3 October 2014

October 2014
... UK, Scotland rethinka; Ukip surprises; Hong Kongers up in arms; Iraq/Syria, the next war has begun; Arab Spring, where's the money? West Bank, a third intifada? Kenya, behind those jihadis; Rwanda's elite militia; TTP, the machine jams; Cuba, in from the cold? Little Senegal in the Big Apple... and more...
- We are betting on independence
Our still, small voice - Serge Halimi
The Paris daily Libération tried to revive its flagging circulation last year with the slogan "When everything moves so fast, there's only one solution: go faster still". Apparently, that wasn't the solution; a year later,sales were still falling, and the directors announced that the staff would be cut by more than a third - while demanding more content from the remaining journalists. The new director general, Pierre Fraidenraich, warned anyone tempted to resist: "It's that, or we die" . It'll be (...)Translated by Charles Goulden - An unprecedented coalition with dangerously weak links
'War on terror'. Act III* - Alain Gresh
The bombing in Iraq and Syria signals a long campaign against IS. The Obama administration is looking more like that of George W Bush - and it's all the more dangerous in view of the diverse coalition with obscure political objectives the US is putting together.Translated by Charles Goulden - Forgotten promises of aid for Arab States
So where's the money?* - Ibrahim Warde
The hopes of the Arab Spring now rest on Tunisia's legislative election on 26 October. Arab peoples see the chaos in Libya, the war in Syria and Egypt's new authoritarian regime as proof that they have been abandoned and as signs of western hypocrisy. The economic aid promised in 2011 has not materialised.Translated by Charles Goulden - West Bank Palestinians suffer double occupation
Will there be a third intifada?* - Olivier Pironet
West Bankers feel trapped between Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority's capitulation to the status quo in its unsuccessful quest for peace. And while some profit outrageously, most Palestinians are poor, and some are banking on a third intifada.Translated by Charles Goulden -
Kangaroos - Amin Kassam
- No return to United Kingdom status quo
Ukip's surprise party line - Owen Jones
With two Tory MPs defecting to Ukip, David Cameron is worried. Ukip may get as much as 20% of the UK general election vote next year, though that won't equal 20% of parliamentary seats. Its views are an extraordinary muddle of working-class populism and neoliberal economics.Original text in English -
So is that it? - Keith Dixon
Scotland will stay in the British Union, but that doesn't mean a return to the status quo in politics, economics or culture. The issue of independence will not just go away.LMD English edition exclusive - One country, two systems, no democracy
Occupy Hong Kong* - Nahan Siby
The occupation of Hong Kong's streets reflects ordinary people's insistence that Beijing grant the true universal suffrage it was promised when Britain returned its former colony to China.Translated by George Miller - Socioeconomic divisions trump religious divide
Kenya's fault lines* - Gérard Prunier
What is thought of as Islamist terrorism along Kenya's coast conceals a much older struggle between tribal groupings for power and economic success.Translated by Charles Goulden - 'A political militia serving a nationalist regime'
Rwanda's chosen elite* - Thomas Riot
The Kagame government has revived a pre-colonial Rwandan tradition, Itorero, to offer education and military training to young Rwandans - and create its own constituency.Translated by George Miller - Who can resist the worldwide corporate power of TPP?
Trade winds* - Martine Bulard
TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will allow US-backed corporations to dominate not just trade, but governmental policy.Translated by George Miller - Sanctions isolate the US more than Cuba
Handshake for Havana* - Patrick Howlett-Martin
After 54 years of extreme sanctions and no diplomatic relations, the US government is beginning to realise that Americans, including Cuban-Americans, want change.Translated by Stephanie Irvine - Free software v the commercialised Web
Fighting the online giants* - Sébastien Broca
The real success of the free software movement has been in the legal creation of the General Public Licence, which protects public creations from private appropriation. But it's a slow, hard struggle.Translated by Charles Goulden - 'I'm not going to stay here and be miserable'
Whose American dream? - Maggy Donaldson
The ancient division and tug between first-generation immigrants and their western-educated children puts the future of New York's Little Senegal in jeopardy.LMD English edition exclusive - Supplement: young people in solidarity across the world
Reconciliation between Lebanese and Syrians in the camps - Amélie Zaccour
The media and politicians often accuse the young of consumerism and selfishness. But on the ground, one sees that many of them feel a great sense of solidarity (see Our young people care). That is the case even for Syrian refugees in Lebanese camps (see article below) or among struggling students in France (see University students in need). Young people are frequently misunderstood (see Social models do not fit).Translated by Charles Goulden -
Our young people care - Julien Lauprêtre
Translated by Krystyna Horko -
An ill-defined concept - Ludivine Bantigny
Not all ages saw youth in the same way. For centuries there were rights of passage to adulthood. In the 20th century these markers disappeared with the rise of unemployment and consumerism.Translated by Charles Goulden -
Social models do not fit - Véronique Bordes
The authorities pigeonhole young people, not giving them room to express themselves.Translated by George Miller -
University students in need - Sébastien Deslandes
In France students are growing poorer. This phenomenon, once underestimated, is now taken into account by associations that, like Secours Populaire, open special units close to university campuses. The Fringale unit in Clermont-Ferrand looks after hundreds of young people.Translated by Krystyna Horko
Diplomatic channels
Articles & blog
- Monuments matter (2014/10)
- Fighting power in Kobanî (2014/09)
- Better news for child migrants (2014/09)
Maps
- End of empire to jihadist dreams (2014/07)
- Sri Lanka's peoples (2014/07)
- India's 2009 legislative election (2014/05)
Images
- Glasgow versus Glasgow, a photographic film (2014/05)
- Georgia dreams of a new transport system (2013/12)
- Hurricane Sandy not forgotten (2013/11)
Open page
- Failure is success (2014/10)
- The Wilderness Act turns 50 (2014/09)
- Pirates of the Gulf of Guinea (2014/09)
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