> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Security, sectarianism and supermarkets – The Week in 1 Minute: Jan 27 – Feb 2 on openDemocracy - URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/security-sectarianism-and-supermarkets-week-in-1-minute-jan-27-feb-2-on-opendemocracy/ - Published: 2014-02-02T00:02:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-04-23T01:35:17.000Z - Description: The widening influence of security services in the UAE is causing grave concern. Tunisia, however, appears to have turned the corner with a new constitution, which has surprised everybody.Gazans fear another Israeli military offensive is imminent. - Author: openDemocracy Supporters - Tags: The Week in 1 Minute, #Migrated, #en, #Import 2026-04-09 17:46, #appended-excerpt If the UK has resorted to **draconian practices of ‘counter-terrorism’**, [comparable](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/3cd80b06d9&ref=opendemocracy.net) to those of Turkey, Argentina is [evolving towards democratic practices](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/a49b738e34&ref=opendemocracy.net) and [Cuba](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/3a33c5c749&ref=opendemocracy.net) has lessons for us all. David Mepham [believes](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/17348ebd51&ref=opendemocracy.net) human rights are integral to a global development framework. [openSecurity launches a new column](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/dd3183f2f5&ref=opendemocracy.net), to explore the drivers of **global insecurities and their root causes**. Mexico and Peru, for example, are suffering from the [effects of Free Trade Agreements](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/b180ac92d0&ref=opendemocracy.net). Transformation [interviews Sarah Schulman](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/ace9415b9a&ref=opendemocracy.net) about her documentary [United In Anger: A History of ACT UP](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/a2f46091bb&ref=opendemocracy.net) on **the forgotten resistance to the AIDS crises**, and sheds light on what a homosexual couple [had to endure on a night out](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/f7ec5dd29f&ref=opendemocracy.net) in Soho. [An alternative power structure](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/cf85126010&ref=opendemocracy.net) is **the key aim of the Ukraine protests**. Negotiations concerning the [Maidan protesters'](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/1c0e5e8314&ref=opendemocracy.net) demands [have failed to satisfy](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/1f55332b18&ref=opendemocracy.net) them so far. In Russia it is taking too long for the [Holocaust to be recognized](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/d9e91313c9&ref=opendemocracy.net), while either genocide or full-blown sectarian conflict [looms](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/935ca528e9&ref=opendemocracy.net) in the Central African Republic. The [state-youth relationship](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/50061d3a5c&ref=opendemocracy.net) in South Africa is in the balance: a challenge in the upcoming elections. Bill Park [discusses](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/27428bb2c6&ref=opendemocracy.net) **Turkey's escalating crises**, background to the first-ever direct elections there. [Three men "skipped" food](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/840da63287&ref=opendemocracy.net) from a supermarket in the UK – where is the real political scandal? And another question: [Is banking liberal?](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/6ceeb3e56e&ref=opendemocracy.net) Apparently not. Shannon Biggs discusses the [destructive effects of fracking](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/2118bcfb48&ref=opendemocracy.net) while [Canada and Russia](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/618ecaf91e&ref=opendemocracy.net) are in **denial of climate change**, opting for short-term benefits. A [UK Private Members’ Bill ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/2cdc447d1d&ref=opendemocracy.net)started the **fightback against privatisation**. [A lobbying bill got passed](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/40d50b781c&ref=opendemocracy.net), but so what? OurKingdom's co-editor [interviews Graham Allen MP](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/84c13cf0b3&ref=opendemocracy.net) on how ineffective the law is. Politics is infecting the [way the level of welfare benefits is calculated](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/6edb60ead0&ref=opendemocracy.net), the Scottish government is [placing every child on a register](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/9d9805524f&ref=opendemocracy.net), regressive Tory gender policies are [pushing women and the poor to the brink](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/50a063aa4c&ref=opendemocracy.net) and we ask [what democrats can learn from Machiavelli](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/ee5579220b&ref=opendemocracy.net). Italy is [skeptical towards the EU](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/f2a6de1068&ref=opendemocracy.net), and its [political spectrum is in a state of flux](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/e174f16db7&ref=opendemocracy.net). Tom Slater says [resilience is operating as an insidious alias](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/f6fdfcab72&ref=opendemocracy.net) to dispossession and territorial stigmatisation. Protesting [gender-based censorship](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/5a70f0a093&ref=opendemocracy.net) is part of **mobilizing against rape and sexual harassment**, says Meredith Tax. Reni Eddo-Lodge sheds light on [white feminism](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/571fd32325&ref=opendemocracy.net) and how it keeps structural racism thriving. Survivors of the [acid attacks in Islamabad](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/332b867ff9&ref=opendemocracy.net) are campaigning to strengthen legislation. And we [remember Pete Seeger](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/3245e55c72&ref=opendemocracy.net). **Don’t miss**: - [Understanding Gender Politics in Modern Iran](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/96b0148e23&ref=opendemocracy.net) - [Profile: Egypt armed forces chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/bdf44789e7/SThisFB&ref=opendemocracy.net) - [Norway pension fund bans Israeli occupation-profiteers after lies exposed](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/6daf9c88d8&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/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/15f1445431/openDemocracy/bb28beb484/946f39415f/51634b1085/openDemocracy/d4022f1a75/TEST/e64101092e&ref=opendemocracy.net) **or email us (**[**supporters@opendemocracy.net**](mailto:supporters@opendemocracy.net)**).** The widening [influence of security services in the UAE](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/ca663d35e9&ref=opendemocracy.net) is causing grave concern. Tunisia, however, appears to have [turned the corner with a new constitution](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/bcfa69e3ca&ref=opendemocracy.net), which [has surprised everybody](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/40f551af36&ref=opendemocracy.net).**Gazans fear another Israeli military offensive** is [imminent](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/39fb00d514/7262321cfa/b44f04db6e&ref=opendemocracy.net).