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Democracy

Lessons from the Velvet Revolution

Stephen Zunes | Posted 11.23.2009 | World

Read More: Communism, Ronald Reagan, Freedom, Nonviolent Action, Czechoslovakia, Democracy, Velvet Revolution, Fall of Berlin Wall, World News
Stephen Zunes

These movements were largely led by democratic socialists who mobilized workers, church people, intellectuals, and others to face down the tanks with their bare hands.

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Build, Don't Destroy in Afghanistan: An Open Letter to President Obama

Jim Wallis | Posted 11.20.2009 | World

Read More: White House, Strike, President Obama, Civil, International, Indigenous, Washington, Pakistan, War, United Nations, Campaign, Muslim Countries, Collateral Damage, Surge, Prayer, America, Muslim, Conflict, Un, Terror, Technology, Security, Development, History, Afghan Government, Democracy, Fear, Terrorist, Ngos, Unmanned Drones, Religious Leaders, Engagement, Death, Foreign Policy, Moral Values, Occupier, Extremists, Moral Issues, Deaths, Women, Escalation, Faith Community, Economic Support, Taliban, Military, Afghanistan, General Assembly, Terrorism, Humanitarian Assistance, D.C., Casualties, Faith-Based, World News
Jim Wallis

Already, thousands of our readers have signed a letter and contacted the White House urging a new way forward in Afghanistan. I encourage you to read it and to endorse this message if you have not done so already.

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The Murder of Russian Rule of Law

Robert Amsterdam | Posted 11.19.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Crime, Sergey Magnitskiy, Robert Amsterdam, Rule of Law, Democracy, Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, Murder, Human Rights, Hermitage Capital Management, William Browder, Prison, Sergei Magnitsky, Vladimir Putin, Stanislav Markelov, Anna Politkovskaya, World News
Robert Amsterdam

Late on Monday the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky suffered a rupture of the abdominal membrane causing death. How many more dead Russians will it take before the world takes notice?

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Bring Back the Cots! The Filibuster and Health Care Reform

Jerome Karabel | Posted 11.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Joseph Lieberman, Health Care Reform, Harry Reid, Filibuster, Democracy, Health Care, Senate, Lieberman Filibuster, Joe Lieberman, Politics News
Jerome Karabel

Paradoxically, the filibuster -- a classic device of obstruction -- may turn out to be the unexpected pathway to health care reform.

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Health Care: Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Jim Wallis | Posted 11.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dialogue, Fundamentalism, Culture War, Health Care Plan, Compromise, Immigrants, Poor, Health Care Provider, Abortion, Values, Health Care Coverage, Insurance Plan, Contraception, Poverty Reduction, Justice, Pro-Life Democrats, Member of Congress, Health Care, Status Quo, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, Health Insurance Reform, Religion, Pregnancies, Democracy, Abortion Reduction, Culture Wars, Subsidies, Public Option, Tax Dollars, Common Ground, Medicaid, Families, Federal Subsidies, Stereotype, Healthcare, Interpretation, Moral Values, Agendas, Progressive, Culture Warrior, Women, Application, Health Plan, Principle, Segregation, Faith Community, Schip, Abortion Debate, Moral Imperative, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Healthcare Reform, Religious Community, Rhetoric, Politics News
Jim Wallis

We've recently seen the abortion rhetoric really heat up to ridiculous proportions. Those with opposing views are being stereotyped and demonized. And facts are taking a back seat to sound bytes.

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Obama tells Myanmar junta to free Suu Kyi

AP | VIJAY JOSHI | Posted 11.15.2009 | World

Read More: Burma, Typhoon, Obama, Democracy, Myanmar Democracy, General Election, Suu Kyi Release, Association of Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Asia Visit, Myanmar Elections, Asean, Junta, Communism, Military Junta, Barack Obama, Southeast Asia, Suu Kyi, Free Suu Kyi, Buddhism, Us, Burma Elections, World News

SINGAPORE — President Barack Obama on Sunday told Myanmar's junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during an unusual face-to-face i...

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Obama's Human Rights Opportunity in Singapore

Robert Amsterdam | Posted 11.11.2009 | World

Read More: Freedom of Assembly, Apec, Chee Soon Juan, Democracy, Canada, Obama, Autocracy, Defamation, Singapore Democratic Party, Amnesty International, Freedom of Speech, People's Action Party, Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, Human Rights, Asean, Freedom of Expression, Harper, World News
Robert Amsterdam

Any American president should be horrified by the conditions under which opponents of the regime in Singapore have been harassed. The APEC summit presents an opportunity to set the record straight.

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The Proselytizers: Wall Street Executives and Televangelists

Judith Ellis | Posted 11.11.2009 | Business

Read More: Democracy, Christianity, Goldman Sachs, Brian Griffiths, Free Market, Capitalism, Jesus Christ, Televangelists, LLyod C. Blankfein, Business News
Judith Ellis

Goldman Sachs executives are sounding more and more like televangelists who say things like "We are doing the work of the ministry" and "Give and it shall be given unto you."

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Stop U.S. Meddling; Support Afghan Women at the Table

Jodie Evans | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Women, Codepink, Democracy, Afghanistan, Peace, Jodie Evans, US Afghanistan, Malalai Joya, Hamid Karzai, Women's Rights, Afghanistan-Parliament, John Kerry, Politics News
Jodie Evans

Women's rights (which are, in fact, human rights) will never rise from a corrupt, fundamentalist government. We need to be supporting the voices of women to nurture change in Afghanistan.

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Keeping Afghanistan Safe from Democracy

Robert Scheer | Posted 11.04.2009 | World

Read More: Robert Scheer, Insurgency, David Axelrod, Lyndon Johnson, Afghanistan, Matthew Hoh, Al-Qaida, Vietnam, Democracy, Hamid Karzai, Stanley McChrystal, Soviet Union, World News
Robert Scheer

The most idiotic thing being said about America's involvement in Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 U.S. troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm's way.

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He Cannot Succeed Without Us: One Year After the Election of President Barack Obama

Rahim Kanani | Posted 11.03.2009 | World

Read More: White House, Afghanistan, Economy, Hbo, United Nations, President Obama, Chicago, Iran, United States, Democracy, Iraq, Health Care, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, One Year Later, World News
Rahim Kanani

With a litany of crises to deal with, now more than ever, President Obama needs his army of advocates once more to continue the fight for change.

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Lessons For US Economic Policy From The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

Newsweek | Michael Hirsh | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Experiment, 1989, East Germany, Economy, West Germany, Regulation, Democracy, Capitalism, Fee Market Economy, Lessons From Fall of Berlin Wall, Lessons From Germany, Berlin Wall, Communism, Paul Samuelson, Economic Policy, Germany, Unification, Command Economy, Cold War, Socialism, Free Market, Fall of Berlin Wall, Berlin, Politics News

The abrupt and miserable end of the socialist experiment--it all happened so fast, with East Germany getting absorbed into West Germany on Oct. 3, 199...

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The End of History -- 20 Years Later

Nathan Gardels | Posted 10.31.2009 | World

Read More: Communism, Berlin Wall Anniversary, Democracy, Authoritarianism, Francis Fukuyama, Berlin Wall, World News
Nathan Gardels

The fall of the Berlin Wall led Francis Fukuyama to famously declare "the end of history." Twenty years on, what does Fukuyama think about where history has gone since?

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The Little Coup that Couldn't

Laura Carlsen | Posted 10.31.2009 | World

Read More: Democracy, Honduras, Human Rights, Latin America, Coup, State Department, Manuel Zelaya, Roberto Micheletti, Hillary Clinton, Tom Shannon, World News
Laura Carlsen

If the agreement brokered this week holds, Honduran society will have turned the ugly precedent of a modern-day military coup d'etat into an example of the strength of nonviolent grassroots resistance.

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Lula's Red Carpet Welcome for Ahmadinejad

Robert Amsterdam | Posted 10.29.2009 | World

Read More: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Human Rights, Latin America, Nuclear Weapons, National Security, Iran Election, Brazil, Robert Amsterdam, United Nations, Lula, Washington DC, United States, Iran, Death Penalty, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Democracy, Elections, World News
Robert Amsterdam

Why, with so much going for him and his country, should the president of Brazil make such controversial choices in his friends? The logic of the relationship with Iran is perplexing.

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Afghanistan: A Whole New Approach

Jim Wallis | Posted 10.29.2009 | World

Read More: Capitol Hill, White House, President, Relief, President Obama, International, Indigenous, Council, Washington, War, Oxfam, Muslim Countries, Collateral Damage, Surge, America, Dick Cheney, Muslim, World Vision, Counter Insurgency, Terror, Development, Faith, History, Tragedy, Afghan Government, Democracy, Counter Terrorism, Special Forces, Religious, Terrorist, Richard Stearns, Congress, Unmanned Drones, Religious Leaders, Foreign Policy, Urgency, Moral Issues, Occupier, Arab, Taliban, Military, Afghanistan, Terrorism, Humanitarian Assistance, D.C., Casualties, Faith-Based, World News
Jim Wallis

When you massively intervene in a country as much as the U.S. has in Afghanistan, you can't responsibly just walk away. We must lead with what works -- development.

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Sad I Ran

Reverend Billy | Posted 10.29.2009 | New York

Read More: Corruption, Democracy, New York, New York Times, New York City Politics, Bill Thompson, Michael Bloomberg, Gentrification, New York News
Reverend Billy

"Corruption" now means "Democracy." "Affordable housing" means "Eviction." And New York City's imitation Greatness is polished.

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India's Invisible Minority

Parvez Ahmed | Posted 10.27.2009 | World

Read More: Sachar Commission, Hindu, Islam, India, Eid Ul-Fitr, Pakistan, Secular, Violence, Muslims, Durga-Festival, Partition of India, Democracy, Discrimination, Hinduvta, World News
Parvez Ahmed

Muslims who make up over twenty percent of the population in Kolkata have become its invisible minority, increasingly squeezed out of the public square in Kolkata and beyond.

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Saying "No" to Democracy

Nick Jefferson | Posted 10.20.2009 | Business

Read More: Democracy, Royal Mail, Labor, Labor Unions, Billy Hayes, Business News
Nick Jefferson

When organizations start to place a high premium on consensus in decision-making, they start to fail. Given that neither labor nor management want to see failure, why is this ideal pursued?

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Mandatory Voting? Automatic Registration? How Un-American!

Mark Green | Posted 10.19.2009 | New York

Read More: Elections, Democracy, Voter Registration, Voting, Election Reform, New York City Public Advocate, Instant Runoff Voting, Fairvote, Voter Turnout, New York News
Mark Green

If you have an election where the winner gets four percent of the eligible electorate, is that a functioning democracy? I just lost such a runoff contest in New York City.

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Step Up to Mike's Challenge

Linda Milazzo | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Roger and Me, Barbara Boxer, Fair Elections Now Act, Houses, Lobbyists, Vermont, Connecticut, Jobs, Fahrenheit 9/11, Dianne Feinstein, Contributors, Arizona, California, Capitalism: A Love Story, New Mexico, New Jersey, Clean Money, Maine, Senator Barbara Boxer, iPhone App, Foreclosure, Congressman Henry Waxman, North Carolina, California Fair Elections, Participatory Democracy, S. 752, H.R. 1826, Campaign Finance, Congress, Democracy, Henry Waxman, Democrats, Sicko, Insurers, Corporations, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Corporate Greed, Medical Treatment, Iphone, Banks, Michael Moore, Republicans, Senate, Campaign Finance Reform, Healthcare, Fena, Hardball, Anderson Cooper, Msnbc, Chris Matthews, Cnn, Politics News
Linda Milazzo

Despite all we've learned from Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Roger and Me, we continue to take abuse. Our pal Mike is now asking us to act.

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Thanksgiving(?) Again

Paula Gordon | Posted 10.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Lincoln, Belief Systems, Enlightenment, Freedom, Thanksgiving, Canada, Democracy, Sovereignty, Judeo-Christian, Gettysburg Address, Politics News
Paula Gordon

I was attacked for an earlier post as un-American for acknowledging Canada's Thanksgiving celebration and for not celebrating America's. Rest assured! I fully intend to celebrate next month as well.

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Capitalism: A Propaganda Hate Film

Michael Shermer | Posted 10.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Bank of America, Aig, Goldman Sachs, Free Markets, Capitalism—a Love Story, Gm, Propaganda, Democracy, Michael Moore, Willie Sutton, Franklin Roosevelt, Capitalism, Second Bill of Rights, Free Enterprise, Great Depression, Politics News
Michael Shermer

In Michael Moore's worldview, a goodly portion of the American people are ignorant, uneducated, clueless pinheads too stupid to realize the fundamental principle of a loan.

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A Discussion with a Nobel Laureate: Shirin Ebadi and the Struggle for Democracy in Iran, Part I

Cynthia Boaz | Posted 10.19.2009 | World

Read More: People Power, Shirin Ebadi, Islam, Nonviolent Conflict, Colorado, Obama, Democracy, Nobel Peace Prize, Nonviolent Struggle, Power, Barack Obama, Peace Studies, Iran, Nonviolence, Islamic Republic of Iran, Human Rights, Muslims, Middle East, Boulder, Buddhism, Naropa, World News
Cynthia Boaz

Ebadi told me that part of her job is to help women interpret Islam "correctly" in order to assert their claim to equal rights. If she is any indication, the Iranian Women's Movement is in extremely capable hands.

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"A Writer Close to the Power Elite": Interview With Robert Harris

Christina Patterson | Posted 10.10.2009 | Books

Read More: Ancient Rome, Politics, Democracy, Peter Mandelson, New Labour, Tony Blair, Cicero, Roman Polanski, Fatherland, The Ghost, Robert Harris, Books News
Christina Patterson

It was while writing Pompeii six years go, and then reading Rubicon, that Harris first had the idea of using ancient Rome as a springboard for an exploration of the political process.

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