"Public Debt" and the real economy

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Editor's Picks

	Can Europe escape the debt trap? Yes - and here's how Costas Lapavitsas, Andy Storey Today activists in Ireland are following Greece's example by launching a public audit of the country's debt to establish its legitimacy.

	Will the financial markets really be tamed? Myriam vander Stichele Three years since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, the banks are back making mega-profits while the burden has clearly shifted to citizens and workers. However civil society action at European level could still make a difference in reining in the financial sector.

	Justice or Vengeance: lessons from Bin Laden's death Phyllis Bennis Vengeance may have been wreaked on the infamous Al Qaeda leader, but as long as deadly U.S. wars continue in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and beyond, justice has not been done.

	India and Pakistan's hope after Osama Praful Bidwai Bin Laden's demise may mark a turning point in the relationship between India and Pakistan.

Publications

Strengthening public water in Africa: South South North networked model of Public-public Partnerships Samir Bensaid This new chapter addition to the collaborative book 'Reclaiming Public Water' details a case study from Morocco and Mauritania, showing how a network of public water operators founded on shared public service principles helped successfully achieve wider public access to water in Mauritania. (Spanish version; French version)

	Kratom in Thailand: Decriminalisation and Community Control? Pascal Tanguay Kratom is an integral part of Thai culture and has neglible harmful effects. Community level control and education are recommended for the best path to harm reduction.

Global Perspectives

Osama is no martyr, but the man prevailed
Walden Bello
The US response to 9/11 over the last decade played right into bin Laden's preferred terrain.

Free private Manning: Unmasking the Myth of National Security
Saul Landau
Double standards and double speak surround the case of private Manning; the term 'national security' has been used again and again by the government to cover up bureaucratic mistakes and human rights crimes.

Who will reshape the Arab world: its people, or the US
Tariq Ali
Phase one of the Arab spring is over. Phase two ? the attempt to crush or contain genuine popular movements ? has begun.

Is the Arab Spring a Black Swan?
Richard Falk
A recent comparison by top foreign policy thinkers in the US reveals the not so pro-democratic thinking that also goes on in Washington, referring to the emancipatory movements of the Arab Spring as a improbable "worst-case scenarios."

Are African lions really roaring? The Latest Fibs From World Financiers
Patrick Bond
The recent wave of Afro-optimism boasting of economical and technological growth on the continent fails to stand up under closer scrutiny, veiling the harsh reality faced by Africans today.

Europe's Nationalists waiting in the dark
Boris Kagarlitsky
As Brussels bureaucrats and established political parties struggle to answer the current crisis caused by a faulty economic structure, right-wing nationalist parties have increasingly come to the fore in Europe, with Finland's recent election the last contribution to a worrying trend.