Le Monde diplomatique (Oslo)EurozineLe Monde diplomatique (Oslo)2012-11-29Summary for Le Monde diplomatique (Oslo) 10/2012Benoît Bréville
Wider still and wider
Industrially farmed and produced food has made Americans grow fatter over the past 40 years. The same business techniques and their medically disastrous effects are now being exported around the world.Benoît Bréville
Why Georgia isn't on Obama's mind
The non-swing states of the United States, where custom, race and redrawn electoral districts mean the outcome of the vote is a certainty, have been dismissed by politicians from both sides.Patrick Haimzadeh
Libyan democracy hijacked
The Libyans clearly indicated in July what kind of government they wanted, and who should be in it. But things are not working out that way and the security situation is deteriorating.Guillaume Pitron
Africans are heading south
Boat refugees are not part of the main trend among African migrants. 9 out of 10 search for jobs in neighbouring countries. South Africa has become a new Eldorado for thousands of young Africans who risk everything in order to cross the border.Henriette Asséo
No, the Roma are not nomads
The removal of Roma-camps in Norway and France, discrimination in Hungary and Rumania. All over Europe people are accusing the Roma for causing crime and disorder. The idea of an ethnic population without a national homeland, supported by European institutions, has paradoxically led to the disenfranchisement of the Roma people. Such notions do not take into account their history, culture and daily life.Philippe Revelli
When the land of the poor is sold to the highest bidder
As the prices on food products rise, agricultural land becomes increasingly attractive on the open market. On The Philippines it is now often the case that soil which been cultivated for generations is declared "unproductive" and sold to foreign investors. Gilles Ardinat
Staying ahead
Competitiveness has become an obsession. Our political leaders may be fascinated with the idea because it bows to business and the markets (which they are in any case unable to control) and handily disguises their waning authority.Espen Grønlie
The spirit and fate of communism
New interpretations of Marx and the history of the 20th Century provide new ground for research on communism and room for new questions. Can there be a future for political views labeled as communist? Alexander Carnera
Generosity and degrowth
While we are faced with the greatest recession in recent history, it becomes quite evident even for economists that the old growth paradigm, which takes for granted that growth should take place for its own sake, no longer can be a safe foundation. We all know that this is not possible within the ecological limits of our planets. But it is very difficult to relate to such an indirect and abstract realization.Remi Nilsen
Plutocracy
America now enters into the last phase of the presidential campaign. Even if the great visions and hope Obama used to motivate voters in 2008 no longer is a factor, he can count on the support money can buy. A staggering 2, 5 billion dollars has so far been channeled into a race for a public office which is increasingly dominated by an oligarchy consisting of the super-rich. Serge Halimi
Time to stop and read
Our usual answer to the complaint that we've neglected activities or a cause is "we haven't the time" -- to read books or see films that are too long, or stroll round a museum or even down a street. We can't read an article on a new subject without being interrupted, wherever we are, by an urgent call for our attention.The new technologies, supposed to help us save time, are partly to blame, making it quick and cheap to move, to research, to send information and to communicate. Christopher Newfield
A time bomb
Tuition fees are increasing and the US government is gradually pulling out its economic support of the education system. The result is that an increasing number of American students are forced to borrow money which they never will be able to pay back. Chase Madar
Land of the ever less free
Obama once promised to restrict the national security state put in place after 9/11. Instead he has expanded its budget and operation.Johann Hari
'Corporations are people'
Mitt Romney's business-based ideology believes the whole world should be exploitable for corporate profit.Arnstein Bjørkly
Beyond ostalgie
Barbara is the latest shoot of among the many films which depict events in the DDR. The Lives of Others (2006) showed us how Stasi-fiction could make a strong impression in the twilight zone between doubt and sentimentality In Barbara, the director Christian Petzold does portray the DDR in black- and white contrast, but rather choose add nuances to people could live a life despite oppression and massive surveillance. Steffen Moestrup
The frozen picture
The director Anders Rønnow Klarlund has with his film The Secret Society of Fine Arts taken movement out of film. It is pretty and virtuosic but not a work which you are moved by. Sverre V. Sand
Mombasa Express
The film Paradis by the director Ulrich Seidl is a lab for mood swings where exalted humour is followed by a strong feeling of discomfort. It is a film which describes how the western world has begun its last late-night party.Truls Lie
A Palestinian autumn
It is now 30 years since the massacres in Sabra og Shatila in Beirut, Lebanon. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is more locked down than ever. But the awareness about the conflict is becoming more widespread, also in Norway.Morten Harper
The serial-journalistic method
The main theme of Joe Sacco's new book Journalism, is how you can report with the help of comic book art. The serial-journalistic method exaggerates how the ideals of objectivity and subjectivity might clash. It is also interesting that the Danish anthology Dokument at the same time gives us an heads up that documentarism has reached the Nordic countries.