How pressing is the moment? It’s a question that most informed observers, both of politics and finance and both here and abroad, would today answer ‘very pressing.’ The sense of the urgency can be gleaned from this article by Michael Naumann of the German weekly, Die Zeit, which is part appreciation for President Obama’s gifts, part a chastening examination of what the United States and the world confronts, and part an indicator of how badly Europe today wants and needs...

Suggestions that the United States is planning a ‘buy American’ provision in the stimulus package now under debate in the U.S. Congress has created a ripple of fear around the world, and comes on top of calls from workers and businesses in other countries to do the same. Here are headlines and excerpts on the subject that that WORLDMEETS.US has posted within the past 24 hours: Le Monde, France: Trade Barriers Will Damage All Nations “Closing borders to men is as dangerous –...

For years there have been rumors in Iraq and the wider Arab world that Iran and the United States have been working together all along, merely pretending to be in conflict for nefarious purposes known only to them. As WORLDMEETS.US has documented on many occasions, these claims run the gamut, from wild conspiracy theories to well thought-out narratives. In this article from Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper, Mohammed Al-Hasnawi admits to being flummoxed about whether Iran and the U.S. are or are not...

When one looks at the issue in purely economic terms, do purveyors of porn like Larry Flynt have a point in their quest for a bailout by the U.S. government? In this article from Portugal’s business daily, the Jornal de Negocios, Frederico Bastião, a professor of ‘crisis economic theory’, makes a very strong case that adult entertainment deserves a bailout far more than even the auto industry. Bastião writes in part: “In fact, when one thinks about it, Mr. Hefner and...

When it comes right down to it, is there anything Barack Obama can do to win over arch-rivals like Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? According to this editorial from Argentina’s La Capital, the answer is probably no. The La Capital editorial says in part: “The fact that the head of the U.S. empire is viewed internationally with such sympathy and admiration is for many, highly problematic. There are governments for whom it is indispensible to have the United States as an enemy. …...

So you thought you heard it all when it comes to putting President Obama on an impossible pedestal? This article from the Pope’s homeland Germany and written by theologian Hans Küng not only praises President Obama’s forward-looking administration, it eviscerates Pope Benedict for being more like President Bush and attempting to restore the Catholic Church to the era of Medieval Europe. Part of what has spurred the article is Pope Benedict’s decision to rescind the excommunication...

Could it be that a breach has opened up between Latin America’s leading anti-imperialists, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro? In this wide-ranging analysis of recent comments made by the two leaders, who have both been courting Russia over recent years, Russian journalist Evgeny Trifonov fleshes out his claim. According to Trifonov’s article from Russia’s Gazeta, the breach is due to a number of factors, the principal one being recent overtures by Castro toward President Obama –...

It probably won’t surprise Moderate Voice readers that this year’s World Economic Summit in Davos is being written of with some derision by the world’s columnists, the chief target of the flying tomatoes being the United States. This editorial from Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace of northwestern France tackles the 2009 ‘festivities’ with great French panache. The editorial says in part: “How cruel the crisis is for the planet’s ruling class! The meeting...

Here’s a contrarian Arab view of President Obama’s first formal interview since taking office, which he decided to give to Al-Arabiya, an Arabic news broadcaster based in the United Arab Emirates. In stark contrast to the nearly across-the-board praise the president has received for the gesture, Mohammad Al-Khalif of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh newspaper says that it’s not only an embarrassment for Arabs to have needed such ‘special attention’ from Obama, but he...

There seems to be no end to the plaudits for Obama from the German press. This editorial from the Financial Times Deutschland says of Obama’s interview with Arab broadcaster Al-Arabya, “Obama had a real chance to set a harmonious and cooperative tone for relations with the Arab world. And he made masterful use of that chance. …

Even in Indonesia, where the level of Obama-mania intensity rivals that of almost any other nation, a word of caution about expectations is creeping into the domestic debate. In this examination from The Jakarta Post, Julia Suryakusuma joins the growing chorus of columnists around the world for people in their nations to get a grip and not expect miracles from President Obama. As she puts it: “It’s not just a matter of the adulation of Obama, but the attribution of saint-like qualities...

With excerpts, these are a few of the global headlines about the United States posted by WORLDMEETS.US within the last 48 hours: Liberation, France: By Sounding So European, Obama Challenges Europe Here, Bernard Guetta, a member of Liberation’s board of trustees, warns Europe that just as Bush’s failure to lead the free world forced Europe to step up, Obama’s promise of restored U.S. leadership and his European style looks likely to put Europe in the shade again: “Black,...

For those interested in seeing Iran’s coverage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s demand for an apology from the Obama Administration for past American policy toward his nation, we have packaged the text from the state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting along with the video and translation of his comments, provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute. After some weeks of what appeared to be overtures toward the Obama Administration, it seems the Iranian...

Our young president is making a name for himself – and among those who are some of the hardest people to impress: the Germans. Beyond his generally speedy start getting down to business, in this op-ed by Thomas Klau of Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, Obama’s ‘outstretched hand’ to the Islamic world, particularly his interview with Al-Arabiya, is labeled ‘diplomatically virtuosic.’ Klau writes in part: He shows a sensitivity to foreign affairs that...

There is a tumult in Bolivia – and the United States and its consumption of cocaine are right at the heart of it, along with charges that the Bush Administration was attempting to topple the government of the first indigenous Bolivian ever to lead that country, Evo Morales. Written by former Bolivian diplomat Manfredo Kempff Suárez on the eve of Bolivia’s passage of a new left-wing constitution, this op-ed illustrates the tremendous fissures in this Andean nation. A supporter of closer...

How challenging is the Middle East environment now being confronted by Barack Obama’s newly-minted envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell? Today we offer two perspectives from the French, who know a thing or two about the intrigue and intractability of diplomacy in the region. The first, an editorial from Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace of northwestern France, highlights the unfortunate legacy of President Bush’s efforts and the perceived failure of the Israeli offensive in...

One of the stories that has gotten tremendous coverage around the world, but has tended to get short-shrift due to the inauguration, is that of the miraculous ditching of a passenger jet in New York’s Hudson River. One fine example is this article from Germany – which extols heroism and describes how one can spot true heroism by praising the pilot who pulled off the crash-landing and a 60-year-old surgeon that President Bush mentioned in his farewell address. Comparing the two men to,...

In an article the starts out with the following startling assertion: “You and I are living at a turning point in world history. The only time in the known past to compare it with, is the first century B.C.”, Russian columnist Victor Trostnikov traces Western civilization from the fall of the Roman Republic to the present in order to illustrate why, in the year of our Lord 2008, Western civilization in general and the Protestant ethic that the U.S. is based upon in particular, came to...

‘CONQUEST OF THE WHITE HOUSE’ [Hoje Macau, Macau] Over the weekend, the people of WORLDMEETS.US have been hard at work to bring you continuing translated global reaction to the election of Barack Obama. Here are some of the most recent headlines from Europe, Africa and Latin America. Coming up this evening, translated coverage from Russia, France, Iraq and Bolivia: Die Presse, Austria: Obama – No Miracles, But ‘Quality and Class’ NRC Handelsblad EDITORIAL, The Netherlands:...

However much better than George W. Bush Barack Obama may be, there are many on the Latin American left that have yet to be sold on the idea that President Obama is anything more than a palatable new face for the same old bad ‘Empire’. They don’t exactly reject Obama – but their views are expressed with the tinge of a sinking feeling. One recent example of this narrative is this editorial from Colombia’s El Mundo, which reads in: “The inaugural address of...

Is the sudden emergence of Barack Obama the ‘fruit’ of a model democracy – or an aberration resulting from a capricious, unpredictable and more often than not – dangerous form of government? Those are the central questions explored in this article by Daniel Samper Pizano, one of the most sharp-tongued and popular Colombian editorial writers. Pizano writes in part: “These days, it is repeated and stressed that Barack Hussein Obama’s rise to power is the fruit...

Once again, this article from Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour makes it absolutely clear, that in the Middle East, President Obama’s inaugural address was registered loud and clear, with direct quotes from the speech being wielded by editorial writers as a warning to leaders perceived to be ‘on the wrong side of history.’ For L’Orient Le Jour, Issa Goraie writes in part: “With him, may we know how to foster the ambition to accomplish what his predecessors could...

The ripple effects of President Obama’s inauguration around the world have been powerful and immediate, and Iraq is no exception. What an irony it would be if the unpopularity and perceived incompetence of President Bush led most to an event that inspired Iraqis to build a democracy: the election of Barack Obama. In this extremely moving tribute to America and its democracy, Kahtan Mohammad Saleh al-HitIrati writes that while he’s no fan of United States foreign policy or its invasion...

OBAMA: ‘No hand extended to corrupt and authoritarian governments … and no money!’ ORTEGA: ‘No explanations about election fraud to those who extend a hand to us! [La Prensa, Nicaragua] For those who wonder whether the world’s ‘dictators and corrupt politicians’ are feeling any heat after President Obama’s inaugural address, one need look no further than this editorial from Nicaragua’s leading newspaper, La Prensa. Try as he might, it seems that Ronald Reagan’s...

Continuing with our coverage of the global reaction to President Obama’s inauguration, this article from Italy’s La Stampa fingers an issue that is sure to emerge again and again as America’s new president attempts to grapple with the challenges that confront this nation. It’s the geopolitical elephant in the room: Has American adherence to the idea of absolute national sovereignty led to the crisis that our nation and the world confront? For Italy’s La Stampa, Barbara...