STREET89

Obama and Capitalism: Whither the American Left?

Bernard Chazelle — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:41:54 +0200

The triumph of neo-liberalism on the other side of the Atlantic may be explained - like almost everything else in American history - by inflation and racial conflict.

The 1970's were years of historic compromise : Blacks were integrated into the great American family in a legal sense, but at the price of abandoning all social demands. The « stagflation » that shook the economy catalyzed a process that was to extend over the next three decades and dispute all the social breakthroughs of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

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Online journalism: Transposition or transformation?

Rue89 — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:59:20 +0200

Print publications moving online have often failed, some for financial reasons, others through misunderstanding the new medium. A few still try to use the Internet as a broadcast medium ; many, seeing the rise of blogs, « citizens » journalism » and other participatory structures, worry about the future for the professional journalist. Laurent Mauriac and Pascal Riché, members of the team behind French politics website Rue89, explain how they attempt to bridge the gap between print and the Internet by encouraging contributions from experts and web users, but using journalists to coordinate, direct and edit this participation.

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The Economist: France Is Doing Better Than the Anglo-Saxons

Pierre Haski — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:59:21 +0200

The cover is quite amusing : Nicolas Sarkozy, on a podium, wryly regards Angela Merkel, who is pulling a long face on the ground below, while Gordon Brown and the « Anglo-Saxons » disappear through the bottom. This is the revenge of the « French model, » according to one of its principal detractors : the capitalist British weekly The Economist.

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Should surrogate mothers be legalised? Ten keys to the debate

Sophie Verney-Caillat — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:55:33 +0200

In anticipation of the revision of the law on bioethics, detractors and
supporters of « gestational surrogacy » (GS) are all fired-up. This
article focuses on why.

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Is Breastfeeding feminist or not?

Renée Greusard — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:29:41 +0100

In a report made public last Tuesday, the Academy of Medicine recommended breastfeeding and longer postnatal maternity leave. I was wondering what feminists thought of this. Are they furious about more pressure on women ? Not really. They are, in fact, quite divided over the issue.

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Obama's Silence on Gaza Has Already Tarnished His Halo

Pascal Riché — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:23:34 +0100

To fight a war, one must perform many calculations. The enemy forces, the weather, the distance, the stockpiles of munitions. And the electoral calendar. That of the United States has played a role in the Middle East conflict : war has been engaged between the death of one presidency and the birth of another. For the Israelis, there was no more favorable moment to « go too far. »

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Israël-Hamas: violence is not the only way

Pierre Haski — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:39:05 +0100

It is polite, for diplomats, to call for « restraint » from Israelis and Palestinians, and to condemn in the same breath Israel's raids and Hamas's rocket attacks. Not being a diplomat, I can try to go a bit further.

First, an observation : December 27 was the most lethal day between Israelis and Palestinians since 1967, that is, since the occupation by Israel of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. In other words, we're not dealing with just one more episode in the long and bloody history between these two peoples.

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American Patriotism: Another Planet

Hélène Crié-Wiesner — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:07:24 +0100

In the United States, even the poor admire those who succeed. When someone tells you, you French people, that Total has raked in record profits this year, you snarl that capitalists are getting fat on the backs of consumers and that we should be looking at a redistribution of wealth.

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Editorial: Will Barack Obama Midwife a New Post-American World?

Pierre Haski — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:55:06 +0100

Let's not pass over our pleasure in silence ; good news is rather unusual at this time. We, that is to say, almost the entirety of the rest of the world that feared American electors would not follow our passion for Barack Obama at the hour of choice.

For once, then, Americans are in sync with the rest of the world. Or vice versa rather, since, after all, they are the ones who voted …

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Latin America Tempted to Decriminalize Drug Use

Arnaud Aubron — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:32:23 +0200

Here's something that could give the next White House occupant cold sweats. In the last two weeks, no less than three Latin American leaders have declared themselves in favor of one or another form of drug use decriminalization. And not for cannabis only.

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