Politics
Photography and Slander in Uzbekistan
In February this year, the Uzbek documentary-maker and photographer, Umida Akhmedova, was sentenced by a Tashkent court for “slandering the nation”. William Wheeler takes a closer look at the case.
Little hope for change: Iran, Democracy and an international war of words
View in iTunes Watch event here. By Nicole Green Far from approaching domestic or international equilibrium, Iran is instead facing further instability and a worsening human rights record following on from the Presidential election which shook the nation last June. That was just one of the conclusions the audience took away from a lively debate […]
Don’t mention anything about the war
Given the euphoria over Germany’s Eurovision win, it was probably only an event of the magnitude of the German President resigning that could bump Lena off the headlines… But as tabloid Bild shows not by much… The surprise resignation of President Horst Köhler has both politicians and the media playing over and rewinding the tape […]
Fatima Bhutto speaks out against Pakistan’s digital liberty crackdown
By Gouri Sharma Fatima Bhutto has criticised authorities in Pakistan for cutting off access to Facebook earlier this month. Bhutto used her appearance at the Frontline Club on Wednesday to highlight wh she things th the government was wrong to ban access to social networking sites for containing what it has called "blasphemous" content. If […]
First Wednesday Pre-election Special: Is this really a ‘change’ election or just more of the same?
Download this episode View in iTunes Pic credit: Chris King, Kat Banyard and Ivor Gaber at the Frontline. By Patrick Smith If there’s one word the British people probably don’t want to hear any more, it’s change. But – bear with us – with less than 12 hours to go before the polls close, the […]
Pre-Election Night Special at the Frontline Club
View in iTunes On the eve of polling day, First Wednesday will be an opportunity to discuss some of the issues that have come up – or haven’t – during this election campaign. We’ve had TV debates, "Cleggmania" and a hung parliament remains a possibility but how much does the […]
Nick Clegg rides Sky high: The second leaders’ debate
View in iTunes While there were no definitive answers on Trident, Iran, or immigration at last night’s second televised leaders’ debate, one thing is for sure: it was an entertaining night of political theatre as Britain’s three vying political leaders grappled with foreign policy and the new televised format. The Frontline Club screened the second […]
Leaders’ Debate at the Frontline: Is it really a three-horse race?
Last week’s historic political party leaders’ debate showed just how uncertain the result of 2010 election will be (here’s The Times’ coverage). Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was considered the winner of the debate in many opinion polls, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted his defeat, at least in terms of style and delivery Brown claimed […]
Rise of the superinjunction: why libel reform matters to journalism
Download this episode View in iTunes By Ewan Palmer and Patrick Smith The shark-infested waters of UK media law could be about to get a little safer, thanks to Ministry of Justice reforms to curb extortionate lawyer success fees earned through "no win no fee" conditional fee arrangement cases (CFA). But Jack Straw’s quick-fire […]
MPs as ‘cabs for hire’: sleaze, lies and lobbying
With trust in politicians already at an all time low after the MP expenses scandal and the election due to be announced any day now, could the row over cash-for-influence be the final act for George Brown and the Labour Government? Here’s ITN’s report of the scandal… Tomorrow night at the Frontline we host a […]
Timothy Garton Ash on Europe, Obama and the ignorance of George W Bush
Download this episode View in iTunes By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi The rise of China, not Islamist terrorism, is the story of our time, declared Timothy Garton Ash at the Frontline Club last night. If you missed the event, you can watch the whole thing here… “The story of the next 20 years is about China, […]
Broadsheet Spring Issue Editorial
Editors of newspapers across Britain will soon be deliberating that peculiar duty they feel (unlike most of their counterparts overseas) to endorse a political party at the coming election. It seems a curious thing for any publication that considers itself independent to do at the best of times, which this is not. This time round, […]
The Grisly Hunt by Julius Strauss
The life of a bear in British Columbia is cheap. Hunters, in collusion with the authorities, can kil a full-grown Grizzly for just $100. Julius Strauss reports from the Selkirk mountains on how he is fighting to stop the carnage We had just made it to the river, ducking under branches and scrambling around stumps, […]
Orange turns Blue by Askold Krushelnycky
Ukraine’s presidential elections, marred by corruption and vicious infighting, have produced a winer in viktor Yanukovych, Moscow ’s favoured candidate. as Putin looks to enlarge his empire, what does this victory mean for the region? Ukraine’s presidential election five years ago, which led to the Orange Revolution, seemed to signal that the country had finally […]
Lost boy found by Alan Philps
Russia is suffering an alarming drop in population yet it is throwing away potentially useful lives by in carcerating children with minor disabilitiesand conniving at baby trafficking. Alan Philps met one child who escaped. Newspaper headlines are always shouting that the Russian bear is eternally waking up, growling, or on the prowl. When Vladimir Putin, […]
Digital Election 2010: social media’s important, but not a kingmaker yet
View in iTunes MPs, Westminster hacks and activists might be addicted to expressing themselves in 140 characters or less, but don’t expect this year’s general election to be decided on which party has the best social media strategy. But politicians and the media shouldn’t dismiss voters’ digital engagement either, according to a panel at a […]
Chicago’s Favourite son by Charles Glass
What did Barack Obama learn in Chicago that propelled him to the White House? The Democratic Party there was a tough school, renowned for dirty politics. Can the education he had from The Machine help him bring Washington to heel? Illustration by Chris Riddell Until Barack Hussein Obama’s inauguration more than a year ago, […]
Democracy is … POSSIBLE
Despite the arrest and conviction of one of their co-founders, Adnan Hajizade with an apparently trumped-up charges, OL! Youth movement has released a new video telling that they are still in and not disillusioned in their quests.
Digital Election 2010: taking political campaigns from the doorstep to the inbox
By Patrick Smith How will the UK General Election this year be won? By getting The Sun to root for you, or being the party that has the most attractive policies, or the least gaffes? Maybe when the date rolls around – perhaps in May – the winning party will be the one that connects […]
Clive Stafford Smith: Journalists need to dig deeper on Guantanamo truth
View in iTunes You can watch the event here. By Patrick Smith Journalists and human rights campaigners need to “expose the truth” behind the United States’ extra-judicial prison camps such as Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prison in Afghanistan. That’s the call from leading human rights lawyer and founder of the Reprieve charity Clive Stafford Smith. […]
What would Studs think? by Ed Vulliamy
Obama may now be Chicago’s favourite son, but to many the city’s real iconic figure is Studs Terkel, whose writings and broadcasts brought working people’s stories to an international audience. Ed Vulliamy recalls a day with the legendary chronicler of ordinary lives. As Studs Terkel marched towards the reception desk of the Chicago Tavern Club, […]
Haiti – Future Imperfect by Tom Rhodes
Once the initial horror of the earthquake had passed, the internationalcommunity seemed determined that this most blighted state couldrise from the ruins with hope that things might change. But can it? In the days and weeks after haiti’s earthquake sent its televisual shockwaves across the world, there seemed genuine hope that this natural disaster might […]
EU resolution “an attempt to damage democratic image of Azerbaijan”
Recently, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution initiated mainly by Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake and Lithuanian MEP Vytautas Landsbergis condemning the current state of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.
‘In Facebook, it is not me,’ says Azeri politician
Recently, one Azeri politician and analyst Ilgar Mammadov called another politician and analyst Eldar Namazov: “I’ve sent you a friendship request through Facebook, accept it please.” Eldar Namazov raised his eyebrows in surprise: “But I have no profile in Facebook!”
Two Azeri Bloggers receive prison terms
On 11th November, despite huge international and internal pressure, Sabail District Court of Baku presided by Justice Araz Huseynov convicted two Azerbaijani bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade on controversial hooliganism charges.
Wonderwall: Why Berlin Still Matters? by Peter Millar
Peter Millar, author of 1989 the Berlin wall: my part in its downfall, recalls the heady joys of a generation and explains why their expectations remain so important today. My wife sat at home in floods of tears in front of the television, the uncomprehending toddlers hugging her knees. I was hanging out on a […]
Lone Wolf by Ed Vulliamy
John Kay, the singer who gave us ‘born to be wild’, left east Germany and the Berlin wall behind in 1944. He has not forgotten his roots or the flight that brought him to the west. Anyone who has not heard – and felt the impact of – the primal anthem of rock music, ‘Born […]
Burma deserves better by Philip Delves Broughton
The international community is good at moral outrage when dealing with the rangoon junta but always meets a stumbling block in geopolitical reality. Change in Burma will come only when the west decides to replace ineffectual sanctions with attempts to shape the economic landscape. Perhaps then Aung San Suu Kyi can be more than just […]
Story of a father and son, with intermission
Democratic activism is a long tradition in Hajizade family, as well as the state of being assaulted and beaten for their activities – the new element here is the fact that Adnan Hajizade now is being tried for both. A story of a father and son with intermission of sixteen years
Germany’s grand colour coalition election
It’s supposed to be a Superwahljahr – a super election year in Germany. Yes, we’ve seen many elections of the state and city variety, but you could hardly describe the campaign leading up to Sunday’s general election as "super". And why? Well your correspondent wonders if anyone in Germany is potentially excited about casting their […]