Karachi: reading between the lines

Avinash Paliwal 16 August 2011
Kinship ties are crucial in Pakistan, not only for gaining political legitimacy but for maintaining power through well-oiled patronage systems. These linkages restrict political parties from thinking beyond the ambit of their own community and political interests.

Let's respond to England's riots with decency, not by demonising our children

Carolyne Willow 16 August 2011
A tiny minority of children in England took part in last week's rioting across some of the nation's major cities. Let's not let the riots further demonise our young people in the eyes of politicians and the general public

Hanging - look who is winning so far

Anthony Barnett 16 August 2011
A local argument in the UK over hanging has taken to the new parliamentary petitions. Will the populists stand and be counted?

The west’s ongoing theft of indigenous knowledge

Paul Willis 15 August 2011
On August 9, International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the UN Secretary-General called for a recognition of the intellectual property rights of indigenous communities

Britain's PR culture breeds corruption, just look at Hackgate

John Brissenden 15 August 2011
The UK phone hacking sandal has shown how the growth of the PR industry has facilitated the corruption of British society

On the eve of collapse: encounters in a changing Russia

Susan Richards 12 August 2011

Next week marks the twentieth anniversary of the August 1991 coup attempt. While this proved a dramatic final nail in the Soviet coffin, many more fundamental changes — the breaking down of information walls and the dissipation of fear — occurred in the months and years leading up to then. Susan Richards, oD Russia’s founder editor, spent much of this time traveling around Russia, talking to ordinary Russians about their lives. We reproduce two accounts here.

Russia’s new saints and the challenges of memory

Stella Rock 9 August 2011

The Soviet-era repression of Christian clerics has led to the posthumous recognition of many new Orthodox saints. But the faithful, it seems, are not interested. They still prefer the quick fix of traditional saints to these humble “new martyrs”, writes Stella Rock.

The summertime alien problem

Jim Gabour 9 August 2011
I have resolved to spread a message of tolerance to these aliens. Especially since they're already here. And writing tickets.

The need for greater plurality of British media ownership

Dan Hind 9 August 2011
We should embrace plurality in our debates about media reform and create a new system of inquiry responsive to the wishes of a commissioning public

Why let facts ruin the story? Norwegian comments on US coverage of the Norway terror

Magnus Nome 8 August 2011

Instead of getting the facts, the US media seemed most concerned making reality fit their pre-fabricated narrative.

Confronting ‘extremisms’: the cautious way forward from the Norwegian tragedy

Vidhya Ramalingam 6 August 2011
It is too easy to brand terrorists with labels. We need to consider, in depth, the reasons behind people’s actions - remembering that psychology can play as much of a role as ideology

In praise of the Little Red Men: cultural revolution in Perm

Yelena Fedotova 5 August 2011

Marat Gelman is a well-known Moscow cultural figure. In 2008 he went to curate the Museum of Contemporary Art in provincial Perm, where his ideas for a cultural revolution have encountered considerable local opposition. Arguments about art soon developed into a fully-fledged political battle, recounts Elena Fedotova

At war with the Little Red Men: a contrarian view

Roman Yushkov 5 August 2011

Former spin-doctor and gallery owner Marat Gelman has arrived in Perm with a plan to bring "cultural revolution" to the city. Not all locals are happy with the results of his endeavours, reports Roman Yushkov.

Multiculturalism and postmodernity: a challenge to our political structures

Ger Mennens 5 August 2011
Mono-cultural nationalism can no longer provide us with the national identities we need. The formation of multi-cultural civic identities requires a new way of drawing our political maps.

Derick Thomson at 90: Gaelic poet in the world

David Hayes 5 August 2011
Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson) has as poet, scholar, teacher and editor made a profound contribution to Gaelic literature over six decades. The quality and range of his work deserve belated recognition in the context of the culture he has done so much to enlarge, says David Hayes.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

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

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