"Bin Laden Has to Show Himself”

SPIEGEL interview with Gilles Kepel, an expert in Islamic affairs, about the political failure of fundamentalism, the influence of the terrorist organisation Al Qaida in the Islamic world, and Palestinian extremists in their struggle against Israel:

“I don’t doubt that religious radicalism will remain a threat. But I think the danger of its mobilising the Arabic masses in the long term has been averted. … The Islamic idea has lost its explosive political force as an alternative for society. … The terrorist attacks were only intended as the first step in Bin Laden’s strategy. The real objective was to lure US soldiers to Afghanistan and to dig their graves there on the battlefield, as had been done with the Soviets before. Only then would he truly have become an idol. But as it is, the demonstrations against the West simply remain a flash in the pan. … Hamas is not acceptable as a partner in international negotiations. And the frustration of the Palestinians who no longer want to pay the price of the militant course is growing.”

“It’s a Merciless Line of Business”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with fashion designer Giorgio Armani, 67, about the pathos of his line of business, the merger game and talk of recession among competitors, and the question of how bitchy Hollywood divas really are:

“When I started out 30 years ago, I still used to go to Paris to look in the display windows of Hermès or at the ties of Cardin. Luxury means timelessness, which goes beyond fashion. At Armani, it is based on a lasting integrity which does not depend on the season. … At some stage, people must realise that many brands are contradictory and only consist of puffed-up advertising. … Awarding licences would have been a lucrative source of income. But that was not my way. … If you float a company on the stock exchange, you’re in need of money. However, my company has always financed itself. It has always been solvent. In short: it simply wasn’t necessary for me. … The entire Hollywood business has long become a totally crazy competition. That has also made the actresses very spoilt. And having everything served up to them made them hysterical. Unfortunately, they sometimes ended up making dreadful choices.”

“I Act out of Personal Conviction”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Peter Hartz, head of the human resources department at Volkswagen, on the efforts of the German government committee chaired by him to reform the labour market, on Sacred Cows and unemployed people as employees of the job centre:

“We are defining the critical points, and then developing the appropriate solutions around the problem. There’s an enormous amount of room alongside the Sacred Cows. … Every job centre is to be affiliated to a so-called personnel service agency, which will operate like a private agency for temporary work, or may even be one. Unemployed people will be hired by them – with all the usual rights and obligations. In practical terms they will only be unemployed for a logical second. … We call this the “Me plc” or the “Family plc”. In future unemployed people will legally be allowed to earn an additional income up to a certain limit, whereby only part of that will be offset against benefits. They will only have to pay a flat-rate tax of say ten percent. Compared with illicit jobs, everyone stands to profit: the tax payer, the tax office, the job centre and the unemployed. … We are forecasting that our concept can bring unemployment down to two million within the first three years. … If everyone goes along with it, the reform package could go ahead as soon as January 1 of the coming year.”

“You’ll Soon Be in Paradise”

Middle East: Outraged at the death of her boyfriend, the Palestinian student Airin Ahmet allowed herself to be recruited for a suicide attack. Her evidence is now giving Israeli investigators insights into the network of terrorism. Palestinian universities are currently the most popular recruitment sites. Here activists can conspire unnoticed. In fact, most Palestinian suicide bombers are students.

“The Pope Holds the Reins”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, on the scandal surrounding paedophile priests, the socio-political power of the church in a highly individualised society, and the condition of John Paul II:

“It’s been known for years that paedophilia is a serious, ultimately incurable form of misconduct. Since that time everyone must be aware that you cannot simply transfer priests who have transgressed to a different position. All the bishops are clear about that. … Quite obviously, every single case is one case too many. But one shouldn’t incite mass hysteria either and act as if these offences occurred en masse. There’s no question of that. … We see that in crisis situations people do indeed seek the help and support of the church. Recent events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the crazed gunman in Erfurt have demonstrated that once again very clearly. However, people’s high level of individualisation today, the fear of longer-term commitment is leading to additional losses. … The firm stance taken on the issue of sexual abuse by priests against minors in the USA, for instance, proves that the Pope holds the reins of the church firmly in his hands.”

“Life is Like Godzilla”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with writer Jonathan Franzen on the challenge of writing a social novel:

“I wanted to write a serious book which would not only appeal to the readers of serious books. It’s terribly easy to fall flat on your face with something like that. … There were times when novels had no competition. They provided entertainment for the bourgeoisie and also educated people concerning the social conditions within society. … Then novels started facing competition from movies. And finally, television has almost completely released novels from the above tasks. … Novels have lost their social role, so in our culture novelists can no longer feel like important personages. That’s discouraging. Especially because writing books is quite an effort. … It does take a good deal of strength and optimism to fail and to be open for the opportunities and liberties that emerge from that failure. … It seems to me that Americans are enormously afraid of failure, just as they are afraid of illness and death. When in fact it’s part of life, and only the fear of it is destructive and cripples you emotionally. So I thought, why not have a bit of fun with fear.”

“The Spirit Is Decisive”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Arsène Wenger, coach of Arsenal London, about modern working football, the mistakes made by the French, the spirit of the English and the cultural shock experienced at the World Cup.

“The Hour of the Marshal”

Polish farmers’ leader Andrzey Lepper is stirring up the fear of the European Union. Many farmers feel that their country’s approaching EU membership will leave them totally at the mercy of the market forces. And Lepper offers them simple recipes: he propagates the idea of a planned economy along the lines of the Belorussian president Aleksandr Lukashenka, with whom he is often compared on account of his authoritarian manner.

“Attacking from Many Directions”

SPIEGEL interview with radiotherapist Michael Molls about patients’ fear of radiation, the overrating of chemotherapy and new strategies against cancer:

“One reason why the image of radiotherapy needs correcting is that there are still people who talk about nuclear power, Chernobyl and radiotherapy all in one breath. … Chemotherapy is very successful with ‘fluid tumours’. But with solid tumours – which include in particular the widespread killer cancers of the breast, prostate gland, lung and alimentary tract – the efficacy of chemotherapy is not so good. … We want to combine radiotherapy with gene therapy to make diseased cells more sensitive towards radiation by modulating their genes accordingly. And we want to be able to aim the radiation as a tightly focussed bundle to within millimetres, so as to spare the surrounding healthy tissue.”

Drugs: The pharmaceutical company Novartis has developed a new drug, a universal remedy for allergies.

“Miraculous Powder in a Shrivelled Package”

Materials research: The disposable diaper has matured to become a high-tech product. Modern diapers owe their absorbency to granules that have an enormous capacity for swelling. This superabsorbent powder can bind over thirty times its own volume in urine – and holds on to it. Superabsorbers are synthetic long-chain molecules which are bunched up and cross-linked. Add liquid and they swell up, sucking the liquid into their hollow spaces. Two or three teaspoons of the finely granulated powder added to a glass of water, and you can happily turn the glass upside down. The mixture wobbles like a jelly, but stays where it is. In the meantime, manufactures have found other areas of use than diapers for their miraculous powder. Pellets of it ploughed into the ground are already keeping golf courses green. On dry days they gradually release the water they have absorbed. And in the Channel tunnel between France and the UK, the granules keep the walls water-tight: as soon as water seeps in, they swell up and seal the leak.