Mother’s Day is coming Sunday, and The Sacramento Press has a few gift ideas that are sure to let mom know how much you love her.

 

Gift idea No. 1: Send your mom on a relaxing getaway.

Super Spa, located at 1722 J St., Suite 1, offers a variety of massage services. Relaxation or therapeutic massages range from $40 to $120 depending on the length of the massage.

A warm stone therapy ranges from $90 to $140, and a head and scalp treatment for 30 minutes costs $40.

Every 60 minutes of massage includes an organic aromatherapy steam.

According to owner Suzanne Saunders, Super Spa's "Treat Mom to 90 minutes of bliss" special includes a L'initié facial care with Univera's super hydrating line-reducing face cream.

"We we will finish with their radiant and tightening skin toner," Saunders said. "She will be glowing for days."

Super Spa offers a chiropractic service, nutrition consulting, yoga sessions and a rain forest tub with Super Spa Me Organics bath salts, soaps and organic teas.

They have couples and single spa packages, including a chocolate rub and scrub package with a steam, 90-minute massage, body scrub, one-hour rain forest tub soak and organic chocolate.

Gift idea No. 2: Make her garden special.

The Gifted Gardener, located at 1730 J St., is a family-owned store that has an array of garden accessories, bird feeders and chimes to spruce up mom’s garden.

According to sales associate Taffetta Lassen, customers can expect store items to range from 25 cents to $270.

The two most popular items for the Mother’s Day holiday are chimes and bird feeders.

“Ninety-five percent (of our items) are meant to be outside,” Lassen said. “(We want to) encourage you to live outside, preferably in the garden.”

Several notable gifts include handmade clay flowers from Thailand, a large rock collection with various inspirational words, shea butter-enriched soaps in rhubarb, linden and honey almond, and gnome statues.

Sales associate Xian Kwong is Lassen’s son. "(Mother's Day) is a pretty big holiday for us," he said. "(We offer) something pretty for her garden."

One notable gift is a colorful hanging slate plaque with a hummingbird and flowers painted on it, which can be purchased for $23.

 

Gift idea No. 3: Buy her beautiful flowers.

Relles Florist, 2400 J St., is having several specials for Mother's Day with their cash-and-carry option. If you go directly to the store, you can purchase flowers at a discount if you pay with cash and take it with you.

According to Jim Relles, the president of Relles Florist, they carry at least 200 varieties of flowers from orchids, lilies, sunflowers, birds of paradise, liatris and anthuriums.

Relles said he recommends preordering flowers, but they have never sold out on Mother’s Day.

“We’ll have plenty of flowers (for Mother’s Day),” Relles said. “Mixed spring arrangements (are) very colorful.”

Relles also said that the average arrangement costs $40.

The arrangement below costs $40 and includes carnations, stock, pink statice and purple pom pom chrysanthemums.

Below is another arrangement that costs $40 and includes roses, carnations, statice, solidago and pom pom chrysanthemums.

“Roses are beautiful for Mother’s Day,” Relles said.

 

Gift idea No. 4: Treat mom to some retail therapy.

Several downtown Sacramento clothing boutiques have plenty of gift ideas for mom.

Sugar Shack, 2425 J St., is the perfect destination for the trendy mom. Sugar Shack has cute spring dresses and tops, belts, shoes and sunglasses. Also, they have lots of locally handmade jewelry.

Several of the brands the boutique carries include Toms shoes, Chaser, Level 99, Ark and Co. and OBEY.

Clothing prices range from $29 to $150.

A cute gift for mom that you can find at Sugar Shack is the polka-dot blouse below, from Ellison, which costs $38.

Clothing Remix, 2419 J St., carries new and used women's clothing, accessories and shoes.

According to co-owner Julie Vue, although their fashion pieces might look trendy, she said they “don’t want to rule out anyone.”

Vue said that the accessories and clothing range from $5 to $70.

Starting Mother's Day, they will offer 30 percent off of new merchandise and 20 percent off used merchandise.

They also offer styling tips on how to spruce up your wardrobe. According to Vue, if customers like a particular item, she shows them how they can incorporate it into their style by matching it with a pair of sandals or a nice blazer.

“We believe in trying the pieces on,” Vue said.

Vue said that she uses today’s magazines as inspiration combined with the customer’s personal style.

Below is a flutter sleeve blouse, from Von Chic, which costs $39.99.

The Cotton Club, at 2331 J St., is a boutique that offers unique, natural fiber clothing and all kinds of accessories. 

They carry casual to professional women’s clothing, from tops, blouses and dresses. They also have a large selection of scarves, purses, jewelry and hats.

Their clothing and accessory items range from $25 to $120.

Several of the brands the store carries are Cut Loose, Tribal, Nomadic Traders, Color Me Cotton and Flax.

Was your mom obsessed with the Royal Wedding? Treat her like a queen with one of the Cotton Club’s colorful hats.

One gift idea at the Cotton Club is this purple top below, which costs $84, by Color Me Cotton.

Make your mother feel special this Mother's Day. No matter what you get for her, she will appreciate anything that comes from the heart.

Army is to prepare a report on what happened in the final phase of the humantarian operation. It will be prepared after talking to then front line commanders,  Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said. It will reveal the true events that took place in the war front during the final days of the humantarian operation, he added.  Preparing of [...]

ත්‍රස්තවාදය පරාජය කිරීමේ සටනේ අවසන් අදියරේ සිදුවීම් ඇතුලත් වාර්තාවක් යුධ හමුදාව සකස් කිරීමට යයි. ඒ සදහා මානුෂීය මෙහෙයුමේ අවසන් අදියරේ යුධ බිමේ ඉදිරි පෙල සිටි අණදෙන නිළධාරීන්ගෙන් තොරතුරු ලබා ගන්නා බව යුධ හමුදාපති ලුතිනන් ජනරාල් ජගත් ජයසූරිය මහතා කියයි. ත්‍රස්තවාදයට එරෙහි මානුෂිය මෙහෙයුමේ අවසන් අදියරේ නියම තත්වය එමගින් දැනගත හැකිය. මෙය සමාලෝචන වාර්තාවකි. එම වාර්තාව සකස් [...]

In late 2007, student Meredith Kercher was found brutally murdered in a hillside cottage in Perugia Italy. Her murder sparked a media frenzy due to the alleged sexual nature of the crime. News out of Perugia told unsubstantiated tales of a satanic ritualistic sex orgy that led to murder. At the heart of these accusations was Meredith's roommate Amanda Knox. This outrageous fantasy all began with a kiss.

The morning following the murder, Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were standing outside the cottage watching investigators and members of the media converge on the murder scene. As both stood there in the cold, Raffaele held Amanda keeping her warm and at one point they shared a few short kisses. At that moment cameras flashed, images of the two kissing were viewed around the world, instantly creating the fictional satanic ritualistic sex crazed killer "Foxy Knoxy." The media failed to note that Amanda was scared and shaking, looking for comfort in an extreme moment of shock. They also failed to note that the nick-name pulled from Amanda's MySpace page was actually a childhood nickname earned for her skills on the soccer field. "Foxy Knoxy" made for salacious headlines in a story that was becoming more sexually charged with each coming hour. Sex sells and the media saw the opportunity to cash in. Unfortunately the truth was nowhere on their radar.

In the days and weeks that followed, the fantasy of a lust driven and sexually motivated sex killing was the topic of conversation about a case that in reality had absolutely nothing to do with sex. Police moved forward with their investigation of what they would call a "threesome sex-orgy gone wrong." False claims fueled what quickly became a sexual obsession that overwhelmed every media report. One story in particular sent the obsession into overdrive. It was reported that Amanda went to a lingerie shop with Raffaele shortly after the murder to by a g-string. Readers were told they were seen laughing and talking about "wild" sex in the store. As it turns out, the witness claiming to hear the sex talk didn't speak any English. Amanda and Raffaele just so happened to be speaking English in the store. We would later find out that the witness was paid by a tabloid. Even worse, the store wasn't even a lingerie shop. Elizabeth Vargas, an ABC reporter, reported on the Oprah Winfrey show that she visited the store and observed that they didn't even sell the sexy lingerie that was described in the media. She described the store as being similar to a Target store in the United States. Unfortunately, the security camera footage that showed a brief moment when Amanda smiled at Raffaele was all the media needed to propel the lie around the globe.

 

Barbie Nadeau

One of the most salacious writers in the case, yellow journalist Barbie Nadeau was front and center when it came to fueling the sexual obsession hovering over the case. She printed outright lies regarding excerpts leaked from Amanda's prison diary stating that Amanda claimed to have slept with seven partners during the time she was in Italy. The truth is, in a dishonest attempt to gain information about her sex life, Amanda was told by corrupt prison officials that she tested positive for HIV. In a very responsible manner, Amanda put together an honest list of partners she had been with during her lifetime. Little did she know that immoral journalists such as Barbie Nadeau would use this information to formulate egregious lies to be used against her.

Nadeau consistently shows how out of touch she is with the current culture in Perugia Italy. For example, Nadeau left college students in Perugia baffled when she made this observation:

"I don't think it's completely out of the picture to assume that group sex is part of the university experience now.  Based on interviews I have done, it's just what kids are doing in Perugia. These kids are not strangers to what I would consider to be extreme sex games."

Most readers would probably be quite interested in hearing from those Barbie claimed to interview. If group sex is a normal part of college life, Barbie Nadeau is the only one to realize this.

But Barbie's salacious style is not just used to sexualize the students of Perugia or Amanda Knox. Instead, Nadeau is one of the few yellow journalists willing to take her constant sexualization to the next level by disrespecting the murder victim, Meredith Kercher, in her book Angel Face, describing her lifeless naked body in lurid and sexualized terms ( as viewed during autopsy). There was no reason whatsoever to mention anything about the appearance of Meredith’s private parts and Nadeau should be ashamed for stooping to that level to promote her career. 

Sexually charged headlines for articles written by Barbie Nadeau, and others like her, came easy for editors all around the world.  For those who haven't followed the case, salacious headlines like the following were the norm:

"Lesbian Sex Plea to Knoxy"

"Foxy Knoxy plays the field from her jail cell with new romance"

“Diary reveals Foxy Knoxy’s sex secrets"

“Hayden banned from seeing sex monster Knox”

 

The Prosecution and the Court

The media carries much of the blame for fueling the sexual obsession, but we must not forget that they were being fed erroneous information from the prosecution's office led by Giuliano Mignini. Mignini was the media's source for many of the lies that were spread early on. Prosecutor Mignini would change his theory of the crime many times throughout the course of the trial. He eventually dropped the sex game theory that filled the headlines for over two years leading up to the verdict, going with an equally ridiculous theory that Amanda simply hated Meredith enough to kill her. Along with the baseless motivation of hatred, he was able to keep lust in his narrative. He created dialog for Amanda during his closing argument and imagined her saying this to Meredith during the attack: "You are always behaving like a little saint. Now we will show you; now we will make you have sex."

Judge Massei, the head magistrate in the case, didn't buy Mignini's theory and instead created his own lust driven theory of the crime. Massei suggested that Amanda and Raffaele were being intimate in Amanda's room when they overheard Rudy Guede attacking Meredith. Instead of coming to Meredith's aid, Amanda and Raffaele decided to join in on the attack. The amazing thing is that Massei's theory is even more ludicrous than Mignini's. Why would Amanda decide to help a virtual stranger attack and murder her friend? How would they have known that Rudy would not attack them? Common sense was nowhere to be found and apparently any sexually driven theory would do.

 

Peggy Ganong and Perugia Murder File

The sexual obsession fueled by the court and observed in the media was quickly adopted by a group of individuals running an ongoing hate campaign against Amanda Knox online. This group assembles on a discussion board called Perugia Murder File (PMF) run by Seattle resident, Peggy Ganong. The same group also runs a so called informational site called True Justice (TJMK) run by New Jersey resident, Peter Quennell. This group claims to be dedicated to preserving the memory of Meredith Kercher but in reality their only goal is to smear Amanda Knox. They continuously show an obsession with sex in their daily conversation attempting to paint Amanda's supporters as middle-aged men that only support Amanda because they are sexually attracted to her. Here are a few quotes from PMF, the site moderated by Peggy Ganong:

"They are middle aged Perverts who dream of being the foxy to Amanda's knoxy"

"All are middle-aged men driven by fantasies of recapturing lost youth, being a hero and carrying the damsel in distress off into the sunset."

"those middle aged one hand typists who spend their sleepless nights imagining romantic interludes with Amanda."

"seriously sick, pitifully perverted, lust aided attraction that some bored middle aged males with keyboards, have for a unanimously convicted, justly incarcerated young female"

Recently, this group suggested that Wikipedia Founder Jimbo Wales became interested in the Amanda Knox case because he was looking to have sex with Amanda.

"I don't see the pay-off in the end. Right now, Jimbo is on the verge of losing any sense of respect as a new media entrepreneur (lying about his checkuser results, for example) just for a chance to catch a peek of some tender young sex killer flesh."

"Jimbo is precisely the profile of the aging Lothario looking for access to tail through his powerful media connections. He isn't thinking with his correct head and everything he's proposed is straight out of the FOA manual."   

"Somebody should give Jimbo a cold shower. He's really lathered up and ready for brunette sex killer action"   

Peggy Ganong should have been ashamed to be part of that conversation, but as moderator she not only endorsed the dialogue but joined in with a zinger of her own: "In all seriousness, what is it with these wiki guys and their wicks?"

 

Peter Quennell: The worst of the sexually obsessed

Peter Quennell, who runs the website True Justice, does nothing to hide his obsession with murder victim Meredith Kercher on his site, giving readers an experience that is outright creepy. He doesn't hesitate to carry on the sex laden talking points of his group. He had this to say about me when he felt the need to talk about my daughter while accusing me of lusting over Amanda:

"Hmmm. Someone now tells me that Bruce Fisher who runs some FOA website claims to have a daughter. I have never paid much interest in him, but one has to wonder why he is slobbering kinkily over Amanda Knox while at the same time undermining those public institutions that are the bedrock of the future of his daughter and, when she has them, her own kids."

Even though many of the people that support Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are women, Peter Quennell, Peggy Ganong and their followers, like to spread lies that the support comes primarily from perverted middle-aged men. This line of thinking is disgusting, but not surprising.  More likely than not, followers of Quennell and Ganong project their own shameful and creepy sexual obsessions onto others.

Recently, Quennell showed his obsession with young women when he stalked and attempted to extort money from a young woman who resisted his advances. This young woman's name will not be mentioned in this article in order to protect her privacy. Quennell attempted to lure this young woman into a business deal in which he would create a promotional website to help build her career. She was new to the United States and Quennell's offer sounded pretty good in the beginning. Quennell proceeded to create a website telling the young woman that he was creating the site free of charge to show her the benefits of his promotional expertise. The site included many personal details of the young woman's life and she did not approve. The young woman was shocked at the website Quennell had created and also became concerned (and was warned by at least one friend) that his interest in her was not solely business-related. Quennell's emails were at times sexual in nature, repeatedly asking for her to take trips with him. He refused to cease communications with her when asked, and he appeared to her to be obsessed.

The young woman asked Quennell to take the website offline but he refused, demanding money to remove it. Quennell sent the young woman hundreds of emails encouraging (pressuring) her to work with him. This disturbing daily barrage of emails led the young woman to become afraid of Quennell and she decided to go to the police. It was only after being contacted by detectives that Quennell finally removed the website ending this young woman's nightmare.

Quennell has been instructed by the police to have absolutely no contact with this young woman. In fact, if, as a result of this article or any other catalyst, Quennell decides to disobey the instructions of the police and contact or harass this young woman, or repost the offensive website he created, he knows that he will be in violation of stalking laws, and will be subject to arrest.  Additionally, individuals close to the case are in possession of several hundred emails sent by Quennell to this young woman. To this point, they have been kept confidential, and will remain so, unless Quennell violates stalking laws by any of the previously mentioned actions or continues to harass the young woman in any way, shape or form.

I know of other women that have been mistreated by Quennell that have chosen to stay silent for personal reasons. I encourage anyone that has been wronged by Peter Quennell to come forward. Exposing the truth will help to prevent Quennell from mistreating others in the future. Peter Quennell is one of the leaders of the ongoing hate campaign against Amanda Knox. If this information doesn't cause readers to pause and reevaluate what kind person Peter Quennell is and how credible his website is, nothing will.

The truth in this case has been clouded over by a disturbing sexual obsession that began with the prosecution. This obsession spread like cancer throughout the media, distorting public perception, fueling a hate campaign, eventually leading to the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, who now face a quarter century behind bars.

The murder of Meredith Kercher was a brutal crime but not a complicated one. Rudy Guede ambushed Meredith when she arrived home while Guede was in the process of burglarizing the residence. Meredith endured a violent attack which included rape. This crime was not one of lust acted out by three sex killers. This crime was one of extreme violence inflicted by one man in an act of pure evil. The sexual obsession that overwhelmed this case was based on pure fantasy; it was never about sex.  

The Democracy Manifesto (go to the manifesto) represents a significant moment as far as the global conversation on democracy is concerned. It is also a moment of new beginnings.  A good conversation is one that produces more of it. I hope this one snowballs into more debates and dialogues. Democracy is worldly, primarily an artifact. Like other human artifacts, it too needs care, continuous attention, ingenuity and passion. The ongoing conversation on democracy, as I can recall from my own experiences, never suffered from dearth of ambition. Yet it has always been an exercise in humility and deep engagement.

Imagine that you go into a ‘sleep mode’ today and are revived after a gap of several decades. What do think will have been the history of democracy while you slept? What narratives will emerge? Will experiences in different parts of the world, particularly in the global south, be a part of the larger story of democracy?

You only need to ask the question to sense the importance of an affirmative answer. If currently existing democracy in India has merely overcome corruption and ensured the rule of law, if China has moved towards democracy, if Brazil continues to have popular government and there are elections in South Africa that change the ruling party, if there is democracy in Egypt (who would have thought of writing that three months ago?) and Palestine… or if there are not any of these things…

It is clear that the dominant ways of thinking of democracy are and continue to be narrow. They tend to make the political clamour, experiments and mobilizations in different parts of the world invisible. But it is surely the case as our experiment shows that if we think of democracy and look forward then the still dominant view is quite inadequate. The future of democracy will be shaped and even decided in countries that are more experimental than its traditional homelands. The ‘frontier’ of democracy to borrow an image, is no longer found in the ‘west’ or the global north.

This is the starting point of our global conversation. It questions the dominant view, and shows that other ways of engaging with democratic experiences are possible. Not only possible but also necessary and now in the public domain. 

First, a bit of history. 

A few years ago a group of scholars and activists from South Asia wanted to reflect on democratic experiences in their countries in the region. They all agreed that knowledge about democracy must be produced in a democratic fashion and that this demands a methodology that does not devalue specificities of experiences. They initiated a conversation within the region and finally produced a report - State of Democracy in South Asia.  The impetus for a further, global conversation on democracy emerged from several regional conversations that followed especially this South Asian one. No doubt, in the past there were discussions on democracy. But this time round, the conversation delves deeply into the fundamental questions regarding the ways in which democracy has to be explained and evaluated.  It attempts to re-define what it means to be democratic.

The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), in Delhi, coordinated the initiative, and thanks to the intellectual energy of Professors Rajeev Bhargava and Yogendra Yadav, and a grant from the Ford Foundation, the global conversation took off to a good start three years ago.   During this period, three major international meetings, involving participants from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, were held (two in India and one in South Africa). Besides academics, a good number of participants came from the world of civil society and social movements.  The conversations thus far have been focused and productive.  

As I write this, activists and ordinary citizens have gathered in different parts of India to raise the issue of corruption in politics and public life. To them, fighting against corruption is a struggle for democracy. Like the continuing upsurge in the Arab World, the mobilization in India reflects the local concerns, dreams and aspirations. In some of these cases, practices on the ground seem to run way ahead of the dominant democratic thinking. However there are occasions when these events fall far short of the high normative standards of democracy. The lack of fit between theory and practice, in the above sense, is what grounds the substance of the ongoing conversation on democracy.

Being conversationalists we decided that we would produce only a draft of a Democracy Manifesto and ask for further thoughts, comments and even asides. Here it is. Let’s see what happens. We already have responses from Anthony Barnett, Laurence Whitehead, Jorge Heine and Melissa Williams. Hope more will join in.

The Democracy Manifesto: Re-imagining Democracy in Our Time 

To the introduction

The Arab democratic upsurge of 2011 inspires democrats all over the world. It has fired up the imagination of all those struggling for self-rule under authoritarianism. It also gives hopes to those engaged in deepening democratic practices everywhere. To all those who see democracy as a shared journey of humanity, it provides an occasion to reflect on what democracy means. This is a moment to re-imagine democratic ideals and practices in our time. 

1. Democracy as a political principle and as a form of government has expanded to nearly all corners of the world. It is recognized now that every human being must have an effective say in the decisions that affect their life. The notion that every government must respect this fundamental principle has greater acceptance than ever before. The ideal of self-rule has begun to fire up peoples’ imagination all over the world.  Democracy may not be a form of government that is experienced globally, but it has become an aspiration that is shared across the globe. This aspiration takes different forms. The ideal of popular self-rule has multiple readings.  Theses will depend on which people are being talked about, what understanding of self is being invoked and what  is accepted as self-rule.  “ The people” could mean all the citizens of a national state, the citizens at a region or locality, or the planet’s entire population. The self could be seen in terms of the individual citizen or in terms of a social community. Self-rule could be interpreted as voice, consultation, consent or consensus in any authoritative and binding decision-making process. A standard understanding is that democracy means free and fair elections, but it can also take other forms.
2. The globally dominant notion of what democracy means, however, does not reflect the journey of democracy. The prevailing orthodoxy about democracy  draws upon the limited experience of a small part of the globe. Selected facts of European and North American history have been turned into abstract principles. One of the many strands of western political thought has been assumed to be the sole repository of the normative imagination for democratic practices in different societies at different points of time.  An idealized notion of western liberal democracy hegemonizes the democratic imagination. It is assumed that capitalism and modernity have an intrinsic relationship with democracy. This hegemony of the western experience and imagination may not always affect popular struggles that are being waged in the name of democracy all over the world. Yet, it does constrain the translation of popular aspirations, practices and struggles into a set of norms, institutions and theories in the Global South. It also constrains the deepening of democracy within the global North.
3. Enriching our democratic imagination in line with the expansion of democracy would involve several things: widening our conceptual apparatus to accommodate diverse languages and idioms of democracy;  enriching our normative standards to reflect multiple histories and traditions of democratic thinking; and  correcting our explanations to account for radically different experiences and trajectories of democracy. Reimagining democracy along these lines is one of the most pressing ethical and political tasks of our times. It is imperative not just for democrats in the ‘aspiring’ and ‘new’ democracies, but equally in ‘established democracies’.
4. The prevailing orthodoxy on the democratic imagination assumes that democracy is strictly the gift of western civilization.  Yet, an honest genealogy of democratic ideas and practices must acknowledge that these are rooted in multiple trajectories. Ancient Greece was but one of the sources of democratic imagination. The ideas of democracy can be traced to Buddhist Sangha, Ganatantra traditions in ancient India, Islamic traditions in many societies and practices among the indigenous communities across the world. Much of the modern ideology and language of democracy has spread to most parts of the world from Western Europe and North America. Many of the well-established democratic institutions and practices in today's world were secured first in Europe through a series of popular struggles. The gains of these struggles are now part of our global human heritage.  Yet the western legacy is neither singular nor unambiguous.  For every advance in democracy, there is also the history of denial of democratic rights. Besides, the history of the expansion of self-rule for one's own citizens was inextricably woven with the history of denial of self-rule to larger subject populations outside and ethnic minorities inside the territory of a ‘democratic’ state. For most of the world, the contemporary practices of democracy are neither a direct off-shoot of the various ancient traditions nor an imitation of the modern west. The democratic aspiration spread to most of the world by way of anti-colonial struggles and the various movements for self-determination and self-rule in the last two centuries.
5. Enriching the democratic imagination requires questioning the simple-minded democracy/non-democracy binary canonized by the dominant orthodoxy. As democracy becomes the most sought after regime label, the quest for self-rule is reduced to a contestation about the latter. This promotes binary, either-or, thinking over a graded understanding of the spectrum from democracy to non-democracy. The dominant orthodoxy’s focus on classifying a country either as a democracy or a non-democracy encourages façade democracies. This binary distinction has resulted in an excessive focus on the threshold of when a non-democracy turns into a democracy.  This summative and static judgment performs the function of putting some ‘established democracies’ beyond reproach. This artificial binary construct must come to an end.  Democratic practices may exist in apparently non-democratic regimes. Established democratic states can embody a vast array of non-democratic practices. There is no "finished product democracy" and there never will be.  The aspiration for democracy is open-ended. Each fresh step opens new horizons.
6. The dominant orthodoxy espouses teleology. Democracy is the ultimate and inevitable destination. This often leads to thinking in terms of stages or pre-conditions to the ‘transition’ to and ‘consolidation’ of democracy. Yet, there are multiple sequences and routes by which different political regimes come to be democratic. The route taken by democracy in the west is but one sequence of many. In turn, there are multiple trajectories within the west itself. Material prosperity and cultural uniformity are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for democracy.  We also need to move away from an instrumental and determinist view of the outcomes of democracy.  Democracy leads to different outcomes in different historical settings.  Democrats need to be aware of the dysfunctions of democracy, and not just in 'new' or 'developing' democracies. The case for democracy cannot rest on dubious and instrumental grounds such as its purported usefulness for desired economic outcomes. Democracy must be cherished for its intrinsic value, for what it means to human dignity.
7. Reimagining democracy requires a fundamental shift. There is a tendency to assume that democracy is an attribute of political regimes rather than that of political practices. This leads to privileging form over substance, to making too much of formal political institutions and to reducing democracy to electoral democracy. An emphasis on practices would require a more careful and painstaking sifting of the substance of political action, its contextual meaning and its consequences.  This also enables us to think of democracy beyond the formal domain of politics. Practices within the domain of the family or the market, for example, need to be viewed in terms of the extent to which they enable or constrain self-rule. Democracy needs to be thought of as a way of life.
8. Questioning the dominant orthodoxy also leads us to the search for an appropriate level of analysis. There is a need to move beyond a fixation with the national state as the natural unit within which one thinks about self-rule. The locus of national power is no doubt the principal level of struggles for self-rule. But to focus exclusively on it side-steps the colossal inequalities among and within nation states. The latter deny vast numbers of people across the globe an effective voice over decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. The quest for democracy must go wherever effective and binding decision-making occurs.  Shifting sites of sovereignty require that we begin to think of inter-national relations as an arena of democratic contestation. The same could be extended to the level of continents or other groupings of nations. At the same time, the unit of analysis needs to be extended downwards, to regional and local units, for this is the level at which most citizens experience self-rule or its absence.  
9.  The idea of democracy is becoming global, and it acquires multiple meanings. As democracy becomes a global aspiration, it attaches itself to different and often competing values.  This entails a conversation with pre-existing cultural values. Many of these values are contradictory to the democratic ideal; they must go. Some of the pre-existing values are not fully compatible with democracy; they must change. At the same time, the idea of democracy itself does and must undergo a change.  As the idea of democracy is interpreted and re-interpreted in different parts of the world, misunderstandings and misuses will arise. Therefore democracy is and will remain a contested concept.  This contest is resolved by entering on a case by case basis. It cannot be resolved a-priori by insisting upon an original, all-encompassing definition of democracy.  The demand that democracy all over the world must conform to a fixed definition first worked out in one part of the globe is inherently undemocratic. The ideal of democracy requires a respect for the democracy of knowledge. Knowledge production is not limited to some privileged sites, some societies or some period in history. The ideal of democracy has emerged from a dialogue of the various expressions of self-rule in human history. If democracy is anchored in reason, dialogue is the custodian of reason.

10. Current definitions of democracy threaten to reduce it to an institutional checklist derived from idealized notions of the experience of a small part of the globe.  The ideal of democracy is seen to be synonymous with the historical form of liberal democracy in advanced capitalist societies of Western Europe and North America.  Often this is further reduced down to a few key institutional features.  Yet, the historical experience of democracy in most of the world provides overwhelming evidence against this approach.  More often than not, imported institutions do not produce the same consequences that they did in their home context. Similarity of form is no guarantee of democratic substance.  In fact, a search for familiar form is an invitation to cynical and superficial copying for extraneous gains. On the one hand, the experience of ‘established democracies’ shows that the appearance of a democratic form of government can very well go hand in hand with the de facto rule by experts, the dominance of corporate power, social control by private networks and  the decline of citizen participation. On the other hand, the experience of democratic success outside the global North suggests that a departure from the mandated institutional form is often a pre-condition for success.  Mass democracies of post-colonial societies tend to acquire depth through practices that may not have a legitimate institutional expression in the conventional wisdom on democracy.  Institutions are crucial to the formation and strengthening of democracies, but what institutions do depends on the context in which these are located.  We need to shift the focus from the form of an institution to its real- life consequences in a given context. Democracy is an ever-evolving principle that can take different institutional expression at different points of time in different societies.

11. Thus, the principles and practices of democracy have to be open to multiple sources of learning. There are several living 'traditions' of consultation and consensus making all over the world. Such local practices need to be 'critically transformed' in order to make them relevant for democratic practices today. New power sharing arrangements are being worked out all over the world in different contexts, in response to different needs. Various monitoring tools are being invented in different democracies. So far only a few of these appear on the radar of  the democratic imagination. The search for a richer democratic imagination requires that we look for practices, institutions, intellectual traditions and thinkers everywhere to help us reshape democratic theory.

12.  The very notion of exporting democracy is inimical to the spirit of democracy. Democracy promotion can turn into democratic imperialism. Like all ideologies, democracy too can turn into a dogma. Strengthening democracy is about deepening the values which shape the principles of democracy within a society. The 'culture of democracy' of a given society is vital to building democracy. The idea that some people lack 'culture' and are not ready for democracy also goes against the principle of democracy.

13.  To deparochialize the idea of democracy is not to privilege an Eastern or Southern view of democracy over existing Western or Northern views. To the contrary: it means universalizing our understanding of democracy and democratic practices. The insistence on difference and divergence is designed to synthesize the multiple experiences of democracy. This is a necessary condition for reclaiming the global heritage of democracy and for reimagining a truly global future for it. FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.

Of the various values that the idea of democracy attaches itself to, four deserve a special mention.  First, democracy requires individual and collective freedom, for self-rule cannot exist in the absence of a basic guarantee of freedom.  Any kind of coercion or violence thus goes against the spirit of democracy. Second, the idea of self-rule requires that everyone have an equal say in matters that concern them.  Democratic deliberations require a level playing ground, free from widespread inter- and intra-group inequalities. Third, the ideal of self-rule requires a recognition of communities that often constitute the self. Thus democracy requires respect for deep diversity. In a world where most political units contain diverse communities, any attempt at cultural homogenization is not in keeping with the spirit of democracy. Fourth, given that democracy requires maintaining the conditions for democratic deliberations for future generations, it implies an ethic of responsibility towards nature.

Traditional ‘Europeans’ are worried. It’s not only fear of strangers: it’s the  redefinition of ‘our’ space and  uncertainty about ‘our’ future. Future developments, largely unexpected, let us stress that once again, will force us to redefine choices and policies that previously had been (differently in different countries) seen as ‘ours’ by definition. But now it seems that ‘immigration policies’ will have to be designed and ‘immigrants’ dealt with in a very different context. 

Attention at present is primarily  focused on France and Italy and the policy responses and  ‘messages sent out’ by governments under the pressure of people flow, prompted by the violent confrontations with dramatic  human costs in North Africa and the Middle East. What we are facing now is a process of change that ought to bring us, traditional ‘Europeans’, to reconsider how the Mediterranean space is defined, and how we are related to and confront political contexts and peoples that we had seen as far apart, different, actually as others. 

How these events (ongoing conflict in Libya in particular) have been handled by the Italian Government is a widely discussed theme in our political sphere, public  discourse and in the media. It all began with growing numbers from the other side of the sea reaching the island of Lampedusa. Within a very few days, the anticipation of further arrivals, difficulties in facing that, graphic images in the media had come to be regarded as a highly visibile challenge. A core concern for those in power was how to handle this in terms of domestic politics (elections were close, the Lega Nord was extremely vocal in its opposition to all forms of asylum). The EU was regarded as a major source of support, and the Italian Government had recourse to the EU at the very beginning. It immediately announced that money would be made available. 

However, lack of adequate planning at the European level triggered a round of international debate.  Back in Italy, the main problem was how to tackle the immediate challenge while anticipating further developments. Various arrangements were put in place, trying to face the immediate needs of those, in extremely distressed circumstances, who continued to arrive. 

But accommodating these people raised a further issue - of increasing numbers of newcomers, not only from the Mediterranean area, but from other African regions. Immigrants from all over the world had reached Egypt in particular. A much more profound process of global mobility was thus for once made visible. This was immediately seen as having a ‘European relevance’,  and dangerous implications. 

Of course there were voices in some sectors of public opinion and in some political groupings, who made it clear that giving support to these people in their political struggle and solidarity in their present (and future) difficulties were crucial choices, reflecting fundamental values. 

But political leaders  and the media insisted that there were far too many of them and that they had to be sent back to their countries, or moved out of Italy (most of them towards France: Tunisians in particular were making it clear that this was their preferred destination). So the obvious next step involved granting  ‘temporary acceptance’ documents which would allow all to move freely within the Schengen area. Hence, out of Italy: this was the goal. 

The French Government immediately opposed this solution. 

Increasing numbers of ‘immigrants’ have tried to reach the Italian/French border nevertheless. The first reaction was to refuse all those travelling from Italy entry into France. International television channels showed how many people had to pass through days (and nights) without being given any adequate  assistance or any information. In the days that followed, controls were established at the border by French authorities. Those who did not have what was considered a sufficient amount of money were not allowed to move on into France. 

At the end of April, Sarkozy and Berlusconi met in Rome: their agreements and ‘solutions’ were announced. 

It is very clear that both feel the pressure from their ‘populist’ right-wing political rivals, Marine Le Pen in Front National  in France and the Lega Nord in Italy, together with large sectors of public opinion in both countries. But beyond that. Economic and social problems are to be expected in the  coming months (and years). Resistance to processes of change is to be expected. The sharpening of conflicting interests, and of course, forms of discrimination and growing xenophobia are one response. 

A scenario-in progress is what we have to face that had somehow not been anticipated in a ‘traditional’ European perspective, despite Europe’s intimate knowledge of how this dynamic can develop. 

So, we must work at redefining our near-term and longer-term future. 

Hopefully, also, we might finally learn how to live in diversity, while taking into account ongoing social and political pressures (and considering how unprepared Europe appears to be to face them). Two aspects in particular demand our urgent fresh attention, the rising populism in many EU countries, and the relevance for Europe of  present events  in North Africa and the Middle East. 

Just a brief comment looking at the past. In the post-war period, the project of adequate migration policies and institutions was seen as an important and feasible social and political objective in the Nordic countries, and in different ways and with different procedures in France, the UK, and Germany as well. ‘Newcomers’ were needed. Conditions of discrimination and inequality were present, but a variety of approaches and models to deal with this were developed in contexts which all had in common assumptions that a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, mutli-religious future settlement could be reached. 

Putting it briefly: those circumstances made living in diversity a possible European framework, a common goal which would, of course, require a shared project and continuous engagement. But suddenly, we find ourselves in very different circumstances. Now we face, all over Europe, growing ‘institutional xenophobia’ and a pervasive ‘politics of fear’. 

In many EU countries populist parties and a supportive public opinion have become a central political and social dimension (with somewhat different aspects and perspectives as to their future roles and positions). But common traits, which have been analyzed in a number of studies, are there for all to see: not only growing problems in the economy and in the labour market in particular; but increasing disaffection with the institutional machinery, national as well as European; and then there is the role of the media in stoking this fear. In all these different cases, the question of migration, and all the policies related to living in diversity have taken centre-ground, not lessening the fear and its attendant xenophobia, but adding to its thralldom.  

A highly visible new generation of political leaders, markedly different as to their backgrounds and their policy proposals, as well as their highly personal ways of presenting themselves (in Italy, Berlusconi and Bossi must both be seen as interesting examples) have built strong support from large sectors of the population who have felt that they have no voice.  

What is the alternative to their fear and xenophobia? Does ‘traditional’ Europe have an answer? 

I would like to wish you well next week for Europe Day and your investigation of the ‘Uses of Xenophobia’, and also congratulation on the tenth birthday of openDemocracy. This is indeed a timely discussion.

readersupportednews.org - By Robert Reich, - May. 06 (Opinion) - what about the economy? I'm not talking about the economy five or ten years from now, when projections show the federal budget wildly out of control or when foreigners might start dumping dollars. I'm talking about the here and now economy - the one Americans are living in day to day. The Labor Department reported today that unemployment for April was 9 percent, up from 8.8 percent in March. And that doesn't people working part-time who'd rather have full-time jobs.

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Watch 48th IPL of Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings of IPL 2011 – Online Free. Get latest links for Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings flash players and ustream links. You can also get the live links of CSK v KKR p2p, justin.tv and other high...

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MMA Workouts, and especially mma workouts at home are probably the fastest growing segment of the fitness world in 2011.  MMA has existed for years but it was always presupposed that these warrior like workouts were only for the most elite athletes.  To some degree...

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The 48th T20 game of the Indian Premier League will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkatta. The day/night game will begin on 4 p.m. India time. Click to see live score....

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Mexican citizens are on alert over a reform to the National Security Law. After much pressure, the project is now on hold. According to human right groups, political annalists, lawyers and even some politicians, the reform would legalize the abuses of the army against civilians in the name of national security.

The city’s current budget gap of $39 million is grim. But the city’s financial situation is even more dismal when examined in the context of its budget cuts in recent years.

The city has laid off about 215 employees since February 2008, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams. In addition, the city has taken 900 positions off its books since the 2008/2009 fiscal year and cannot hire employees for those spots, according to the city budget document. The city currently has 4,576 employee positions, Williams said.

Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka are recommending the City Council approve an $812 million budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Of that amount, $362 million would be the general fund.

The city defines the general fund, consisting of taxes and fees, as its main fund for operations.

The City Council is now weighing whether to lay off hundreds of city employees in the next few weeks. 

Mayor Kevin Johnson was visibly distressed Tuesday night after Masuoka briefed the City Council on the budget cuts and layoffs suggested by the city manager’s office.

“Those brutal facts gave me a headache,” Johnson said. “We’re talking about laying off a lot of people. And that just doesn’t feel good for any of us.”

Edgar explains in the budget document why the city has a $39 million gap. Because the city is still in a recession, sales tax revenues are likely to stay flat, and property tax revenues are down, the budget document says.

Labor costs have risen due to union contracts, new Fire Department staff in Natomas and mandatory retirement payments for employees, according to the document.

And, the city must keep its vehicles in working condition and replace old public safety machinery such as ambulances and defibrillators, all of which costs money, the document states.

City employees from various departments could be laid off, including 80 cops.

Police officers have been shielded from layoffs for decades: No officers were laid off during Sacramento City Councilman Darrell Fong’s 30-year career with the Police Department, Fong said last week. He retired from the department in 2009.

Even though the department has not faced layoffs of cops, the number of positions has shrunk in recent years.

“We had 804 officers in 2007 and 704 in 2010,” police spokeswoman Laura Peck said.

The city currently has 701 sworn police officers.

Johnson said Tuesday that he wants to learn more about the context of the cuts in recent years. He asked staff to present information soon on the following questions:

“How much have we cut from our general fund over the last four years?” Johnson asked city staff. “And then, secondly, how has that impacted job reduction over that period of time? I’m just interested because that time period has been brutal for our community.”

The Sacramento Press will report on city staff’s answers to Johnson’s questions when the information becomes available.

On top of its past and current woes, the immediate future for Sacramento’s city government does not look bright.

City officials project in the budget document that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016. The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014.

In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

“Given the lack of any significant revenue growth in the forecast, the current level of annual expenditure is not sustainable,” according to the budget document.

Still, the discussion of the current $39 million gap is continuing, and it’s possible that council members could find ways to prevent some cuts.

For example, Council members Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Angelique Ashby all said they like the idea of seeing whether the city could move the public safety headquarters from Freeport Boulevard to the city’s Richards Boulevard location. The city has extra space at its Richards Boulevard building, Fong said.

Moving public safety workers to Richards Boulevard could save the city an estimated $800,000 - $900,000 per year in energy savings and maintenance costs, Fong said, referring to an estimate from the Police Department.

The Freeport building is not energy-efficient, he said.

City leaders need to look for “creative options to save a few bucks,” McCarty said.

Read a list of all the upcoming city budget hearings here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. 

The legendary Paul Rodriguez celebrated Cinco de Mayo Thursday night in style at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, playing to a sold out crowd. Joining Rodriguez on stage was Gene Pompa and Dennis Gaxiola, both accomplished comedians in their own right.

Pompa opened the evening and really got the crowd excited. He says he is an old-school, hardcore political activist. For instance, he still won't eat grapes because of the plight of the migrant farm workers. He also won't eat raisins because of the older migrant farm workers. That's how hardcore he is. He also won't eat prunes, but that's for a completely different reason.

Next up was Gaxiola. He really got the ball rolling with his impressions of various marriage proposals. First up was the Mexican proposal: “You gonna keep it?” Then came the African-American proposal: “As the judge in this case, I find the DNA evidence is a match and you are the father.” The cowboy: “Please, don’t tell Mom,” which really got the crowd roaring.

Pompa came back out on stage to introduce Rodriguez. Rodriguez started off by saying it was nice to be back from the Middle East and then simply stated, “We got him,” and that was all it took. Everyone in the crowd knew he was referring to Osama and the audience erupted into cheers. For the past several years, Rodriguez has been working with the USO to help entertain our troops in the Middle East. This last trip was his sixth journey overseas.

With his classic style of comedy, mixing Spanish and English, Rodriguez’s performance was exactly what the audience was looking for. There were a couple of times when it appeared Rodriguez was through for the evening, only to then think of something else to talk about. Then it would be off on another litany of jokes and one-liners leaving no nationality or religion untouched.

Rodriguez took aim at Germans, Italians, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans (the Mexicans of Japan), and even Mexicans. He also berated the various religions, in particular Catholic priests — I’ll just leave that one alone.

Rodriguez is considered one of the first Latin Kings of Comedy. As an actor and comedian, his career spans over two decades and includes starring roles and featured appearances in over 40 films and countless television series and comedy specials.

Make sure and get out to Thunder Valley Casino’s summer concert series, which kicks off this month with Creedence Clearwater Revisited on May 21, followed by The Fray on May 25.

Randy Miramontez is a contributing writer and photographer with The Sacramento Press.
 

Now that the men in black Have descended the machines Silently, Like nocturnal birds of prey And stalked and slain the beast That taunted them For a long, miserable decade, Now that the people of the United States Of America Have danced in the streets and screamed with joy That their land is the greatest The mightiest And fairest Because they have finally got their man Who killed 3,000 men, women and children In cold blood On soil that is more sacred than The dirt of Afghanistan (Or Iraq for that matter), Now that blood has been appeased by blood And vengeance served cold And now that God has truly blessed America Can I, May I, Have My Hijab Back Please? Similar Posts:Hijab whereforth dost thou commeth? The West’s bogus concern for human rights The Jaffna priest and the policeman who turned IGP Blood wanted, urgent! Lashkar-e-Taiba in Sri Lanka?

The house at the end of the road, the giant multiple-walled house at the end of the road without a telephone, or internet, without a satellite dish, without rubbish—the residents burned what they consumed— certainly smoke can be traced, and the courier’s story leaked out of somebody else’s mouth held incommunicado in an East-European dungeon, on leased land in the island of Cuba, but that is another story, the war found its target, today, in helicopter to hand combat, four aircraft once again, this time choppers, and special forces— not from Afghan camps into Florida flight schools–but Navy Seals, and the target legitimate, not three thousand ordinary civilians living their American lives until robbed by death, rules for the rest of us alive modified, and now another death, tying of the circle, a full spin around the planet, what Peru’s president said was John Paul’s first miracle, coincidence, his beatification and death in combat of Osama Bin Laden, a bullet...

Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Dilan Perera will begin an official visit to Qatar tomorrow on an invitation extended by its government, an official said.  During the visit the Minister will hold talks with officials regarding employment opportunities in Qatar. A delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministry and the Foreign Employment Bureau and Chief Executive [...]

US President Barack Obama has met the military team that killed Osama Bin Laden and praised their mission as “one of the greatest military operations in our nation’s history”. He also vowed the US would defeat the al-Qaeda terror network Bin Laden led. Earlier, al-Qaeda confirmed the death of Bin Laden, according to a statement [...]

ශ්‍රී ලංකිකයින්ට මැදපෙරදිග අලුතින් රැකියා අවස්ථා උදාකර ගැනීමට ඇමති ඩිලාන් පෙරේරා මහතා හෙට කටාර් රජ්‍යයේ සංචාරයක් අරභයි. ඇමතිවරයා එහිදී එරට රැකියා නියෝජිතයන් සමග සාකච්ඡා වට කිහිපයක් පැවෙත්වීමට නියමිතයි. කටාර් දේශයේ ඉදි කිරීම් ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ සීඝ්‍ර සංවර්ධනයක් ඉදිරි වසර කිහිපයේ දී සිදුවෙයි. එබැවින් එහි වැඩිපුර රැකියා අවස්ථා ශ්‍රි ලාංකිකයින්ට උදාකර ගැනීමද මෙම සංචාරයේ අරමුණ්කි. දැනට කටාර් හී [...]

Chris Gayle’s all round performance helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to record an 85 run mammoth victory  over the Kings XI Punjab in the 47th match of the Indian Premier League. After being put into bat Gayle started to explode by punching the Punjab bowlers straight over their head. He hit 9 massive sixes and 10 boundaries [...]

US employment rose in April for the seventh month in a row, official figures have shown, but the overall unemployment rate has also risen. According to the US Labor Department, the number of new jobs created in April rose by 244,000, more than expected. However, the unemployment rate rose too, to 9%, from 8.8%. The [...]

What a shocking day for progress outside of Scotland. The minor improvement of AV spurned, hopes of PR dashed, and the Tories escaping not just unscathed, but positively emboldened. Today was not ‘a good day for the left’; it was a victory for tribalism and mendacity. Today we, the people, opted for a return to a solid two-party state in Westminster. If the Tories pull off their boundary fix, and the Scots vote for independence, even a two-party state may be a distant dream. What a shocking day.

The one bright flame that flickered in the darkness of the UK was in Scotland, where even under a proportional system the Scottish National Party have secured an historic victory. The grip of the major Westminster parties on British politics has taken a serious blow, as has the notion that PR can only deliver coalitions. Cameron has acknowledged the enormity of the result by pledging to “campaign to keep our United Kingdom with every fibre I have” (Gerry Hassan covers the result in full here). But South of the border, things are looking exceptionally bleak.

Looking back at May 2010, the decisions taken by Clegg and senior Lib Dems have proved to be disastrous. Not only have they weakened their party immeasurably, they have empowered the Conservatives without gaining a single concession of any substance.  Electoral reform, the reason I and many others voted for them, has now been kicked into touch for who knows how long. Neither Clegg nor the Coalition is likely to survive until 2015. For all this carnage, what has been gained?

It has now emerged that Brown offered a referendum on full proportional representation – the choice of reformers, the choice of the Lib Dems and the choice of all honest democrats. Clegg turned it down. He accepted instead a referendum on AV, another lopsided majoritarian system which no one had asked for, coupled with a gerrymandering of constituency lines in favour of the Conservatives. True, it’s unlikely Brown could have delivered a PR referendum, but STV should have been the primary ‘red line’ – take it or leave it. If neither party were able or willing to offer it, the Lib Dems still had options, and they still had public support.  

With purple protesters in the street and wide support for electoral reform, Clegg could have declined coalition, leaving a Tory minority government. The old LabCon duopoly, unwilling to grant the public a say on how they elect their government, would have shouldered much of the blame. Public support for PR would have grown, not shrunk. The Lib Dems would have been strengthened, and a Tory minority government would never have lasted the distance. But they wanted to play the statesmen, the guardians of the “national interest” – they wanted to be in government, whatever the cost. And how dear that cost has been.

In accepting the vote on AV, they opted to fight on the weakest ground possible. Had they battled for an honourable coalition, gaining concrete and substantial concessions, even AV would have been winnable. They needed to show coalitions could work for the public – they failed. Had they secured a vote on STV, even their dismal servility in this coalition would not have stemmed the tide. Instead – they got the worst of both worlds, and today they have been blown apart.

As for Labour’s role, the sight of Margarett Beckett and David Blunkett campaigning alongside the Noes was a good reminder of just how reactionary Labour can be. Blunkett even acknowledged the No campaign’s dishonesty:

 “We are in the middle of an election campaign. People in elections use made-up figures”

When the duopoly is threatened, they have few qualms about hugging the Conservatives close. One of the most astonishing things about this Coalition is how quickly it has erased the memory of New Labour in power, turning pink-Thatcherites into heroes of the common people. “A little less, and a little slower” will hardly ring through the ages as a revolutionary cry.

Dreams of proportional representation, some have said, will be strengthened by this result, not weakened. I would only ask that this view is backed up with a credible plan of how this is going to happen. I had an interesting exchange with David Rickard on this issue, and he makes some persuasive arguments, but on this point it’s hard to be optimistic:

 “If AV loses, on the other hand, the left-of-centre parties can start pressing for PR and other reforms right away, and pressure could be brought to bear on Miliband's Labour to back PR. We could then have a pro-PR electoral alliance and coalition in waiting at the 2015 election”

The Lib Dems perished today, they are no more, they have ceased to be; they are the yellow parrot of British politics. Labour have shown themselves divided over AV, let alone PR – something that would all but guarantee the end of Labour majority governments. Asked by John Humphrys what a No vote would mean for reform, Miliband replied: “we won't be coming back to this very quickly.”

The Conservatives could hardly have asked for a better day. FPTP has been retained, and they will be encouraged by the results of the local elections. How tempted will they be to call an early election? They failed to win last year, in the most benign circumstances they could have dreamt of. Since then, the public has had a sharp reminder of just how noxious and untrustworthy they can be: the forest sell off, the NHS “reforms”, the desire to privatise everything except “the judiciary and the military”, corporate tax cuts and a complete failure to bring the banks to heel. Labour remain rudderless and ill-prepared, but a snap election would still be a brave move.  If they can hold out until the boundary changes are passed, assuming they get them through, England will be a Tory fortress.

The Coalition may well crumble before then; tensions will reach new highs on the back of today’s events. The Lib Dems would be annihilated in an election tomorrow, but the longer they remain propping up this destructive Conservative government, the more contaminated they will become. They are now in a lose-lose situation, facing either a swift beheading or a slow and painful poisoning.  

What next. The gloves must come off. Labour desperately needs to find some bite and some ideas. On elected Lords, touted as a sweetener to the Lib Dems, expect lots of committees, consultations, reviews, reviews of consultations…. Forget it. The Lib Dems failed to secure anything concrete on the issue. Either the Lib Dems secure solid and fundamental concessions or this Coalition needs to end.

 

The Dalai Lama’s seven-page letter to the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in March 2011 announcing his full retirement of all political and administrative responsibilities is a historic political moment. Tibet’s spiritual leader, in exile in India since 1959, has in issuing it taken two positive steps: towards reforming the political authority of the highest religious institution in Tibet, and encouraging and empowering the young Tibetan democracy.

At 76, the Dalai Lama has long been conscious of his role as the symbol of Tibetan unity and independence; but he has always understood and emphasised that the Tibetan problem will remain after his demise. In spiritual terms, the Dalai Lama continues to represent an important moral voice in a world that poses hard questions about how to respond effectively and in non-violent ways to the violence of the age, and how to build a better world that struggles against the causes of war and terrorism.

The Dalai Lama’s democratic effort for Tibet is a strong expression of his Buddhist and Gandhian convictions, founded on two principles: self-reliance and non-violence. These two principles will remain central to any democratic measures taken by the new Tibetan prime minister, Lobsang Sangay, and to all future dialogue and compromise with Beijing.

In the view of the Dalai Lama, democracy is a source of power for the powerless and of hope to the hopeless. It offers a politics that is completely at odds with the logic of occupation and violation of human rights in which Tibet lives today.

In his acceptance speech on the occasion of the award of the Nobel peace prize in Oslo on 10 December 1989, the Dalai Lama proposed a wider vision: “the conversion of the entire Tibetan plateau into a zone of Ahimsa, a sanctuary of peace and non-violence where human beings and nature can live in peace and harmony.” 

China’s economic strategy in Tibet has been in the opposite direction, and has caused immense cultural and environmental damage and increased the social marginalisation of Tibetans. Chinese officialdom - which still describes its violent takeover of Tibet in 1950-51 as a "peaceful liberation" - has long hoped that Beijing’s economic and cultural policies in Tibet will create a new generation of Tibetans that are less influenced by Buddhist religion and that, with the passing of the Dalai Lama, will accept finally to be part of China.

In this context, the Dalai Lama’s decision to relinquish his duties as political head of the Tibetan people in exile has increased anxieties in Beijing. No wonder, for the Dalai Lama’s democratic strategy places him a step ahead of China in setting the terms for the tumultuous situation in Lhasa that might follow his death.

The revered Tibetan institution of the Dalai Lama has played a dual role of spiritual and political authority since 1642. Its political reform opens the way to one of the major tests of Tibet’s modern history, namely trying to strike a win-win deal that reformulates Tibetan autonomy within the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Much is at stake here: the capacity to resist Chinese efforts to restrict traditional rituals, to reverse the the neglect of the Tibetan language at the expense of Chinese, and to defend the ecosystem in the face of unbalanced development.

The political path

In his address to the European parliament in December 2008, the Dalai Lama reiterated Tibet’s desire for “genuine autonomy” within the PRC and reaffirmed the will of the Central Tibetan Administration to move beyond fear and help to promote a culture of trust between the two nations. The major task of the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, is to promote such a culture. Will he make a difference to future dialogue between Beijing and Dharamsala?

So far, the 42-year-old Harvard law researcher has said that his top priority is to ask the Chinese authorities to review their "hardline" Tibet policy and take a "more moderate and liberal approach". This said, both Chinese and Tibetans will continue to expect the Dalai Lama to have an important influence on future negotiations between Tibet and China, and over the question of Tibetan autonomy. In the final analysis the leaders of Tibet’s reformed institutions, temporal and spiritual, need to work together to build and develop a new Tibet.

The road to Tibet’s autonomy is paved with many difficulties and challenges. That is why the election of Lobsang Sangay and the Dalai Lama's announced departure from political life are noteworthy. They mark a new chapter in the democratic exercise of the Tibetan community, which can show China and the world that even amid marginalisation and hardship the Tibetan community-in-exile is capable of forming a stable and transparent government.

The five years of Sangay’s prime-ministerial term offer Tibetans an opportunity to create a robust interface for the Chinese government to deal with. Even if Sangay does not succeed in convincing Beijing to abandon its hardline phase and accept the principle of autonomy for Tibet, his democratic election and the evolutionary move from the Dalai Lama reveal the anachronism of China’s authoritarian rule over Tibet. The Dalai Lama has once more proved to Tibetans and the world that he is not only a charismatic spiritual figure but a figure capable of bringing wisdom to democracy.

Sideboxes

'Read On' Sidebox: 

Dalai Lama

Central Tibetan Administration

Isabel Hilton, "Tibet's small exercise in democracy" (New Humanist, 125/6, November-December 2010)

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy

chinadialogue

Tibet Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre

 

Sidebox: 

Ramin Jahanbegloo is professor in the Centre for Ethics at the University of Toronto. He was previously Rajni Kothari professor of democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi. His twenty books include India Revisited: Conversations on Contemporary India (Oxford University Press, 2007). His website is here

Also by Ramin Jahanbegloo in openDemocracy:

"America's dreaming" (30 August 2004) - with Richard Rorty

"Richard Rorty: living in dialogue" (20 June 2007)

“The modern Gandhi” (30 January 2008)

"Olympics of shame" (9 April 2008)

"The new middle east: intellectuals and democracy" (3 February 2011)

"The new middle east: a civic revolution" (17 February 2011)

Plus - contributions to symposiums on Iran, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011

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