28
August 2014
September 2014
... France, where is the left? Scotland
decides; Islamic State fills deep void; Sinai,
a fury of revenge; Israel and Russia, unexpected friends;
Ukraine, life on hold; Panama Canal,
China muddies the water; TTIP, see and read
only for profit; Cairo, back to the wall; a place in the
sun... and more...
-
The new cold war - Serge Halimi
In 1980 Ronald Reagan expressed his idea of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in one short sentence: "We win, they lose." Twelve years later, his immediate successor at the White House, George H W Bush, was satisfied that the task had been accomplished: "A world once divided into two armed camps now recognises one, sole and pre-eminent power, the United States of America." The cold war was officially at an end.
That period too is now over. Its death knell sounded on the (...)Translated by Barbara Wilson -
French politics don't know where to go
What's left for the left?* - Frédéric Lordon
With François Hollande's Socialist government in disarray and the banks holding us all hostage, can a divided left act to end their tyranny? For that is the whole point of the left.Translated by Charles Goulden -
Yes or no, the world still gets changed
Scotland decides* - Keith Dixon
The Scottish vote on independence this month challenges not just the historic British union but the neoliberal policies of the UK government over the past 30 years. Whatever the result, it will have an effect on UK politics.Original text in English -
Islamic State fills Middle East void
IS back in business - Peter Harling
Emerging in an increasingly chaotic Middle East, IS is profiting from the region's growing sectarianism, political vacuum and the ambivalence of the West.Translated by George Miller -
Violence erupts against Israel and Egypt
Sinai's undeclared war* - Ismail Alexandrani
Resistance against Israeli occupation and Egyptian repression has a long history in the Sinai peninsula. Now escalating Islamist violence has erupted in a fury of revenge against decades of misrule.Original text in English -
Israel and Russia work it out together
Unexpected allies* - Igor Delanoë
About 15% of Israel's population have direct Russian roots, and the pragmatic alliance between the countries in trade and diplomacy is changing the balance of power in the region.Translated by George Miller -
The forgotten alliance - Michel Réal
The establishment of Israel owes much to the Soviet Union and the wide range of support - diplomatic, demographic and military - it offered the young state.Translated by George Miller -
Fissures within divisions in a bankrupt, corrupt state
Ukraine's uncertain future* - Hélène Richard
The management, let alone the government, of near-bankrupt Ukraine has been on hold while its improvised forces reclaim the east of the country and defend it against Russian incursion.Translated by George Miller -
China sponsors rival east-west canal routes
Tailbacks in Panama* - François Musseau
There are too many ships trying to pass through the Panama Canal, and they're getting too big for it - despite expansion works. Other Latin American countries, backed by China, want some of the action.Translated by Charles Goulden -
See and read only for profit
No more cultural exceptions* - Evelyne Pieiller
Although it's been claimed that European, especially French, cultural exceptions have been protected in the TTIP negotiations, they remain vulnerable to market forces and cultural choices.Translated by Charles Goulden -
It helps to be cynical to work here
You know that we know that you know* - Clarice Victor
Management consultancies are more and more resorting to an ethos of play-acting, cynicism and detachment; and this can lead to the rewarding of unethical behaviour.Translated by Charles Goulden -
Left and right unite to decriminalise prostitution
Service industry* - Mona Chollet
A new French bill to fine men for paying for sex has reopened the debate on decriminalising prostitution. Why do many feminists and socialists now ignore economic and gender inequality to defend sex work as liberating?Translated by Stephanie Irvine -
Cairo is defended against its own citizens
City of walls - Nael Shama
Since the Arab Spring, the walls have gone up in Cairo. They can't keep the future out or the people in.LMD English edition exclusive -
A place in the sun* - Laurent Cordonnier
Speculating on café seats, or purchasing anonymity - is this the shape of the future?Translated by Charles Goulden
