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Democracy -- the End of an Experiment

Steve McGiffen Morning Star
The recently published Roadmap for the Future of the Economic and Monetary Union, signed by five “presidents” — of the European Council, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup — it doesn’t contain much that’s strikingly new, but what it does do is systematise and confirm the abolition of national democracy.

We the People and our Patents

Shobita Parthasarathy The Conversation
An early expression of democracy, the US patent system is out of step with today’s citizens.

Greece Says NO to Permanent Austerity

Yanis Varoufakis, Paul Krugman, Paul Taylor/Andreas Rinke Yanis Varoufakis, New York Times, Huffington Post
Greek voters refuse to bow to impossible demands from creditors. More than 60% of Greek voters say NO. Alexis Tsipras: "The Greek people made a historic and brave choice. Their response will alter the existing dialogue in Europe."

6 Lessons for the U.S. from Spain's Democratic Revolution

Erica Sagrans In These Times
How Spain's 15M movement went from occupying city squares to city halls-without compromising its independence. An important part of progressives' recent electoral success can be traced to a strong network of locally organized 'social centers' across Spain. These are spaces where community members can interact and share ideas, whether that means organizing a demonstration, taking Zumba classes or checking out library book.

Piety and Politics in America

Susan Jacoby The American Prospect
The tension between religiosity and secular government goes back to the nation’s founding.

The Origins of Stop-and-Frisk

Alex Elkins Jacobin
Beginning in the 1930s, the LAPD pioneered the use of stop-and-search policing whereby officers flooded an area after a reported crime to question persons found on the street. This was the anti-Friday dragnet — indiscriminate, racist, and the reality for urban, black communities after World War II.

The Revolution in Rojava

Meredith Tax Dissent Magazine
While the Syrian opposition is understandably bitter that the YPG and YPJ withdrew most of their energy from the war with Assad, leftists worldwide should be watching the remarkable efforts being made by Syrian Kurds and their allies to build a liberated area where they can develop their ideas about socialism, democracy, women, and ecology in practice.

10 Steps to Transform American Society

Jack O'Dell The Nation
An outline for social transformation in the United States, inspired by South Africa's Freedom Charter. The Democracy Charter, summarized below, seeks to enlarge the public's understanding of the connectedness of these issues as a way to achieve a social transformation of American society. This is the ultimate purpose of our movement.

When the Student Movement Was a CIA Front

Aryeh Neier The American Prospect
With the passage of half a century, it may be difficult to understand why so many political and cultural organizations, led by individuals with a generally liberal or leftist outlook, covertly collaborated with the CIA in the 1950s and first half of the 1960s, before exposés in Ramparts and other publications put an end to most such arrangements. This was also a period in which many other Americans with similar views collaborated with the FBI.
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