oD Plugs

The dangerous politics of market radicalism openDemocracy - The crisis of 2008 is a consequence of the pervasive impact of market-driven ideology and policy on political, economic and social life across the globe. The profound consequences - being felt severely in countries such as Hungary - demand a wholesale rethinking of the role of the state in modern societies, [...]

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Chicago: tale of two cities Written by Charles Shaw    There have always been at least two Chicagos wrestling within America's great heartland metropolis. The election of Barack Obama and the recent criminal indictment of Governor Rod Blagojevich have once again shown how the city's angels are never far away from its demons. The iconic struggles of race, class and culture have been played out in street and park, back-room and boardroom, City Hall and union hall, and of course, in the headlines and in the hot air from which the "Windy City" gets its name.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/kaldor/secure-afghanistanA great overview, empirically, of the dire situation in Afghanistan, and very much worth reading.

Read it;  fine analysis: http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-fukuyama/revisited_3496.jsp

^ Dieter Helm (2006-12-12). “Russia, Germany and European energy policy”. openDemocracy.net. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.

(5) Deaths in Iraq: How Many and Why it Matters http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-iraq/iraq_deaths_4011.jsp

Secure AfghanistanWritten by Mary Kaldor Marika Theros Friday, 12 December 2008 17:10Human security ought to be the goal of any Obama surge in Afghanistan, not defeat of Al Qaeda

Written by Mary Kaldor Marika Theros    Friday, 12 December 2008 17:10 Human security ought to be the goal of any Obama surge in Afghanistan, not defeat of Al Qaeda

Do read Mary Kaldor excellent piece over at Open Democracy.She writes about Afghanistan and says

The neo-Taliban: A year on The success of a reinvigorated Afghan insurgency – albeit qualified by overstretch and internal tensions – guarantees that 2009 will be another tough year of combat, writes Antonio Giustozzi for openDemocracy.By Antonio Giustozzi

Secure Afghanistan Human security ought to be the goal of any Obama surge in Afghanistan, not defeat of Al Qaeda. By Mary Kaldor and Marika Theros.

Sunni, Shi’a and the “Trotskyists of Islam”Fred Halliday9 February 2007The tensions between Islam's two major traditions are rooted more in current geopolitics than in differences of faith, says Fred Halliday.

The Taliban Written by Antonio Giustozzi    The success of a reinvigorated Afghan insurgency – albeit qualified by overstretch and internal tensions – guarantees that 2009 will be another tough year of combat

ISN - The protest wave in Greece following the police shooting of a student should be seen in the light of the country’s post-1973 history, writes Kostas Gemenis for openDemocracy

Published on openDemocracy, by Theo Hobson, Dec. 9, 2008. To honour the English writer John Milton on the 400th anniversary of his birth is to acknowledge his persistent otherness in the country he tried to transform, says Theo Hobson.

Kathleen Blake Bohne writes at OpenDemocracy about the legalization debate in Mexico.

On migration OpenDemocracy has a selection of articles concerning immigration to Britain, of which the articles by Paul Kingsnorth and Shamser Sinha are worth examining. Kingsnorth attacks the left's "general confusion over immigration" and claims immigration is used to depress labour standards in Britain. To take the first point: