EDITORIAL : THE EL UNIVERSAL, COLOMBIA

La crisis en el sistema de salud

Además de las circunstancias propias de manejos poco claros de la EPS Saludcoop, lo importante de la intervención que le hizo la Superintendencia de Salud es que ha permitido desmadejar una telaraña de irregularidades en todo el sistema, que pone sobre el tapete la credibilidad de las EPS y revela la corrupción que impera dentro de entidades estatales como el Fosyga.

En el transcurso de la investigación también se ha encontrado evidencia de que muchos parlamentarios se dedicaron a intervenir para que el Fosyga le reconociera millonarias reclamaciones a varias IPS y EPS que a primera vista eran ilegales.

Cuando el Ministerio de la Protección Social determinó que el Fosyga no podía seguir pagando las millonarias reclamaciones por la ayuda a las víctimas del invierno que hacían las EPS, y ordenó congelar 90 mil millones de pesos, empezó la gestión de muchos parlamentarios no sólo para agilizar estos pagos, sino para lograr desembolsos por concepto de los llamados “recobros” por atención o drogas no incluidas en el POS y que se ordenaban en fallos de tutela.

A muchos congresistas, incluido uno de Bolívar, se les ha señalado como tramitadores o intermediarios para gestionar tales recobros.

El caso de Saludcoop, un gigantesco conglomerado que posee bienes en Panamá y en México, inversiones en paraísos financieros y activos que no tienen que ver con la salud, y que sin embargo tiene graves problemas de liquidez, bien puede ser paradigmático y servir como ejemplo del panorama en que las EPS se mueven en Colombia.

La repetida pregunta sobre la razón por la cual el Estado no había hecho lo que correspondía, a pesar de las pruebas que aparecían contra Saludcoop, sólo es pertinente ya como una motivación para que tanto el Ministerio de la Protección Social, como la Supersalud y demás organismos de control se mantengan alerta y tengan sus ojos puestos permanentemente sobre todas las entidades e instituciones privadas que se dedican a prestar el servicio de atención en salud, y sobre ellos mismos para castigar duramente a los funcionarios públicos que se han  prestado y siguen prestándose para defraudar al Estado a costa de la salud y la vida de millones de colombianos.

Es evidente que el caso de Saludcoop revela que la prestación del servicio de salud ha sido controlada con un inaceptable grado de improvisación, a pesar de que en el sistema se mueven más de $30 billones del presupuesto nacional y otro tanto en aportes de afiliados.

No parece lógico, por ejemplo, que para vigilar el funcionamiento de las EPS, IPS y demás actores del sistema, la Superintendencia de Salud tenga sólo 150 funcionarios, insuficientes para controlar las actuaciones de más de 40 mil instituciones vinculadas al sector.

La crisis de la salud es mucho más grave si tenemos en cuenta que está en juego la vida y el bienestar de todos los colombianos, y cualquier abuso que las empresas privadas dedicadas a prestar atención debe ser castigado severamente.

Eso no significa que aquellas EPS o IPS que han prestando un servicio eficiente, cumpliendo claramente con sus funciones, deban ser metidas en el mismo saco que Saludcoop.

Todo esto implica que se hace necesaria una revisión a fondo del sistema, manteniendo lo que ha funcionado, pero eliminando todo aquello que ha servido para alimentar la corrupción.

EDITORIAL : THE BUSINESS DAY, SOUTH AFRICA

              

 

Ownership can’t be end in itself

SA’s land reform needs a pragmatic approach

ECONOMIC Development Minister Ebrahim Patel noted at the recent World Economic Forum on Africa that the domestic agricultural sector has underperformed relative to its peers in the Brics group of major developing countries.

This admission was made in the context of discussions over job creation and the government’s plan to focus on labour-intensive industries such as agroprocessing as part of its New Growth Path.

There is much to be said for efforts to beneficiate SA’s bountiful resources, be they of the mineral variety or the agricultural kind.

This is easier said than done, of course — the apartheid government was also constantly trying to find ways to beneficiate locally to replace dollar-denominated imports, and when it did succeed it was usually at great cost. But it is no good focusing our efforts on this level of production if the primary level is struggling to remain viable and continues to shed jobs. This too applies as much to mining as to agriculture.

To be sure, both industries have been adversely affected by global factors beyond SA’s control, but the government has also managed to shoot itself in the foot.

Its handling of the mineral rights allocation process is a case in point, as is the direction land reform has taken. The former appears to be back on track after a plunge in investor confidence forced the government to put a moratorium on granting new rights.

The latter is, regrettably, still mired in the swamp of racial politics, with African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema’s recent call for the scrapping of the "willing buyer, willing seller" concept and for farm land to be expropriated without compensation only adding to the confusion.

The trouble is that Mr Malema is right in one sense: land reform has been a miserable failure, with only 4%-5% of agricultural land being transferred to blacks since 1994, a long way off the government’s target of achieving 30% black ownership of farms by 2014.

His solution — forcing white commercial farmers to give up 80% of their land — would undoubtedly help to achieve the target, but ignores the fact that the majority of productive farms transferred so far are no longer operating due to neglect, a lack of skills, a shortage of capital, or all three.

Simply accelerating the land transfer process using the existing land reform model, or Mr Malema’s Zimbabwe-style land grabs, would be disastrous for agricultural production which, as Mr Patel noted, has already dipped as the number of successful commercial farms declined. This would be the case regardless of whether white farmers were compensated for their land.

By adopting an accelerated business-as-usual approach, food security would be severely compromised. Agroprocessing is also destined to fail as a job-creation strategy if all those new factories have nothing to process.

The government recently revealed that it is reviewing its BEE policy for companies because the focus on black equity ownership has resulted in a relatively small number of beneficiaries being enriched while the vast majority of black workers remain impoverished.

It is time a similar pragmatic approach is adopted towards land reform. The 30% target has become an end in itself, as if all the supposed benefits of owning a farm will automatically kick in once enough of SA’s white farmers have been persuaded — or forced — to give up some of their land.

The racial profile of land ownership is in any event more complex than the ruling party would have us believe. It is common to hear politicians say that "83% of agricultural land is still in the hands of whites".

That is patently nonsense, since it classifies the national parks, land owned by the state and its agencies, vast tracts owned by the mines and other listed companies whose shareholders include significant numbers of blacks and foreigners, as white-owned.

The government owns substantial amounts of agricultural land, much of it leased to black farmers. In fact, much of the land that has been bought for land reform purposes has not been transferred to black recipients in the form of freehold title, which continues to skew ownership figures.

According to the results of research conducted by Agri Eastern Cape, agricultural land in the hands of the government and privately owned by black farmers amounts to more than 30% of the total land available, and since 80% or more of it falls in the high rainfall zone or is irrigable, its agricultural potential is far greater than is being achieved at present.

Much could be done in land reform, in other words, by using state-owned land more efficiently, providing better support for land reform beneficiaries, making use of joint ventures to keep experienced white farmers involved, and modernising farming methods in places such as the former Transkei and Ciskei, relatively high rainfall areas that could almost double SA’s agricultural output were the land used to its full potential.

None of this suggests that the status quo concerning land ownership in SA is acceptable, or that black people who want to till the soil should not be given every opportunity to do so.

However, if the aim is real empowerment, rather than merely playing a numbers game, there are better ways of bringing many more people into the agricultural economy than fixating on an arbitrary target.

Mr Malema’s Zimbabwe-style land grabs would be disastrous for agricultural production.

NEW YORK POST: Osama, the erotic despotic

JUST call him Icky bin Laden. US intelligence analysts apparently have discovered a "fairly extensive" stash of video porn among the material hauled away from his Pakistani hideout.

JUST call him Icky bin Laden. US intelligence analysts apparently have discovered a "fairly extensive" stash of video porn among the material hauled away from his Pakistani hideout.

The Saudi’s smut was found on computers or storage devices retrieved during the special-ops strike in Abbottabad — not a complete surprise, since jihadis are really into the stuff.

Remember the 9/11 hijackers, who indulged themselves boozing and buying lap dances in Las Vegas and Florida before embarking on their murderous final mission?

And the Fort Hood shooter, who spent eight-hour sessions in a strip club in Killeen, Texas, before taking 13 lives in the name of Allah?

This is the high moral character of the Islamist fanatic: he’s not only bloodthirsty, but a hypocrite too.

And it seems that Bin Laden’s multiple wives — and the promise of 72 virgins in paradise — weren’t enough to stay his … well, we won’t go there.

The Abbottabad compound had no internet access . So how did the videos even get there? Maybe it was part of the supply chain: bread, water, batteries — and instalment seven of Hot Goats of the Hindu Kush. In any case, it’s an interesting indication of al-Qaeda’s priorities.

And it’s another confirmation of the moral depravity of the king of fanatics — a barbarous old lech who hid his head when karma came calling. New York, May 13.

EDITORIAL : THE ASHARQ ALAWSAT, SAUDI ARABIA, published in LONDON

Has Makhlouf's message got through?

The action in the Golan Heights and in South Lebanon for the first time ever in commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba means that the Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf really meant what he said; that if Syria had no security then Israel would have no security.

The Syrian regime wants less of Makhlouf's comments and the Syrian Minister of Information said that Makhlouf's statements do not reflect the opinion of the regime; however facts and history tell us otherwise. Damascus is ready to sacrifice every last Palestinian in order to serve its own goals without even having to fire a single bullet into the air. Today we are seeing this attempt to exploit the anniversary of the Nakba by having the Palestinians storm the Israeli-Syrian borders via the Golan Heights and the same thing happened in South Lebanon. This means that Damascus decided to distract the world from its barbaric repression of the peaceful protests by turning towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also wanted to send a message to Israel that further emphasises what Makhlouf said; that there will not be stability in Israel as long as there is no stability in Syria.

Of course this is frustrating as these conflicts [on the borders] did not break out for the sake of liberation but to prolong the survival of the Syrian regime. But this is considered shameful evidence of the extent to which the Palestinian cause is exploited. It is also an important indicator that Syria has not been able, at least until now, to bring Hamas' rockets into action this time in Gaza and so far Hezbollah has not set off any Katyusha rockets or the like from South Lebanon. This, of course, has important significance as it means that Hamas is not betting on the Syrian regime and that Hezbollah is well aware that there is no sympathy for it in the Arab world today. So Hezbollah is fully aware that opening the border with Israel from Lebanon now will be costly and shameful in the eyes of Arab public opinion because [it will demonstrate that] defending the Syrian regime comes before the peaceful and real demands of the people. Hezbollah realizes that part of the protests in Syria today is against Iran and against Hezbollah itself and the Arab world will not be willing to defend Hezbollah in a new absurd war, in fact it does not even have the capability [for this].

This issue should serve as a warning not only in our region but also in the US when Obama gives his speech to the Arab world as this is the same game i.e. exploitation of the Palestinian cause. But what is new is that it is being done openly and in a crude manner. Let us be clear here; there is nothing wrong with the Palestinians demonstrating in the Palestinian Occupied Territories on the anniversary of the Nakba – but what is new is the Palestinians entering Israel via Syria and the borders at the Golan Heights, as well as movement from South Lebanon. Therefore the message is clear and the goal has been exposed – the Syrian regime is trying to move on [from its troubles] by threatening Israel and it has become easy for the regime to oppress the Syrians under the old slogan that “no voice is louder than the cry of battle.”

Today, the cards have been revealed and it does not take a genius to interpret and understand what they say. Rami Makhlouf's message has gotten through but has it reached the Arabs and the West with the same level of clarity? That is the question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, NIGERIA

GOOD GOVERNANCE, NOT GNU
DESPITE the fact that he has not said so himself openly at any forum, President Goodluck Jonathan has been reported to be considering the idea of forming what has been tagged a government of national unity.  According to these ‘rumours’, the political parties being considered for inclusion in his new administration are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Both had asked their supporters to vote for Jonathan in the presidential election and did not field candidates for the presidency. Although the ACN recorded a resounding victory in the legislative and gubernatorial elections in the South-West, a majority of the electorate in the geographical zone voted for Jonathan instead of the ACN’s presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. The National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Chief Olusola Oke has however refuted the report of GNU saying it was all a kite by the opposition.
IN Nigeria’s political history, there has been no single case of a coalition government, alliance or government of national unity that has ended as blissfully as it started. In the first republic, the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) came together to form a coalition government because no political party had the parliamentary majority to form a government at the centre. Although born out of necessity, the coalition ended up as a fiasco. In the second republic, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) of President Shehu Shagari went into an alliance with the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP). The alliance did not last the four years of Shagari’s first term in office. The junior partner in the alliance, the NPP, came out of it licking its wounds. It was not all its members who were given ministerial appointments under Shagari that returned to its fold when the alliance collapsed. They declared for the president’s party.
IN 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo had a comfortable majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly. He still brought into his government, members of the two opposition political parties — the All Peoples Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD). The two opposition parties ended up as losers. In 2007, the do-or-die election conducted under Obasanjo gave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) an intimidating numerical strength in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In pursuit of what was generally believed to be his quest for legitimacy, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua brought in other parties into what he called a Government of National Unity (GNU). The gesture ended up as a Greek gift for the parties that joined his government.
ANY political party that wants to take advantage of the lessons of history and thereby preserve its collective integrity should find the idea of a GNU repulsive and distance itself from it. Nigeria is not at war and neither is it embroiled in crisis. There is therefore no need for a government of national unity. It is an outright misnomer in the present context. Nigeria operates a presidential democracy in which a chief executive can successfully run a government even when the legislature is dominated by his political opponents. Jonathan has a working majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly. He may choose to bring in seasoned technocrats who have no party affiliation whatsoever. He does not need any other political party to form a government. The PDP should run the Federal Government the best way it can and take the credit for everything it does right. It should by the same token take the rap for its failings and create room for other political parties to offer themselves as better alternatives that can give the country a more purposeful leadership.
IT is gratifying that the ACN has come out boldly to state in categorical and unmistakable terms that it would not participate in any government of national unity. In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party dispelled rumours that it was already negotiating for its own share of ministerial portfolios and directed that any of its members interested in the proposed GNU should first resign from the party. This is the type of courage and forthrightness that was lacking in the leadership of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) which in 2007 opted for the poisoned largesse that led to its fragmentation.
WHAT makes democracy meaningful and compels the party in power to serve the people’s interests is the existence of a virile opposition that constantly puts the government on its toes. A party that wins an election should justify the people’s confidence in it by giving a good account of itself in the management of the country’s affairs. A situation in which leaders of opposition parties jostle for appointments under their political opponents is antithetical to the practice of democracy. Opposition members appointed as ministers are mere appendage in the cabinet because they cannot implement the policies and programmes of their own party. We commend to other political parties the dignifying position of the ACN. Opposition parties should see themselves as a government-in-waiting and not as a bunch of politicians who will always jump at any invitation — even if half-hearted — to “come and eat”. What Nigeria needs is good governance and not a GNU.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY OUTLOOK, AFGANISTAN

              

 

Militants will not be Cajoled into Being Our “Brothers”

Is Afghanistan going on the right direction or wrong direction? This should be a common question asked by the Afghan people. But the answer to it may be a bit tricky.
After ten years of international presence, this should have been easy to answer. But unfortunately the world of expectation is different from the ground reality in the country. The Afghans wanted and expected to be better-off after the Taliban militants were overthrown in late 2001 but the existing realities show that their dream of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan is yet to come true and the realization of this dream appears to remain very elusive and sugar-coated.

The answer to the above-mentioned question is difficult in a sense that the politicians and leadership continue to pursue the policy of deceit. Afghans lose their lives in insurgent activities on a daily basis but the leadership or the president continues to define "good Taliban" and "bad Taliban" for them. The president continues to say naively that he offers his humble hand of peace to "unhappy brothers" even if they reject it thousands of time. The explosions, roadside bombings and suicide attacks are heard in different quarters of the country almost on a day-to-day basis but the president never begins to react seriously and call upon the forces under his command to prevent Afghan people from being killed, wounded, disabled and displaced.

Corruption in the government agencies has eroded the democratic values such as public trust and tolerance. But the president has never demonstrated any real moral sense to acknowledge the persuasiveness and rampancy of the corruption in his government and his administration. Instead, he has tried to show himself as the national hero to point his finger towards international community and international organizations.

Afghan people are now "pissed off" by the ongoing ineffective leadership and the policies on dealing with the cruel and atrocious insurgents that leave no stone unturned to take innocent lives and trouble the country. President Karzai should come to terms with the fact that the lunatic fringes could not be cajoled into being our "brothers." If he persists on his position, then it is time to strip him of his carte blanche.

Tragic Stories of Afghans from Atrocious Indiscriminate Acts

Afghan people continue to receive appallingly startling news stories, which are indicative of the violence of their situation and the tragedy of their lives; they also show the inability of their government to work to save the precious lives of its citizens. The tragic stories of Afghans getting killed on a day-to-day basis also reminds us of the international failure to help secure and stabilize the country and if the ongoing negative trend of security and violence continues, it should leave a scar on the conscience of those countries involved in fight against terrorists and lunatic fringes that attach no value to human beings.

One of this heartbreaking and extremely excruciating news is falling of civilians, particularly women and children, victims to insurgent attacks, roadside bombings and other deadly activities. Witnesses and officials on Sunday, May 15, 2011 said that two children were cut into pieces beyond recognition when a bomb planted beneath a culvert went off in southern Ghazni province. According to news reports, the children saw a wire under a small bridge and started pulling it out when the bomb detonated in Karosi village of Andar district on Saturday afternoon, killing two children. The district chief, Shir Khan Yousufzai, has said the dead were of ages between 10 and 12 years.

The insurgent militants or to speak in president Karzai's language, the "disgruntled brothers" continue to destroy bridges, roads, schools and other infrastructures, which are built through begging international assistance and aid. Unfortunately, these destructions often time have the loss of human lives as the above-mentioned case of the two innocent children shows.

Unfortunately, there is no one to protest and raise their voice against these atrocious indiscriminate acts of terrorists and Taliban militants. The insurgents remain the source of violence just to serve their foreign bosses or to stick to their fain in their cruel and inhuman ideology. This source must be defeated. If the government and international community have the conscience, they have to begin to act to prevent these types of tragedies in the future. Their conscience must have been shaken sufficiently to be propelled towards working to put an end to the suffering of Afghan people.

Promoting Taliban Propaganda

Recently a prestigious British newspaper had a report about the online effectiveness of Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. The report was about Taliban's new twitter account, being updated very regularly with news of glorifying the insurgent attacks and spreading hatred against foreign and Afghan security forces. Foreign journalists and some Afghans sharing links to Taliban's twitter account were all excited that "they are now tweeting in English."

There is nothing new in the twitter account of Taliban. But unfortunately we don't know why it is so 'interesting' for some people who are enthusiastically promoting Taliban propaganda by spreading the word out, sharing links of the tweets and source of the account. In the last two weeks, since the twitter account has been launched, some media outlets have made it a story worth writing about. With such reporting, the Taliban account has now thousands of 'followers'. Taliban is successful with the help of these media outlets who are giving unnecessary hype and promotion to Taliban propaganda unintentionally.

Twitter in its 'terms of use' has in clear words written that any account or user using violence and threats against others will not be allowed use of service. But strange is that not only groups linked to global terrorists like Al-Qaeda are using social networking tools like Facebook and twitter to promote their cause, but the Taliban twitter story being a headline in media for the past two days has yet received no attention from twitter officials. Its clear violation of its terms of use, and they should delete all such accounts that represent terror groups or promote their ideology and fear. An Afghan living in the US has said he will sue Twitter for this matter letting terror groups use the platform and violate its terms of use. We hope he will be successful in this.

We request those foreign journalists who cover Afghanistan to stop promoting Taliban propaganda by giving credibility to their lies through sharing their tweets. Comparing the Afghan Government's online effectiveness to that of Taliban is nonsense. By using twitter for spreading lies and propaganda, Taliban do not become superior online. Indeed it doesn't make a difference at all, for common Afghans, other than foreign journalists and Afghans living abroad.

EDITORIAL : THE KHALEEJ TIMES, UAE

Exodus threatens Syrian polity

Syrians are in a catch-22 situation. The two-month long uprising that has claimed more than 700 lives is now exploding into an international issue of displacement and refugees.

Hundreds of Syrians, who are struggling to crossover into Lebanon, in order to escape terror and persecution at the hands of government forces, are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The reported killing of civilians at the border with Lebanon, and the evolving mass exodus is disturbing. This speaks at length the nervousness of the regime in Damascus, and the very premise that it is loosening its power and authority. President Bashar Al Asad seems to lack the tact to deal with the situation, and is apparently content with the doctored make-believe assessments of his vices and the bureaucracy. Had it not been so, the opening of fire on peaceful and apolitical countrymen wouldn’t have occurred. Surprisingly, it occurred in the wake of his pronouncements to withdraw troops and tanks from some cities and offering a national dialogue.

The authorities obsession to use indiscriminate force has further jeopardised the entire situation. The International Committee of the Red Cross fears that thousands might have been detained or made to disappear, as the country is firmly in the grip of terror. The spread of unrest from Deraa to Baniyas, Homs and Aleppo is testimony to the fact that this uprising is conscious of its agenda, and is no vested movement on the part of thugs and criminals as the government wants the world to believe. This is why the world community and especially the civil society had been advocating constraint and to enter into a meaningful relationship with the men 
on the street.

The phenomenon of migration could prove very costly to the geopolitical entity of Syria, as its immediate neighbours Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq cannot withstand to accommodate the fleeing millions. Not only will this diaspora bring in renewed socio-economic crunch, but will also mount pressure on Damascus to take in dictates from foreign powers. Syria, which has lived under the shadows of aggression with Israel, will sooner than later find itself in a quagmire of its own, infringing its sovereignty and security.

This ball game of vigil and defiance on the part of people and the regime is too deadly. It has damaged whatever goodwill, which was there as Assad in the initial days of uprising called for caution and consideration. Now for most of the people promises and offers for reconciliation and dialogue fall short of legitimacy. Assad is sitting at the apex of a tree whose trunks are decaying with the passage of every single day. The exodus, coupled with severe lawless, could prove to be the last nail in the coffin.

Time for Saleh to stand down

The Yemeni president is treading a losing track. His defiance to stay put in office is not only taking him to the brink but also sliding his country in further chaos and bloodshed.

The opposition, which had earlier agreed to a series of conditionalities hoping to see transfer of power, is now too going back on its words. This new equation is untenable for peace and security of the country that had seen months of conflict and political polarisation. The rationale way out for President Ali Abdullah Al Saleh is to follow in letter and spirit the deal proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, and ensure that Yemen is saved from death and destruction in all humility.

The news that GCC chief Abdullatif Al Zayani had undertaken another visit to Sanaa in his endeavour to make the deal get going is promising. This underscores the importance the regional member states accord for peace and tranquility, and their desire to see Yemen limp back to normalcy. The Gulf plan proposes the formation of a government of national unity with Saleh transferring power to his vice, and at the same time foreseeing that the opposition is on board, as he seeks his exit within a stipulated period of 30 days. Saleh who had agreed to this deal is now apparently indulging in politics of expediency. But that is hardly going to help him, as the return of people on the streets, coupled with lawlessness, will cripple the situation altogether differently.

This deal is a moment of truth for Yemen, its ruling elite and likewise the opposition. The peaceful manner in which power is supposed to be transferred taking into account the ethnic and sectarian sensitivities of the country is, indeed, a blessing in disguise. Saleh has no other recourse but to value the GCC mediation and fall in line, instantly. Simmering tensions and changing ground realities cannot keep the GCC largesse on the table for long, and this is why it is extremely important for the president and his aides to see a reason in standing down. The dispossessed and destructed Arab country is in need of leadership and not dictatorship, per se.

 

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD, NEW ZEALAND

Arts' push for more venues a tad precious

Does Auckland need more venues for live drama, music and dance? A report for the Super City counts nine professional performing arts venues in the central city and six in other parts of the city. In addition there are 17 small- or medium-sized venues for community drama groups and the like.

Another is about to open. The Q Theatre has been equipped with 460 seats to "fill a gap" between the 448-seat Maidment Theatre and larger venues. Size seems to matter very precisely in the performing arts. Aucklanders have been hearing for many years that they need a 600-seat venue to fill another gap.

If they live on the North Shore they might wonder why they need this. Citizens on the Shore have already paid for the fine Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna that can operate in a 600-seat mode as well as its 1164-seat capacity. Movie-goers often drive across the bridge. It is not clear why drama crowds would find it too difficult.

Yet it seems to be out of the question for the newly united Auckland Council and its theatre consultants Horwath HTL Ltd. Its study of options for new venues has been tightly focused on the city centre.

Facilities such as the Mason and the Genesis Energy Theatre in Manukau are mentioned only in passing.

The council's interest is focused mainly on a proposal for a 600-seat theatre in the Wynyard Quarter development on the waterfront. This could be an exciting idea if it was the basis of an "iconic" building on the promontory of the present Tank Farm, but it is not. The proposed theatre would be incorporated into the ASB Bank development on Jellicoe St. The bank is offering $6 million of the $41 million it would cost.

Principally, it would be a long-awaited home for Auckland's leading troupe, the Auckland Theatre Company, which is seeking $10 million from the council. The rest the actors hope to raise in sponsorship and donations. The operating income remains doubtful but otherwise it is an attractive proposition that would contribute to the life of the redeveloped waterfront by incorporating bars, cafes, restaurants and an outdoor stage as well as the theatre.

Sadly, the council and its consultants are not showing as much interest in the restoration of the St James Theatre in Queen St, a grand but rapidly rotting treasure with a capacity of 1400 seats that would surely suit opera and ballet. The consultants fear it would draw events away from the Aotea Centre and The Civic. The St James' fate depends on the Government accepting a proposal to establish Auckland's international convention centre next to the Aotea Centre, incorporating that auditory disappointment.

The consultants have advised the council to give the Wynyard Quarter proposal priority despite its uncertain operating economics. They also think the council should help the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra buy the Mercury Theatre as a rehearsal venue as well as a heritage building, and suggest it keep "a watching brief" on the St James.

Maybe a Super City cannot have too many theatres for drama, opera, its orchestra, ballet and film festivals but the council is right to tread carefully. It has put off the Horwath report for further consideration. Council members should ask why the performing arts need so many venues of such precise capacity. Philistines can enjoy their entertainments in venues less than full.

Council members from wards that already have underused public theatres should also question the blinkered focus on the centre. Auckland is a united city now, and needs a revitalised centre. But it should not ignore public investments anywhere in the metropolitan area. The performing arts should widen their horizons and get out more.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY NATIONAL POST, CANADA

Slay the deficit on time

Say it ain't so. Barely a week after their historic victory, the Tories are already hedging their promise to eliminate the deficit a year earlier than originally forecast. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he needs time to consult economists and to draft a clear plan to deliver the extra savings Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised during the just-concluded election.

During the campaign, critics attacked the Tory plan for its speculative nature, asking how the government could be sure it would find the savings it was counting on to deliver on its promises. But the stop-the-gravytrain-style pledge went over well with voters, and was politically necessary, as both the NDP and Liberals were also planning to eliminate the deficit early (with higher corporate tax rates and cuts to military purchases and law-and-order initiatives).

But now comfortable in office for the next four years, the Conservatives clearly feel comfortable dropping that pledge and sticking to their original plan: a shortfall of $300-million in 2014-15.

In the meantime, the Tories will implement other expensive campaign promises, including an HST deal for Quebec. Other pledges, including income splitting, remain contingent on the books being balanced.

The Tories are ignoring one of the cardinal rules in politics: do what you say you'll do. If they can find $2-billion for Quebec, they can find $300-million to get rid of that remaining deficit. This is one promise the voters should make clear they want delivered on schedule.

The public sector's road to riches

As the federal government looks for ways to get back to surplus and the provinces fight rising tides of red ink, public-sector wages are being eyed as one possible source of savings. But even when determined to hold the line on spending, governments are finding it difficult to maintain public-sector pay levels, let alone rein them in. The blame-game currently playing out in Canada's largest city shows us why.

Earlier this month, the Toronto Police Services Board reached an agreement with the Toronto Police Association for a new contract for the Service's 8,000 uniformed and civilian employees. It will provide wage hikes of 11.2% over four years, making police officers in Toronto the best paid in the country, with a 1st Class constable making more than $90,000 a year at the end of the contract. Sergeants and detectives will make even more.

Such a generous boost in pay for the Toronto police will not only cost the city millions, but will also give Toronto's other public servants ammunition when it comes time to renegotiate their own contracts. Every other government faces the same issue: Each new union contract sets the new bar that the next union demands their contract must at least match, if not exceed. Whether handed our by an arbitrator or a government wary of labour unrest, the constantly climbing wages are not only putting budgets under pressure, but also serve to anger a general public who have little hope of seeing such raises or re-ceiving comparable pensions and benefits.

The problem is particularly acute in Ontario, where Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government has ramped up provincial spending by 50% since 2003 while buying labour peace from the public-sector unions with generous contracts. After the Toronto police deal was announced, Mr. McGuinty clearly took delight in pointing out that despite all the criticism aimed at his handling of union negotiations, he was still delivering better results for the taxpayers than the administration of Toronto's right-wing Mayor Rob Ford.

But Toronto Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee quickly fired back, telling the Premier that if Toronto hadn't signed a deal with the police, an arbitrator would have been called in to do it -and that arbitrator would have looked to other recent agreements signed by Ontario as a guide for what an appropriate settlement would be. Toronto's hand, argued Mr. Mukherjee, has been forced by years of reckless spending by the province.

Notwithstanding this he-said/ she-said, the excuses must end, and not just in Toronto: The constantly climbing salaries for public servants need to be brought under control. Reckless spending by one politician forces the hand of another, creating upward pressure on wages that leave every taxpayer on the hook.

It will take courage and political will to reverse the trend of constantly climbing public-sector wages being considered the default, even as the economy has struggled and deficits soared. But if government spending on valued programs is to remain sustainable, there's no choice. We hope governments in other Canadian cities and provinces are able to do a better job on this vital task than those found in Toronto.

EDITORIAL : THE MOSCOW TIMES, RUSSIA

        

 

Germans Offer Putin a Lesson on Plagiarism

 

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would do himself and the country a favor if he took a close look at a scandal unfolding in Germany.

German politician Silvana Koch-Mehrin resigned late Wednesday as vice president of the European Parliament and from the leadership board of her Free Democratic Party amid claims that she plagiarized her 2001 doctoral thesis on the Latin Monetary Union. Koch-Mehrin has not commented on the allegations, and her alma mater, Heidelberg University, has opened an investigation.

But the affair is turning heads across Europe, not the least because Koch-Mehrin is the second prominent German politician to quit this year over plagiarism allegations. Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, once considered the brightest star in German politics, resigned in March after admitting to cheating on his doctorate on constitutional law.

To be sure, academic cheating occurs far too often in every country, not just Germany. Iraq opened an investigation in March into allegations that dozens of lawmakers held fake degrees, and Pakistan ordered a similar check of 160 elected officials last year.

Putin, however, has stubbornly refused to comment on allegations that he plagiarized a dissertation that earned him a doctorate in economics in 1996. Analyst Clifford Gaddy first suggested five years ago that key parts of Putin’s dissertation were lifted from a 1978 U.S. business school textbook, and he insisted in a Moscow Times interview last month that the document was “a clear case of plagiarism.”

Putin’s spokesman has dismissed the claims as “slanderous.”

But how can the Kremlin’s much-touted crackdown on corruption be taken seriously with this ugly shadow hanging over the head of the national leader?

Indeed, it would be very humbling for Putin — who has never publicly admitted to being wrong — to concede that his dissertation had fallen short of academic standards. But the public would certainly show understanding if he said something like, “I got caught up in the fever of the wild 1990s and made a mistake.”

Unlike in Germany or even Iraq, such an acknowledgement would hardly cost Putin his job or significantly affect his high popularity ratings.

More important, by laying the dissertation fiasco to rest, Putin would send a strong signal in a country where university dissertations and degrees are sold freely and many politicians hold questionable academic titles. Plagiarism becomes a matter of national interest when it engulfs civil servants — who by definition should serve the public by upholding the law and showing leadership through example. Putin needs to show that no elected official is above the law in this election year — particularly if he decides to run for another presidential term.

 

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

Going Back on the Deal

Last year, Republicans refused to renew unemployment benefits unless the high-end Bush-era tax cuts were preserved. After the White House agreed to keep the tax cuts through 2012, they agreed to extend federal jobless benefits through 2011. Now, they want to renege.

The House Ways and Means Committee, on a strict Republican vote, recently passed a bill to let states use federal jobless money for other purposes, including tax cuts for business. This is a very bad idea at a time when the national jobless rate is 9 percent, and higher than that in 22 states. The $31 billion in yet to be paid federal benefits is desperately needed.

State unemployment benefits end after six months. Federal benefits, which average $293 a week, then kick in. In better times six months may be a reasonable period to expect a laid-off worker to find another job. But not these days. Right now, more than four million families depend on extended federal benefits to get by.

The bill would let states use the federal jobless money to pay debt that would otherwise have to be paid by raising business taxes. In particular, the bill could get businesses off the hook for increases that will be needed to repay $41 billion in federal loans that states took to cover shortfalls in their unemployment funds.

The tax increases would be largely automatic, because if a state does not pay back its loans within two years — which states are hard pressed to do — the federal government is required to recoup the money by raising federal unemployment taxes on employers in the state.

That leads to two important points. No one thinks it is a good idea to hit businesses with big tax increases when the economy is fragile. Nor is it necessary to stiff jobless workers to give businesses tax relief. Instead, Congress could delay and reduce the taxes until the economy is stronger, by forgiving loans for states that rebuild their funds — a fix detailed in a Senate bill by Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois.

Republicans, however, aren’t looking to restore the funds to long-term solvency; they want to cut taxes no matter what the cost. And their business constituents — who have resisted paying unemployment taxes in good times as well as bad — don’t want to pay more taxes into the system, even after the economy has recovered.

That’s where the House bill comes in. Its main proponent, Representative Dave Camp, the Ways and Means chairman, says that under the bill, states can keep paying full federal benefits. But he also says they need the “flexibility” to prevent “job-killing tax hikes.”

Arkansas, Florida, Michigan and Missouri have passed their own laws this year that will cut business taxes by reducing the standard 26 weeks of state benefits, starting in 2012. Other states are also weighing cutbacks.

The Ways and Means bill has little chance of passing the Senate with the Democrats in charge. But it provides dangerous fuel to antitax efforts in the states. And it presages more fights to come in Washington.

Joblessness is not expected to fall much this year, so come 2012, federal benefits will need to be renewed. Republicans are sure to resist, even though the arguments for renewal are sound: the benefits bolster the economy by supporting consumption and they are a humane response to economic calamity. There are better ways to help the states and bolster business during tough times. Reducing unemployment benefits is the wrong choice.

Governor Cuomo’s List

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York began barnstorming the state last week to rally support for three of his campaign promises: ethics reform, same-sex marriage and, unfortunately, his misguided cap on property taxes. He advised voters upstate to tell their representatives: “pass these bills or don’t come home.”

The Legislature plans to end work on June 20. Lawmakers should not be allowed to show their faces — anywhere — if they fail to pass serious ethics reform legislation to end Albany’s corrupt pay-to-play culture.

The state needs an independent ethics commission to oversee both the Legislature and the governor. Self-policing — the Legislature’s method — clearly does not do the job. Outside work by legislators can no longer be a state secret, especially lawyers whose firms have business with the state. Campaign finance laws need to be tightened — and enforced, with real penalties that rise sharply the longer they are not paid. Legislators from both houses are stalling on these vital reforms.

Lawmakers should be shunned if they fail to approve same-sex marriage before the end of the term. Polls show that most New Yorkers support marriage equality, and in recent weeks, two dozen top New York business leaders have spoken out forcefully on the need to pass this bill. There can be no more excuses.

Mr. Cuomo is right to push both of these issues hard. And we would urge him to start barnstorming for two more: creating an independent redistricting commission and strengthening regulations that limit rent increases for more than one million apartments in New York City. Redistricting must be done this year; rent regulations — essential protection for middle- and working-class New Yorkers — expire in mid-June.

At the same time Mr. Cuomo should drop his campaign to cap local property taxes. This one is popular with local homeowners and in many towns taxes are burdensomely high. At a time when Albany is cutting back on education aid and other support for communities, a cap would mean many towns would have to slash basic services — teachers, police officers and firefighters.

The argument that voters can always choose to override the cap is flawed. The only places where that is likely to happen are wealthy communities.

Mr. Cuomo and the Legislature have a month before the summer recess — not a lot of time to get things right. The state needs ethics reform, redistricting reform and marriage equality. The city needs rent regulations. What isn’t needed is a property-tax cap.

The Rush to Secret Money

President Obama should waste no more time and sign an executive order requiring government contractors to disclose any checks they write to the newly legal troughs of secret campaign donations. House Republicans, who in the past loudly supported such transparency, are holding hearings to push the absurd claim that Mr. Obama is aiming to violate donors’ free speech.

Government contractors are already required to disclose their spending through political action committees. The order would extend that requirement, and transparency, to money going to new groups shrouding donors and their true political goals.

Voters certainly have a right to know which companies doing business with the federal government — and paid with tax dollars — are also trying to curry favor with politicians.

If Mr. Obama fails to issue the contractors’ order, he will underline the hypocrisy of his own campaign supporters’ decision to go all out for their piece of the secret money torrent. Representative Steny Hoyer, the Democratic whip, certainly didn’t help when he recently questioned the propriety of the disclosure order.

Politics’ new supersized casino was legitimized by the Supreme Court’s decision to end decades of restrictions on corporate and union campaign spending. As Republicans offer a free-speech smoke screen, it is imperative to note that the Supreme Court also upheld the constitutionality of disclosure, so “citizens can see whether elected officials are ‘in the pocket’ of so-called moneyed interests.” In the pocket, indeed.

Republicans blocked the last Congress from mandating full disclosure. President Obama has the authority and responsibility to shine the light on contractors. That’s not enough, but it is a start.

Remembering the Freedom Riders

Fifty years ago this month, a group of black and white volunteers boarded two public buses in the District of Columbia to travel into the Deep South, where segregated waiting rooms, restrooms, lunch counters and other indignities were a fact of life despite Supreme Court rulings striking down segregation in interstate travel.

These Freedom Riders would be followed by hundreds of others. Their mission was to nonviolently confront local laws and customs that perpetuated illegal segregation. Their aim was to jolt Americans’ consciousness and challenge the Kennedy administration to enforce African-Americans’ constitutional rights.

A new documentary on PBS stations captures the political complexities and drama of this pivotal chapter in civil rights history. Written and directed by Stanley Nelson, it is based on Raymond Arsenault’s 2006 book, “Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice.”

Fears that the integrated teams would meet with violence proved well founded. The first bus was attacked in the Alabama town of Anniston by a mob of Ku Klux Klansmen who slashed the tires and then firebombed the crippled vehicle. The mob first held the doors shut, and then beat passengers escaping the burning bus. When the second bus arrived in Birmingham, passengers were brutally attacked by another Klan mob.

The violence did not end the Freedom Rides. In all, more than 400 men and women participated. Many were arrested and ended up spending time at Mississippi’s bleak Parchman prison farm. In the end, they could claim victory. Acting at the request of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued a sweeping order in September 1961 ending segregation in all interstate facilities and calling for all “Whites Only” and “Colored Only” signs to come down.

Five decades later, injustices remain. But the country’s debt to the Freedom Riders is clear.

EDITORIAL : THE KOREA HERALD, SOUTH KOREA

Civil disobedience?

Balanced regional development has been a key objective in national administration for decades. But each time the government makes a decision on the location of any major state project, competition among candidate cities and provinces become so severe that it looks like the nation is just falling apart.

As the central city of Daejeon has been selected as the location for a “science-business belt,” a complex of basic science institutes and related business facilities, a tsunami of protests is sweeping the nation. Some local administration chiefs went on hunger strike, others shaved their heads and angry National Assemblymen threatened a “civil disobedience” movement.

Only last month, the government withheld its plan to build a new international airport in a southeastern location after Busan and an alliance of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province mounted fierce contests to bring it to Gadeok Island and Miryang, respectively. Miryang is part of South Gyeongsang Province but the northerners favored it for its easy access from Daegu.

The duel between Jinju in South Gyeongsang and Jeonju in North Jeolla over the relocation of the state-run LH Corp. ended with the victory of the former. Before their merger, the Korea Land Corp. had planned to move to Jeonju and the Korea Housing Corp. to Jinju under the government’s scheme to redistribute state functions for “balanced regional development.” Their merger into LH Corp. naturally ignited the cut-throat contest between the two cities and their provinces. The government offered to move the National Pension Service to Jeonju but enraged officials and residents would not listen.

These rather pathetic scenes have several causes, but local administrators and politicians are the first to blame, while the waning authority of the central government under a presidency in an apparent lame-duck phase is worsening the situation. For elected mayors, governors and Assemblymen, a successful bid to house major state facilities to their constituencies means everything for their political ambitions.

With little objective consideration of natural conditions and economic feasibilities, they make bids for state projects financed almost entirely by the state and drive residents into heated invitation campaigns. It sharply contrasts the cases of such unwelcome projects as nuclear waste storage facilities. Whenever their bidding is turned down and other location in another province is chosen, they instantly claim a “political decision.” Hunger strikes follow, along with the bizarre ritual of shaving heads.

The science-business belt is a relatively big project envisaging overall investment of around 3.5 trillion won for a heavy ion linear accelerator and a cluster of basic science institutes. Daejeon was chosen, as we understand, primarily because of the existence of the Daedeok Science Town nearby. Daedeok, started in the 1970s, currently houses numerous public and private research facilities assuring synergy effects with the projected science complex.

However, officials of rival cities including Gwangju, Daegu and Ulsan suspect that the government picked Daejeon to secure Chungcheong votes for the elections next year. The conspiracy theory has flimsy grounds, but President Lee Myung-bak is partly responsible for the confusion.

An opponent of the controversial Sejong administrative city project, he had proposed to establish a science-business town there instead. As the legislation to change the Sejong City project was foiled, the president withdrew his offer and asked a group of scientists to start searching for the right location for the science complex.

The president should now push the science-business belt project with enthusiasm and sincerity, and without an iota of political consideration ― it is unnecessary as he is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. The demonstrating mayors, governors and Assemblymen should please go back to their original duties.

 

IMF chief’s case

 

An individual’s sexual misdeeds have never caused a greater shock and disappointment in living memory than the alleged sexual assault attributed to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund who is under arrest in New York after a hotel maid reported to police a case of attempted rape Sunday.

Bill Clinton managed to survive the Monica Lewinsky scandal with a candid apology to Americans and Tiger Woods is back on the green after a costly divorce settlement. Gary Hart’s presidential ambition in the 1980s sank when his extramarital affair with a model was exposed. But unlike the allegations cited by the New York authorities against the IMF chief, these were not criminal sex acts. France is known for greater social tolerance of private lives, yet few doubt the incident at Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan spells an end to Strauss-Kahn’s public career.

Few at the moment would extend the generosity of assuming innocence until proven guilty and thousands of Internet users across the world wrote in their revulsion at the way financial elites do their surreptitious business through recurring global economic crises and enjoy the luxury of sleeping in a $3,000-per-night room, attacking a maid for sexual gratification.

The IMF will have to find a new leader and the French Socialist Party should search for a new torchbearer for the presidential election barely a year away. The shockwaves will go beyond the caf tables in Paris and the board rooms of Wall Street to the campaign centers of the seekers of high offices everywhere with fresh warnings for moral uprightness.

Here, we have seen some rising political figures facing disgrace over complaints of sexual harassment but the political arena has fortunately been saved from serious sexual scandals of late. We are afraid that, after all these years of corruption scandals and consumptive internal feuds, anything remotely akin to the misbehavior of the IMF chief would drag our political community’s social credibility as low as it can go.

 

New floor leaders

 

Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, new floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, vows to drub the ruling party in the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April. But he has much work to do with his counterpart from the ruling party before going on the stump together with Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of his party.

On being elected floor leader on Friday, Kim, a second-term lawmaker from Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, said his party aims at winning more 50 of the 82 electoral districts that the ruling party is holding in Seoul’s metropolitan area. He was reiterating an ambitious election promise he had made as a candidate from the metropolitan area.

But what Kim needs to do as the opposition’s incoming floor leader is to establish working relations with his counterpart from the ruling Grand National Party, Rep. Hwang Woo-yea. The relationship must be based on mutual trust, which the two floor leaders will sorely need if they are to ensure a smooth, violence-free operation of the 18th National Assembly during its final year.

The public still vividly remembers the violence-ridden committee and plenary sessions the National Assembly has had in the past. Among them was a December plenary session in which some lawmakers were bloodied as the ruling party broke through the opposition’s human barricade to railroad the 2011 budget request.

During the final year of the four-year legislature, there are likely to be quite a few bills that could be as explosive as the 2011 budget request. Undoubtedly among them will be a motion for the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, which opposition leader Sohn says is severely flawed.

In a post-election interview, Kim promised to seek dialogue and compromise on all pending political issues. He will certainly find a receptive ear in Hwang, who declared earlier that the National Assembly law does not condone any physical violence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE AZZAMAN, IRAQ

Iraq’s current status quo will not continuef

 

Those who believe that the current form of government in Baghdad – the outcome of the occupation of Iraq by American forces – is sustainable are hugely mistaken.

This is exactly what worries the current nervous prime minister, who is working hard to strike a new deal that will give U.S. military presence an upper hand in Iraq.

Under current agreements U.S. occupation troops are to leave by year’s end.

The prime minister is banking on statements by his army generals, among them the chief of staff, that Iraqi troops are still not prepared to defend the country and their readiness will take at least ten more years.

The prime minister understands that the sinking of the ship in the mud that will be left in the aftermath of U.S. troops withdrawal will lead to damages worse than those inflicted on the country by the occupation itself.

He now senses that almost everybody is his enemy, even those within his closest circle working for him under the political or factional banner.

This is the kind of characteristic that breeds dictators in the course of time.

It is therefore wrong to say that Iraq’s status quo is the product of constitutional agreement organizing relations between its sects and factions or external stakeholders, namely the U.S. and Iran.

The Iraqi people still have tremendous potential despite policies meant to crush their latent power. The emergence of this latent power will restore the balance in power distorted by bloody iron fist gripping the country so far.

Nothing is stable in Iraq, and the threads keeping the political system in place are weaker than ever. And among certain categories, like the political framework residing in the Green Zone and the rest of the people, there are no threads at all.

There is an enormous event in store for Iraq – an event that will pass in its enormity the revolutions that took place in both Tunisia and Egypt.

EDITORIAL : RFI english, FRANCE

 

 

French press review

 

 

Is Dominique Strauss-Kahn's career over? Are the French Socialist Party's presidential hopes wrecked? Was there a conspiracy? Were there lots of conspiracies? And do you fancy deer, pheasant, wild rice and courgettes at just four euros? You can have it at a Brussels restaurant ... if you're a dog.

Dominique Strauss-Khan dominates this morning's French newspapers, and the headlines would make you think that it was the end of the world, or even worse.
"Shockwave" is how Catholic La Croix sees weekend events in New York, suggesting that the legal difficulties of the head of the International Monetary Fund leave that institution in Queer Streeet, at a moment when sorting out Greek debt needs all hands on deck.

Dossier: Eurozone in crisis

And DSK's arrest is not without implications for the French Socialists, many of whom had seen the IMF director as the great hope of the left in next year's
presidential battle. All of that, suggests La Croix, has been washed away by a wave of humiliation.
In its editorial the Catholic daily emphasises that the essential questions remain the sober establishment of the truth, both for the alleged victim and the alleged attacker.
Popular Le Parisien goes to town on the conspiracy theory. Already the finger of suspicion has been pointed at the CIA, the French secret service, working for President Nicolas Sarkozy, or perhaps activists from the presidential UMP party.
If the local political link seems far-fetched, there's more credibility to the suggestion that DSK was ambushed by IMF rivals, who dislike his attitude towards defaulting European economies.
Perhaps a fair trial will bring some light to bear on what remains, for the moment, a very murky affair.
Right-wing Le Figaro gives pride of place to the political implications of the scandal, with the headline "Presidential thunderbolt".
Le Figaro does not even pretend to allow the accused the normal legal entitlement to be considered innocent until proved guilty.
The right-wingers are happy to report that DSK will spend 20 years in jail, if he's eventually convicted, and this before he even faces a judge to learn if there's a case against him.
Le Figaro reports the New York hotel management's statement that DSK's accuser has been a model employee in her three years at New York's Times Square.
The right-wing paper is happy to report that the IMF is in total crisis.
And that the Socialist Party is falling apart at the seams.
And Le Figaro is delighted to remind readers of DSK's 2008 affair with a colleague at the International Monetary Fund, and the accusations of one Tristane Banon, that Strauss-Khan tried to rape her in 2002.
Neither of those cases ever came before a court of law, so it might be more reasonable for a respectable newspaper to stick to the verifiable facts.
Les Echos, Le Parisien and Libération all devote special supplements to the affair.
"Unthinkable" is the key word in the business daily's headline.
"Time up" says Le Parisien.
"DSK OUT" is Libé's curt summary.
And just in case you're not getting the apocalyptic message, communist L'Humanité says the events are an "earthquake" for the socialists.
You have to wonder what the headline writers will do if they ever have a real disaster to report.
The front page of Le Figaro reports from the Toutou Bar, a new venue in a posh district of Brussels. On the menu, a subtle mix of deer, pheasant, wild rice and courgettes at just four euros.
The bio pancakes are just two euros each. If the prices seem low, it's because the menu is for dogs. No more left-overs for Fido.
At the Toutou Bar, the dog is king, and his owner can have a spot of brunch while his four-legged friend is tucking into the pheasant and deer at four euros a shot.
They even have a beer, non-alcoholic, based on bone marrow, called, cleverly, Red Dog.
Facing a certain amount of understandable criticism, the bar's owner says "even if I close down, that won't stop people from dying of hunger."
Perhaps he could offer them the deer, pheasant rice and courgettes at prices fit for a dog.

EDITORIAL : THE TEHRAN TIMES, IRAN

Persian Press Review

Tehran Times Political Desk

This column features excerpts from news articles, editorials, commentaries, and interviews of the leading Iranian newspapers and websites.

Sunday’s headlines

KAYHAN: Mehr housing units in new cities will be given to qualified persons from next month

KHORASAN: Egyptian youths demonstrate, call for cutting gas export to Israel and expelling Israeli ambassador

HEMAYAT: West uses human rights as a tool to serve its interests

JAVAN: President say goodbye to 3 economic ministers

JAME JAM: Dangerous addicts abandoned in the city (Tehran)

HAMSHAHRI: Largest indoor funfair entertainment center in the Middle East unveiled in south Tehran

QODS: Ministries which have neither minister nor caretaker

IRAN: Majlis speaker says government is responsible for the merger of ministries

TAFAHOM: Household gas prices increase

SHARQ: Meeting of Larijani and Ahmadinejad at the presence of Supreme Leader

FARHIKHTEGAN: Silent increase in taxi fare in Tehran

Leading articles
In a perspective column HAMSHAHRI says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a letter on Saturday which showed he had said goodbye to ministers of oil, industries, and welfare a week earlier (May 8) and this showed the parliamentarians’ letters to the dismissed ministers to remain in their job had been futile. In his letter the president thanked the ministers for their great efforts and sincere services to the country and announced the end of their terms in office. The writer says now the question is why no one had information about the letter and even the ministers themselves did not know that they had been sacked a week earlier. The writer says this is a question which answer to it by government officials can clear up misunderstandings. Of course, the writer say, the president can reshuffle the cabinet and change the ministers whenever required but he asks what is the criterion for making changes to the management system? The writer concludes that in the “Year of Economic Jihad” the country needs managerial stability in order to turn threats into opportunity and not vice versa.

KAYHAN in a news report quotes the Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights Mohammad-Javad Larijani as saying no Iranian citizen has been arrested or put in jail because of being a member of the Bahai community. The Bahais enjoy citizenship rights in Iran as any other Iranian citizens, but if they commit any crime the Judiciary deals with them like other citizens, Larijani told reporters in South Africa. He said Bahaism is not a religion in Iran but a diversionary sect. The official said based on the Iranian law, publicity in favor of the Bahaism is a crime, but the Bahais enjoy complete freedom in their personal life and nobody opposes them.