Why is it that U.S. Republicans have been complaining that Barack Obama failed to utter the word democracy in his speech to Muslims – and for that matter, has dropped the term ‘War on Terror’ altogether? According to Philippe Coste, who writes for the French weekly L’Express, it’s simply this: they fail to grasp that President Bush rendered them counterproductive terms to use. For L’Express, Coste writes in part: “To be frank, U.S. Republicans have responded...

Now that the United States and Europe are on the same ‘wavelength’ in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio, is it a foregone conclusion that Israel will comply and stop building or expanding settlements on what is slated to become part of Palestine? For France’s Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace, Jean-Claude Kiefer writes in part: “Heard with a European ear, Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo contains, strictly speaking, nothing revolutionary. The Europeans have...

To hear subjects of a Saudi monarchy that bears precious little resemblance to a Jeffersonian democracy wax lyrical about America’s Founding Fathers is an odd juxtaposition – but nevertheless encouraging. Continuing with our Arabic coverage of Barack Obama’s speech to the Islamic world, this editorial from Saudi Arabia’s Al Madina likens the president’s address as and his approach in general as: “… tantamount to a spiritual return to American values and...

While Francois Sergent of France’s Liberation has his doubts about whether Obama’s efforts begun in Cairo will succeed, he nevertheless admires his forthrightness and clear statement of ineffable truths that needed to be said out loud by someone with the president’s credibility. For Liberation and continuing with our global coverage of the reaction to President Obama’s speech in Cairo, Francois Sergent writes in part: “The Muslim world lives on myths, attributes its...

Contrary to the narrative on the U.S. Republican right, Issa Goraieb of Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour asserts that President Obama’s use of his diverse background to reach out to Muslims is an excellent idea – particularly the proud usage of his Middle name ‘Hussein,’ or as Goraieb refers to it, the ‘H factor.’ Continuing with our coverage from the Arab world of President Obama’s Cairo speech, Goraieb outlines a point for his Lebanese readers that...

Once again reflecting the enduring influence of the United States in this Hemisphere – even in Daniel Ortega country – Eduardo Enríquez of Nicaragua’s La Prensa newspaper compares the Supreme Court nomination process in his country to that in the U.S. – and finds the process in Nicaragua to be badly wanting. For La Prensa, Eduardo Enríquez writes in part: “Fate has decreed that the selection of a justice to the Supreme Court of Nicaragua would coincide with the nomination...

Obama’s long-awaited speech to the Islamic world now delivered, it hasn’t taken long for his words to be thrown back in his face. This editorial from Pakistan’s The Nation focused in on one particular Koranic quote President Obama made today: ‘Whoever kills an innocent, it’s as if he has killed all mankind.’ The Nation editorial says in part: “With his choice of expressions and references to the Koran’s golden principles, he touched just the right...

Are Egyptians and Muslims expecting too much from President Obama? Continuing with our Arabic coverage and with the excitement in Cairo at fever pitch, Egyptian columnist Haytham Abu Khalil, writing for opposition newspaper Amal Al Ummah, uses the Western fairytale of Cinderella to warn his people that ‘Prince Obama’ is not coming to their rescue – and in the process, he trashes Western heroine Cinderella as the ‘worst’ of all possible role models. For Amal Al Ummah,...

As we have seen before, most recently with an article from Egypt’s Al Araby headlined Five U.S. Presidencies is Too Long for Mubarak, President Obama’s visit to Egypt, which takes place tomorrow, is not without risk to that nation’s head of state. Demonstrating again the danger to Mubarak, Egyptian columnist Mohammad Abdul Qudus writing for Egypt’s opposition Amal Al Ummah, praises the United States for having the capacity to ‘change’ – exemplified by...

So how are people in Latin America reacting to the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic member of the U.S. Supreme Court? In the first of a series of articles from Latin America on the subject, this editorial from Mexico’s La Jornada emphasizes the way she is likely to begin to balance out the right-of-center appointments of George W. Bush. This editorial from La Jornada says in part: “In the first place, it should be noted that the nomination of a judge of Puerto...

It never ceases to astound people in other nations how Americans have a tendency to ‘keep on keeping on’ regardless of the crisis or the difficulty. Writing for Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the collapse of General Motors, Carsten Knop highlights a few things about Americans that Europeans might benefit from. For Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,Knop writes in part: “The Americans, who have a better understanding of the effectiveness of market forces than most...

According to French newspaper Le Monde, the member states of the European Union have agreed to accept former prisoners from Guantanamo – with a few stipulations. Among other things – that the prisoners in question have been ‘completely exonerated by the American Justice system.’ The article also informs that the United States has agreed to compensate E.U. states who accept these men – but only indirectly. Lastly but certainly not least, Le Monde‘s Jean-Pierre...

As has been widely publicized, a trial began last week in Paris that could result in the dissolution of the Church of Scientology in France. But according to Le Monde reporter Caroline Fourest, the French government might just tip the scales of justice in favor of the group, called a path to salvation by its adherents and a dangerous cult that takes advantage of the vulnerable by its critics. For Le Monde, Caroline Fourest writes in part: “After a 10-year-investigation, the case against the...

The world is vexed: What in heaven’s name should we do about the maniacal, nuclear-armed regime of Kim Jong-il? The advice of Kim’s former college professor and former chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly is startling in it’s simplicity and thrift: ‘We should neglect them – let them be.’ For the Daily North Korea, Hwang Jang-yop, who became the president of the Committee for the Democratization of North Korea after his defection in...

So just how significant is the crossroads on which the United States and Israel find themselves? Judging by Friday’s editorial by Pierre Rousselin of France’s Le Figaro, we are likely in a brave new world of U.S.-Israel relations. “Between Israel and the United States, the forecast is no longer for endless blue skies, as it was during the George W. Bush era. The insistence with which the new administration reiterates its demands to the Israeli government forecasts tough times ahead.”...

Food for thought from China: Is the very nature of Western civilization at the heart of the global financial crisis, the Iraq War, and the failure of Western culture to take hold in much of the world? According to Zhang Wei, the writer of this article from China’s state-controlled Global Geographic Times, the Occident had better learn to adopt what is good from other cultures, particularly China’s – otherwise the West’s ‘me-first-ism’ could bring disaster upon...

The Iranian presidential election is well underway and to the surprise of no one, the leading conservative candidates focus a lot of attention on ‘Zionism’ and the ‘powers of the West.’ But of course, things are far more nuanced than that. Offering another glimpse inside Iran, this time of the presidential campaign and some of the lesser-known presidential candidates, is Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a researcher for the European Foundation for Democracy and writer for the German...

During his recent trip to Beirut when he appeared to imply that Lebanese had better ‘vote right’ if they want to continue receiving generous American aid, was Vice President Joe Biden just being the gaffe machine we have come to know and love, or was he quite pointedly delivering a message on the part of the Obama Administration? According to Kharroubi Habib of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran, the answer is undoubtedly the latter. “Joe Biden may carry the burden of being...

Is the church founded by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard a unique way to obtain spiritual guidance in a troubled world, or is it a fraud designed to part the gullible from their hard earned money? It is a debate that’s been going on since the Church of Scientology was founded in 1954. According to this article by Angélique Négroni of France’s Liberation, which includes lots of details left out of today’s wire copy, proceedings began in a Paris court today, with...

Is President Obama – after actual contact with the day to day realities of the the White House – making pragmatic decisions with regard to the issues of terrorism and torture? Or as his critics charge, is he just a political opportunist, flip-flopping on some of the most central promises of his election campaign and becoming what one might call ‘Bush Light’? Fidelius Schmid of the Financial Times Deutschland is somewhat sympathetic to Obama’s plight, but writes that...

Although there was every reason to expect the regime of despot Kim Jong-il to hold its second nuclear test, the question people on the firing line in South Korea are asking themselves is, why now? This second test, which was reportedly far more successful than the first in 2006 and equal in power to the bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima, has enraged and rattled the rest of the countries in the region. According to this analysis from The Daily North Korea, a publication dedicated to...

A visit by an American president to another country has a tendency to whip up numerous passions in the local press. Many times these passions involve comparisons between the United States and the country in question. In the run-up to President Obama’s planned address to the Islamic world from Cairo on June 4, this is an especially rich time to capture some of these comparisons in Egypt, which is widely regarded as the intellectual heart of the Muslim world. This article from Egypt’s...

People around the world have taken note of the miserable state of the U.S. Republican Party – and some fear the potential consequences for American politics. Martin Klingst, Washington correspondent for Germany’s Die Zeit, is concerned that an unchallenged Obama Administration is the last thing America needs as it confronts multiple crises of monumental proportions. For Die Zeit, Martin Klingst writes in part: “This debacle of the American political right is mainly because it...

What will Obama have to do to forge a historic deal between Israel, confronting what it seems are multiple threats to its very existence, and the Palestinians, whose decades-long struggle to survive weighs heavily on many a conscience? According to Francois Sergent of France’s Liberation, success will require an end to Western ‘double standards’ that favor Israel. For Liberation, Francois Sergent writes in part: “For Arabs and Palestinians in particular, the United States...

Is the American dollar truly on its way out as the global currency of reference? Many commentators, including Edward Hadas of France’s Le Monde newspaper, regard last week’s deal between China and Brazil to use their own currencies for bilateral trade to mark the beginning of the end for the U.S. dollar as the key currency for global exchange. For Le Monde, Hadas writes in part: “The omnipotence of the dollar remains a fact, but China and Brazil have agreed to take a small first...