World press review

Some items from press around the world...

Is Europe Falling Behind, asks a piece in The Globalist. The economic evidence seems quite clear: Europe has made virtually no progress over the past 30 years in catching up with the United States in terms of per capita income. But that view is inaccurate, as Olivier Blanchard argues. He finds that European productivity growth has exceeded that of the United States — it's just that Europeans have chosen to use these productivity gains in a different way.

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It looks like Tony Blair is finally getting something (besides grief) out of his previously one-sided subservience to the American president. George W. Bush will back an ambitious British-designed plan for more generous debt relief for the world's poorest countries this week as the White House seeks backing from the G8 industrial nations for the financial reconstruction of Iraq, according to an article in The Guardian. This is good news. Debt relief has the potential to do far more good for African economies than a comparable amount of aid handouts. There are several fairly well-governed countries.hamstrung by repaying debt incurred by previous dictators who were given carte blanche by lenders because they were "anti-Communist." Debt relief would also remove a major excuse and smokescreen of poorly governed, corrupt countries and might lead to them being held more accountable to their people. If the west can provide debt relief for countries it invades, why not for others?

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An eye-opening story from Canada's CBC. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (aka: the Mounties, their equivalent of the FBI) confirmed Wednesday that two fibre optic cables were deliberately damaged, cutting off phone, internet and cable service overnight to 200,000 people in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Much like the blackout of last summer, this incident underlines the fragility of the internet grid, whose supposed virtue is its decentralization. If problems with only two cables can shut down traffic to a good chunk of Atlantic Canada, does this show how vulernable Internet-dependent North American businesses are to mischief, or worse?

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This opinion piece in Lebanon's Daily Star reminds me why the Bush administration's campaign to demonize al-Jazeera is seriously misguided. Ever since pan-Arab stations such as Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiyya, Abu Dhabi TV, Al-Manar, Al-Hayat-LBC and others have surfaced on the Arab media scene as credible alternatives to CNN, BBC and other Western media outlets, there has been an increased public response in the Middle East to news... Arab satellite stations provided ample room for the Bush administration to present its views directly to Arab viewers. However, from an American perspective the efficacy of such efforts was questionable. Despite airing daily military briefings by American commanders, spokespersons and top officials, the messages did not strike a chord with Arab viewers... US officials interviewed by Arab media could have arguably presented a stronger defense had they described some prison internment problems that never made it into the headlines.

I've always thought the campaign to demonize al-Jazeera was totally counterproductive to the neo-conservatives alleged goal to democratize the Middle East. Al-Jazeera is accused of anti-Americanism. Perhaps this is fair, perhaps not. It's certainly anti-Iraq invasion. Though some people think any not-entirely-gushing coverage of the administration constitutes anti-Americanism, so perhaps this label is meaningless. The reason al-Jazeera smearing is counterproductive is simple: they are an independent broadcast news source in a region than has had very few over the years.

Independent broadcasters will sometimes say things governments don't like. In fact, if they don't say things that occassionally upset governments, they probably aren't independent. Though American focus has been Al-Jazeera's (and other Arab broadcasters') allegedly biased coverage of the Iraq war, they ignore the fact that it ALSO offers critical coverage of Arab regimes. And did so long before al-Jazeera became a household name in the West. Al-Jazeera pissed off Arab regimes with its frank discussion of their many failings long before its frankness pissed off Washington. And since most of the other Arab regimes are the ultimate targets of the neo-conservative camp, the preservation of the fledging broadcast media's independence is critical to the spread of democratization in the Arab world.

If al-Jazeera and its breathren offered sycophantic portrayals of Washington, as critics would prefer, then they would have no credibility when reporting on political affairs in Damascus or corruption in Cairo.

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Chilean courts refused to extradite Carlos Menem, the presumed crook who was president of Argentina throughout most of the 90s. The Argentina authorities want to question the 73-year-old in cases of alleged fraud and illegal enrichment, according to the BBC. The latest extradition request regards investigations about $60m allegedly embezzled from funds for two new prisons.

The house of cards that was built up during Menem's rule collapsed shortly after his departure and was followed by widespread protests, several presidential resignations and political turmoil. Menem's presidency is so fondly remembered that he has lived in Chile with his wife for several months.

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The Christian Science Monitor had an interesting article on bullying in schools. Though bullying is hardly a new phenomenon, the article noted that some see deeper cultural forces at work: a society that condones, even supports, rudeness as a means to get ahead - not just on the playground, but into adulthood ("Office jerks get perks," read a recent newspaper headline.). Though bullies have traditionally been seen as outsiders with low self-esteem, new studies suggest bullies are often the popular kids, protected not just by students, but by teachers and administrators eager to promote "superstars."