What chance is there that Arab militaries will give up the power to choose who rules to those now protesting in the streets? Columnist Issa Goraieb of Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour warns of the unlikelihood such a thing, particularly in Egypt, and also cites his native Lebanon in cautioning Arab protesters to consider what will happen when some form of democracy is finally achieved. For Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour, Issa Goraieb writes in part: It’s almost a mathematical...

The sense that the Egyptian people have reached a watershed and are finally going to insist on greater influence over their leaders is palpable in this article from Amal al-Oumma, the newspaper of the Muslim Brotherhood of Alexandria. The author, Reem al-Masry, writes of what the Egyptian uprising means to him and what it has taught his people about Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled that nation for 30 years. For Amal al-Oumma, Reem al-Masry writes in part: He [Mubarak] is crazier than Nero, who burned...

Are social networks like Facebook and Twitter the cause or a symptom of events taking place around the globe? O Globo columnist Risoletta Mirand argues that despite their growing centrality to modern humanity, they are more like channels for society as it is, rather than protagonists in themselves. For O Globo, Risoletta Mirand writes in part: “It’s a fact that social networks are, indeed, an important way of accessing and disseminating information. With networks there is no night,...

Is the violence in the streets of Cairo destined to worsen? Rafiq Khoury of Yemen’s Al-Wahdawi warns that – whatever the outcome – there is little doubt that those protesting against Hosni Mubarak are about to confront a far more harsh reaction than they have until now. Explaining why Egypt is no Tunisia, for Al-Wahdawi, Rafiq Khoury writes in part: No noise is louder than the sound of change – even the sound of bullets. The Tunisian revolution isn’t the only thing...

What follows is a notable dressing down of Washington from Kuwait, a nation America saved from Saddam in the First Gulf War. And it starkly shows how frightened Gulf Arab leaders are about events in Egypt. In all the years we’ve been translating articles from Kuwait, in particular by Al-Seyassah editor-in-chief Ahmad Al-Jarallah, I recall nothing so strongly critical of American policy. It is a staunch defense of Egypt President Hosni Mubarak – a truly rare media commodity. In this...

Does it make any sense for the Iranian regime to encourage ‘people power’ uprisings across the Arab world, only months after a its own sham election and the suppression of its own people? Sensible or not, this article from Iran’s state-controlled Tehran Times encourages Arabs in Egypt and elsewhere to continue to rise up against their oppressive rulers, but warns them not to play into the hands of the West’s “global manipulators.” For the Tehran Times, columnist...

When it comes to Egypt, is it time for the United States to stop hedging its bets? According to columnist Thomas Spang of Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten, without actively asserting its waning influence, Washington risks the worst imaginable outcome for the Western world: an Egypt governed by Muslim fundamentalists. For the Salzburger Nachrichten, Thomas Spang writes in part: A sober analysis of the events in Cairo leaves no doubt that the future of Egypt is only conceivable without the damaged...

Call it a Cold War hangover or a broken deal with the Devil – but according to columnist Stefan Kornelius of Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Egypt shows that the era of paying off potentates regardless of how they treat their citizens and mistaking stagnation for stability is over, and the will of the people will no longer be denied. For the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Stefan Kornelius writes in part: For too long, stagnation has been mistaken for stability: Washington bids farewell to Egyptian...

Have we in the West made a mistake, assuming that democracy is the best form of government for all nations? Perhaps fearing similar events on its own streets, from decidedly undemocratic China, this editorial from the state-run Global Times suggests that the recent wave of ‘color revolutions’ demonstrates that Western efforts to democratize the world in its own image are naive and misguided. The Global Times editorial says in part: The Middle East is where beliefs and views clash most...

Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of Western civilization – or to be more accurate – non-Muslim civilization? According to columnist Hussein Shariatmadari of Iran’s state-run Kayhan newspaper, ancient prophecies of the Prophet Muhammad are now coming true – and there is little or nothing that Washington can do to avert the end. For Kahyan, Hussein Shariatmadari writes in part: In yet another message the late Imam said, “I assure you that Islam will conquer...

According to Zhang Guoqing of China’s state-controlled Xinjingbao [Beijing News], it seems that President Obama has finally woken up to the fact that America’s state of development is the most pressing issue for the nation. Unfortunately, the scholar from our largest creditor’s state-sanctioned media writes, Obama may be too late, and Americans and the U.S. media aren’t ‘buying it’. For the Xinjingbao, Zhang Guoqing writes in part: Obama has finally discovered what...

Is Sarah Palin being wrongly blamed for the assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? Columnist Andreas Ruesch of Switzerland’s Neue Zurcher Zeitung writes that Palin is being castigated for America’s deeply-ingrained habit of politicians attacking opponents in stark military terms. For the Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Andreas Ruesch writes in part: That everything in the U.S., even the most shocking tragedy, ends up being exploited for fiercely partisan purposes, is...

Why should the United States prosecute Jared Lee Loughner for the recent massacre in Tucson, but not Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative suspected of murdering 73 people in a terrorist bombing of a Cuban airliner? Writing for Mexico’s La Jornada, attorney Jose Pertierra argues that the hypocritical protection of Carriles by the U.S. government is an intolerable double-standard, particularly in an age of terrorism. For La Jornada, Jose Pertierra writes in part: It’s 319 miles...

‘Condemned to partnership’ is how Christoph Prantner of Austria’s Der Standard describes relations between the two most important nations on earth. Pranter writes that despite that forced smiles and wolfish grins, Europe and the world had better hope that despite their differences, the two find a way to make things work between them. For Der Standard, Christoph Prantner writes in part: “The Bank of China holds more than $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves. Just as...

Are policymakers in the United States so married to a ‘zero-sum Cold War mentality,’ that they are damaging relations with China? Or is China a genuine threat that manipulates its currency and shamelessly steals American intellectual property? According to this editorial from the state-run China Daily, those who see China as an adversary are shooting themselves – and the world – in the foot. The China Daily editorial says in part: Under the influence of the outdated Cold...

The U.S. Federal Reserve, despite all of the recent criticism over quantitative easing and its bailouts of huge corporations, foreign and domestic, receives a loud and clear vote of confidence in this article by columnist Lourdes Sola of Brazil’s Estadao. According to Lourdes, the FED’s independence and effectiveness at moments of crisis make it a fitting template for up-and-coming Brazil’s central bank. For Estadao, Lourdes Sola writes in part: Those with an ideological bias...

Are American policy makers listening to the sound of their own voices to the detriment of better relations with China and the world? Correspondent Rong Xiaoqing of China’s state-run Global Times dismisses U.S. complaints about Chinese trade, intellectual and foreign policies, arguing that if President Obama manages to put himself in China’s shoes during President Hu’s visit, a successful great leap forward is possible. For the Global Times, Rong Xiaoqing writes in part: In some...

With President Hu visiting the country, perhaps he’ll take a moment to use America’s open Internet to read this article about history and academic freedom by columnist Ding Dong of China’s state-controlled Nan Fang Daily. Did the United States achieve most of its scientific and industrial prowess by absorbing the Jewish intellectual elite from Hitler’s Germany and the rest of Europe? It’s a suggestion that’s been made before, but never in such glowing terms –...

While the issue of illegal immigration from Mexico gets most of the media attention, nations across Latin America have their share of people risking life and limb to get to the U.S. This editorial from El Salvador’s El Mundo reflects frustration with U.S. handling of Salvadorans that in many cases, know of no home other than the United States. The El Mundo editorial says in part: On Monday, the usual work in the country resumed. Thus the operatic routine of deportations from the United States,...

Is the rise of the Tea Party movement the ugly twin of the youth uprisings of the 1960s? According to Veronique Saint-Geours and Jean-Sebastien Stehli of France’s Le Figaro, the Tea Party, ‘which considers the government tyrannical, the elected as sodomites, and the country’s demographic changes as a menace to be fought by force of arms if necessary’ may be spawning a far more violent counterculture than the one the left once pursued. And as we have seen, at least as far...

Whether or not a lack of gun control is behind the attack on U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and those that came to meet her at a Tucson supermarket, according to this op-ed by scholar Xu Lifan of China’s state-run Beijing Youth Daily, the shooting won’t do a thing to dent America’s penchant for guns or the rules that govern gun ownership. Rather, he suggests, Americans will conclude that the massacre was a result of difficult economic times. For China’s state-controlled...

For Mexicans, the assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gillian Giffords is a very harsh blow. Columnist Ana Paula Ordorica of Mexico’s Excelsior writes in Part: Giffords has been a lawmaker that has repudiated Arizona’s state’s controversial law SB 1070. She is an advocate of realistic immigration rules that would allow a path to legalization, with the goal of bringing some order to a broken system. And so the politicians of the Tea Party, led by Sarah Palin, have focused...

It may be the greatest challenge in Sarah Palin’s political career: how to respond to accusations that her words contributed to the Tucson massacre? According to columnist Christoph von Marschall of Germany’s Die Zeit, while most agree she bears no direct responsibility for the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Palin’s entire future hangs in the balance. For Die Zeit, Christoph von Marschall writes in part: Only a very small number of people still believe that Sarah...

Is the Tea Party inherently dangerous? According to this editorial from Spain’s El Pais, if Republicans fail to squeeze them out of their ranks quickly, ‘there will be more reason than before to fear its fanatical influence.’ The El Pais editorial says in part: No one in America has dared draw a direct link between the massacre in Tucson and the political degradation that exists in the country, especially after last November’s elections in which Republicans won a majority...

What is it about America and guns? It’s a question people in other countries ask every time there is an outbreak of violence at a school, at a bowling alley or in this case, at a supermarket. This editorial from Brazil’s Estadao tries to put two and two together for Brazilian readers, and ponders America’s violent political history. The Estadao editorial says in part: There will always be fanatics or psychopaths everywhere willing to eliminate public figures they abhor. Even more...