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# Apathy, activism and addiction – The Week in 1 Minute: January 13 – 19 on openDemocracy
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/apathy-activism-and-addiction-week-in-1-minute-january-13-19-on-opendemocracy/
- Published: 2014-01-19T00:01:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-23T01:34:49.000Z
- Description: This week, we launch our series on the EU elections, kicking off by introducing our bloggers responding to the question, What does it mean to be young and European in 2014? There are perspectives on the European Greens from the leader in England and Wales, on apathy in France, and we ask why Germa
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: The Week in 1 Minute, #Migrated, #en, #Import 2026-04-09 17:36, #appended-excerpt

Britain, meanwhile, is busy [lobbying against](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/7952525ce0&ref=opendemocracy.net) European legislation to **curb gambling on food prices**. Will the lords stop the [controversial lobbying bill](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/d660e962f9&ref=opendemocracy.net), deemed unfit to prevent the underhand practices [described here](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/8f70c33f85&ref=opendemocracy.net) by Tamasin Cave of Spinwatch?  
  
Elsewhere, [the story](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/afa1713196&ref=opendemocracy.net) of a **young Asian man attacked by police** points to a hardening state. But what do we mean when we say 'Britain'? Adam Ramsay takes us through [the many parliaments](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/97ea01796f&ref=opendemocracy.net) of the North Atlantic archipelago.  
  
Local surveillance, it turns out, is [just as important](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/e4c34f6eeb&ref=opendemocracy.net) as the NSA. **Brazil is** [**fighting back**](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/c94ed78c2d&ref=opendemocracy.net) **against online spying**, while Britain [keeps tabs](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/e89293c979&ref=opendemocracy.net) on anti-racist campaigners. Surveillance on undocumented migrants, we hear, is [not the answer](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/c2f1cf9c34&ref=opendemocracy.net). Neither is leaving an old man to die in handcuffs, [as Clare Sambrook reports](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/3a12e5a1ce&ref=opendemocracy.net) in the UK.  
  
[Egyptians vote](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/5d62798ac8&ref=opendemocracy.net) on their second constitutional referendum since the revolution, but is the west [listening to people power](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/d05910a371&ref=opendemocracy.net)? And could [the potential election](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/173d5515ed&ref=opendemocracy.net) of General El Sisi re-vivify the revolution? [Paul Rogers](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/04e3abf887&ref=opendemocracy.net) finds a glimmer of hope in the conflict in Syria, which is [engulfing Lebanon](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/1e80a7c4b4&ref=opendemocracy.net) and altering the foreign policy and [soft power of Iran](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/598190247c&ref=opendemocracy.net). Meanwhile, **in Turkey, it may be** [**the end-game for Erdogan**](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/ba5c75ba7a&ref=opendemocracy.net), while the rule of law [can no longer be trusted](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/71fc943658&ref=opendemocracy.net). In Bahrain, an anti-corruption effort [attracts serious threats](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/65c093efec&ref=opendemocracy.net).  
  
A young Thai activist [reflects](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/56f3f6940c&ref=opendemocracy.net) on the protests. **We interview** [**Wang Hui**](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/97fa407aff&ref=opendemocracy.net)**, luminary of the Chinese New Left**, on the cultural revolution and labour unrest. In Russia, the [labour movement](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/fd1eeab770&ref=opendemocracy.net) is growing in importance as trade unions are no longer tied to the state. And the world should be watching [India’s new Aam Aadmi party](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/4ee8600e07&ref=opendemocracy.net).  
  
We also hear from [the 'Robin Hood' of the anti-austerity movement](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/7e0fbb30db&ref=opendemocracy.net), and from [a feminist](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/29968a6f92&ref=opendemocracy.net) **working with a prisoner who murdered his wife**. An exhibition gets Jeremy Fox reflecting on [artists and honours](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/5c1e450560&ref=opendemocracy.net). A former drug "addict" [dissects what that word really means](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/20257bc9ef&ref=opendemocracy.net), and we hear how a [US reality TV star’s homophobia](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/395baa7401&ref=opendemocracy.net) defied the teachings of Christ. Finally, the story of a Ghanian [deported from Japan](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/b6a24269a4&ref=opendemocracy.net), leaving his widow behind, tells us about that state’s approach to intimacy.  
  
**Don't miss:**

- Al Jazeera documentary [on Ariel Sharon](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/5e2b71bb34&ref=opendemocracy.net).
- Paul Krugman [on French President Hollande](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/272a80c512/%5Fr=0&ref=opendemocracy.net).
- Dan Hind [on Superstition, Finance and Bertrand Russell](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/75e92225a2&ref=opendemocracy.net).

**openDemocracy’s week in 1 minute is emailed to Members, Friends and authors who help pay for and create our great content. Please forward this to any contact you think might be interested and** [**want to join**](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/9aba881136/openDemocracy/bb28beb484/946f39415f/51634b1085/openDemocracy/d4022f1a75/TEST/e64101092e&ref=opendemocracy.net) **or email us (**[**supporters@opendemocracy.net**](mailto:supporters@opendemocracy.net)**).**

This week, we launch [our series on the EU elections](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/6096d64fb8&ref=opendemocracy.net), kicking off by [introducing our bloggers](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/7132aadd97&ref=opendemocracy.net) responding to the question, **What does it mean to be young and European in 2014?** There are perspectives on the [European Greens](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/f2621733be&ref=opendemocracy.net) from the leader in England and Wales, on [apathy in France](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/70ddbe2d1e&ref=opendemocracy.net), and we ask why [Germany is sleepwalking](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/e463bc6cf6&ref=opendemocracy.net), while [Greece turns against the union](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/41324db4e5&ref=opendemocracy.net). Meanwhile, Bulgaria's protest movement [may oust the government](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/3634ddbee8/7262321cfa/a792f652d0&ref=opendemocracy.net).