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Democracy

Democratization of Power in Turkey

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared his government’s new package for the promotion of democracy and democratization of power in the Middle Eastern country. Although, given the existing circumstances in Turkey, Erdogan’s package of democracy has been…

This Independence Day, Thank a Protester

More than 160 years ago, the greatest abolitionist in U.S. history, the escaped slave Frederick Douglass, addressed the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass asked those gathered, “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” His words bear repeating…

Hong Kong’s upbeat July 1 showdown despite typhoon

Over 100,000 demonstrators filed along the streets of Hong Kong 1 July this year in the annual protest march that is on every activist’s agenda in this vibrant city. The march marks the handover of the British colony to Beijing…

Last-minute court ruling delays application of new broadcasting law

The Argentine media group Clarin obtained an eleventh-hour ruling yesterday delaying the application of a section of the country’s new media law which would have forced it to give up some of its broadcasting licences. The Civil and Commercial Court…

The London New Putney Debates launch a new stage in the Occupy process

With presentations about the most pressing problems in the areas of Economy and (lack of) Real Democracy the New Putney Debates pick up the thread of revolutionary thinking that commenced in 1647, 365 years ago. The two weeks of sessions…

“The only certain thing, death and taxes” (unless you are a big corporation in the UK). The Putney Debates strike back

First stated by Daniel Defoe, in The Political History of the Devil, 1726: “Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed.” Benjamin Franklin in 1789, gave it its current form: “‘In this world nothing can be…

Exclusive: As Obama and Romney Agree on Afghan War, Israel and Syria, Third Parties Give Alternative

In the last of our exclusive “Expanding the Debate” series, we bring you highlights of our coverage of last night’s final presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney, with the added voices of third-party candidates. As Obama and Romney…

Long live Venezuela and its democracy! May it be an example for the rest of us.

By now everyone knows that President Chavez won the presidential election in Venezuela. In one sense, we can say that “the people” (el pueblo) have won on Oct 7. However, these words do not reflect the entire experience. The most…

365 years of struggle for Democracy

Changing times, same needs: The Putney Debates and London Occupy Assemblies In 1647 England witnessed a remarkable moment, a revolutionary moment in which people demanded universal human rights, the Army attemped to become democratic electing its officers and a spiritual…

Why Democracy needs Assanges

[media-credit name=”http://bit.ly/TKeZrP” align=”alignnone” width=”300″][/media-credit]As Ecuador offers asylum to Julian Assange at its London Embassy with the Foreign Office doing Olympic-size legal somersaults to try to justify storming it, we hear that both the UK and the US have been helping…

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