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About Julian Sayarer

Julian Sayarer writes at (this is not for charity). The site and blog arose from his 2009 world record for a circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle, a protest against the corporatisation of sport and human endeavour. He is currently writing a book about the experience and is a cycle courier by day.

Articles by Julian Sayarer

A Turkish Spring?

Julian Sayarer 4 June 2013

Should Cameron, Obama, Hollande and Merkel remain tight-lipped about the disorder spreading across Turkey, we must conclude it is because they regard the measure of police force as an expedient that they themselves could ultimately resort to. 

Beauty, burgers and Wilde's blue china: on the power of aesthetics

Julian Sayarer 24 May 2013

Do the "consumers of radicalism" Jon Moses refers to in his recent essay actually exist? An exploration of beauty and rebellion, through the lens of our relationship to the aesthetic.

Socialism in one country... and English football's Premier League

Julian Sayarer 7 April 2013

The beautiful game is rotting because of its place in the global economy: meaningful participation and attachment is being commodified, a process which brings great whooshes of cash into football. Can the game be fixed for the better?

'The BNP lost their way' and other gems from the Midlands

Julian Sayarer 25 February 2013

A self-confessed member of the London bubble ventures home to pole dancing, burger van politics and the final arrival of organic yoghurt.

openDemocracy: The price of principles

Julian Sayarer 25 February 2013

Julian Sayarer's post at thisisnotforcharity.com in support of openDemocracy

Cycling through Reading or Kazakhstan: otherness is not what it seems

Julian Sayarer 11 January 2013

Rape in India, protest in China, manufacturing conferences in Manchester - we find it hard not to think in the categories of "first" and "third" worlds. But look elsewhere for the important differences

Generation Rent: stop blogging, start acting

Julian Sayarer 8 January 2013

When everyone wants to be the 'voice of the lost generation', who will do the finding?

Is the end of cheap food just an agricultural problem

Julian Sayarer 8 September 2012

Food is getting scarce - and expensive. This is no longer news. But can we really confine ourselves to thinking about the agricultural end of this problem?

 

Twicktivism: could the illusion of power be potent after all?

Julian Sayarer 24 May 2012

The criticism of clicktivism may be well founded - that it is a substitute for action, a feel-dummy that makes life easier for the perpetrators of injustice. The author reflects on his participation in recent bicycle activism to offer the optimistic twist that an illusion of power could give people a taste for the real thing.

Is inflation a good tax? Can we have an honest political discussion about it?

Julian Sayarer 30 December 2011
UK inflation at 5% is considered almost a victory by the economic managers of the nation. Yet it is a blunt instrument with strong redistributive effects. So what is a well-managed currency, and can we have an honest political discussion about it?

OurKingdom forum: The fall of Murdoch - What next?

James Curran, Nick Couldry, Ryan Gallagher, Suzanne Moore, and Julian Sayarer 15 July 2011
An ongoing forum in which OurKingdom authors consider why the fall of Rupert Murdoch has taken place, what it tells us about the state of Britain and what the key lesson are for the media and government.

Redistribution in property-constrained economy: raising the minimum wage or lowering effective rents?

Julian Sayarer 6 July 2011
Rising rents in the UK are making hardship harder, while low interest rates transfer wealth from the have-not's to the have's. Can we be doing something more sensible?

Why stop at England's forests? The land itself should belong to the people

Julian Sayarer 3 April 2011
The campaign against the privatisation of England's public forests succeeded due to a powerful sense that we, the people, own our woodlands. Yet why stop here? Isn't the land itself a common asset of the nation? Julian Sayarer argues for the imposition of a land value tax.

This week's guest editors

openGlobalRights editors

Our guest editors James Ron, Leslie Vinjamuri, Sophie Arie and Archana Pandya introduce this week's theme of:

Emerging powers and human rights.

A Turkish Spring?

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Woolwich - terror or conflict?

Secret Courts: 8 nightmare scenarios now possible in Britain
Jo Shaw

Iran myths

Iranian presidential candidate and chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalill

Myths, falsehoods and misrepresentations about Iran
Peter Oborne and David Morrison

Palestinian borders

Palestine, peoples and borders in the new Middle East map
Ahmad Samih Khalidi

Nobel Women's Initiative

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Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

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The media in Europe

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Mali: the plot thickens

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Remote control war

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oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

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