Weekly roundup, March 13th 2006
DEMOCRACY: Jürgen Habermas wants the European Union to move away from the principle of unanimity that defines the structure and restricts the type of decisions made by majority votes. In this speech [in German] published in Der Standard, he suggests that the European countries in favour of more supranationality ought to hold referendums to decide if their peoples want to move forward and establish a more democratic and “core” union with pan-European presidential elections and a European Foreign Minister.
In Part I of Habermas' speech he mostly deals with the state of the public, digital sphere. What is "relevant" and "trustworthy" information on the Net? These questions are part of an essential discussion on Europe's future that is now starting to take place. See also this speech by Rowan Williams that was linked to last week. “[The Internet] provides an environment in which enraged people can gather at cause-centered Web sites and make themselves even angrier” David Ignatius wrote in the Washington Post a while back.
RELIGION: An article from the Washington Post gives an update on the Church-State situation in Spain. Shortly after Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s election in 2004, he ended a quarter-century of church relations by blocking mandatory religious classes in public schools.
"INEQUALITY: is as Brazilian as the weather and the beaches”. A realistic assessment on the economic inequalities of Brazil, written by PDT senator Cristovam Buarque: “In 2006 we will have another presidential election and will probably watch the same old debate: we will hear promises and proposals about how to grow, create more jobs, construct more highways, factories, hydroelectric projects. But quite possibly we will not have a serious debate about how to integrate Brazilian society.”
CARTOONS: The American Free Inquiry, journal of humanist thought and opinion, will reprint controversial Muhammad-cartoons in the journal’s April-May issue. Editor Paul Kurtz says: “Freedom of expression is a precious liberty basic to our democracy, the protection of which, we believe, far outweighs the possible consequences from those who might be offended.”
