Opinion and Analysis Archive

30.09.2005 Are political demonstrations outdated and ineffective? David Corn thinks so.

29.09.2005 After the criticism of his disastrous handling the Katrina disaster, President George Bush promises a reconstruction programme of $200bn for areas destroyed by the hurricane. But the first and biggest beneficiaries will be businesses that specialise in profiting from disaster, and have already had lucrative contracts in Iraq. They will gentrify New Orleans at the expense of its poor, black citizens, says Mike Davis.

27.09.2005 Politics has become a contest between different brands of doom-mongering, argues Frank Furedi.

26.09.2005 Controversy has erupted over an article questioning whether the Millennium Development Goals are scientifically grounded. Here, David Dickson argues for greater scientific robustness if the UN targets are to be met.
The original article and the responses of Jeffrey Sachs and others can be read on The Millennium Development Goals: How Close Are We?

23.09.2005 Evelin Lindner calls for a new approach to terrorism and humiliation, including a moratorium on humiliating policies, and an end to the language of "war" and
"evil".

22.09.2005 The July terror attacks exposed a racial "nightmare" where some districts are becoming "fully-fledged ghettos - literal black holes" where people fear to go, says Commission for Racial Equality chairman Trevor Phillips. He is right to draw attention to the problem, says Karen Chouhan, but public debate on 'integration' must involve, not blame, Black communities.

22.09.2005 Half the population is barely being used when it comes either to causing terror or preventing it. Ninety-seven per cent of bombers and suicide bombers are male, as are over 90 per cent of those conducting the 'war on terror'. Maybe it is time to consider what women would do, suggests Scilla Elworthy.

21.09.2005 The forthcoming World Bank annual meetings must make debt cancellation top priority, says Bernice Romero.

20.09.2005 By placing too much emphasis on dubious figures, UN is endangering its Millennium Development Goals drive, a Canadian analyst warns. David Dickson looks at the scientific basis of the world body's targets.

16.09.2005 Green energy is a vital ingredient to alleviating poverty, reports Chris Flavin and Molly Hull Aeck from the Worldwatch Institute.

14.09.2005 As the present shortage of refined oil shows, the days of cheap oil are probably over. Danielle Murray looks at how this will affect the food on your plate.

12.09.2005 Thyda looks like any other young girl – but she has lived through trauma most of us could never imagine. Karoline Kemp exposes how many young girls and women are tricked into working in the sex trade to provide money for their families.

12.09.2005 Meanwhile, high oil prices are forcing many countries around the world to start thinking seriously about renewables. If oil and gas prices stay high in the longer term, importing nations will continue to promote the growth of clean energies - leaving laggards like the United States far behind, says Mark Lynas.

08.09.2005 Why are we finding it so hard to address one of the biggest threats of our time? asks Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper in Resurgence.

08.09.2005 Poor kids in Africa and Asia can benefit more from independent schools than government ones for a fraction of the cost, research suggests. Share your views.

06.09.2005 New Orleans, like the tsunami, is a wake-up call to Bush - and the world - on climate change, argues Ian Christie for openDemocracy.

01.09.2005 When a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina strikes and the media broadcasts images of broken, battered and destroyed homes, it is natural for the public to be eager to help. But think carefully about your response, advises Leigh-Anne Dennison.

01.09.2005 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, reports Ari Paul.