Pick of the Web
Islam in Switzerland: the discussion
Chaired by Farian Sabahi, speakers Francis Piccand and Amira Hafner al-Jabaji responded to questions from the audience.
Of hexes & hair
An ancient association between hexes and hair resurfaces in the immaculate prose of this chapter from a new novel by a young London writer.
Landscapes and farewells
Landscape is both imagination and livelihood, the setting for human stories that are made as well as inherited. From farming to floods, from photography to hunting, the debate on Landscape & Identity has revealed the vital importance of human attachment in giving meaning to place.
The century's first war
As 2003 opened, President Bush appeared before US troops in Fort Hood, Texas to speak about war, peace, freedom – and Iraq. These are extracts from his speech.
Fixing it: the London conference, Tehran deal, and beyond
Last December, despite all the division and desperation, Iraqi exiles of many different backgrounds and opinions, came together in a major London conference to chart a political way forward for Iraq. Encouraged by the US, punctuated by a trip to Tehran, there were some successes and some useful conclusions to be drawn, but was the event sufficiently ambitious?
The US's dual challenge: Iraq war, Korean crisis
The prospect of US war with Iraq alongside escalating crisis over North Korea make the opening months of 2003 as dangerous as the standoff over Cuba forty years ago. As the weapons inspection process proves more wide-ranging than expected, is there still a chance to avert war?
International law or US hegemony: from chemical weapons to Iraq
A former official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons describes how an effective international system to reduce the threat from weapons of mass destruction was sabotaged by the US government.
Global crisis, global detox: the magic mountain cure
World leaders, are you depressed by endless global crisis? The Spiritual Retreat for the Conflict Fatigued will purify your weary body and mind. Just don’t mention the International Criminal Court….
1. America: Enemy of globalisation
The series
1. America: Enemy of globalisation In the first part of a major new series Tom Nairn lays out his surprising and important thesis. Globalisation is not Americanisation. Rather, the onrushing process of globalisation will render America just another country. In this context, the looming conflict in Iraq should be seen not as a war of oil, still less as a response to Osama bin Laden.
Goodbye, Mr Big Man!
After forty years of independence and rule by a single party, the Kenyan people have made history by electing their third president from the opposition ranks. A moment of hope, celebration – and farewell.
What fuels religious wars today?
As traditional societies cross the bridge to modernity, is their encounter with the globalised world bound to erupt in religious conflict? Or is there another way across?
Energy wars and the future of planet earth - Part one
Behind the clash of arms and ideas over Iraq, the power politics of the 21st century will also be shaped by climate change, technological advance, and challenges to corporate interest. Oil, gas, and the form of industrial society will be key areas of contest.
Climate change and global security
Every year for at least the past two decades, a ‘hole’ in the ozone layer in the stratosphere has formed over the Antarctic during the spring months. The destruction of the ozone layer allows more of the sun’s ultraviolet light to reach the earth’s surface, damaging people, animals and plants. It is caused by a reaction between ozone, a form of molecular oxygen, and man-made chemicals known as CFCs.
Don't let a cloud stop the sunshine: the new president and the legacy of South-North relations
The new president in South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, comes to power at a critical moment. The real advances of President Kim Dae-jung’s ‘sunshine policy’ towards North Korea are under severe pressure from the North’s nuclear weapons programme and its inclusion in President Bush’s ‘axis of evil’. Will the logic of the sunshine policy – a peace system on the Korean peninsula – be sustained amidst the global security crisis?
The oil reckoning
As America prepares to invade Iraq, our security columnist puts aside all talk of weapons of mass destruction, Israel, democracy, nation building and the United Nations, to focus on a three-letter word: oil.
Human Decency and Britney Spears
The chief US trade negotiator gets a rap on the knuckles. Nestle and BP face the music. Iraq gets a head start in globalisation.
From Vietnam to Iraq
For millions, the prospect of war in Iraq overshadows the New Year. What stand should people take, between the reality of Saddam’s criminal regime and the prospect of American unilateralism?
Trade hypocrisy: the problem with Robert Zoellick
The chief ideologist of US trade policy defends its ‘free trade’ impulse in The Economist as a route to global prosperity. In reality, responds Oxfam’s head of research, the US increasingly pursues trade policies that undermine the life-chances of poor people in poor countries.
Shift of focus, not change of plan
The complications of the United Nations (UN) arms inspection process have not deflected the US drive to war on Iraq. But recent indicators suggest a shift towards a more intensive air campaign. If this unfolds without UN authorisation, which way will Britain go?
We three kings: Saddam, Osama and Dubya
The sleigh is positioned. Reindeer are in place. The tinsel show gleams. The air hums with carols. An old man with a beard is smiling beneficently. Time to take cover…and read this unique seasonal insight into the mash of civilisations.
This week's editor
Europe from the bottom up
European debate
Democratic Wealth
Nuclear non-proliferation
oDRussia at journalismfestival .com
Mali - the plot thickens
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Remote control war
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Conference coverage from 50.50
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
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Lis Howell On broadcasting
Dan Hancox Revel, Riot and Rebellion
Martin Rose Bliss Was It in that Dawn to Be Next Door
Vron Ware Up in Arms
Jim Gabour Sunday Comics
James Warner Standing Perpendicular, as books do
Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture
Paul Rogers on Global security
Mary Kaldor on Human security
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