11:29:00.000+01:002009-07-04T11:28:35.829+01:00Time to remember, USSR in the 70´s<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://englishrussia.com/?p=1145'>English Russia » More pictures of USSR. Part 2</a><img alt='More pictures of USSR in 70s 44' src='http://englishrussia.com/images/more_pictures_ussr_70_2/44.jpg'/><img alt='More pictures of USSR in 70s 59' src='http://englishrussia.com/images/more_pictures_ussr_70_2/59.jpg'/><img alt='More pictures of USSR in 70s 68' src='http://englishrussia.com/images/more_pictures_ussr_70_2/68.jpg'/><br/><br/>A great collection of photos of a world that will never come back.<br/><blockquote/><br/><br/></div>Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-32970717932440434002009-04-05T23:45:00.001+01:002009-04-05T23:45:32.264+01:00Obama+Zapatero<a href="http://estaticos.elmundo.es/documentos/2009/04/06/portada.pdf">http://estaticos.elmundo.es/documentos/2009/04/06/portada.pdf</a><br><br>Again the hand in the shoulder...<br> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38136468.post-82465091788003685742009-03-14T22:03:00.001+01:002009-03-14T22:03:01.957+01:00Los in transitionPresident Vladimir Putin, constitutionally barred from running for a third presidential term, says that he has not ruled out running for prime minister, triggering widespread speculation about his intentions. In the run up to Russia's presidential and parliamentary elections, a new book from the Carnegie Moscow Center's Lilia Shevtsova examines the legacies of Presidents Putin and Boris Yeltsin and how they will shape the upcoming electoral cycle and Russia's immediate political future.Sixteen years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has startled the international community with its assertive rhetoric and economic might. In Russia—Lost In Transition: The Yeltsin and Putin Legacies, Shevtsova contends that Russia's resurgence in the global arena disguises political stagnation and failure to modernize. She argues that the political regime and the type of capitalism that have been adopted over the last fifteen years are not sustainable in the long term and are unlikely to promote further economic growth and social improvements.<br> <div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Key Conclusions:</strong></font></p> <ul style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.8em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">To avoid becoming a lame duck president, Putin will seek to perpetuate the uncertainty and suspense around the election and his own political future. Putin's recent reshuffling of his cabinet and the appointment of a relatively unknown prime minister demonstrated his need to prove he is still in charge. A new struggle for control and influence over the incoming political regime is likely to emerge.</font></li> </ul><ul style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.8em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Russia's next leader must address the pressing social problems plaguing the nation, notably population decline and economic disparity. While anti-Western rhetoric has distracted the public, Russia's shattered social infrastructure threatens economic and social stability.</font></li> </ul><ul style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.8em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Russia's recent assertiveness in foreign policy has greatly mobilized the public, and the ruling elite would like Russia to simultaneously be both friend and foe to the West. Potential domestic crises in Russia could result in a more nationalist and authoritarian regime that eschews cooperation with the West and purges moderates from the Kremlin.</font></li> </ul><ul style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.8em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">To create a fertile environment for Russia's further economic and political transformation, Russia and the West must recognize that they have common interests rooted in shared values. Western policy towards Russia should avoid isolation at all costs and should be based on <em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">understanding</em>, <em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">strategy</em>, and e<em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">ngagement</em>.</font><ul style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 1.8em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; "> <li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">In particular, Western nations must <em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">understand</em> Russia's unique dilemmas and choices;</font></li> <li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">develop a coherent <em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">strategy</em> addressing the Kremlin leadership, the political class, and society;</font></li> <li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: square; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">and <em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">engage</em> with Russia on areas where their interests overlap—counter-proliferation, combating international terrorism, energy security, and climate change—but not at the expense of acquiescing to the crackdown on democracy.</font></li> </ul></li></ul><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">"Perhaps the greatest challenge for transforming Russia will be the need for its leadership to start the new reforms, of which the most radical will be dividing state power among independent institutions. Will a new leader be prepared to embark on political self-castration and hand over some of his power to other institutions? This is Russia's metaproblem for which no solution was found under Yeltsin and Putin," concludes Shevtsova.</font></p> </span></div> Xavier Coláshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11211821978159279606noreply@blogger.com0