Democratic thinking

The foundamentals of democracy

2009-09-26T13:01:00.000+01:00

I was surprised to see the reaction of people in the UK when they found out that in Greece you get fined and even put in jail if you refuse to vote in the general elections. They thought that it was totalitarian to force someone to vote in a democracy. The interesting part though here is that without majority representation there is no democracy. The simplest concept of democracy is of majority

Streamtime - the wave of change in Iraq

2009-08-10T16:50:00.002+01:00

Have been following conversations on Streamtime and have to say that the mood is fast changing in the Middle East. Iraq seems more empowered than ever to make a change but how deep or when exactly is yet to be seen. What is more interesting though is that the guys at Streamtime are starting to preach to their fellow Iranians about freedom. An interesting scenario of comradeship but perhaps also a

Democracy and corruption

2009-06-02T00:26:00.002+01:00

The reputable British economy is in tatters and whilst communist economic policies are being forced to a capitalist system, the political system itself is rife with corruption.The MP expenses story shook the foundations of British politics like the sub-prime rocked the City.Goes to show that the UK is not so dissimilar as some might think to the rest of the European Union and developing countries

UK MPs expenses scandal - how about democracy

2009-05-15T13:09:00.001+01:00

We are hearing some really disturbing things in the UK about expense claims from the members of parliament and the problem is large. However few have said that the whole expenses system was invented to boost MPs salaries.Although the current system needs to be changed immediately, MPs should have a rise in their salaries. Because if they are not paid top dollar, they will be easier to bribe and

British Jewish MP condems Israel for Nazi tactics

2009-01-23T18:05:00.000Z

No comment:

Common crime vs state crime

2008-12-25T03:32:00.003Z

Greece has gone through some difficult times recently. Namely because of the cold blooded murder of an innocent 16 year old boy by a police officer in Athens. The death resulted in 5 days of riots, similar to the street riots in Paris and Los Angeles following similar acts of state violence.The UK can be proud for its 'subjects' (this is how they call people there) because it is perhaps the

Communism is the new capitalism

2008-12-17T17:24:00.003Z

Funny things happen during crisis. Perhaps some of the most significant changes are the monies invested in banks by governments. One could say that making the banks partly public (state-owned) is communist or at least socialist politics.What about the free market gents?How about de-regulation and privatisation?The funniest of all are the Americans, who are enjoying the peak of their economic

Consumer democracy : Transport for London

2007-12-19T17:06:00.000Z

Ken Livingstone is a classic example of a "left-wing" politician with right-wing policies. Under his guise as a progressive thinker he has evolved TFL (Transport for London) to a massive ticket collection machine.To his credit ticket collection has not only increased but the majority of TFL is now working on collecting tickets and issuing fines. This has resulted in great monetary gains for his

George Papandreou survives election loss

2007-12-03T20:10:00.000Z

The leader of the Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in Greece has survived failure to win the elections and continues to remain party president and opposition leader in the Greek parliament. His track record as Foreign Affairs minister was good, however since taking the position of party leader he has lost three national elections. His party reforms have been inconsistent and his new way

Democracy on fire in Greece

2007-08-29T11:30:00.000+01:00

I received an interesting viral email from someone in Greece that claims the forest fires are the people's fault. He is absolutely right. The bi-polar political situation between center PASOK and right-wing New Democracy has done the country no favours over the years.The fires are a bright example of this. Not much has been done in terms of fire safety and prevention as the two main parties fight

Is Islam about democracy?

2007-03-22T00:34:00.000Z

According to Dr Pervaiz Nazir, senior research fellow at the Centre for International Studies at the University of Cambridge, Islam and democracy go hand in hand. He claimed that muslims should not be secular to adopt democratic ways of government.Dr Nazir, of Pakistani origin also said that instead of forcing western ideals, western countries should embrace and respect Islam.More here.

Thai food for thought

2006-09-20T21:21:00.001+01:00

The recent 'troubles' in Thailand have made an impression on the global political scene. The military coup has started peacefully without a single human hurt. How long is this going to last for?Is Thailand another country that needs the Anglo-American democracy like a monkey needs his cellphone?DNA from India reports:In an age when democracy is spreading globally, military coups look old

Arab world's rejection of Americas democracy

2006-09-09T14:44:00.000+01:00

Outspoken Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor of the Lebanon's Daily Star is discussing Western democracy and America's efforts to impose USA style "democracy" to the Middle East:The US is behaving as though it has the patent on "democracy." In the same way it exports Uncle Ben's Rice, Starbucks and F16s to the Middle East, it is eager to impose its own stars-and-stripes brand of "rule by the people for the

Confessions of a neocon for the Gucci Jihad

2006-08-30T01:40:00.000+01:00

Once a neocon (neo-conservative) friend confessed that indeed the suicide wave of 'martyrs' in Palestine was an act of fashion, like Gucci and Prada.Apparently suicide bombing was 'in' as an easy way into martyrdom and Muslim heaven.I guess that also the fighters in Lebanon have too, been the 'fashion' victims of another struggle, in unison with their fellow people that suffer from the same

The autocracy in the Middle East

2006-07-19T23:41:00.000+01:00

Z-Mag reports on George W. Bush claims that he wants to bring democracy to the Middle East. But the evidence indicates that Bush only likes democracy when the elections go his way.The Palestinians, subjected to a ruthless occupation by Israel for nearly four decades, held a democratic election in January. Much to Bush's dismay, they elected Hamas to lead their parliament.Likewise, voters in

St. Kitts Jekyll and Hyde democracy

2006-06-25T15:21:00.000+01:00

The Democrat newspaper exlores the burning issues about the St. Kitts infamous electoral reforms:"It is a commonly held view that democracy is about government for the people, by the people, and of the people. Such an ideal can only be achieved under a fair and transparent electoral system where there is one man, one vote. This is not the case in St. Kitts.The results of the past three General

Google censoring the world’s information

2006-05-29T23:00:00.000+01:00

Google has undergone a major change in policy when 'organising the world's information'. It decided to censor it instead.The change was announced by Google engineers who are stating that Google now decides to return documents - when searching for something - based on their 'importance'. The importance of documents is automatically calculated by Google's algorithms.This means that if you have a

Consumer democracy: Gorton’s Fisherman

2006-05-27T21:33:00.000+01:00

Continuing the Consumer Democracy series the Resident Alien blog by James Kew exposes Gorton’s Fisherman packaging tactics over here.

Because he says so

2006-05-25T23:23:00.000+01:00

Consumer democracy: Alitalia Sucks.com

2006-05-24T01:55:00.000+01:00

You never really realise how bad corporations can be, until you come across one. Most of the time, even then, you never learn or often quickly forget.Recently, after a flight between Italy and the UK my buggage was lost. The evil corporation?Fiasco budget carrier Alitalia. After their staff showered me with lies about it at the airport, my first reaction when I got home was to research them

Madeleine Albright - The Battle of Ideas

2006-05-16T18:23:00.000+01:00

Q: You say in this book people ask why cant we just keep religion out of foreign policy. And your answer is that we can't, and shouldn't. Why?A: I would put myself in the generation of people who used to say, 'It's complicated enough. Let's not bring God and religion into it.' But if you look at what the various problems are, religion itself is playing a great part. Look at the Middle East. If

The Freefalling Dollar

2006-05-14T18:06:00.000+01:00

The dollar is getting hammered almost daily now. It’s like watching the blood ooze from an open wound. In just one month the dollar has tumbled from $1.20 to $1.29 vs. the euro; an astonishing 7% retreat.Can’t the American people see what is happening to their future? In just 6 years Bush has taken the world’s strongest currency and chopped it into finally ground hash. By the time people rouse

Cuba fighting for dignity

2006-05-12T00:05:00.000+01:00

Cuban author and scholar Miguel Barnet spoke up for Cuba’s right to dignity and independence, while denouncing international slander campaigns against the Revolution. Meanwhile, the Pan-European Conference of Solidarity with Cuba passed a declaration demanding the European Union distant itself from US policy against Cuba. The

Revolutions in Nepal and Venezuela?

2006-04-22T00:52:00.000+01:00

For a decade or so, the media has been talking about new color and flower revolutions with colorful revolutionaries like "orange" ones in Ukraine. But, after so many sponsored, colored and sanitized revolutions, as additions in the market of "a series of products deprived of their malignant property: coffee without caffeine, cream without fat, politics without politics the other

Berlusconi is still..Berlusconi

2006-04-22T00:48:00.000+01:00

"At this stage it's become his decision. It's become a matter of institutional etiquette. If he makes it, he makes it. If however he doesn't, the institutions have their powers, democracy goes ahead": with these words the Union leader Romano Prodi, arriving at Santi Apostoli, responded to journalists in connection with the fact that Silvio Berlusconi, despite the definite announcement made by the

Democracy and the King in Nepal

2006-04-22T00:43:00.000+01:00

At times diplomacy at local level does work. King Gyanendra of Nepal seems to be finally bowing to international/domestic pressure to restore democracy in his picturesque mountain country, home to the legendary Mt Everest, and trekkers' paradise, now stricken with Maoist rebellion and pro-democracy bloody agitations.Indeed, prior to the king's television appearance, US Ambassador to Nepal James

Turkey vows to fight Kurds

2006-04-07T01:47:00.000+01:00

Turkey's leaders promised a tough fight against Kurdish militants but said Thursday that would not mean backtracking on reforms critical to their bid to join the European Union. Hours later the European Commission demanded an investigation into ongoing violence that has left 16 dead after a week of the worst street clashes in decades. Two EU legislators accused Turkey of breaking international

Defend Peruvian Democracy

2006-04-01T04:31:00.000+01:00

Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala asserted he fostered the democracy of his nation because people are irritated with the policies of traditional parties, which only take them into account in times of elections. In a news conference Friday, Humala, candidate for the Union por el Peru Party (UPP), and currently leading intention of votes, said those spearheading criticism and attacks

A European Belarus

2006-03-13T21:35:00.000Z

Since Lukashenko came to power, dozens of independent newspapers and hundreds of NGOs have disappeared, and thousands of entrepreneurs have suffered losses. Moreover, speaking the Belarusian language is today considered as a sign of belonging to the riotous opposition.This is not normal. Freedom of conscience, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of information, freedom of economic

Nigeria challenges youths on democracy

2006-02-25T13:44:00.000Z

Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged youths in the country to protect the foundation of democracy.The vice president was speaking at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when he received a coalition of youths from across the northern part of the country urged the group, consisting of professionals, businessmen and political activists, urging them to remain steadfast and propagate party

Western democracy

2006-02-19T03:38:00.000Z

The Western democracies, so keen on exporting their political model to the rest of the world, seem to be perfecting the art of shooting themselves in the foot, and I'm not even going to mention the war in Iraq.The cartoon affair which showed up Danish democracy as religiously illiterate at the onset and by last week's end defensively bigoted was preceded only two weeks earlier by President

Where is American Democracy heading?

2006-02-08T22:18:00.000Z

Where are we headed, as a people? Are we on our way to the Distopia Orwell wrote about, in which people are carefully controlled and uniform, and the one party government is life? In which there is no dissent, because the language to express dissent has been taking away, and in which art and love have virtually ceased to exist? We are all a product of the government we were raised in. Many of

Washington's Calls for Democracy Exposed

2006-02-06T03:14:00.000Z

The US, self-styled promoter of democracy in the Middle East, is threatening to punish the Palestinian people for exercising their democratic rights. The United States is spearheading pressure on international donors alarmed by the win of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections to cut off aid. Washington, in effect, is threatening to bankrupt the

Isreali Insider on Hamas victory

2006-01-29T10:25:00.000Z

Following their resounding election victory, the Islamic militants of Hamas met the question of whether they will change their stripes with a loud "no:" no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, no renunciation of terror.But the world still holds out hope that Israeli and international pressure can make them change. At stake is the future of Mideast peacemaking, billions of dollars in aid, and

The problem with democracy

2006-01-29T10:22:00.000Z

And now, horror of horrors, the Palestinians have elected the wrong party to power. They were supposed to have given their support to the friendly, pro-Western, corrupt, absolutely pro-American Fatah, which had promised to "control" them, rather than to Hamas, which said they would represent them. And, bingo, they have chosen the wrong party again.Result: 76 out of 132 seats. That just about does

Democracy Under Fire in the Middle East

2006-01-28T14:29:00.000Z

As the world is recovering from a shock of surprise at Hamas' landslide victory in the Palestinian elections, reactions from around the globe are laying bare the immense contradictions, that are woven into the fabric of Israeli occupation. Nevertheless, it has also become clear that the Palestinian response to the current Israeli policy of continuing land confiscation, ethnic segregation and

Hamas election victory for democracy

2006-01-27T00:18:00.000Z

The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) Thursday praised the conduct of the Palestinian elections and suggested that if it did emerge that Hamas have won as reported, it would be a huge blow to the US and the Zionist regime. Caabu director Chris Doyle told IRNA that the political lobby group wanted to emphasize the elections were "hugely successful" as a democratic exercise. "It was

Palestinian Democracy and Iran

2006-01-26T23:12:00.000Z

The electoral victory handed to Hamas by the Palestinian voters will serve to isolate the Palestinian Territories from the West and its resources while likely transforming it into a de facto annex of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Without US and (potentially) European fiscal support, effectively amounting to cash donations, a rapid domestic collapse of a resource-anemic Hamas-run Palestinian

Police tear gas pro-democracy rally

2006-01-24T23:49:00.000Z

Opposition political parties in Nepal have called a general strike, set for Thursday of this week, to protest against direct rule by King Gyanendra. The strike is timed to coincide with the deadline for nominations for sham elections called by the king. A coalition of seven opposition parties have called for a boycott of these elections and a restoration of “total democracy”. The parties also

Nigeria: A military or civilian democracy?

2006-01-23T20:49:00.000Z

At pertinent points in the democratic life of Nigeria, the type of democracy the people seem to be practising will be brought to the fore. The current political confusion in Oyo State provides one such benchmark. With calls being made to the President to restore Ladoja to power, you wonder if such calls should be made. Under military rule, with a dictator at the helm, yes, such calls are

Corrupting Power of Earmarks

2006-01-21T13:12:00.000Z

Fueled by unprecedented political scandals, both political parties in both the House and Senate have ushered in the year with a debate over lobbying reform. American's cynicism regarding Congress in general has reached new highs. Clearly, Congress must make systemic changes to help restore the public's trust and assure the American people that their elected representatives are here in Washington,

Google's Non-Evil Stance on Democracy

2006-01-20T15:31:00.000Z

Google's refusal to hand over aggregate search information to the Bush administration -- while the other major engines reportedly have -- is zinging through the blogosphere. Danny's got a great take on it from the privacy and search perspectives, but there's a marketing angle here, too. MSN and Yahoo! are already suffering a consumer backlash resulting from their decisions to turn over

TV sting operations in India

2006-01-15T04:47:00.000Z

It is a measure of the growing perversion of public taste that people actually seem to want more and more sting operations to be aired on TV. During the last week at least a dozen ordinary people have asked me when the Amar Singh tapes would be finally broadcast, which channel is most likely to do so, and if I have any idea about their contents. The thrust of the queries does not relate to the

Canada to compensate abused indigenous people

2006-01-11T07:10:00.000Z

In late 2005, Canada announced that it was to award a cash settlement of 2bn US dollars (1bn UK pounds) to the estimated 80,000 indigenous peoples of Canada, who were forced to attend residential schools as children.National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Phil Fontaine said that this was "the single most disgraceful, harmful and racist act" committed in Canadian history.The average age of

Americans for democracy?

2006-01-07T12:48:00.000Z

So it is with the stunning revelation that the White House has ordered the illegal, warrantless wiretapping of American citizens in brazen defiance of federal law and the U.S. Constitution.If allowed to stand, Bush's actions will have taken the United States a long way down the road to military dictatorship. Indeed, that's essentially what his legalistic enablers, starting with Attorney General

This Is American “Democracy”

2005-12-23T14:47:00.000Z

It should come as no surprise that Iraqis are complaining of “election” fraud considering this is a business George Bush knows intimately, having risen to power on a fixed election and this time, the scam is intended to divide Iraq as the American agenda calls for.According to reports from AP, some Sunni Arabs and a secular party charge that the so-called parliamentary elections were riddled with

Mission Democracy

2005-12-21T05:01:00.000Z

In an old building covered in scaffolding in the backstreets of London’s Southwark district, a staircase leads to the dingy, top-floor offices of Electoral Reform International Services (Eris). The rumble of the trains and the clang of construction-workers’ hammers outside add to the sense that this is an unlikely setting for an organisation which offers advice to democracies all over the world.

Fast food democracy

2005-12-20T00:33:00.000Z

There are now triumphal murmurings emanating from the crusader headquarters in Washington and London. The last few attempts at installing some of the trappings of democracy in Iraq have been catastrophic failures. However last Thursday's election, with its estimated 70% turnout, has been hailed as a major success. So in some quarters there is an assumption that a high turn out at the polls and

Democracy in Iraq say Iranians

2005-12-18T13:44:00.000Z

Despite all violence and bloodshed in Iraq, democracy is on the march in the war-torn country, said an Iranian daily on Sunday. Commenting on the December 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq, 'Iran News' said it was reported that 70 percent of the 15.5 million Iraqi eligible voters took part in the event. "The people of Iraq believe in the democratic process and want their war-torn country's

Bolivian Democracy and the US

2005-12-17T03:41:00.000Z

The prospect of socialist peasant leader Evo Morales as Bolivia's next president disturbed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Charles Shapiro. "It would not be welcome news in Washington to see the increasingly belligerent Cuban-Venezuelan combo become a trio," he emailed on October 21, 2005 to the Miami Herald's Andres Oppenheimer (Dec 4, 2005).Shapiro

Protecting Palestinian Democracy from Israeli Practices

2005-12-11T23:17:00.000Z

Spokesperson of Presidency, Nabil Abu Rdaina, called Sunday the Quartet Committee and the international community to protect the Palestinian democracy from the Israeli practices.In a statement issued Sunday night Abu Rdaina called the Quartet Committee and the international community to immediately intervene to end the Israeli atrocious measures against the imminent legislative elections and the

Black America: equality, crime and education

2005-12-07T22:16:00.000Z

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said in 1988: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfilment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace."Rosa Parks made her stand in Alabama on 1 December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a

Democracy and Colonialism

2005-12-07T21:43:00.000Z

Israeli politics is boiling.People rejoice: finally, it seems, the deadlock is collapsing. Amir Peretz, a young, Eastern, social-democratically oriented leader took over the petrified Labor Party from the opportunistic Shimon Peres – the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was the first to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East, and later kidnapped the Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai

EU questions commitment to democracy

2005-12-05T20:21:00.000Z

The European Union has deplored serious irregularities reported during Armenia’s disputed constitutional referendum, saying that they raised fresh questions about the Armenian government’s commitment to democracy.“The EU is concerned at reports of ballot stuffing and manipulation of the turnout figures and of intimidation of local observers during the referendum held on 27 November. A failure to

Bushmen answer to BBC Radio 4

2005-12-02T23:49:00.000Z

The organization of the central Kalahari Bushmen has published a statement denouncing the recent BBC Radio 4 programme 'Crossing Continents', which accused Survival of 'making things worse' for the Bushmen. The Bushmen said, 'Survival has proved it is working for [us] and we have benefited a lot from their help. Unlike Kuru and Ditshwanelo, Survival is an organisation who does actually support

Australia’s reconciliation bill

2005-12-02T23:43:00.000Z

This Sunday, 4 December 2005, marks five years since the end of Australia’s “decade of reconciliation”. On the same day in 2000, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (Car) submitted its final report, containing the Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation and the Reconciliation Bill 2001, to the federal parliament in Canberra. The symbolic end to the decade had come earlier in the

The love of democracy in Nepal

2005-12-02T23:35:00.000Z

The love of democracy is truly becoming infectious. In a speech on last February 14 that has been described as a new South Asia doctrine, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said: "India would like the whole of South Asia to emerge as a community of flourishing democracies." Speaking out against "short-term expediency", he argued that only democracy could guarantee peace and co-operation in the

Armenia’s democracy

2005-11-30T20:22:00.000Z

November 2005 has proved to be a bad month for democracy in the south Caucasus. After the fraudulent election in Azerbaijan on 6 November, where international attention on the region remain focused after the vote in the light of protests over the results, Armenians went to the polls on 27 November in a government-sponsored national referendum on amendments to the 1995 constitution. There were

Likud as an obstacle to democracy

2005-11-30T20:18:00.000Z

The decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to break with the Likud party that he helped to form 30 years ago is the latest expression of a political crisis that is unfolding in Israel. On November 21, the 77-year-old Sharon called a news conference to announce that he was quitting Likud to form a new party—Kadima (Forward). He said that “Life had become unbearable in the Likud party,”

The young people's vote

2005-11-28T17:27:00.000Z

Displaying characteristic humor, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson laid it on the line for a student-dominated crowd that attended his talk November 17 about the importance of voting in the democratic process. "Only one of four of you cared enough to participate in the most basic right and duty we have in

"Dick" Cheney

2005-11-26T16:59:00.000Z

The neo-cons have been wrong about everything but that never gives them pause. Perhaps they are going to just keep trying until they get something right. Sidney Blumenthal writes a great article about some of Cheney's history and how we come to be stuck with him today.If you look up the word arrogance you will find Cheney's face. Too bad he happens to be a citizen of the United States. If he

Internet governance politics

2005-11-25T21:11:00.000Z

The issues of Internet governance were resolved at 2230 UTC the night before the UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis was to be held between 16-18 November 2005.In the end, the status quo was maintained, with the overall operational and technical functions of the internet remaining under US control. The US government will control internet functions such as domain

Israel’s political map

2005-11-25T21:03:00.000Z

In the five years since the Palestinians launched their second, more deadly, intifada, the pragmatic Israeli right has grudgingly acknowledged that the dream of a Greater Israel stretching from the Mediterranean to the Jordan is no longer attainable. The demographic and security price, it admits, is too high. At the same time, the pragmatic left has grudgingly acknowledged that the right was not

French blogger faces trial

2005-11-25T20:58:00.000Z

French political activist Christophe Grebert faces defamation charges and is to face a trial in February 2006 brought on by the city of Puteaux (a prosperous Paris suburb) says a report by Elisabeth Eaves published in the November issue of the journal Foreign Policy.Grebert started a weblog, MonPuteaux.com, in 2002 to bring attention to the local government's alleged "waste and mismanagement" of

Italy general strike is democracy

2005-11-25T20:29:00.000Z

Above and beyond whether it is sacrosanct or useless the strike is the demonstration of discomfort of a part of the workers movement and should always be respected." Thus said Speaker of the House, Pierferdinando Casini, interviewed by Tg3 in Barcelona over the strike today against the budget. "I believe that a serious administrative class, like us, needs to take on the reasons for the protests.

Will Northern Ireland Suffer?

2005-11-23T21:35:00.000Z

The carve-up of local government in Northern Ireland resulting in the creation of seven "super councils" to replace the existing 26 district authorities is a recipe for further political deadlock and community confrontation in the Province.The Government has contemptuously brushed aside the expressed options of four of the five main parties on the way forward for local government and once again

Corporations and foreign investment

2005-11-20T17:05:00.000Z

The link between production and the international economy, or the global production system, is a complex process with millions of workers, and workplaces integrated into diverse local, national, regional and global systems (O’Brien & Williams p.167).In order to understand the structure of global production, focus must be drawn to the transnational corporation (TNC). TNC is defined as a firm that

Install democracy 2005

2005-11-20T14:20:00.000Z

Didn't the U.S. install a democracy in Vietnam once upon a time...?The U.S. Congress appears to want to keep U.S. forces in Iraq till the job is done, until "victory" is won. Of course, they have not defined what will constitute victory, except in shifting terms. The latest definition of victory might be the establishment of an elected government under the new Iraqi constitution. But how

Forgive but don't forget

2005-11-12T17:46:00.000Z

There should be no one on this planet that doesn't welcome Turkey's efforts to stop the genocide and political sanctions against the Armenian and the Kurds and the ongoing aggressive stance against Greece and Cyprus with war threats and daily air-space violations. We should also not forget though that despite few improvements there is still a very long way to go.For all those that consider

Bushman found dead in reserve

2005-11-12T16:09:00.000Z

The latest victim of the Botswana government's eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen died last week in the Central Kalahari. Qoroxloo Duxee is thought to have starved to death after wildlife scouts blockaded the reserve and stopped the Bushmen gathering food. Qoroxloo Duxee told the BBC in June:When I was young the men hunted and we got our water from the roots of plants. We lived well and

American Democracy died an electronic death

2005-11-12T00:55:00.000Z

While debate still rages over Ohio's stolen presidential election of 2004, the impossible outcomes of key 2005 referendum issues may have put an electronic nail through American democracy.Once again, the Buckeye state has hosted an astonishing display of electronic manipulation that calls into question the sanctity of America's right to vote, and to have those votes counted in this crucial swing

Democracy in Latin America

2005-11-07T21:22:00.000Z

Wanabehuman reports that a Chilean non-profit organization based in Santiago, Chile, has published a poll taken in 18 countries in Latin America. The poll said that around half of Latin Americans would refer to themselves as democrats and a third are satisfied with the democracy and democratic institutions in place in their country. The poll was published in the UK-based Economist magazine on 29

The Bad Democracy Award

2005-11-06T17:16:00.000Z

This month openDemocracy has launched its Bad Democracy Award.The system – composed by a gaggle of constitutional experts working to exacting deadlines, works like this: each month, you email your nominations for the month’s worst democratthe nomination can be from any country or institution in the world, as far away or as close to home as you likethe candidate you propose might be a

Republican Neocon Cabal

2005-10-29T15:59:00.000+01:00

Republican 'moderates' lashed out at the Republican neocon 'cabal' with special darts aimed at VP Cheney and Pentagon chief Rumsfeld.New America some time ago purposefully became a sounding board for those hoping to take back the Republican party from its far right-wing crusading ideologues. Like Brookings for liberals and AEI for neocons, New America has aspirations of power for its people in

Brazil's diversion politics project

2005-10-29T03:17:00.000+01:00

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has revived plans to divert part of the course of the Sao Francisco river to the sertao region, an area known for its dry, arid climate. Currently, the plan is estimated to cost 4.5bn reais (about 2bn dollars). The project is to provide water via two main canals, which will be fed from various networks of rivers and reservoirs to

Iran vs Israel

2005-10-29T02:03:00.000+01:00

As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be wiped off the map, Trita Parsi explains how the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state were not always enemies.The question is whether his explosive remarks indicate a more aggressive Iranian policy against the Jewish state or whether they were merely another sign of Ahmadinejad’s inability to grasp the implications of his proclamations.Full article

UK Secret Intelligence Service launches website

2005-10-15T16:24:00.000+01:00

WanabeHuman is discussing the launch of the UK Secret Service website.

A new kind of democracy

2005-10-15T16:16:00.000+01:00

In a new article called Democracy and openDemocracy Anthony Barnett and Isabel Hilton discuss the new world developments that point to change and a new solution for politics."Terrorism, fundamentalism, and neo-liberal globalisation each pose a challenge to democracy. openDemocracy intends to play a key role defending and deepening democracy."

Democracy in Nepal

2005-10-15T16:09:00.000+01:00

Pro-democratic political parties in Nepal will actively boycott the parliamentary elections the king plans to hold within 18 months from now.“The intention is not positive,” says Ram Chandra Poudel, a Nepali Congress leader, commenting on the recent royal announcement of Parliamentary elections within the year 2063 BS (that is to say, within 18 months from now). “So we have not taken this

Holocaust Day replaced with Genocide Day

2005-10-08T16:29:00.000+01:00

New Order strikes again?The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s advisers, appointed after the 7 July London bombings, are proposing to scrap "Holocaust Day" because it is regarded as offensive to Muslims.The advisers want to replace it with a "Genocide Day" that would encompass the killing of all peoples everywhere. Some Muslim committee members raised the objection that "it gives the impression that

Death, media, and the public

2005-10-06T22:03:00.000+01:00

When media report wars or disasters, why are death tolls announced before bodies are counted? And what does this do to our democracy? Jean Seaton, author of Carnage and the Media, dissects the numbers game.

The road to nowhere

2005-10-06T21:58:00.000+01:00

The Global Commission on International Migration's report set out to change minds about a key 21st-century challenge. An instructive failure, writes Gregory A Maniatis of the Migration Policy Institute.The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM), launched in December 2003, is an ambitious attempt to mobilise political and public attention on migration. It owes its existence primarily

Anti-Muslim sentiment

2005-10-06T21:55:00.000+01:00

Fmr. Army Chaplain James Yee on the Abuse of Prisoners at Guantanamo, His Wrongful Imprisonment and Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the Military.DemocracyNow! is looking at the extraordinary case of Chaplain James Yee - one of the first Muslim Chaplains commissioned by the U.S Army. Yee was posted in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2002, but less than a year after serving there, he was accused of espionage by

War over the Net

2005-10-01T16:58:00.000+01:00

The age of the internet has brought with it exciting, fresh ideas about the disintermediation of power and peer accountability. But who is responsible for the standards and functions of the network itself? Bill Thompson charts the history of internet governance, reflects on what has been lost as accountability passes from the hands of the geeks to those of the politicians and lawyers, and offers

The postmodernism of despair

2005-10-01T16:49:00.000+01:00

The combative cultural and political worldview of Northern Ireland’s working-class Protestant communities is not an atavistic residue but part of a complex response to the modern global condition.Stephen Howe on mad dogs, Ulstermen and the crisis of Loyalism.

The Internet Library

2005-09-28T23:41:00.000+01:00

Corporate business and the peer-to-peer community have reached a stand-off: in a continued debate on accountability it is argued that a compromise must be reached if we wish to maintain our right to access archival material from the web.The powerful distribution mechanisms of the networked world, particularly peer-to-peer file sharing, present a unique challenge to the rule of law. But at present

Does Media Activism have a future?

2005-09-28T23:36:00.000+01:00

Media activism is in its infancy. It is fragmented and has dozens of different agendas. Policy mavericks are fighting ownership concentration in the courts. Independent journalists are speaking out on the internet and airwaves. Educators are helping the next generation by teaching media literacy in their classrooms.What can pull together these currently disparate threads? What will it take build

Handbook for cyber dissidents

2005-09-25T11:41:00.000+01:00

Wanabehuman is reporting that the French government has partly funded a handbook published by Reporters sans Frontieres for bloggers, offering advice on how to write weblogs from countries such as China and Iran.Such countries have challenging media restrictions making bloggers the only 'real' journalists, since the mainstream media is heavily censored and under pressure.Read the full article

Talking democratically

2005-09-25T00:14:00.000+01:00

Can unmediated, massive-scale debate between peers in a networked society really change democratic practice?Blogs are an obvious recent landmark in this revolution. Their one-to-many broadcast capability appeals in a media culture that celebrates celebrity and individualism. Meanwhile, openDemocracy’s discussion forums have been learning to debate democratically since 2001. As a many-to-many

Fight for democracy continues

2005-09-18T16:35:00.000+01:00

The historic public servants' strike in the south Pacific country of Tonga ended on September 3 after the government agreed to the strikers' demands for 60-80% rises in pay. A memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the government and the Public Service Association also agreed that no disciplinary action would be taken against strikers, and that the salary review that led to the

The Indiana Jones of the Right

2005-09-10T23:47:00.000+01:00

The problem is that Jihadism is hard-wired into Islam’s founding document, the Koran – and so is anything else you want. The Koran is the most incoherent religious text ever put down on paper. That’s because it is not a book – it is a chant. It is not meant to be pondered and thought about. It is not meant to be read at all. It is meant to be chanted in a language – Classical Arabic –

Democrats Fail, America Falls?

2005-09-09T22:54:00.000+01:00

Billions of people in countries outside the US watch and worry as the world's most powerful nation plunders itself and its helpless targets, creating laws and pandering to corporations, producing cancer-like wasting symptoms within the country as it eats its “seed” signing on to laws and treaties that suck off jobs and industries, handing them to bottom feeding poverty wage nations.These nations

Small step to democracy

2005-09-05T20:34:00.000+01:00

Liberia has been independent longer than any other African country, yet the country is about to enter a truly exciting stage of democratic interplay --- Liberia is about to hold its first meaningful “free and fair” elections in its national history. A great deal of its citizens will have an opportunity to vote for the first time in their lives, going down that wondrous path many societies in the

Coca Colombia

2005-09-05T20:24:00.000+01:00

The fusion of US corporate power and domestic militarism in Colombia is undermining human rights – and in the American homeland, students are making the connections. Coca-Cola tries to face down a growing boycott on America's campuses: the reason? The murders of trade unionists in Colombia. Ari Paul investigates the Coca connection.Full article here

Multimedia Subversion

2005-09-05T20:16:00.000+01:00

Egypt's elections are imminent: Negar Azimi reports on how Egypt's young democracy activists are using technology to change a regime older than they are...Read the full article

Iran on the US

2005-09-04T22:11:00.000+01:00

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Saturday that the US Administration is using the hosting of international organizations as tools.His criticism came after Washington refused to issue visas for an Iranian parliamentary delegation, which is to attend the world interparliamentary conference in New York on September 6."Parliaments are the symbols of democracy and they are to

Don't miss this - Bitter Fruit!

2005-09-01T15:55:00.000+01:00

Since November 2003 Magnum photographer Paul Fusco has documented the funerals of American soldiers killed in the Iraq war. With information garnered from Google searches, he attended ceremonies throughout the US. At each funeral he was confronted by Pentagon officers and eventually ejected. He was never allowed to talk to the families.Watch the slideshow here

Neo-Cons Middle East Project

2005-09-01T14:28:00.000+01:00

It has been said that democracy is not only a form of state and administration but a philosophy of life and an outlook. And for a nation’s constitution to manifest the authority of the state and its laws, it must be based on a general agreement among all its citizens and not debated and voted under external coercion and guns of an occupying power. In Iraq the powerful but US marginalized minority

Islam and Democracy

2005-08-30T14:39:00.000+01:00

In the past when the word democracy was mentioned, the words liberal or secular would always accompany and precede it. Today, however it is a given that democracy will be secular. This taking for granted of the two terms as going hand in hand is what has befuddled the American Administration when the Iraqi people voted for Islamic parties in elections last year.Recall the banners waved by Iraqi's

Democracy in Afghanistan

2005-08-30T14:32:00.000+01:00

"It will be the heart of democracy in Afghanistan," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remarked today as the foundation stone of the Afghan Parliament was laid by former King Zahir Shah.To resemble the Indian Parliament, the building will be built by India at a cost of 25 million dollars over a four-year period. It will have Upper and Lower Houses on the lines of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.Singh, who