Wednesday, September 25, 2002
With the Ryder and America's cups, sport is going global
This weekend Europe and US will compete at the Belfry for the Ryder Cup, in a few more days the qualifying races for the America's Cup will begin in New Zealand. It's refreshing in these times of no-global and terrorist madness to watch events like these take place. I am a sucker for sports, especially those played at international level, displaying the best in the world competing at the highest level. I hope these events will be a reminder of all that is positive and great about this planet of ours. Because of a golf ball travelling at light speed or a marvellous boat sailing the wind, people from many different countries will cheer, laugh and cry. I might be sentimental but I wish all the doubters, all those who hate these modern times and the progress of globalisation could watch and appreciate these events for what they are, the heralds of a better time where people from different nationalities instead of shooting each other compete on a basketball court, on golf court or on a football field.
posted by Carla Passino at 6:15 PM
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Tony Blair makes a case for getting rid of Saddam Opinions in Europe are still very much against an attack, more due to suspicions on Bush’s motives than for any particular admiration for Saddam. It’s not by chance that Chancellor Schroeder won by riding the public opinion and opposing the war. Even in Britain, generally the most “hawkish” of European countries, there is uneasiness about attacking Iraq. The US should recognize this fact and do more to convince its allies that a war on Saddam makes sense. Talking about the corrupt and oppressive Iraq regime does not help too much. According to this criteria, 60% of the world probably would qualify for a US invasion, including many current US allies. WMD development is a more realistic and convincing issue. Weighting in on Israel to stop its military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza could also go a long way to demonstrate that the US are moved by a serious commitment to a stable peace in the middle-east and not just animosity towards an old family enemy.
UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair has just released a report on Saddam’s WMD capability which, in his opinion, makes a strong case for the removal of the dictator. I am afraid the report will not change anybody’s opinion on the matter. Those against the war will not be swayed by suggestions that Saddam effectively has WMD. On the other hand many who oppose the war for more political reasons –for instance China with its principle of non-interference in a country’s internal affair- could relent to a UN led initiative where they would not put up for a US unilateral action. Blair’s point is aimed at convincing the UN more than the public at large I suspect.
posted by Mooraq at 5:32 PM
Monday, September 23, 2002
The Times They Are A'Changing Maybe it’s that the difference between the options offered has moved from shades of gray, subtle but clear, to a blank nothingness. Ideology is soooo last century. No parties now pretend that their recipe for fixing the economy is any different from what the others are proposing, everybody claim they would be more competent at applying it, but do we really believe them? Even former leftists revolutionaries like Lula now wear ties and profess belief in low inflation and orthodox economics (and will probably get elected for this). So that leave us to differentiate between the parties by how many shares of a percentage point they want to devote to health instead of cutting taxes? - Nothing too exciting to say the least. - Sure, there are still some ethical divides, like abortion, that can broadly separate left from right. But abortion, for all its importance and implication, cannot be the only issue on which elections are fought. I prefer to think that the main problem politics face today is that we are trying to cure a new illness with old methods. The traditional left and right categories are showing their ages (they are about 215 years old) and many of today’s issue are increasingly cutting across the party barriers: free trade, globalisation, technology, genetic research etc. Younger generation especially cannot relate to the old left-right divide and are often looking for new political subjects (look for instance at the success of the Green party in Germany). It’s probably time the old dinosaurs of politics realise that the ice age has passed and they should be extinct by now. Politics must find a way to redefine itself around the new issues that are currently shaping our lives rather than clinging to the good old days.
German elections went into overtime, are we spotting a trend?
Another election, another neck to neck race, too close to call until the last votes have been counted. I would not be surprised to see a similar result in the forthcoming mid-term elections in the US, with very few votes separating the two sides. It looks like all elections nowadays are more closely fought than ever.
posted by Mooraq at 2:54 PM
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