Le Monde diplomatique on Sun, 14 May 2000 19:06:30 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> May 2000



   Le Monde diplomatique 
   -----------------------------------------------------
   
   
                                  May 2000
                                      
     
UNITED STATES GOES GLOBAL

The control of pleasure *

by IGNACIO RAMONET

     How could it fail to fascinate us? The United States has powerful
     resources with which to excite our envy and enchant our hearts and
     minds. In political terms, it has the amiable countenance of an old
     and accommodating democracy, heir to a revolution of universal
     significance and a rich culture. For millions of oppressed people
     all over the world, its famous symbol - Liberty lighting the world
     - still represents a powerful message of hope and the promise of a
     better life.
     
     After emerging victorious from the cold war, the US went on to win
     the war in the Gulf and then in Kosovo, upholding humanitarian
     principles and countering authoritarian regimes or evil
     dictatorships on each occasion. Having reached this peak of
     military glory as the only remaining "hyperpower", it coolly
     dominates the world like no other country in history.
     
     What is more, the length of the current US cycle of growth seems to
     confirm that God really is on America's side. Did it not invent the
     internet and launch the new economy? Is it not the driving force
     behind globalisation?
     
     All over the world, people are following its example, adopting the
     latest management methods, legal systems, sales techniques, spin
     doctors and, of course, its fashions, stars and myths. US firms in
     every field - from Microsoft to Yahoo, Walt Disney or Monsanto -
     flaunt their intriguing success and continue their world conquest,
     backed by clever advertising campaigns.
     
     But whatever its admirers may think, it is hardly surprising that
     here and there, and above all in America itself (as we saw in
     Seattle last December and in Washington this April), people should
     be wondering about the meaning of this offensive. About the new
     face of the US empire. The power of its ideology. And its
     strategies of persuasion.
     
           <http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2000/05/02pleasure>
     
                                             Translated by Harry Forster
     
The specialities of nowhere

by RICK FANTASIA

                                                Original text in English
     
Irresistible business schools

by IBRAHIM WARDE

     Is the universal teaching of US-style management transforming
     schools into companies, students into customers and teachers into
     consultants?
     
                                             Translated by Harry Forster
     
     
GENETIC TESTS AND HEALTH INSURANCE

A future divided

by DOROTHÉE BENOIT BROWAEYS and JEAN-CLAUDE KAPLAN

     On 6 April the US company Celera Genomics announced that it had
     decoded the 3bn characters making up the genome of each human
     being. This scientific breakthrough could in the near future lead
     to the development of treatments for such common illnesses as
     cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and the like. But there
     is also the prospect of enormous greed. On the pretext of inventing
     tomorrow's medicines, there is a temptation to patent genes,
     privatise them and use them for the wrong ends - as the case of the
     Axa insurance company showed last February. Before it was forced to
     back down under pressure from public opinion, it had decided to
     increase the monthly premiums paid by parents of handicapped
     children by 180%. Tomorrow, knowing the secrets of DNA could enable
     other insurers to select, eliminate or penalise their customers on
     the basis of genetic risk. So there is an urgent need for
     legislation to preserve the genome as the common property of
     humanity.
     
                                         Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
     
In Europe and America *

           <http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2000/05/051geneticsbox>
     
                                         Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
     
     
LEGACY OF UNJUST LAND DISTRIBUTION

Zimbabwe in the grips of strife and uncertainty

by CHRISTOPHE CHAMPIN

     Zimbabwe is going through an unprecedented crisis in the run-up to
     general elections that look risky for the ruling party. Now faced
     with a credible opposition, Robert Mugabe is doing all he can to
     hold on to power, violently attacking the few thousand white
     farmers who still hold the best land. But this strategy could
     permanently destabilise the country and is worrying its neighbours.
     
                                         Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
     
     
CHALLENGE TO NEW LABOUR

London's mayor versus Tony Blair

by PHILIPPE MARLIÈRE

     Massimo D'Alema and Tony Blair - who both recently signed a
     document calling for a further shift to the free market by the
     European left - are currently going through a bad patch. D'Alema
     has had to resign as prime minister as a result of Italy's regional
     elections. Tony Blair is having to deal with setbacks on all sides
     since May's local elections - not least Ken Livingstone's victory
     as Mayor of London. This bitter pill for New Labour follows an
     unprecedented, and highly unpopular, display of authoritarianism.
     
                                                  Translated by Ed Emery
     
     
HOW TO SOLVE CULTURAL IDENTITY PROBLEMS

Choose your own nation

by YVES PLASSERAUD

     Throughout the world, ethnic entanglement is on the increase. In
     the Balkans, Northern Ireland, the Basque country, the Caucasus and
     Indonesia, conflicts involving ethnic minorities and minority
     rights appear to defy solution. The result is often a demand for
     secession, and the consequent proliferation of states creates
     instability and an endless chain of confrontations. But a look at
     European history shows other examples that could offer hope for the
     future.
     
                                              Translated by Barry Smerin
     
     
REAPPRAISING BOURGUIBA

Subversive mourning in Tunisia

by KAMEL LABIDI

     Habib Bourguiba, former president of Tunisia, died on 6 April.
     Though his funeral was really an excuse to glorify his successor,
     President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the genuine emotion that swept
     the country reflected more than just gratitude towards the man who
     led Tunisia to independence. It was also part of a reappraisal of
     his record - in particular on education and women's rights - which
     prompts a comparison with the current regime.
     
                                             Translated by Harry Forster
     
     
GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

South Lebanon's border wars

by HENRY LAURENS

     In April the UN Security Council welcomed Israel's decision to
     withdraw from south Lebanon. It stressed however - at Syria's
     insistence - the need to achieve a full, fair and lasting peace in
     the Middle East, based on UN Resolutions 242 and 338. Much remains
     unclear. How far will the Israeli troops withdraw? How will
     Hizbollah respond? What about its demands for the release of its
     men held in Israel and the return of seven villages in the disputed
     border territory? The danger of escalation cannot be ruled out.
     
                                            Translated by Barbara Wilson
     
     
A COUNTRY REBUILT FROM ASHES AND MUD

Starting over in East Timor

by our special correspondent ROLAND-PIERRE PARINGAUX

     The campaign of terror launched last September, after 78.5% of East
     Timorese had voted for independence, was the last in a long chain
     of violence that has claimed 200,000 victims. This time it has left
     at least 1,000 dead. As a result of the scorched earth policy of
     army and militias, East Timor has been devastated. The local
     authorities and the UN's provisional administration (Untaet) are
     now trying to get the country back on its feet.
     
                                              Translated by Julie Stoker
     
Calling in the judges *

           <http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2000/05/12timorbox>
     
                                              Translated by Julie Stoker
     
     
THE ENDLESS UNDECLARED CIVIL WAR

Why Colombia's guerrillas haven't made peace

by our special correspondent MAURICE LEMOINE

     The long, entrenched struggle between the guerrillas and the
     authorities rolls on. Yet neither side wants to be seen as
     intransigent, the obstacle to peace.
     
                                        Translated by Derry Cook-Radmore
     
     
BACK PAGE

Woody's woeful women *

by ALAIN BRASSART

     The Paris critics are more respectful of Woody Allen than American
     critics are. After all, since the New Wave, the French have grown
     used to seeing the director as 'sole creator' of a film (rather
     than part of a team including a scriptwriter, editor, producer) -
     always constructing the same film, essentially his own vision of
     the world. Perhaps this is why they are prepared to overlook the
     fact that Allen is an incurable misogynist. His latest, Sweet and
     Lowdown, reinforces the point.
     
           <http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2000/05/14woody>
     
                                              Translated by Barry Smerin
     
   
   
   
          English language editorial director: Wendy Kristianasen
     _________________________________________________________________

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