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# October 31 - November 06 on openDemocracy
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/october-31-november-06-on-opendemocracy/
- Published: 2011-11-14T15:11:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-23T00:49:55.000Z
- Description: This week the ongoing crisis in Greece, the #Occupy protests in London and the US, the future of Europe and discrimination in the UK were themes that came to the fore. Fintan O’Toole’s tour de horizon of the twists and turns of Ireland’s relationship with the EU revealed some of the historic chall
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: The Week in 1 Minute, #Migrated, #en, #Import 2026-04-09 17:19, #appended-excerpt

The [#Occupy protests](https://www.opendemocracy.net/freeform-tags/occupy-communiques) continue to pose questions about the nature of contemporary protest, and the identity and goals of those involved. Lawrence Rosenthal situated the Occupy Wall Street protests in the broader American political landscape, [finding points of comparison with the Tea Party protesters](https://www.opendemocracy.net/lawrence-rosenthal/occupy-wall-street-and-tea-party-bedfellows) of the Obama era. Ryan Gallagher noted how, [although the #OccupyLondon site](https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/ryan-gallagher/lacking-transparency-can-occupylondon-live-up-to-its-own-demands) at St Pauls is a thriving community, lack of transparency could defeat the movement’s own demands. In [‘So goes California, so goes the nation?’](https://www.opendemocracy.net/opendemocracy/so-goes-california-so-goes-nation) Alex Andrews talked to Oakland activist Brad Johnson about the protest’s prospects and calls for a general strike in California.

[Paul Rogers](https://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-rogers/libya-victory-tragedy-legacy) anatomises the role of NATO and arms companies in Libya, as the story of how Gaddafi fell and who benefits continues to be contested. [Aaron C Taliaferro and Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, meanwhile, explored ](https://www.opendemocracy.net/aaron-c-taliaferro-shanthie-mariet-d%E2%80%99souza/is-afghanistan-%E2%80%98iraq-sequel%E2%80%99)Washington DC’s incoherent position on Afghanistan, notably the absence of frameworks of reconciliation; while [Sadegh Zibakalam](https://www.opendemocracy.net/sadegh-zibakalam/iran-arab-revolts-and-syria?utm%5Fsource=feedblitz&utm%5Fmedium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm%5Fcontent=201210&utm%5Fcampaign=0) tracked Iranian incoherence on the Arab spring.

This week, openDemocracy’s 50.50 section launched [Centrestage](https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/centrestage), a series asking what it will take to build a truly inclusive society in the UK. Editor [Barbara Gunnell](https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/barbara-gunnell/including-everyone) set the context of economic exclusion; while [Melissa Benn looked at](https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/melissa-benn/schools-our-children-deserve) Britain’s ‘educational apartheid’; and Shauneen [Lambe drew attention](https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/shauneen-lambe/britains-children-breaking-with-convention) to the UK’s credibility gap on securing children’s rights, three years after the UN criticised Britain for its negative public attitudes to children. 

From debates on inclusion and exclusion in the EU, the US and in Britain, the week ended on a more contemplative note, with [Daniel Zylbersztajn](https://www.opendemocracy.net/daniel-zylbersztajn/possibilities-and-impossibilities-of-being-neighbour) reflecting on neighbourly relations in the 1930’s and now, and a potentially transformative dialogue which has taken decades to cultivate. 

Three links we wouldn’t want you to miss:

[The Nation: Greece spins out of control](http://www.thenation.com/article/164344/greece-spins-out-control?rel=emailNation&ref=opendemocracy.net)

[Murmuration by Sophie Windsor Clive (video)](http://vimeo.com/31158841?ref=opendemocracy.net)

[Wayback from Edinburgh to Skye (video)](http://www.youtube.com/watch%5Fpopup?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw&vq=medium&ref=opendemocracy.net)

This week the ongoing crisis in Greece, the #Occupy protests in London and the US, the future of Europe and discrimination in the UK were themes that came to the fore. Fintan O’Toole’s tour de horizon of the twists and turns [of Ireland’s relationship with the EU](https://www.opendemocracy.net/fintan-o%E2%80%99toole/into-europe) revealed some of the historic challenges to all concerned, while [ John Palmer](https://www.opendemocracy.net/john-palmer/european-union-who-do-you-believe) reminded us of the multilayered nature of shifting European identities, and [Andrew Watt asked](https://www.opendemocracy.net/andrew-watt/road-to-europe-can-wage-setting-save-monetary-union) whether wage-setting could provide a way out of the currency crisis. Anthony Barnett’s timely piece on [ the Greek referendum that wasn’t ](https://www.opendemocracy.net/anthony-barnett/greek-referendum-was-excellent-idea) argued that it would have provided the first breath of democracy in the entire eurozone crisis; [Takis S Pappas](https://www.opendemocracy.net/takis-s-pappas/greek-referendum-was-in-fact-bad-idea), however, considers Prime Minister Papandreou fundamentally undemocratic.